Some musicians have schtick. Others have talent.
In his way of twisted proselytizing, the one-man band known as Reverend Deadeye raises his hands to the skies and thanks the Lord that he has both. His throwback Delta blues, crafted with a beer-can microphone and homemade slide guitar, is rife with Southern-fried storytelling, beginning with the tale of the musician being bitten in the eye by a rattlesnake when he was a kid, after which he says he lost sight in his “good eye” and received divine vision in his “bad eye.”
We checked in with him to find out more, and this is what the Reverend emailed us:
What denomination do you belong to, Reverend?
Well, The Reverend has takin’ a liking to the hootin’ and hollerin’ found in the Pentecostal Church. The Pentecostals believe in speakin’ in tongues and bein’ filled with the spirit, which is something I do religiously alongside my glass of “Holy Ghost Wine,” (also the name of a song on Deadeye’s 2003 CD, “Drinkin’ with the Reverend.) Some of the Pentecostals go as far as handlin’ rattlesnakes, which can be quite a testament of one’s faith.
How do people decipher Deadeye fact from fiction?
The fact is there are a whole bunch of folks that are gonna burn in the lake of fire – there is no fiction in that. Most of them are advocates of the modern-day Christian church. Christians get angry and accuse me of blasphemy, but The Reverend ain’t the one tearin’ apart the word of God and pickin’ and choosin’ Scriptures for his advantage.
Do people in your generation actually get the blues?
Everybody gets the blues, but I don’t think young folks “get” the healin’ power of The Blues. The truth is, life is a road of suffering. You don’t cure it, you abide by it. That’s what the Reverend and the Blues are all about – livin’ through suffering.
Reverend Deadeye, The Railbenders and The Irish Brothers open for Scott H. Biram tonight at Benders Tavern, 314 13th St.
Staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at 303-820-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com.
