Feature

During the Great Alternative Awakening of the early ‘90s, a little known record label called Sub Pop made its mark in music history by turning out bands such as Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Sonic Youth, just to name a few. However, waiting in the wings of Sub Pop was a band that was truly before its time, even though its chosen genre was from the past.

The Reverend Horton Heat pumped out the sounds of rockabilly intermingled with surf rock and country and became one of the many pioneers of the psychobilly genre. On Sept. 26, The Reverend Horton Heat along with Horrorpops will be spreading the gospel of the underground at Cell Block. I recently got a taste of this when I spoke with “The Rev.”

SC: You have an extremely versatile sound that ranges from rockabilly to twang to almost a big band/swing sound. How did you discover this sound?

RHH: Well, I guess it was kinda trial and error. The rockabilly thing kinda hit me, and I think that type of music from the ‘50s had never really had its day in the sun as far as a rock-and-roll thing. So, I thought it was good to focus on that and make that my sound, and the other stuff got in there. The country, the blues, the swing and the surf guitar all kinda made its way in. I liked that stuff for a long time.

SC: I keep reading about this patented guitar lick you have called “The Hurricane.” Can you describe it for me?

RHH: As much as being one guitar lick, it’s really kind of like a concept that involves a lot of different licks. What I do is wrap my thumb over the top string and hold down the low string. At the same time, the tip of my thumb mutes the fifth string, so the fifth string sounds out. My ring finger can play the fourth string then jump up to the third string while it’s muting the fourth string. With my right hand, I can just hit a lot straight up and down notes just like I’m playing a chord, so it’s a real easy right hand lick like playing chords.

The left hand, by virtue of holding down that low string and muting those other strings, I can play lead lines while I’m holding down that drone note. It’s like playing lead and rhythm guitar at the same time. I’m not sure who else has done it. I’m sure everything has been done before. I know that no one else has called it The Hurricane. Being in a three-piece band, I’m always searching for ways to get a fuller type of sound to cover a little bit more room sonically. When I switch to lead, the rhythm goes away, so it’s kinda cool to find something like that.

SC: You guys have been going full-throttle for over a decade now. What’s kept you rockin’ and rollin’?

RHH: Tons of good drugs! (Laughing) No! We just love to play music. Actually, one thing that has kept us going is that we didn’t get into the drug scene. We skirted around that thing somehow. I mean, we had our share of partying and fun. There was a time when we made a conscious decision to stop partying so much, so we could play music. A lot of those bands that feel like they have to live the lifestyle or feel like living the lifestyle of being a rock star, they lose site of the music and the art form of it all. The simple fact of the matter is that you can’t be as proficient at playing music when you’re high on drugs or drunk. Really, the big answer is that we love playing music, and we try to get better.

SC : You were originally signed to Sub Pop back in 1991 during the label’s glory days. What was it like being a band of your genre on a label that was trying to make a name for itself with the grunge movement?

RHH: That’s something I never thought about too much. I mean, nobody from the label was on the road with us. None of those bands were there trying to tell us how to play our shows. It didn’t matter. Honestly, record labels don’t really matter that much. They may matter in the world of recording artistry, but my opinion is being a musician is a way more valid art form than being a recording artist. So, doing a sound recording (although I guess it’s a piece of art) compared to being a musician is a lot like making an advertisement for your band. I think that a lot of bands and a lot of writers and a lot of managers and agents and people in the music business get too caught up in the word “label.” Record labels don’t matter at all. When young bands come to me and they’re like, ‘How did you do it? What kind of label should…?’ Forget about record labels. Go and get a gig and play music. Getting a good running van is more important than getting a great record deal.

SC: When can we expect a new record?

RHH: I don’t know. I imagine at some point and time that we’ll go into some cloistered, sterile environment for 10 days and make a sound recording, but I don’t know when that’ll be.

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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