Heat Comes Out On Stage

Pardon a bit of sacrilege for a moment.

It’s just for the sake of comparison, and The Reverend Horton Heat won’t mind:

Listening to a CD from The Rev, as his friends call him, is like reading the Bible. The message comes across, but it’s more of a cerebral endeavor.

But attending a live performance by the rockabilly threesome is a full-on, holy-roller, sweat-dripping, Amen-shouting religious experience.

“We’ve just got a lot of energy,” says drummer Scott Churilla by phone before a show in Pomona, Calif.

Churilla’s been with The Rev about 5-1/2, though the group’s been around since the mid-‘80s. He says he got the job after meeting Jim Heath (a.k.a. The Reverend Horton Heat) while on tour with another band.

“I just hung out and drank with Jim,” Churilla says.

Reverend Horton Heat has put out seven albums since 1990, the most recent “Spend a Night In the Box.”

The high-octane recording takes its name from a form of punishment in 1967’s “Cool Hand Luke.”

But it took on a broader meaning for the title track on the new album, Churilla says.

“It refers, more or less, to girlfriends,” he says. “If you get caught looking at other girls, you spend a night in the box.”

The disc was recorded outside Austin, Texas, at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studios. The band occasionally saw Nelson shagging balls at the nine-hole golf course outside the studio.

“We didn’t really see Willie too much,” Churilla says. “But from the looks of things, I’d say he’s doing pretty good.”

This sidebar appeared with the story:

The Reverend Horton Heat

When, where: Wednesday at 8 p.m. at The Met.

Tickets: $15:50 at G&B