REVEREND HORTON HEAT RETURNS TO OPERA HOUSE

17 Jan REVEREND HORTON HEAT RETURNS TO OPERA HOUSE

Back by popular demand, The Sheridan Arts Foundation is proud to present rockabilly, swing and psychobilly superstar, Reverend Horton Heat. The concert takes place at the historic Sheridan Opera House on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, doors, 7:30 p.m. and the show, 8 p.m.

After playing to sell-out house last January, Horton Heat returns to Telluride, this time joined by Reno Divorce, a punk rock ‘n roll band out of Orange County, California.

Since last gracing the Opera House stage, Reverend Horton Heat, aka Jim Heath, had what he described as an epiphany, the result of which was his latest release, Laughin’ and Cryin.’ You will hear some of the tracks at the show.

Tired of being taken so seriously — well maybe not seriously, exactly, but you get the idea —  he noticed that some of his funnier country-tinged songs were the biggest crowd pleasers. And being entertained is what any concert is all about, right?

So ladies and gents, roll your smokes up in your sleeve and hold on to your cowboy hats, it’s time to take a trip back to a time before slick, over-produced country became the norm. Go back to the days outlaws wrote songs about not having a pot to piss in, psycho ex-boyfriends and deadbeat girlfriends, who spend your paycheck faster than you can say “Lone Star.”

Welcome to Laughin’ and Cryin,’ Reverend Horton Heat’s latest recording is filled with country-heavy tunes about bad habits, well-meaning but clueless husbands, ever-expanding beer-guts and, well, Texas. After all, it would not be a Reverend Horton Heat release without a song or – in this case, two – about the Lone Star State. And, while Laughin’ and Cryin’ marks a detour from the hard-driving punkabilly of the Rev’s last record, 2004’s Revival, tending as it does toward honk, there are still some kickers (“Death Metal Guys”) to let you know Heath and crew still mean business.

“I really wanted to capture the feelings of recordings of the late ’50s, early ’60s,” Heath said of the songs on the new record.

Exhibit A: “Beer Holder,” a honky-tonker about a guy who finds the table by his chair a bit too far of a stretch-so he opts for a new “beer holder,” his growing gut. While the guy thinks his solution is genius, his woman begs to differ.

“[The record is] kind of from a regular guy point of view,” Heath said. “You know, I like to do stuff that’s kind of tongue-in-cheek that makes fun of the good old boy thing as much as trying to glorify the country boy thing.”

Heath originally conceived the new record as the product of his alter ego, Harley Hog, a sort of “laughing and crying” singer.

“I was trying to develop this vocal style where I was always either laughing or crying. It was really over-exaggerated,” Heath said. (Once in the studio) “…we wouldn’t get that far because the guys were just laughing so hard. It was really kind of ridiculous.”

Without a doubt, the mighty Reverend won a cult following around the world these past 20+ years with nearly endless touring showcasing his ethic and musical style, equally rooted in tradition – and in breaking it.

The Reverend is one of the lynchpins of the neo-roots movement, responsible for moving the genre forward and garnering a whole new generation of fans. Add that to a mythic stage presence and you’ve got a live act that turns rock clubs into psychobilly tent revivals across the country 300 days a year.

Heath, who personally loves good old, mid-20th century country music, cautions Laughin’ and Cryin’ was not born out of a desire to introduce his audience to a new set of influences. It’s was produced to have a little fun. He also warns his next record may just be a set of “avant-garde versions of Swahili folk songs done on homemade instruments.”

“Never say never,” Heath said.

Tickets are $20 general admission for the floor and $25 for reserved seats in the balcony and are on-sale at sheridanoperahouse.com or by calling 728-6363 ext. 5.

And….

Preview the show by watching this video.

Tickets and more information are available at http://www.SheridanOperaHouse.com or 970.728.6363 ext. 5.