Lux Interior
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Erick Lee Purkhiser (October 21, 1946 – February 4, 2009), better known as Lux Interior (Luxury Interior), was an American punk rock musician and a founding member of the legendary garage/punk band The Cramps.
Born in Stow, Ohio, he grew up in the Akron area with a brother, Mike Purkhiser. He met his wife Kristy Wallace, better known as Poison Ivy, in Sacramento in 1972 allegedly while she was hitchhiking. The couple founded the band and moved from California to Ohio in 1973 and then to New York in 1975 where they became part of the flourishing punk scene.
Interior's name came "from an old car commercial" while his wife's name change was inspired by "a vision she received in a dream". The couple called their musical style psychobilly which was inspired by a Johnny Cash song though they later said they were just using the term as "carny terms to drum up business"
Purkhiser died at 4:30am on February 4, 2009, in Glendale, California of a pre-existing heart condition.