Reverend Horton-Heat : Have Twang, Will Travel!

By Jens

This Dallas rockabilly giant has always been in a league of his own through
out the last couple decades, sticking to his guns regardless of any trends
and releasing one brilliant album after another while touring like a mad
man. So when I’d the chance of seeing him for the third time (or was it the
4th time?) I thought it was time to have a little chat with the good
Reverend, and we got around a lotta topics like cars, touring, commercials,
parenthood and clothes. The singer/guitarist is backed by Jimbo (upright
bass) and drummer Scott Churilla. Thanks to Kick Music for setting up the
interview.

LC: Why do you think your music appeal to others than just the hardcore rockabilly crowd?

RHH: I’m not really sure, but it’s a blessing that just not one type of
people like us. I think it’s because we’re sincere and honest of what we do, we’re not trying to be a certain way, so it’s not that people don’t fit in at our shows because they’re not rockabilly or psychobilly or punkrock. I’m just glad it’s that way.

LC: It doesn’t hurt that your early albums were released on SUB POP, which some people outside the rockabillies might find interesting?

RHH: That might have something to do with it. We made a conscious decision a long time ago, well, at least I did, that we could make really good money playing the blues circuit, even though we’re rockabilly band and playing rock’n’roll too. But then the punkrock circuit was a lot less money, but a lot wilder gigs or high energy rock’n’roll type shows, and that appealed to
us. Even before we were on SUB POP (”Smoke’em If You Got’em” was released in 1992, ed.) we were playing all the same venues that their bands were playing, so it kinda made sense.

LC: First I saw you was on the SUB POP triple bill with Supersuckers and
Dwarves, in 1992...

RHH: Oh yeah, that was fun! We still talk about that tour, man, it was
pretty wild, haha.

LC: Are you still in contact with two bands?

RHH: We actually did two tours with Supersuckers last year, and every now
and then the guys from Dwarves come to our shows.

LC: Eddie (Spaghetti) is healthy nowadays, no beer or cigarettes are
allowed during interviews, haha.

RHH: Oh really, haha. That’s probably a good idea.

LC: Well, we’re both wearing Legendary Shack Shakers shirt and jacket, you
played on their last album, ”Pandelirium”, and Jello Biafra was there,
lotsa different people?

RHH: That was a fun session, fast, I was just there for a few hours, and I
heard it and was like ”now how did I play that note?” cuz it was so quick,
haha. That’s a good album, I like it a lot.

LC: I saw the RHH docu (with the ”Revival” cd) on your colorful background
in Dallas and the...

RHH: ...Theatre Gallery. Russell was in it, the guy who named me. That was
cool, the guy who was interviewing me was the guy who made ”Love And A
.45”, C.M. Talkington, we were in the that movie as well, I still see him now and then.

LC: It’s rather unusual for a rockabilly band to play all original songs,
normally it’s like half and half...

RHH: It was a decision early on. I was in a band called Teddy & The Tall
Tops in Dallas that was a really great rockabilly coverband, we didn’t
cover the obvious rockabilly a lotta obscure songs, so many people thought
we were playing all original music. So I just thought, well why not just
write some songs of own? It started out being the more traditional
rockabilly, country blues kinda songs, but then The Reverend Horton-Heat
thing was rolling and we decided to turn it up and go beyond the more
traditional mold. We tried out a lot of different stuff, and you know what,
it all didn’t work but we got some good stuff out if, and we we took it
from there.

LC: You’re a sharp dresser on the stage, are your clothes custom made or do
you buy them in shops?

RHH: Some of it is custom made, some is bought in shops, half and half. On
this trip I got some black slacks from a really nice place in New York that’s very by influenced the 40s and 50s. Suits, I’ve got several suits, 6 or 7 that are custom made. The guy who makes my suits for the last 10 years
is from Romania but lives in Orange County, California. He just moved back
to Romania, so now I don’t know what to do. There’s the high dollar suits
by Manuel who makes the western suits for the old country singers, but
those suits are gonna cost me like 5,000 dollars each, man!

LC: You made a Christmas album, ”We Three Kings”, but also "Turkey Gotta
Gobble" written for Boston Market and their new holiday ad campaign?

RHH: Yeah, it started out with they used our old song, “Eat Steak”, cause
they were selling steaks, and then they had me writing “Turkey Gotta
Gobble” for the holidays. I got mixed feelings about it cause on one hand
it’s your idea to get in the music business to just write jingles, but it
was a great thing for us last year because we didn’t have to tour that
much. That was a blessing too since we didn’t tour as much last year, our
tours made more money, it was almost like we’re paid to not play, haha.
That was good, I mean, we will go down in history as one of the hardest
working bands ever. We used to do 275 shows a year, and driving ourselves.
We were doing 200 shows a year, like like 2-3 years ago, but now we do
less, last year was 125 shows, but it’s still a bit.

LC: Daytona 500 used “Like A Rocket” in 2002?

RHH: Yeah, they used it for the tv broadcast for the Daytona 500, that one
kinda came and went, it was like a one-day deal, haha, I’m glad they did
it, but I don’t think it helped at all. It’s not like Boston Market is
helping our career either.

LC: There’s some serious songs on the “Revival” album, “Somewhere In
Heaven”.

RHH: Yeah, it’s serious, it’s kinda about mom, and my dad too. My mom
passed away just before we did that album, so it was just one of those
songs that came about.

LC: “Indigo Friends”, it’s about heroin?

RHH: Yes. You know, the odd thing about that is that heroin got really big
in Dallas in the late 80s, and it’s just amazing how many people I used to
know, like 25 people who died from heroin! And I started thinking about it
and that’s what that song is about. I can’t believe all of those people
ended up dead! Pretty sad, pretty sad…

LC: We talked backstage the last time you were here, like 5-6 years ago,
about all the old classic American cars they got in Cuba, and you wanted to
visit…

RHH: What I probably said was that YOU can go, because I sure can’t, being
an American. I think they allow people from other countries, but not
Americans. I’d love to go because they still drive’em! It’s politics, I can’t buy Cuban cigars, it’s crazy. Eventually I’ve to get out of the car thing because it costs too many money. I just sold my Shoebox Ford, a 1954 model, a car collector bought it, and now that car is in the Peterson Auto Motor Museum, in a show about rock’n’roll guitars and cars. They got my guitar and my car, and now the car is gonna be way more worth than what I sold it for, haha. The good news is that at some point my 32 Ford is gonna be finished this year, I’m $7000 away from having that car completely finished. It’s actually gonna be a show car, it’s perfectly polished, painted, and chromed, it’s a beautiful hotrod deal. After that, no morem cars.

LC: What does you wife think of your hobby?

RHH: Hahaha. Well, she’s been really cool with it, but the problem is my
daughter, I’ve got a daughter that I just put through college, super
expensive, and I got another younger daughter and college is gonna come up for her, stuff like that. I’m just waiting for the day the oldest to go
“Daddy, I’m getting married! You need to drop 20 grand and give me a
wedding!”. But I’ll try, I might have to sell the old car to pay for her
wedding, haha. Man, I love old cars, my thing is the 50s, mid-century
American style, more the style than being a real gearhead or a car builder,
it’s the style I’m into, but it’s more important for me to focus on being a
guitarplayer.

http://www.reverendhortonheat.com/