The Willard Preacher is going to have a new kind of competition Tuesday night.

But this Reverend doesn't spend his days speaking the word of the Lord to the religious masses; he'd be more likely to shock them with rocking songs about drugs and sex. And if loving the '50s rockabilly sound is wrong, he doesn't want to be right.

The Reverend Horton Heat will be preaching his "psychobilly" sound to the crowd at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., Tuesday night along with fellow rockers Nashville Pussy and The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs.

This stop falls in the middle of The Rev's current 3-month American tour, which stretches from Colorado to Pennsylvania and back to California, only to finish up in Illinois. The Rev is currently supporting his recently completed eighth studio album, Lucky 7, released just a few weeks ago on Artemis Records.

Although The Rev is a seasoned veteran — he has played Crowbar several times in the past — and one of the most well known names in the alternative rock scene, he wasn't always so "righteous." Before he was playing over 200 shows per year and appearing on The Drew Carey Show, The Reverend Horton Heat was Jim Heath, a young blues guitarist from Texas with a lot of grease in his hair.

Heath's early interest in music was sparked by a passion for the Memphis rock sound. He was especially influenced by greats such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis.

At the same time, however, he was experiencing music by groups such as The Cramps, which catered to a punk crowd while sticking to a rockabilly feel. The combination of these ideas formed Heath's own sound.

"I try to play guitar like Jerry Lee Lewis played piano," the Reverend now admits. "I always knew the similarities between the 50's mentality and punk rock."

It was during his early days in the late 1980s that Heath was given his "ordained" title, working three jobs and leasing out of a PA system for money but still living in poor conditions. Somehow, a Texas club owner connected Heath's greased-up '50s image with "The Reverend Horton Heat" and dubbed him with this new stage name.

"At first I thought it was too cornball," said Heat, "but he had already listed it on posters and flyers, so it stuck."

With the implementation of his title, Heat formed a rocking trio that gained notoriety in Texas in the early '90s and released several albums on the Sub Pop label.

Despite distribution problems with almost every release and the rock stereotype of a constantly changing drummer, the group's success grew and it was signed to Interscope Records in 1997.

The group also appeared on an episode of The Drew Carey Show around this time.

Nowadays, The Rev's name has grown from "cornball" to somewhat famous in the alternative scene. The Reverend himself feels that being labeled as one of the forerunners of the "psychobilly" genre is too confining, however.

"We're not really straight psychobilly but we fit in," said Heat.

"It's like '50s rock but sped up a bit and amped up. But we get out of that realm; we started with rockabilly and went from there."

Opening for the Rev will be Nashville Pussy and Streetwalkin' Cheetahs, two bands which "fit in" with his own sound, said Heat.

For Jim Heath, the "psychobilly" genre has become a kind of clan, and these shows are opportunities to play with some "really great" bands.

But even with another label change and the long road ahead of him, the release of Lucky 7 and the current tour show no drastic differences for the Rev in terms of his approach to songwriting or touring.

"I write songs; I don't write albums," he said. "It's all about fun. This is what I do. We tour regardless of our record contract."

Tickets for The Reverend Horton Heat are still on sale for $15. The show is for all ages.