REMAINS IDENTIFIED AS LOST MUSICIAN'S.

Byline: Phillip W. Browne Daily News Staff Writer

Skeletal remains found in a remote Malibu canyon were identified Thursday as Iron Butterfly bassist Philip ``Taylor'' Kramer, missing since 1995, coroner's officials said.

For his family members, the announcement means their four years of worrying have ended.

``We're taking it as a gift,'' said Kramer's sister Kathy, who lives in Thousand Oaks. ``I spent so much time searching homeless shelters and psych wards and missing persons reports. It's very calming.''

A pathologist used dental records to identify the acid rocker-turned-technology executive, said coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier.

Coroner's Office officials and anthropologists now must try to determine the cause of death, a lengthy process, Carrier said.

``One of the questions we have is if any money was in his wallet, which the coroner recovered,'' Kathy Kramer said. ``He had a lot of ideas for music technology. Maybe that played into it. We just don't know.''

The former musician called 911 from his cell phone and said he was going to kill himself the day he disappeared in February 1995, but foul play or an accident remain possibilities, Carrier said.

Friends and relatives, including Iron Butterfly drummer Ron Bushy, said they don't believe Kramer killed himself, describing him as a man with a ``zest for life'' who tackled problems head on.

The 42-year-old musician's remains were found Saturday near a van at the bottom of a heavily wooded Malibu ravine near Decker Canyon Road, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said.

Kramer loved to hike in that area, and was married on a nearby mountaintop, Kathy Kramer said.

``I drive through this area all the time. It's eerie to know he was so close,'' she said.

The hiker who discovered the remains was photographing several wrecked vehicles in the ravine, including a 1993 Ford Aerostar, deputies said.

The van is the same year and model Kramer was driving when he was last seen heading from Ventura County to Los Angeles International Airport.

Born in 1952, Kramer joined Iron Butterfly when the band regrouped from 1975 to 1977. The group is best known for its 1969 album ``In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,'' which sold 4 million copies and was a top-10 record for 81 weeks.