Since 1985, Reverend Horton Heat has toured alongside the Cramps, the Sex Pistols, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Soundgarden, and even ZZ Top. On Dec. 17, the undisputed kings of American psychobilly provide a blend of high-energy rockabilly, blues and straight-ahead rock ‘n’ roll to the Fox Theatre.
The band is touring in support of their latest album Rev, which was released in January 2014.
“We tour all the time. … We are hard working. I can’t keep track. We go out and we’re gone a month, back a month and a half. It ends up we’re gone about a third of the time,” says the “Reverend” Jim Heath.
Colorado is always a popular stop, and this time the band is planning five stops around the state. They love playing ski towns like Breckenridge and Copper, but Heath says some of their best shows have been in Denver and Boulder.
“Boulder has great music fans and, it being a college town, it’s really been a longtime, great place for us.”
Rev — their 11th studio release — marks a clear return to the band’s early years of straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll. Heath says a couple of the songs were early numbers that never made it on to an album.
“They were popular songs for us back in the day, so I figured they’d still work,” he says. “We tried to get back to some more rock ‘n’ roll stuff and that kind of thing … because the album before … that really leaned toward country. It was kind of time for us to get back to rockin’ as normal.”
Recently, Heath and his band have been frequenting festivals, which often provide an interesting mix of attendees.
“We’ve done more festivals this year than any other year,” Heath says. “We play psychobilly festivals in Europe and then we’ll do a blues festival, or maybe play a town square. We get young people and older people, and we’re really doing some diverse stuff. We played one show with, like, 15,000 bikers.
“[But] what really scares me is old people — there are some dance halls in Texas and when we show up, they come out in force in their square dancin’ gear,” he says with a laugh.
Heath has also put on his own successful festival, Horton’s Hayride, for the past two years. The festival, held in southern California, is a rockabilly roots fest, which has featured several notable acts, including: Nekromantix, Deke Dickerson, Jello Biafra, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Unknown Hinson, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom.
The latest Horton song is just in time for the holidays. “Donuts in the Snow” is a solo effort for the Amazon music exclusive Indie for the Holidays. The number came about after a particularly snowy Christmas Eve in Texas. Heath’s brother-in-law came over to his home for Christmas Day, and they got the idea to tie a sled to the back of a Jeep and go to the nearby vacant lot for some snowy fun. Heath says it’s a song about being a redneck. The experience highlighted Heath’s old school ways in the current fast-paced music industry.
“The record company called and said, ‘Hey, we can get you on this Amazon deal. It’s going to be this thing where if you can write and record a Christmas song in a few days it will go on Amazon.’”
Heath told the record company he didn’t think there was time for all of that — he’d need to get the band together and rehearse.
“They said, ‘Look, just try to come up with something with you singing with your guitar.’ That’s kind of what [the song] is.”
It’s clear that Heath and other members of the band have a great time performing together. Their shows are always high-octane fueled events. Heath says he enjoys playing music now more than when he first started out. He recalls how every gig used to matter so much that he would worry about making the club owner mad for playing too loud. Now, he just focuses on playing good music, having fun and letting ’er rip.
“I really do care. I put on a suit and a starched shirt every night. …” he says. “It really is about having fun and not as much about the other stuff. I still get nervous, so there’s still going to be an edge there.”
Heath is excited to come back to Boulder and is thankful for all the support the fans have given over the years.
“We’re going to come in and play as energetic as we’ve ever done and have a good time and get to see the people,” he says. “I just appreciate ’em a lot; they have great taste in music.”
ON THE BILL: Reverend Horton Heat with the Bellrays and Lords of Altamont. 7:30 p.m., Dec. 17, Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder, 303-447-0095.
