The Reverend Horton Heat “custom culture rockabilly” experience

BUDDY
THE ORIGINAL TEXAS MUSIC MAGAZINE
MAY 2013
VOLUME XXXX, NUMBER 11
The Reverend Horton Heat
“custom culture rockabilly” experience
H
H
H
After “Laughin’ and Cryin’’ the new Reverend Horton Heat CD on Victory Records will bring a harder edge.
By Dana Jones, Photos by Chuck Flores
OW IS LIFE GOING FOR THE REVEREND
Horton Heat? “It’s amazing. I mean, I get to
sing songs about the cars I love, drinking
and chasing girls. Beats the hell out of the alternative.”
Brummel, “Signing a veteran artist of The Reverend Horton Heat’s
caliber and reputation coupled
with the fact that they are one of
the hardest touring rock artists,
year after year, was a very exciting way for us to end 2012. A
large number of us here have
been fans for many years. We
very much look forward to working with the band and its
longstanding team.”
New CD
AMIDST THE INCREDIBLY
busy touring schedule, Heath and
crew have already begun working on the first, currently untitled, CD of the new deal. “We’re
in pre-production, and already
have a couple songs recorded,”
Heath said.”“We’re in that phase
of trying to figure out how it will
be. It should be easy goin’. Victory is a harder edged label with
a little harder edged stuff. Our
CD
Laughin’ and Cryin’ with the
Reverend Horton Heat was almost
country. This one is gonna be
different.” Heath is very pleased
to be signed with a label willing
to let the band do their music the
way they want to get back to
doing it. “Stay tuned for some
crazy ideas about our new album.”
In their earlier days, the band
did a lot of hard partying. “Then,
everywhere we went, there was a
group of three, five, or maybe
ten people waiting for us to ar-
“Me and the guys have a strong
work ethic from way back.
That being said, there are lots
of factors. It’s what we love to
do. It’s our art form, whether
hanging around a studio or
playing a gig. And, music
needs to have a crowd, because
it gives the music a heartbeat.”
—JIM HEATH
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CHUCK FLORES
Most definitely.
Texas-born Jim Heath may
not be a household name, but his
legendary band The Reverend
Horton Heat has probably been
heard in most households in
America. He’s worked hard, and
from that has had both artistic
and commercial success. It’s not
just the countless stage shows,
over a million albums sold, numerous appearances on multiartist compilations, videos and
two concert DVDs. Commercially, The Reverend Horton
Heat’s music has been featured
in movies, TV, and video games.
Heath has had movie and TV
appearances as well.
The end of 2012 marked the
beginning of a new era for the
almost 30-year-old band. They
signed a three record deal with
Chicago-based Victory Records,
the #1 independent rock record
label in the country. “We are
very excited to be a Victory band
now. Since we are going to get
back to doing some edgier stuff,
it makes perfect sense to be on
Victory. Plus, they are as passionate as we are.”
The Reverend Horton Heat
currently features Heath on vocals and guitar, along with longtime bandmate Jimbo Wallace
on the upright bass, and Scott
Churilla on drums. Joining with
a label that had an appreciation
for their style and originality will
likely be a perfect match. According to Victory founder Tony
They’re all
mixed in a potluck of an audience, and as the
Reverend
Horton Heat
takes the stage,
they suddenly
become one
group of devoted, singing
along, dancing,
toe-tapping,
kindred spirits.
It’ll be almost
completely
original music,
and the crowd
happily expects
no less. They
anxiously await
and buy the albums and merchandise. They
will sometimes
travel hours for
shows, and follow a tour for
several dates.
His devoted followers, and
there are many,
are a truly diverse congregation.
When asked
about
his
unique fan base,
he describes his
music as “custom culture
rockabilly”
where lots of
groups
of
people feel comfortable. He’s
right. And while his music is
often described as psychobilly, it
ranges from a mixture of
rockabilly, country, swing, big
band, punk, surf, rock and blues,
sometimes with humorous lyrics, sometimes more serious.
Fans will hear their favorites,
new fans will say they didn’t
realize it was a Horton Heat song,
and everyone will leave having
had a great time enjoying quality
music, which is what Heath truly
strives to do for his fans.
Heath says he and his band
are successful for several reasons.
“Me and the guys have a
strong work ethic from way back.
That being said, there are lots of
factors. It’s what we love to do.
It’s our art form, whether hanging around a studio or playing a
gig. And,” Heath adds, “music
needs to have a crowd, because it
gives the music a heartbeat.” ■
He was named a Buddy Texas Tornado Guitarist in 1986: Jim Heath
rive and party hard before the
show even started. It was fun for
those people, for us, it was work.”
The same pattern day after day
began to have an effect on them
and they felt, the quality of their
shows.
“I remember me and Jimbo
(Wallace) decided to play for all,
instead of a few. We had been
doing a disservice because of our
party obligation. We made a deal
that we wouldn’t drink before a
show. Not even beer. It was a big
decision.” A few fans were surely
disappointed, but the longevity
of The Reverend Horton Heat
leads one to believe they made
the right decision.
After all these years, Heath is
still a very down to earth man.
He loves what he does, takes
pride in doing it right, and wishes
others in music would do the
same. “The most annoying people
are rock stars who ‘live the life.’
They learn the notes that make
D9 and just make some music.
Writers do that, too. They are
just people and writers, not a
‘real rock star.’ That’s just hyping
a person, who might not be that
talented.”
To make real music, there are
two important factors, according to Heath. “You gotta work at
it and have fun. Definitely have
fun.” Heath says even with the
regular gigs, that there’s always
room for practice and hard work.
“I am ALWAYS working on stuff.”
He must be onto something. His
longevity in the music industry
and still growing fan base spans
not only the U.S. but many other
countries as well. Heath says
they are never “off” tour and his
entire career is based on touring.
From Thanksgiving 2012
through February, the band only
had three weekends off. “A good,
successful band stays challenged.
Part of that is being booked into
oblivion!” After playing the Wild-
flower Festival in Richardson on
May 18, he’ll be headed to Australia for a couple of weeks, then
it’s back to a heavy U.S.tour
schedule.’
The experience
THE EXPERIENCE THAT IS A
Reverend Horton Heat show begins in the venue’s parking lot.
It’s inevitable there will be at
least a few really cool classic cars,
with passersby gazing, pointing
and discussing their merits. The
experience continues indoors,
where pin-up girls wearing bright
red lipstick, beauty marks, mascara, fake lashes, classic hairdos,
retro clothing and high heels look
as though they’ve crawled off the
tattooed arms of men from a past
era. The fans range in age from
those who are not even old
enough to drink, to those who
are in their golden years and
have probably been following
the band for decades.
MAY 2013 BUDDY 9