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Back in the early 1990s, rockabilly was resuscitated as the high-octane strain called “psychobilly,” and a guitar player named Jim Heath—better known as Reverend Horton Heat—was holding the paddles.

His mix of punk, country blues and western swing was an anomaly when he first appeared, appreciated by small, sub-cultural elite. “Rockabilly fans used to be just a few old record collectors who liked to smoke pot, brag about their record collection. Now, they have the whole look, sound and attitude down to a fault,” Heath says. “When we started out, music writers didn’t know what rockabilly was. One of them asked me, ‘Is it like Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show?’ Things are definitely easier now.”

Heath lists the classics as his inspiration—B.B. King, Elvis, anything on Sun and Chess Records, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash—and is a walking treasure trove of great stories about his heroes. “Carl Perkins told me that one time, while on tour with Johnny Cash, that Johnny and the boys noticed how much empty drawer space was available in hotel rooms, and they decided to raise chickens on the assumption that they could keep them in those drawers when they got the hotel room. This way, they could make extra money while touring. He said that chicken crap was everywhere and they were always getting loose and taking elevator rides with shocked hotel guests.”

While cultivating the image of that era in his stage act, Heath claims being open, flexible and staying the course has kept him going for 20 years now. “Outlasting musicians who get picky and play rock star has been easy.”

The Rev was a breath of fresh air when his 1992 debut, Smoke ‘Em if You Got ‘Em, hit the ears of indie rock listeners tiring of the sonic mudslide from Seattle. The lynchpin song from that album, “Psychobilly Freakout” has been a highlight of Horton Heat shows for years, and is now having a second moment as one of the challenge tracks in the popular Guitar Hero II video game. As for how they formed this strategic partnership, Heath explains, “I’m not sure how that happened. They just e-mailed me. I was not even sure how cool it would be, but, it’s been a pretty good thing for us. Kind of our way of having a hit.”

Heath’s prowess on the guitar has not gone unnoticed by the post-Xbox crowd. He’s running a signature Gretsch RHH6120—the “RHH” stands for “Reverend Horton Heat”—through the paces. “Having a brand new guitar to play is a pretty cool thing as I play so many shows, I ruin the frets and electronics on every guitar that I play.”

Reverend Horton Heat will be abusing a perfectly innocent guitar Halloween night with Hank III (Hank Williams’ grandson) and fellow sleaze rockers Nashville Pussy at the Spanish Moon. Their latest album, We Three Kings, is out on Yep Roc records. reverendhortonheat.com, hank3.com, nashvillepussy.com