GEARHEAD®

  • Shop
  • What's Shakin'
  • Gearfest
    • Gearfest Sponsorship
    • Past Gearfests
  • Shop
  • What's Shakin'
  • Gearfest
    • Gearfest Sponsorship
    • Past Gearfests

GEARHEAD NEWS

30 years of voodoo rhythm records and the albums behind the label.

8/29/2021

Comments

 
Picture
I first saw Reverend Beat-Man live back in Summer 2000 at the Las Vegas Grind weekend. He put on a jaw-dropping show of raved-out, hopped-up Gospel Blues dementia that left me agog at the energy and excitement of his show. I had just started Gearhead and was at the gathering of the century for a blasted-out garage-punk rave-up weekend of dirty rock n’ roll, raunch and roll, rock n’ roll and all out celebration of the Garage-punk revival. 

I specifically remember Beat-Man Zeller’s demeanor after his set too , he was humble and wreathed in genuine smiles of appreciation. He was gracious and kind, the psychotic trash blues mayhem he had channeled during his show was completely gone. Drenched in sweat, he smiled and was appreciative of my gushing wonder and enthusiasm.  I had been playing his records on my radio show at KDVS and was so excited   to meet the man behind the records in person!
 
Beat-Man had started Voodoo Rhythm several years earlier and already had his finger on the European pulse with the string of releases from psychobilly trash garage bands he put out. THAT’S what I wanted to do with Gearhead. 
 
Over the years, I’ve watched Beat-man slog on, year in year out, releasing trashy treasures, perform, host festivals and follow his own inner vision guided by the spirit of early Elvis and Sun Records, bringing to the twenty-first century the raw ecstatic excitement of those early days of rock n’ roll. To keep something going this long is a testament to his passion. You run on empty, constantly giving of your own energy, fueling your creations. Having run my own label and festival, the exhaustive amount of energy it takes to keep going is mind-numbing at best, lonely and disappointing at the worst. 

 
Yet he keeps going, no matter what. I am honored to consider him a friend and mentor. Happy 30th Anniversary Beat-Man! You are a true legend and your vision, passion and stick-to-it-ness a true inspiration. (Rev. Michelle Haunold Lorenz - Gearhead)                

Picture
​1992, a year where the big wig culture mongers hyped up the working-class aesthetic as being "in" with their peddling of flannel and shredded blue jeans as socially acceptable garb. Surreal to think there was a time when "slacker chic" and punk rock were receiving big-dollar marketing budgets. Hey, at least we were educated about something actually happening in small towns like Aberdeen or Bellingham, WA (let alone knowing these towns exist!). The Pacific Northwest was the center of the cultural universe for that short period partly because of the media hoopla and major-label bidding wars sparking a frenzy of signing whoever sounded like Black Flag and Black Sabbath, Killing Joke, or The Vaselines. This period of rock music history has already been talked about beyond a dead horse beating; other stuff was happening in far-off places.

Voodoo Rhythm Records, a label and currency 5,000 miles removed from American soil, couldn’t have cared less about the New World’s manufactured “alternative rock” craze all the major label marketing departments spoonfed its youth culture at the time. This averse attitude of marching to their own beat is why they’re about to mark 30 years in business in 2022. Aside from Gearhead here, what other small companies from this era are regularly putting out underground rock n’ roll?

What initially began as a vessel to release a Swiss garage rock compilation has grown into a full-fledged label and publishing company with 100 + LP titles and countless singles to their catalog. Beat-Man, or Reverend Beat-Man as he’s known globally, is the high priest of the fringe roster over at Voodoo Rhythm Records. A rock n’ roll lifer and enabler himself, his responsibilities include giving a platform to worldly and genre-crossing groups like the garage n’ soul of King Khan & The Shrines, the lost recordings of obscure UK rockabilly artist Jerry J. Nixon, the rust n’ sweat garage blues of The Guilty Hearts, and the one-Frenchman wrecking crew that is King Automatic amongst countless others. 

Voodoo Rhythm Records, like its peers, has been through consumer taste changes, the digital revolution, recessions, and recently a worldwide pandemic. They’re still here, still kicking and about to commemorate three decades of not backing down with a new label compilation celebrating the label’s past and showcasing its future and another album from Swiss chainsaw-punk maniacs, The Monsters. For those new to the world of Voodoo Rhythm, these compilations are a good starter kit for what makes this Bernese underworld tick and grind together. Beat-Man was kind enough to dedicate some time listing the five albums that shaped his being and encompass the “Records To Ruin Any Party” mantra of Voodoo Rhythm. This list below laid the foundation for Reverend Beat-Man’s early interest in the rock n’ roll realm and why they’re so significant to him.  

