Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

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Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Rock band

Combining the dejected airs of the blues with punk’s sneering energy, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion makes records that are often ignored by commercial radio but adored by critics and a hardcore legion of fans alike. Spencer leads his band, together since the early 1990s, into new and innovative musical territories that run the gamut from collaboration with an old-style Mississippi blues artist to incorporating a Theremin for live performances, an odd synthesizer-type instrument developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and later used for American horror films and the Beach Boys’ hit, “Good Vibrations.” Its eerie sound and the gore-matinee mood it evokes seem to dovetail perfectly with Spencer’s essence and artistic vision. As Melody Maker’s John Robb explained, “Spencer is a sharp blade who knows that the feel of rock ‘n’ roll was far better in the deadly Fifties than in the overrated Sixties.”

Spencer grew up in New Hampshire and went to Brown University, but dropped out his sophomore year after meeting guitarist Julia Cafritz. He had originally wanted to pursue filmmaking, but “then I realized it would be easier to be onstage and playing music than going through the long, drawn-out hassle of making a movie,” he recalled in a Rolling Stone interview with Christina Kelly. In 1985 he joined New York City-based Pussy Galore with Cafritz; another member was Christina Martinez, who eventually married Spencer. Within a year the band had developed a cult following, though record sales always remained low. “At their ‘86-’87 peak, Pussy Galore were the finest American punk band going, the jagged side of early Fall/Neubauten filtered through a uniquely U.S. hardcore postgrad sensibility,” wrote Gerard Cosloy in the Village Voice.

Launched Blues Explosion

Pussy Galore disbanded in 1990, a year after Martinez and Spencer had formed Boss Hogg. Spencer busied himself with the new band and another New York City-based outfit called the Honeymoon Killers, and eventually made the acquaintance of drummer Russell Simins. The two began playing together and were later joined by Simins’s roommate, guitarist Judah Bauer. The trio officially formed the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in 1991 and recorded their first effort under this name, 1992’s Crypt Style, in just five hours, and released it on Crypt Records. In this band without a bassist, either Spencer or Bauer will play a rhythm line on their guitar; Spencer is partial to a cheap Japanese-made guitar that his wife bought for under twenty dollars. Eventually the Blues Explosion signed with Caroline and an eponymous debut on the label was released that same year. Joe Levy reviewed it for Rolling Stone and found that “at his best, Spencer cross-wires the menacing emptiness of early country blues with the compulsive overload of Nineties noise.” More succinctly, Melody Maker’s Cathi Unsworth called it a record “reeking of blood, sex and vicious jazz.”

By 1993 the Blues Explosion had switched to the Matador label, and their second effort, Extra Width, was released that year. Again, they finished in near-record time. On it, wrote Melody Maker’s Dave Simpson, they “manage to sound possessed, as if there’s actually something in them, throwing this stuff out.” Spencer later said that though he was initially happy with the finished product, when he heard the record played in clubs he discerned its flaws clearly. When it came time to record again—1994’s Orange—he took a different approach, and he and Bauer and Simins rehearsed the songs live over a period of weeks. “It used to be that we would go into the studio every three or four months and just record basic tracks in an afternoon,” Spencer said of the previous releases in an interview with Spirts Jac Zinder.

Strove for Perfection

Orange —named in homage to a vivid backdrop behind soul singer James Brown in some 1960s footage they had seen—prompted Spencer to admit to Spinthat “we tried so hard to get the sound full and make a technically superior record to Extra Width that it nearly drove us

For the Record…

Members include Jon Spencer (born c. 1965, in New Hampshire; son of a university professor and a cardiology technician; attended Brown University, mid-1980s), vocals and guitar; Russell Simins, drums; Judah Bauer (born in Wisconsin), guitar.

Group formed c. 1991 in New York City.

Addresses: Home —New York City. Record company —Matador Records, 676 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-2319.

crazy.” The results were evident. Orange included experimentation with synthesizers and odd production tricks as well as a spoken-word bit that alternative-rapper Beck contributed by phone from Australia. Like other critics, Melody Maker’s Robb enthused over Orange, calling it an “unholy, godlike surge of excitement.” Rolling Stone’s Jon Wiederhorn called it “an emotional clash of stormy blues, passionate soul and noisy garage rock punctuated at various points by the sounds of lush strings, distorted vocals, DJ scratching and galactic sound effects.”

After touring in support of Orange, the Blues Explosion played some dates with Mississippi blues singer R.L. Burnside. They also appeared on his album, A Ass Pocket Full of Whiskey, and wrote “RL Got Soul” in homage to him for their next project, 1996’s Now I Got Worry Despite this—and its guest appearance by legendary rhythm ‘n’ blues singer Rufus Thomas—Rolling Stone’s Kelly noted, “the album is largely devoid of the black cultural signifiers that have previously worked the nerves of some critics of the Blues Explosion.” She termed Now I Got Worry “darker and even more raucous than… Orange, and Spencer confirmed that impression in their interview. “There is a lot more personal stuff on the album, just about living, trying to get along,” he said.

Spellbinding Shows

The Blues Explosion’s live shows are legendary performances. “Bauer sounds like he and Jon have been writing and playing together since birth,” wrote Cosloy in the Village Voice. In an interview with Rolling Stone’s Wiederhorn, guitarist Bauer admitted: “I think the amount of energy we put into one show with the Blues Explosion is easily equal to a 40-hour work week.” Wiederhorn’s colleague Christina Kelly was also enraptured. His “stage presence is unmatched in indie rock,” Kelly wrote. “He screams and gyrates as if he just can’t help himself.” Spencer closes each live number by shouting “Blues Explosion!” Yet he and his collaborators have also suffered because of that name; journalists ask if they consider themselves an actual “blues” band, or seem confused as to why three white musicians boldly appropriate African American cultural influences. Spencer tried to explain it to James Rotondi in Guitar Player. “We’re certainly not a blues band in a strict formal sense,” he admitted, “but in the sense that it’s raw and true and honest, I think we are a blues band.”