By his own account, he made his first recordings at age thirteen under the name Taeb Zerfall on his own Zerfall Tapes label. In 1984, he changed his name to
Lightning Beat-Man, performing "a mix between
Elvis Presley and die
Einstürzende Neubauten". His group, The Monsters, were formed in Bern in 1986. He started performing as Reverend Beat-Man in 1999, apparently after a vision involving a mix of
Robert Johnson,
Marilyn Monroe,
Tura Satana,
Bettie Page,
Iggy Pop and Elvis. He plays guitar and drums, performing "a river of sound wholly unique to him, offering his many listeners a sacrament of primitive rock'n'roll, gospel trash, surreal folk, and wild blues", sometimes with a female dancer known as Panti-Christ. His albums have included
Get on Your Knees (2001), credited to Reverend Beat-Man and the Un-Believers;
Your Favorite Position Is on Your Knees (2006), credited to Reverend Beat-Man and the Church of Herpes; and
Surreal Folk Blues Gospel Trash Vols. 1 and 2 (2007). He has also released a number of singles, mostly on the Squooge
record label based in
Berlin. He has performed at the
Montreux Jazz Festival, and toured around Europe, the UK, the US, Argentina, Japan and elsewhere. Beat-Man founded Voodoo Rhythm Records in 1992 and continues to run it today. Described as "a haven for misfits", some of the other artists on the label include
Delaney Davidson, the Dead Brothers,
King Khan and the Shrines, Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers, the Pussywarmers, and the "mysterious fifties rocker", Jerry J. Nixon. ==References==