Reverend Beat-Man. rock n' roll lifer.

Picture
                                                      Hasil Adkins - Out To Hunch
 
​
“When I first heard Out To Hunch, I was into the Rolling Stones, Mersey Beat or rock’n’roll like Elvis, and Gene Vincent etc. But when I heard Hasil for the first time on that Rockabilly Psychosis compilation that Big Beat Records released in 1984, I was just blown away by the dementia in his voice. I imagine this was recorded towards the end of the 1950s and punk music like that was played in churches or bars around Madison. Anyway, I was so blown away that I quit my job in Switzerland and booked a ticket to the USA where I bought a car and traveled around for a half year and I found him! It was pre-internet or Google era.  Hahah, anyway I had a lovely time with him.”
Picture
                                                      The Cramps - ...Off The Bone
“I first heard of The Cramps in probably 1980 or 81 from my older brother. He had a friend in Berlin, and they exchanged tapes, both of them were more into goth stuff like The Residents, Neon Judgement, Cabaret Voltaire, etc. The Cramps were on one of the tapes, and I said that I want that, so that’s when I became a Cramps fan. I tortured my local record store to order their LPs for me; I had only three albums and about 100 bootlegs, haha! They were amazing, and Nick Knox is, for me, still one of the most ridiculous caveman drummers of all time!  I love Nick Knox’s drums !!!! His drumming changed my life forever while listening to his music.”
Picture
                                               Einstürzende Neubauten - Kollaps 
“When I was a teenager, I was completely against everything, everybody, and I hated almost everything, and I loved it. Einstüznde Neubauten was the soundtrack for all those feelings I had inside me. My parents hated the guts out of that music coming from my room, hahaha! It’s just fucking noise, and this was just my thing; the band taught me that you can write songs; differently, not all music needs strict structure and solos, etc. It just needs a lot of noise and something that attracts your attention.  Anyway, when I saw them live, they blew away their recordings for me. I wanted to do something similar, and as a teen, I played in a local industrial band in the early ’80s, but I was a big Elvis fan. When I started my one-man-band project Taeb Zerfall then Lightning Beat-Man, my idea was to cross Neubauten with Elvis. And I did, haha!”
Picture
                                           Howling Wolf - More Real Folk Blues
 “When Janosh (bass player for The Monsters) and I lived together for a couple of years, this was the record we listened to the most. It’s one of the best LPs ever made. The songwriting, the recordings, and the drumming, etc. When I was a child, my dream was to be black but look at me, I’m bloody white, haha!! So, they called me the White Wolf here in Bern. <3”
Picture
                                                            Venom - Black Metal
“I grew up in Switzerland’s countryside with bands like Status Quo, AC/DC, and Motorhead. However, when Venom came, my metal years were over; you can’t top that band. For me, Black Metal is the best rock n’ roll metal album of all time. I mean, for god’s sake, it’s all in there: teenage angst, teenage hate, blasphemy, and a lot of fun. My parents hated that album; it was perfect for a growing teenager. Sadly, I never got to see them and wanted to go to their first Swiss show when Metallica toured with them as their supporting act, which was Metallica’s first show outside the United States. I was young and scared too, my friends and I got beat up by other metal fans cause we wore jean jackets. That’s when we thought that in Zürich, the other metalheads must be more extreme, haha!!”​
Picture
Pick up Voodoo Rhythm Records Label Compilation Volume 5 here.

Voodoo Rhythm Records online
https://www.voodoorhythm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/voodoorhythmrecords/
https://voodoorhythm.bandcamp.com/

​Words by The Heathen
Comments

    Author

    Rock 'n' Roll/Automotive Journalist, Influencer, Editor and Publisher of Gearhead Magazine, 
    A & R for Gearhead Records, Creator of Gearhead Apparel, Punk Rocker, DJ, Master Gardener, Minister, Environmental Activist and Animal Lover... 
     
    Who is this person?! Michelle Haunold Lorenz has been digging around in the underbelly of the kustom kulture lowbrow world for over thirty years, discovering mind-blowing rock n' roll bands, cool up and coming artists, creating custom apparel and weaving vintage pop culture touchstones into her essays about life, love and the human condition.
     
     She lives with her husband, world-renowned tattoo artist Cuz'n Bill Lorenz and their three Pembroke Welsh Corgis (with tails) in Elk Grove, CA. 


    Read stories about cars, pop culture, music, art, and any other related topics that catch the imagination of GEARHEAD owner Michelle Haunold Lorenz.

