Died On This Date (September 25, 2012) Paul Kirby / Walk The West; Cactus Brothers
themusicsover Paul Kirby
DOB Unknown – September 25, 2011
Paul Kirby was a Nashville singer-songwriter who fronted the popular roots rock band, Walk The West and later, Cactus Brothers. Decades before anyone thought up the name, “Americana” as a music genre, Kirby was marrying rock ‘n roll with rough-and-tumble country music. Formed with his brother, Will Kirby and schoolmate John Goleman in 1984, Walk The West quickly built a sizable local following thanks to their blistering live shows and growing arsenal of original songs. They were quickly snapped up by Capitol Records just as major labels were trying to find their own contributions to the “cow punk” scene that was suddenly in vogue. The band had a couple of minor hits thanks in part to video play on MTV and opening slots for the likes of the Smithereens and the Ramones. Walk The West never released a follow-up for Capitol and disbanded within the next few years. During the early ’90s, Kirby resurfaced with the more adventurous Cactus Brothers who were definitely more “alt” than “country,” but nonetheless found a home on Liberty Records who was currently riding the high of Garth Brooks. The band released two albums and appeared in the film Pure Country before again being dropped by their label. Kirby and Walk The West reunited for a special event in Nashville in 2008, and then again just weeks before his untimely death. According to the Nashville Scene, Paul Kirby died of cardiac arrest on September 25, 2011. He was 48. Fellow Cactus Brother David Schnaufer died in 2006.
What You Should Own
Matthew Fletcher was the drummer and primary songwriter for late ’80s British pop band, Talulah Gosh, which morphed into twee punk band, Heavenly in 1989. Both bands had solid fan bases thanks in part to their “Ramones meets Ronettes” sound. Heavenly released three albums for the hip label, Sarah Records, and were about to release their fourth when Sarah closed. Matthew Fletcher committed suicide shortly before the release of that album. He was just 25.
Lux Interior, lead singer of psychobilly stalwarts The Cramps died Wednesday, February 9, 2009. According to the band’s official press release, Interior passed away due to an existing heart condition in the early morning hours at Glendale (California) Memorial Hospital. Born Erick Purkhiser in Ohio, Interior eventually landed in Sacramento, California where he reportedly picked up hitch-hiking college student, Kristy Wallace. The two soon became soul mates over shared interests in obscure music and wild fashion and formed the nucleus of the Cramps. By 1975, the couple were in New York City helping define the original punk scene that also gave us the Ramones, Talking Heads and Patti Smith. But the Cramps sound was very different from the others. By combining equal elements of surf, rockabilly, camp, horror and fetish, along with Lex’s passionately reckless vocals and stage theatrics, the Cramps quickly built a legion of loyalists that would stay true to the band for decades to come. It should be noted that the Cramps are likely the only band in history who have performed at both the 
Nancy Spungen was just 17 when she left her Southeast Pennsylvania home for New York City to follow her true passion, punk rock. She quickly became immersed in the city’s growing underground scene, gravitating toward bands like the New York Dolls, the Heartbreakers, and the Ramones. Two years later, she moved to London where she met the Sex Pistols. After reportedly being rejected by the band’s singer, Johhny Rotten, Spungen set her sites on bassist, 