PATRICK LUNDBORG (1964 - 2014)

My favorite picture of Patrick. I always wondered
how did an office clerk morph into The Lama?

Unless you were a hardcore fan of American psych music (notably The 13th Floor Elevators), or were deeply into the study of psychedelics, you've probably never heard of Patrick Lundborg (aka The Lama).  I have to admit that even though I'd known Lundborg for over a decade, I'd never met him face-to-face, rather had exchanged hundreds of emails with the man on the subject of obscure American rock bands.  Other than bits and pieces, he was a very private individual who shared virtually nothing about his personal life.  I don't know if he was married, or had kids.  I don't know what he did for a living.  I do know his passions centered on music and the whole concept of psychedelics.  That's not to imply he was this crazed drugster, rather Patrick was fascinated by the inner world.

Patrick probably knew more about those two subjects that anyone I've ever met.  He seemed to live for the subjects (particularly the 13th Floor Elevators), establishing a maintaining the on-line Lysergia.com website http://www.lysergia.com/, as well as published a number of books on music and psychedelia, including the The Acid Archives reference book.  Lundborg's love for American psych music was made ironic by the fact he was born, raised, and lived in Sweden.

I was trying to remember how I met Lundborg and I think he actually contacted me after seeing a brief article I'd written on the obscure psych band C.A. Quintet.  The story had appeared in Goldmine and Patrick somehow stumbled across it and was interested in talking to the band members, as well as re-publishing the story on his Lysergia website. I was happy to put him in touch with the band as well as give him access to the original story.  That led to years of email exchanges that centered on dozens of other obscure American bands.  As it turned out, Patrick was interested in publishing a hardcopy reference book on the subject and somewhere along the way he asked it I'd be interested in contributing to the project.   Needless to say, I wasted no time flooding his in-box with scores of suggestions and write-ups.   Patrick was kind enough to include a couple of them in the book.  His editing skills always made my pathetic write-ups appear more professional that they were. 

So what more can I say?  My interactions with Patrick were always a blast.  He was a talented writer and through his work I learned a great deal about music- admittedly most of it had little practical value,   He turned me on to some amazing music by groups I had never even known existed.  Actually, from that perspective he was a major pain in the butt, since most of those bands only issued a handful of obscure albums, meaning I was forced to spend way too much on tracking this LPs down. I don't think I'd want to tell my wife how much I spent on a copy of "Darius", or "Flat Earth Society's "Waleeco". 

Patrick was only 50 when he passed on 7 June, 2014. That seems hopelessly young, especially for such a friendly, and easy-going guy.   I'll certainly miss him and can only hope his legacy thrives in the coming years.