    ​Live Fast, Be Weird! #livefastbeweird #gearheadrocks

    Archives

    December 2022
    August 2022
    February 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    December 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All
    805 Beer
    88.7 Fm
    9/11
    924 Gilman St.
    A1 Auto Transport
    Adam Corolla
    Ajf Salon
    Album Review
    Alternative Tentacles
    Alt-Models
    Anniversary Party
    Anthony Bourdain
    Armed Occupation
    Art
    Artists
    Automotive
    Automotive Aftermarket Parts
    Ave Maria
    Bands
    Bands On Tour
    Bands That Sing About Cars
    Barrio Tigers
    Baseball Jersey
    Bass Guitar
    Batmobile
    Beers And Gears
    Ben Affleck
    Beth Hood
    Bettie Page
    Big Day Of Giving
    Billy Miller
    Black Friday
    Blessing Of The Cars
    Body Positive
    BOGO
    Book Reviews
    Brand Ambassador
    Bruce Gossett
    Builder Of The Year
    CA
    Car And Driver Magazine
    Car Art
    Car Freaks
    Cars
    Car Show
    Car Shows
    Car Toys
    Catharine O'Hara
    CD Sale
    Charitable Contributions
    Charitable Giving
    Charities
    Chicks In Crisis
    Christina Applegate
    Christmas
    Christmas Movies
    Christmas Music
    CityBike Magazine
    CJ Ramone
    Classic Motorsports
    Classic Motorsports Magazines
    Cock Grease
    Corbett Redford
    Corgis
    Craft Beer
    Cream Of The Crap
    Crowd Funding
    Culinerdy Cruiser
    Custom Art
    Cuz'n Bill Lorenz
    Cycleland Speedway
    Datsun
    Dave's Dawgs
    Davey G. Johnson
    Davis
    Dean Case
    "Demons"
    Digital Download
    Dirty Water Records
    Dixon Heads
    DIY
    DJ Mikki Riff
    Doctor Explosion
    Dog Rescue
    Donations
    Doug Mansfield
    Drag Races
    Dragula
    Drew Latham
    Drive Magazine
    Dr. Wayne Dyer
    DSport Magazine
    Earth Day
    Edelbrock
    Electric Boogaloo Tattoo
    Elk Grove
    Elk Grove Citizen
    Email Problems
    Entrepreneur
    Environmental Support
    Evel-knievel
    Family
    Fast And Furious
    Festival
    Flatheads
    Food Drive
    Fourth Of July
    Friday Flashback
    Friends Of The River
    Fundraisers
    Garage Punk
    Garage Rock
    Garages
    Garth Stein
    Gearfest
    Gearfest 2017
    Gearfest 2018
    Gearhead
    Gearhead CEO
    Gearhead Changed My Life
    Gearhead Christmas
    Gearhead Clothes
    Gearhead Community
    Gearhead Customer Support
    Gearhead Ebay Store
    Gearhead Holiday
    Gearhead HQ
    Gearhead Life
    Gearhead Magazine
    Gearhead Mascots
    Gearhead News
    Gearhead Newsletter
    Gearhead Products
    Gearhead Records
    Gearhead Records Catalog
    Gearhead Rocks
    Gearhead Spotify
    Gene Wilder
    Gene Winfield
    George Barris
    Girls Rock
    Girl Who Rock
    Giving Back
    Giving Tuesday
    GMC
    Going Green
    Good Earth Stewards
    Goombah's Car Club
    Grassroots Motorsports Magazine
    Green Day
    Grudgefest
    Grudge Fest
    Guest Blogger
    Guest Writer
    Guy Clark
    Guy Roz
    Harry Nilsson
    Hellacopters
    H & H Flatheads
    H&H Flatheads
    Holidays
    Hot Rod Meet Up
    Hot Rods
    How I Built This
    HSR Classic
    Illumination Vacations
    Independence Day
    Independent Business
    Independent Radio
    In Memory Of
    Interviews
    Jalopnik
    James Gandolfini
    Jason Mueller
    Jennifer Long
    John Morton
    Julio Ferrer
    July 4th
    Kate Spade
    KBVR
    KDVS
    Kickstarter
    Kill Rock Stars
    Kustomizer
    Kustom Koffins
    Kustom Kulture
    Kyle Larson
    Kyle Martin
    Labor Day
    Lady Luck Tattoo Convention 2019
    Las Vegas Shakedown
    Laurent Bagnard
    Laverne And Shirley
    Limited Edition
    Local Businesses
    Lords Of Altamont
    Love
    Lowbrow
    Lowbrow Art
