Switzerland's Reverend Beat-Man is coming to heal your rock 'n' roll soul

You're reading this, so, humbly, I say, just having your eyes on this sentence is an opportunity to change your life. It's not because the following prose will make you see the world differently. Heck no, but because the show I am telling you about right now has the potential to be one that forever makes you see music from a new and, possibly, completely fucked up angle.

These are strong words, but I believe in my heart that Bern, Switzerland’s Reverend Beat-Man (AKA Beat Zeller), along with local madmen Puppy & The Hand Jobs, and The Spastiks and DJ Sonic Moronic will together eschew the type of spectacle at Chopper John’s on Friday night that is, by itself, intoxicating even before you take your first sip of an alcoholic drink (if you are so inclined). People might just get naked inside the venerable dive bar, and dogs and cats will definitely consider living together after this show is all done.

I'm going to say it. It's going to be a religious experience.

“I get inspiration from the people around me, from the politics, horror movies … if you are not inspired by what is going on around you, what is going on at this moment in the world, I don’t know what you should do. I am so amazingly inspired by all the stuff that people call ‘terrible’… I just try to digest it and make music out of it,” says Zeller over a telephone call last week.

Right now, there isn’t a one-person band doing noisy, garage music any better than Reverend Beat-Man.

Arizona is where people like Bob Log III, Becky Lee, Via Vengeance and Page the Village Idiot began — we know a thing or two about solo noisemakers who crank out a huge sound on their own. If you like any of those performers, you’ll love this crazy middle-aged record shop and record label owner.

Zeller has been cranking out records and signing other acts to his label, Voodoo Rhythm Records (including records by the aforementioned Bob Log III, Becky Lee and Drunkfoot, and locals The Christian Family) since the early 1990s. He also has the Voodoo Rhythm Hardware Store in Bern, where he sells records and CDs and keeps a small crew working. He began doing shows as “Reverend Beat-Man” in 1999 and thoroughly enjoys daring his audience to think for themselves.

“I like music that offends the ‘squares,’” he says with a laugh, before continuing:

“I click into my (Reverend Beat-Man) personality when I go on stage and let this person do whatever he wants. I have my ‘sinner’ sign and my ‘feed your brain’ sign and my reverend costume and do throat singing. For me, this is an art project and I treat it like that. Maybe people will get inspired to jump up and do something, as well. I enjoy it a lot because I can click out of the ‘normal’ world and go into the fantasy place of the Reverend.”

If you check out some of Reverend Beat-Man’s tunes on your favorite streamer, listen to tracks like “Jesus Christ twist” from 2022’s "It’s a matter of time, the complete PALP Session." It’s kind of like The Cramps meet a vampire with a tracheotomy. “Come Back Lord” is another stomper from 2019’s "Baile Bruja Muerto" record with Izobel Garcia.

Zeller's new Reverend Beat-Man record, "Dead Crossed the Street," will be released on Voodoo Rhythm Records in about six weeks. It is a collaboration with Milan Slick, a fellow Swiss citizen.

“(Slick) was a young boy from my town (Bern) who came into my record store when he was like sixteen years old. He was very nerdy and was always asking for us to play together. When Corona (virus) time came, I was looking for some synthesizer like Dario Argento music from these old horror movies from Italy. (Slick) was able to do stuff like that and he helped me with the soundtrack to an Iranian vampire movie I was working on,” says Zeller.

While there is no telling what Zeller will have ready for the Phoenix crowd on Friday night, it will be well worth braving the August heat. Not only will Reverend Beat-Man be ready to go, but Puppy & The Handjobs are a spectacle in and of themselves. With The Spastiks opening up and DJ Sonic Moronic supplying her usual fantastic selection of tunes, you can’t go wrong.

While we talked, Zeller also offered up another beautiful ray of hope.

"I've been coming to the United States for a long time. I toured here ten, fifteen years ago, and this is the most awake I have ever seen. 10 years ago in America, and they were like in a cloud, like disappeared, you know, with the pills and stuff like that. And now I see the people are waking up. So I see something, something amazing is happening, something is forming, and I see they will rise up. It's gonna be amazing," says Zeller.

Just like Friday night.

Reverend Beat-Man, Puppy & the Hand Jobs, The Spastiks and DJ Sonic Moronic take over Chopper John's in Phoenix on Friday, August 22, 2025. The 21-and-over show starts at 9 p.m. and is free.