An Irreverent Reverend

Tony Peyser
Mirror contributing writer

   A couple of weeks ago, I was veering in and out of lanes in West Hollywood, almost ran a stop sign and all the while was laughing my fool head off. But unlike President Bush that night in Kennebunkport in 1976, I could have passed a sobriety test. You see, I hadn’t been drinking. I was simply listening to and under the influence of Rev. Billy C. Wirtz. 
His remarkable new CD is The Best of the Wirtz: 15 Years On The Road With a 77" Pianist. Wirtz is a long-legged, shoulder length-haired, thickly-bearded, heavily tattooed, fast-talking, boogie-woogie piano playing, GOP-bashing, former special education teaching wild man from Aiken, South Carolina. He looks like he should be on "Jerry Springer" defending his hillbilly harem. 
   If nothing else, Wirtz also proves that musical appearances can be deceiving. "Right Wing Roundup" starts out like a perfectly nice square dance that Sen. Trent Lott would play during staff meetings. But just listen to the lyrics: "All join hands and circle to the right/Especially if you’re rich and white/A big step backward, close your mind/Hey, it’s a right wing round up time." This is laugh out loud stuff. It may be easy to overlook Wirtz’s musical gifts because his songs are so funny. He’s got a spiel like a carnival barker and pounds the black and whites like Jerry Lee Lewis. 
   Wirtz even scrambles up the WWF and religion: "We’ve got that sleeper hold on Satan/And the body slam on sin/I thought my life was counted yet/But then Jesus tagged on in/Now the Devil is fading fast/With the heavenly arm lock under the chin/Got the sleeper hold on Satan/And the body slam on sin." Gimme that ol’ time wrestling! 
   This album is a mix of studio recordings, live tracks and a handful of new songs, too. If you, like me, hadn’t heard of Rev. Wirtz, it’s a great way to get acquainted. If you haven’t decided already to rush out and get this CD, I have three words for you: "Mennonite Surf Party." And if that isn’t enough, I have one word for you: "Roberta." This is Wirtz’s biggest hit, a eight minute and nine second white trash, blues epic. When it was released, some stations were so swamped with requests that they had to initiate designated "Roberta" days.
   Rev. Billy is the trailer park love child of Mark Twain, Elvis and Billy Bob Thornton. 
   CDNow has The Best of the Wirtz for just $13.49. All I try to do with this column is give you some great music that could get you through a bad night. With his new album, Rev. Billy. C. Wirtz could actually help us survive the Bush years. 
   The Goofy Band Name of the Week is ...F Minus.