An interview with Reverend Elvis and the Undead Syncopators

Picture a man sitting behind a black kick drum with the word Metronome in white lettering on the front, playing an electric hollow body six-string, wailing his scratchy vocals into a microphone, all the while made anonymous by a black ski mask, and you’ll have Reverend Elvis. Now picture a tall man dressed all in black, equally incognito in a black ski mask, standing behind a big ol’ upright bass, and you will have the other half of Reverend Elvis & the Undead Syncopators, D. Shadow. Like a handful of other two-piece bands — Left Lane Cruiser, Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival, Restavrant, Black Diamond Heavies, Two Gallants, and The Black Keys, to name a few — Reverend Elvis & the Undead Syncopators are a musical duo that do it the right way. And with his growing repertoire of songs, along with a sound which is a combination of punk, rockabilly, death country, garage trash and hell blues, Reverend Elvis is quickly becoming not just one of the more standout artists of his homeland of Germany but of the entire international underground music scene.

Holding the opinion that music in general has been corrupted by the plastic pop phenomenon that has infected the mainstream like a plague of our time, Reverend Elvis has long since dedicated himself exclusively to the underground. And it’s in the underground, where almost all of the worthwhile bands and singer/songwriters are to be found these days, that Reverend Elvis preaches the punk rock word, writing, recording and performing his songs for two separate endeavors – his death country and dark roots solo work under his usual moniker, and a punk rock, rockabilly, garage trash and hell blues two-piece known as Reverend Elvis & the Undead Syncopators.

“Death Country,” the Reverend’s solo debut, was released on Indiana’s Devil’s Ruin Records in 2008. A solid album, no doubt about it, with songs like “Necrobaby,” “I Go My Way,” and “You Were Dead Before You Died,” along with twelve other tracks, “Death Country” was quite an achievement for Reverend Elvis, since Devil’s Ruin is one of the best roots-based labels the world has to offer right now. Just as important an album, however, is “Punk,” the 2010 Suzy Q Records LP release of Reverend Elvis & the Undead Syncopators’ latest. Quite frankly, “Punk” just may be the Reverend’s finest album to date, with songs like “I’m A Blues Punk,” “Trouble,” “Kill Kill Kill,” Boppin’ the Blues,” “Rockabilly Riot,” and “666.”

Just recently I had both the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Reverend Elvis. The contents of that interview have been provided here for you in their entirety.

First, in the interest of giving the readers of this piece a better understanding of the artist I am interviewing, I would like to ask you: Who is Reverend Elvis, not just as a singer/songwriter but as an individual, a human being of this mad, mad world in which we live?

First of all, I’m a music addict. I love music! Since my youngest days I’ve been impressed by the wild outlaw style of rock’n’roll. So I grew up with the strong feeling that I NEVER wanted to become a square. I quit the so-called “normal life” and have since tried to express myself with my friends and my gang (the Undeads).

Together we make things possible – run a record label (Suzy Q) and a record shop (RIP) to support underground music, organize music and art shows, connect with likeminded people, drink, fight, f**k…you know.

Now, you play in a few different projects. Two of them are your solo project, which is just you under your usual moniker Reverend Elvis, and your two-piece setup, known as Reverend Elvis & the Undead Syncopators. If I’m not mistaken, you also perform as a one-man band on occasion. What main distinguishing factors separate these projects from one another?

Altogether there are two projects…

With the Reverend Elvis project I try to articulate “the alien to the world” feeling a lot of people have, which you can’t name with mere words alone. Topics are loneliness, love, hate, strangeness, and being true in a world of madness. Hopefully it is in the tradition of the blues and hillbilly musicians who played straight-from-the-heart music – with all their failures and hopes, and their searches for real freedom. It’s hard to explain. I use the music I adore to say what I can’t say otherwise.

Reverend Elvis and the Undead Syncopators (together with the bass player D. Shadow) is fast driving “fight back” music – for live shows and riots. This music is influenced by the roots and rockabilly music, and Punk as well. For me, punk, or rockabilly, is a way of life and not a way you style your hair or look good at the mall. We don’t try to fit in this world or be loved by the people; we are aggressive and full of hate. It’s for all the happy and beautiful losers out there, who are not corrupted.

The one-man band you asked about is only a fun project to show my respect for the amazing one-man band scene.

Your sound has been referred to as a mixture of death country, rockabilly, satanic gospel, dark roots, sacred blues, and punk. For the most part I would agree that those descriptions fit your sound rather well. Those styles suggest that you have an extensive and diverse list of influences behind your music. What bands and/or singer/songwriters have influenced you most over the years?

