Kliph Scurlock

Who is Kliph Scurlock?

Kliph Scurlock is an American musician. He is the drummer for the alternative rock band The Flaming Lips.

He was born Clifton Thomas Scurlock in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Roger W. Scurlock and Linda Louise Rokey. His love of music was inspired by his mother. Linda Scurlock was in the first all-female mariachi band, Mariachi Estrella. She also gave him his first Beatles album, which was on 8-track tape.

When he was eight years old, his mother died in the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City, where she was performing with Mariachi Estrella. After her death, Scurlock went to live with his father. He began playing in the school band and marching band in 6th grade. When he was in 11th grade, he began spelling his name K-l-i-p-h to distinguish himself from another student named Cliff. The spelling variant stuck and family and friends began spelling it that way.

At age 16, Scurlock bought a Ringo Starr series 1964 Ludwig Silver Sparkle Drum Set. Within two weeks, he was in his first band—a cover band whose first show was at a Topeka strip club named the Golden Horseshoe. The following year, he joined his first "real" band, Slackjaw, based out of Lawrence. When he was 18, he moved there. He quit Slackjaw in 1993 and played in a lot of other bands, including Kill Creek, Sleeztax, Panel Donor, the Rohypnol Rangers, and Contortion Horse.