For decades Reverend Beat-Man has been preaching the unholy sermon of rock n’ roll personified by his signature blues trash style. This genres celebrates a potent philosophy exposing untamed rebellion driven by demonic garage-like blues with mind-shattering folk music. The result being ideal for those craving a sound meant for those discontented by the lull of pop complacency and needing something with a jagged edge. This idea is realized through Reverend Beat-Man’s many musical projects like The Monsters and Reverend Beat Man and New Wave. In addition this is expanded on with his label Voodoo Rhythm Records impressive catalogue of artists. These includes The Sex Organs, The Jackets, ET Explore Me, The Devils and The Budget Boozers.
It’s been seven yeas since Reverend Beat-Man has played Salt Lake City. During that performance Reverend Beat-man played at the Garage On Beck with support from Jacob T Skeen and Los YaYaz. During this he was touring with Nicole Garcia for the record Baile Bruja Muerto, released in 2018.
Now Reverend Beat-Man is doing a solo US tour preceding the release of Death Crossed The Street. This upcoming album is a collaboration between Beat-Man and Milan Slick. It is set to release on September 2026. During this tour he will be playing Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City on August 20th. In support are Salt Lake’s trash glam rockers The Sex Dolls with records spun by yours truly DJ Nix Beat.It’s sure to be a wild performance of music for the demented and damned.
Before he is set to take Salt Lake City by storm, I sat down with Reverend Beat-Man. He told me about his upcoming album Death Crossed The Street with Milan Slick, the importance of rock n’ roll in todays world, and more….
NixBeat: How has your US tour been going so far?
Reverend Beat-Man: It was a hell of a lot of work to get the working visa sorted out, but getting into LAX was an easy thing. After collecting the backline in Los Angeles, the tour began in blazing hot El Centro down near the border, where I visited the incredible Salvation Mountain. Now I’m working my way up the West Coast, and it’s been great so far. The LA show was a blast, and now I’m in love with San Diego.
NixBeat: Reverend Beat-Man and Milan Slick started collaborating in 2020 while writing a live soundtrack for Ana Lily Amirpours’ A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (released in 2014). How did this collaboration come about?
Reverend Beat-Man: Milan came into my life as a nerdy, guitar-geek customer at my record shop, The Hardware Store, in Old Town Bern, and kept nagging about wanting to make music with me. He was 16 years old back then, and corona-time was knocking on the door. At the time, I was working on the live soundtrack, and he told me he had many old synthesizers, which opened my ears. I wanted a touch of sound you hear in Dario Argento’s 70s giallo slasher movies, and we started working together; it was like finding a soul brother. We’ve worked together since then.
NixBeat: During this time, you also recorded an album featuring Beatrice Graf and Benjamin Glus, titled Reverend Beat-Man and the Underground, for the Rocklette PALP Festival. This album served as the soundtrack for a macabre dance party themed around humanity’s downfall. What was it like putting together this album for this festival?
Reverend Beat-Man: Yes, Rocklette gave us carte blanche. That means they offered us a chalet in the Swiss mountains for a week, which included food, etc. Our job was to create music to perform at the festival, and we recorded the whole session. You must know, all those songs were recorded in one take with no overdubs in a room on the roof of a goat farm. Milan and Benjamin recorded it, and it was mixed over in Italy at Matteo Bordin’s Outside Inside studio.
NixBeat: On September 26, the album Death Crossed The Street will be released via Voodoo Rhythm Records. What was the process like collaborating with Milan Slick for this record?
Reverend Beat-Man: We have already collaborated on the movie soundtrack and performed two European tours as a duo. Since then, we’ve written many songs together and knew it was time to record. An opportunity to record at Züri West’s old studio arose. They’re an indie band with a big name in Switzerland that, unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn’t know about, and they have six Neumann microphones!!! We took that chance to record it with Robert Butler of The Miracle Workers.
NixBeat: The title track, “Death Cross The Street,” boasts an ominous tone thanks to the orchestral organ and pounding drum beats. What inspired this track?
Reverend Beat-Man: I wrote that song in Athens, as I had a girlfriend from Greece at the time. It can be lonely in a town when you don’t know anybody and don’t speak the language. It’s a song that death can come right now, and you’re gone. If you don’t live your life in the time you’re alive, then you’re dead and nobody will care. That’s kind of the message.
NixBeat: What are you drawing from with “What Is Wrong With The People Today?”
Reverend Beat-Man: These days, I’m shocked to see what people are turning into. The consensus is to blame Donald Trump, but most people are turning into that guy: greedy, needy, and self-centered. They’re only looking out for themselves; the social aspect of us as a community, of people living together, is gone. That’s the message.
NixBeat: The last time we spoke in May 2020’s Preaching The Gospel of Blues Trash with Reverend Beat-Man, you mentioned that the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were more of a blessing than a punishment, as it allowed humanity to slow down and reflect. Fast forward five years to 2025, do you think society has learned that lesson?
Reverend Beat-Man: No, not at all.
NIxBeat: In 2024, Reverend Beat Man did a US West Coast Tour with The Monsters. Do you find that touring the US has changed since you were here with the Monsters?
Reverend Beat-Man: Oh yes, the USA is rapidly changing direction, and I don’t know where it’s going. I see in CVS stores that even the deodorant is behind locked shutters because everybody steals everything. I’ve had merchandise stolen from me when I play shows here. On the other hand, I visited a cafeteria in Oakland that only accepts card payments. I mistakenly left my debit card in my car, and told the person who rang me up that I only had cash on me at the moment. She told me not to worry and didn’t charge me at all; she probably thought I was homeless. Then, at the merch stand, where a record is $25, people would give me $30 and say it’s okay to keep the change. So, I’ve seen two sides of people in America.
NixBeat: In an interview with Blues.gr published on September 26, 2025, you mentioned that rock n’ roll was the counterculture to pop music. Do you still feel that rock n’ roll is relevant as a counterculture?
Reverend Beat-Man: Oh yes, these days music fits into a norm without any edges; it’s very friendly and doesn’t change or inspire us to create or think differently. This is what rock n roll does: it changes you, inspires you, and turns you upside down. That’s why it’s more important than ever
For about about Reverend Beat-Man and Milan Slicks new record via Bandcamp!
For tickets to Reverend Beat-Man at Urban Lounge click here!