    Magazine Reviews
    Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
    Matthew Hutchison
    Memorial
    Memorial Day
    Mentor
    Merry Christmas
    Michael Vick
    Michelle Haunold
    Midnight Mass
    Mike Adair
    Mitty
    Mom And Pop
    Monterey Auto Week
    Motorsports
    Motortrend
    Motosierra
    Movie Review
    Movie Reviews
    MRR
    Ms. Gearhead
    Ms. Gearhead Contest
    Munster Mobile
    Muscle Cars
    Music
    Musicians
    NASCAR
    New Album
    New Bomb Turks
    New Noise
    New Noise Magazine
    Newsletter
    NHRA
    Nissan
    Norcal Knockout
    Norton Records
    On Sale
    Operation Ivy
    Outlaw Kart Racing
    Pabst
    Pabst Blue Ribbon
    Pacific Grove
    Paco Rollins
    Passion
    Pat Todd And Rankoutsiders
    Pebble Beach
    Pembroke Welsh Corgis
    Personal Memories
    Personal Reflections
    Phono Select Records
    Pinstripe
    Pinstriper
    Pin Up Girls
    Pinup Life
    Pinups
    Pitbulls
    Pit Crew
    Podcast
    Pop Culture
    Pop Up Shop
    Premiere
    Press
    Press Releases
    Punk 'n' Roll
    Punk Rock
    Pure Grain Audio
    Radio
    Rat Fink
    Rat Rods
    Record Reviews
    Red Planet
    Responsibility
    Rev. Beatman
    Rev. Horton Heat
    RIP
    Road Atlanta
    Road Trip
    Robert "Strings" Dahlqvist
    Rob Morse
    Rockabilly
    Rockabilly Weekend
    Rock 'n' Roll
    Rodney Bingenheimer
    Rodney On The Rock
    Rodney On The ROQ
    Rosie The Riveter
    Rotten Tomatoes
    Runnin' On Fumes
    Sacramento Autorama
    Sacramento Raceway
    Sacramento Tattoo
    Sacto Storytellers
    Screenprint
    Self-Employed
    Self-employment
    Self Published
    SEMA
    SEMA Scholarship
    Shifting Gears
    Shop Dogs
    Shopping
    Sirius XM
    Sir Richard Branson
    Slovenly Recordings
    Slow Down Clothing
    Small Business
    Small Business Saturday
    So Cal Speed Shop Sacramento
    SPCA
    Speed Equipment
    Spotify
    Spotify Playlists
    Stars And Stripes
    Start Up
    Steve Rodriguez
    Stinky Monkey
    St. Patrick's Day
    Strängen
    Strong Women Rock
    Sudwerks
    Suicide
    Support
    Surviving Christmas
    Swanx CC
    Tatoo Artists
    Tattoo Artist
    Tattoo Artists
    Tattoo Betty
    Tattooing
    Tattoos
    Team Valvoline
    Technical Difficulties
    Thacker & Friends
    The Art Of Racing In The Rain
    The Barometer
    The Blue Lamp
    The Brady Bunch
    The Darts
    The Dictators
    The Dragons
    Thee Merry Widows
    The Hellacopters
    The Hives
    The Jackets
    The Lords Of Altamont
    The Lunachicks
    The Mansfields
    The Mitty
    The Munsters
    The Pizz
    The Point
    The Story Of East Bay Punk
    The Venture
    The White Barons
    Threads
    Thunder Express
    Tim Yohannan
    Tom Valco
    Tony Ciavarro
    Tony Thacker
    Tres Noir
    Truck
    T Shirts
    Turn It Around
    Underground Garage
    Vacation
    Valentines Day
    Valvoline
    Ventura
    Ventura Nationals
    Videos
    Vigil Apparel
    Vince Ray
    Vintage Toys
    Vintage Truck
    Vinyl
    Vivacious Vixens
    Viva Las Vegas
    Voodoo Rhythm Records
    Wedding Announcement
    We Did It!

    RSS Feed

SHOP BY CATEGORY
Accessories
Vinyl
CDs
Men's Clothing
Women's Clothing
​Kids Clothing
DVDs
Posters
Magazines
Stickers, Patches & Buttons
Digital Downloads
​Clearance
Size Chart



COMPANY
​About
Contact
Board of Directors
Testimonials
Calendar of Events
Mission Statement
FAQ
STORE LOCATOR
​Web Store
Store Finder
Wholesale
eBay
Amazon
KULTURE
​Charitable Contributions
Apparel
Gearfest
Ms. Gearhead
Shop Dogs
Jobs
RECORDS
About
Bands
Catalog
​Band Camp
​Demo Policy
MAGAZINE
​About
Current Issue
Library 
​Digital Downloads
© Gearhead Productions, Inc 1993-2022 all rights reserved
Privacy Policy I Legal