After decades battling mental illness, the past few years have seemed to be stable ones for Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson. The 57-year-old former lead singer for the 13th Floor Elevators — the Austin garage band often credited with inventing pyschedelic rock — looks better than he has in years. Ever since he returned to Austin in 2002 after a brief stay with family in Pittsburgh, Erickson has been a regular presence around town, if not on stage. He occasionally signs records at Waterloo, and drops by shows now and then. He's supposed to pop in at the Explosives show during South by Southwest. Also in 2002, his family established the Roky Erickson Trust, which oversees his back catalog and financial well-being.

But his profile might soon be bigger outside of Austin (and hipster rock circles) than it has been in years. A new documentary about Erickson is debuting at South by Southwest, a new double CD anthology covering his entire career is in stores and a panel at SXSW's music conference aims to analyze the Elevators' extraordinary legacy.

On March 1, Shout Factory Records released "I Have Always Been Here Before," the first Erickson anthology to cover his entire career. Starting with "We Sell Soul," cut with the pre-Elevators band the Spades, the double CD covers his Elevators material and highlights from his epic, troubled solo career. Warner Bros. vice president Bill Bentley contributes informed and touching liner notes (Bentley was the executive behind the 1990 Erickson tribute "Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye," perhaps the best tribute album ever assembled.)

On Thursday, Bentley, Erickson and others will discuss the Elevators' legacy in a SXSW panel called "Holy Fire: The 13th Floor Elevators' Quest for Enlightenment," which is also the title of Bentley's forthcoming book on the band. Panelists include Austin Chronicle writer Margaret Moser; Rolling Stone writer David Fricke; songwriter Powell St. John; and original Elevators Benny Thurman, John Walton and Ronnie Leatherman.

But the biggest news is the movie. Five years in the making, "You're Gonna Miss Me" makes its debut at SXSW. Privately financed and shot on Super 16mm over three years, "You're Gonna Miss Me" is the first comprehensive look at Erickson, and finds the artist at a mental crossroads.

"I was primarily interested in Roky as a musician for two reasons," says director (and former music journalist) Kevin McAlester, 34. "First, he was one of the best singers of the rock era. Second, he's one of rock's truly unique people. The fact that the same guy could be responsible for 'Slip Inside this House,' 'Two-Headed Dog' and 'You Don't Love Me Yet' is just amazing."

As if that weren't enough, there's also the tragic story of his career, from his time in the Rusk State Hospital in the early '70s to his proto-punk solo career after his release to his hermetic lifestyle in the '90s.

"The original goal was to not embarrass myself and tell Roky's story as simply and elegantly as possible," the first-time filmmaker says. "But as we shot in real time, it became clear there was a great deal going on."

When "Miss Me" began shooting in 1999, it captured Erickson at a remarkable point: His mental health was terrible.

"I think there's a sort of natural skepticism to any outsiders wanting to tell your story," McAlester says. "I ended up approaching his mother, Evelyn, as he was not answering his phone or door for anyone but her at the time. I met with her for about six months before I spoke with Roky. She had meticulously catalogued his life and the family's life story, and that was an amazing find."

McAlester found himself filming family conflicts over Erickson's legal guardianship. "The goal then became to integrate this real-time footage with his history as a musician," he adds.

"Most of what I got was completely unexpected," McAlester says. He sounds like anyone who has ever encountered Erickson's extraordinary rock 'n' roll.