Like I said before: I’m a music junkie! The center of my music world is the ’50s rebel music – rockabilly and rhythm n’ blues (listen to Sun or Chess Records and you’ll know what I mean). But I also love the entire true “people’s music” before and after that period.

I belong to all this wonderful old music — the evil blues masters who sold their souls to the devil, the drunkards and hillbillies who let their guitars cry, the gospel quartets and preachers who walked more in hell than in heaven, the drug addicted hooker jazz, and all the early American music that combines all these different music traditions from America, Africa and Europe, and became music for the whole world.

On the other hand, I love rock’n’roll in all its dimensions. Rockabilly, psychobilly, punk, garage, country, soul, and metal…and all the other crazy motherfuckers who make my world go round. In general, it is not important how you name the music; it’s important if it is the real thing!

But I’m also influenced by today’s music, and I’m really proud to be a part of an amazing worldwide (underground) music scene.

Why did you choose the moniker Reverend Elvis for your musical endeavors?

Oh, it’s an official title. I’m an autonomic preacher of Reverend Beat-Man’s “Church of Blues Punk.” Haha.

“Punk,” your latest Reverend Elvis & the Undead Syncopator LP on Suzy Q Records is a raw, primal rockabilly and punk album in comparison to the more stripped-down roots album you released on Devil’s Ruin Records a while back. What went into the writing and recording of the “Punk” album? And how have fans reacted to it so far?

For me, it’s the same as my solo work, only the other side of the coin. The Undead Syncopators are more orientated in playing live and driving the people crazy. The whole “Punk” LP is recorded in only one day, with only one microphone at the studio. It’s hopefully stripped-down in a different way. We try to respect our roots and bring the full energy to the point. In my opinion, the fans and followers love both sides of the Reverend, because in the end there is no difference.

Over the course of the past few years I have come across a bunch of great bands and singer/songwriters from Germany — Rainer Hass, The Kidnappers, Junior Disorder, The Juke Joint Pimps, Elvis Pummel, and of course you. What is the music scene like there in Germeny? And…what kind of impact does your geographical location have on your sound, if any?

Europe, and especially Germany, has a big, strong music and underground scene, with thousands of small labels, clubs, a lot of self organised projects, festivals, and so on. And the Germans are fascinated in generations of Anglo-American music. A lot of people and followers fight for this freedom, and many scenes and subcultures are established…so against all trends, there is a place for obscurity, madness, and at last good music.

I don’t think that the geographical location has a big affect. Because at the end we are all a part of the western civilisation, and in all the differences there is a big hegemony in culture. (Maybe we have a little bit more connection to the east…which the USA has chosen as its favourite enemy.)

In keeping with the last question a bit, I have noticed that a lot of the bands and singer/songwriters from the non-English-speaking parts of Europe tend to sing in English rather than their native tongues, including you. Why do you think that is…or at least, why is that the case for you in particular?

This is an interesting question! I never thought about it. English is the language of the world. And it is the language of the musicians. When I meet a Norwegian Guitarist or a Japanese Drummer we speak English, that’s for sure. Most of my idols sing their songs in English. It’s a part of that cultural hegemony, I think. And I’m sure that most people in Europe/Germany speak and understand English.

What have been some of your most memorable tour/gig moments?

Oh, I can’t remember. But the people say I had a wonderful time, haha…

We always stay free and wild. Maybe a little bit too self-destructive sometimes. We try to play authentic, one-to-one shows, and for the most people appreciate that and freak out with us.

One of the greatest gigs this year, I can remember, was at one of Germany’s most important punk festivals called “Back to Future.” We played at 4 o’clock in the morning, and the drunken crowd went so wild and insane. It’s a great feeling. The situation gives you the opportunity to open the gates to heaven and hell.

So far you have released recordings on Suzy Q, Devil’s Ruin, and Gravewax, both on compact disc and vinyl formats, as well as single tracks for compilation purposes. What has been your experience with these labels. And…is it your intention to keep your music on the independent and underground market, or do you have other plans?

I’m underground. As an artist it is great to be a part of the underground. It’s freedom. It’s a good network of people and mostly everything is possible. On the other hand, underground shouldn’t become a ghetto. We always try to pick up people where they stand. And I think its not “mainstream” to spread the word loud as you can. The last few years the Sony/Universal & Co lost their arrogant position in the music market and the listeners are more interested in non-plastic music now. And independent/underground becomes a little bit “mainstream” in a positive way.

Therefore, I’m really proud that I was able to release on these fine labels! The people who run these labels do it because they believe in what they are doing. Sometimes it is not easy to deal with because every label/person is an individual like the artist as well. But it’s always better to work with a real person than with a big machine.