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By Dave Leucinger
Standing astride the neon-lit intersection of rockabilly and punk, Reverend Horton Heat has survived a decade of shifts in a music industry more capable of creating one-shot wonders than sustaining careers. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Jim Heath, the group charged out of Dallas on the Sub Pop rocket with Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em in 1990; both the label and group folded into Interscope Records by 1996 for It's Martini Time. "But bigger isn't always better," said Heath, reflecting on the group's return to a smaller label, Time Bomb Recordings. "They have Mike Ness and Social Distortion - and us - for their big acts," he said. Heath observed that bands are starting to see the advantages found with smaller recording companies. "There's so many great bands losing deals in this shakedown of the labels," he said. "The big guys will spend a lot of money on you for the first month, then hang you out." He reflected on his own experiences as the marketplace changed. "With the release I did jointly with Sub Pop and Interscope [Liquor In The Front, 1994], things worked well because Interscope handled the large-scale promotion and then Sub Pop did the mom and pop promotion. But with 'Martini Time,' we lost those mom and pop connections. That's why there's a lot more interest in independent labels - they're there for us."
Heath's taste in music has been tapped from primordial sources from the start. "Early on, I had a big liking for music of the past - from blues of the '50s to rockabilly," he said. "The Sun Records guys - like Scotty Moore [Elvis Presley's guitarist] - had a wildness there - and did some crazy stuff. But there was also some really cool musicianship there - blending jazz, country, and blues with a rock & roll beat." The other half of the picture came into focus years later. "I tapped into that early rock music, but it didn't come full circle 'til punk," Heath said. "You had groups like the Cramps with Duane Eddy licks and cool Fender amps. Other groups like the Blasters were coming on. It was all a rediscovery of the early roots."
But Heath is no lock-step revivalist. His career has been accented by striking a balance between reverence for the past and adding his own statement on the music through experimentation. "There's a lot of different ways to skin a cat," he said. " I go into each project open to trying different stuff," he said. "We've done stuff with a straight ahead rockabilly sound, then did other stuff that sounded like Deep Purple to us. But it all sounded like rockabilly to others." Heath also candidly expressed that this experimentation doesn't always hit the mark. "On the last CD, I think we got a little crazy - too over the edge. We went for a 'junk beat' and wound up sounding like Spinal Tap on some things. But overall, I think the disc will stand up over time."
For his new release, due out in March, Heath and bandmates Jimbo on bass and Scott Churilla on drums are taking a more traditional approach. "It's not a conscious decision," he said. "We just felt like doing more straight-ahead rockabilly." By contrast, however, Heath views his songwriting as more methodical. "It's usually a conscious process," he said. "I'll start out with a guitar riff, get the key and melody down, and work from that. But a lot of times, songs come to me as I'm driving down the road - then when I get back, I'll work on them. Other times, it's simply a good title, or catch phrase, or melody that gets me going." The band's sessions are being recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studios, just an hour west of Austin. Reverend Horton Heat also recorded a version of Nelson's "Hello Walls" there for Justice Records' Twisted Willie compilation CD in 1996. "Willie is as busy as we are - so we haven't seen much of him lately," Heath said. One guest artist who has significantly contributed to the sessions is Tim Alexander, pianist with Asleep At The Wheel. "He's added piano and B-3 tracks to the record," Heath said, "but he probably won't go out on the road with us - he's already toured too much."
Despite the emphasis on "retro" during the past few years, Heath and his bandmates haven't been identified with that movement - nor do they seem phased by it. But one of the consequences of that cycle does trouble Heath. "There's a lot of stuff I'm into - swing, old country, blues, and other roots offshoots," he said. "When we first started touring, there were just a small handful of swing kids - and they were part of our crowd, just like the Vito Car Club. When we broke in Southern California, we played shows for swing kids, country fans, and even a few alternative people. It took everybody to make the shows work - the whole 'vintage community.' Now, there are lines drawn between the niches - and you don't see members from one crossing over to the other. I've played with Royal Crown Revue, with Big Sandy, and with the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. And I've had some kids come up to me afterwards and say they're 'purists.' That whole concept is just really ridiculous."
For this December tour, Heath and company will criss-cross the heartland, preparing for broader touring in 2000. He intends on resuming a regular feature from his past tours, an Internet tour diary, updated every few days from the road. "I need to get back to that - I've been neglectful and haven't kept up with it," he said. "I took the year off to relax and concentrate on writing, so there wasn't a lot going on." The diaries usually offer praise to other acts that Reverend Horton Heat tours with, so it would seem reasonable that the group would have strong input into picking the opening act. Wrong. Heath wasn't even aware that Mexican wrestling mask-wearing instrumental monsters Los Straitjackets were tabbed as openers. "It's getting to be a process beyond my control," he said. "It usually comes down to availability - that can be a big headache. And you have to have a band with a particular size following to make these shows work. I remember opening up for Social Distortion, and for the Cramps - we got gigs from those shows, the audience liked us, and it was great to have the support from the other bands. But these bands also needed us to boost the attendance at the shows - in some ways, we were like co-headliners." Despite the changes Heath has witnessed in just his decade-long career, he remains optimistic that there's still a soul in the world of rock & roll. "There are still bands out there that can get to it - and they do quite well at it. And I know that as long as I'm out there playing, the music will keep its soul."
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