Reverend Horton Heat ain’t your pappy’s country music

Jim Heath is the Reverend Horton Heat, and so is his band.
Jim Heath is the Reverend Horton Heat, and so is his band.

Strap on your black leather and cowboy boots, and get ready for a midweek Reno thrashing with the Reverend Horton Heat. The self-described “country-fed punkabilly” trio will take the stage at Cargo on Tuesday, March 15.

Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Jim Heath has been playing his dynamic musical mix of country, punk, swing, rockabilly and more since 1985 under the moniker the Reverend Horton Heat. Mixing aggressively twangy tunes with often tongue-in-cheek lyrics, Heath is backed onstage by Jimbo Wallace (bass, vocals), and Scott Churilla (drums).

The group’s sound belies its classic look onstage with Heath’s Gretsch guitars and Wallace’s upright bass hearkening back to the days of the Grand Old Opry. But with the group’s tunes appearing everywhere from “Beavis and Butthead” to “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls” to the “Drew Carey Show,” this is obviously anything but your pappy’s country music. Reverend Horton Heat has a particular proclivity for video game soundtracks, with the group’s tracks appearing in titles from franchises such as the Sims, Need for Speed, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero and more.

After working with a wide variety of record labels in its career including Sub Pop and Interscope Records, Reverend Horton Heat signed with Victory Records in 2012.

“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,” Heath said in a press release. “Plus, they are as passionate as we are. Stay tuned for some crazy ideas about our new album. Tony said I’m graduating to Pope. Hallelujah!!!”

Reverend Horton Heat has sold more than a million albums in its time, with the most recent record “REV” released by Victory Records in January 2014.

The band will be joined at Cargo by a bevy of supporting acts, with Unknown Hinson, Legendary Shackshakers, and Lincoln Durham all taking the stage that evening.

  • Reverend Horton Heat
    With:
    Unknown Hinson, Legendary Shackshakers and Lincoln Durham
    When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 15
    Where: Cargo inside the Whitney Peak Hotel
    Tickets: $20
    Ages: 18 and older

ABOUT Tim Parsons

Picture of Tim Parsons
Tim Parsons is the editor of Tahoe Onstage who first moved to Lake Tahoe in 1992. Before starting Tahoe Onstage in 2013, he worked for 29 years at newspapers, including the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Eureka Times-Standard and Contra Costa Times. He was the recipient of the 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive award for Journalism.

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