"I have to caution you," Jon Spencer advises, patiently addressing one of many questions he has undoubtedly heard too often. "I've always said that we play rock 'n' roll. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is just the name."
Spencer, the vocalist and a guitarist for the Blues Explosion, has tired of hearing about the blues because his band rarely plays the blues. If anything, the group draws from the rockabilly origins of rock 'n' roll. Spencer is similar to Jerry Lee Lewis with a guitar: dripping sweat onstage, alternating between Lewis's yowls and Elvis Presley's boogeying baritone. His a form that owes to the electric blues, but owes nearly as much to Spencer's previous bands. Traditionalists might not like it, but Spencer's not a traditionalist.
Prior to bringing together Blues Explosion, Spencer's projects included Shithaus, a noise rock outfit, and Pussy Galore, a garage band specializing in dissonance and distortion. Spencer, fellow guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins met through another noise rock group, The Honeymoon Killers, before setting off on their own as The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The audibly dirty handling of the rockabilly sound was classified as "punk blues," a concept that had been developing since the '60s, but gained a title in the early '90s with the arrivals of bands such as the Blues Explosion and The Gories.
The formula found both supporters and musically conservative opponents, who labeled it the "bastardization" of the blues. Spencer doesn't quibble with those who don't like the band's style, but he objects strongly to suggestions that its music serves as a mockery of the genre.
"It's not a piss-tank," he said. "We didn't start this band to make fun of Little Richard or R.L. Burnside or Hound Dog Taylor. We started this band because we were in love with those people. We're trying to do right by our heroes."
The Blues Explosion's fascination with Burnside may be another reason why many associate Spencer's group with the genre. After all, the group is a big reason Burnside's name is still relevant today.
Spencer and his bandmates were hung up on the Mississippi bluesman's 1994 album "Too Bad Jim," and decided to bring Burnside on tour with them. The group backed the guitarist for his next album, "A Asspocket of Whiskey," which made Burnside a hit among the alternative rock crowd. Spencer didn't anticipate working with Burnside to serve some deeper purpose. He was just thrilled to play with a musician he admired.
"We weren't on a mission to pluck someone out of obscurity. We weren't on a mission to educate our audience," Spencer said. "The reason we invited him on tour and started that whole relationship in the first place is because we were such great fans."
It's a mindset that Spencer applies to all forms of music he loves. The Blues Explosion's played with Chuck D, Elliott Smith, Alex Chilton of Big Star, soul icon Solomon Burke and a host of others. Spencer spoke with the same excitement for the bands currently touring with his band as he did for Burnside. When the Blues Explosion comes to Brooklyn, they'll be joined by We Are Hex, a band that sounds like grunge-era Blondie. Pittsburgh's Shockwave Riderz take a shoe-gazing approach to groove. All three bands on the bill dabble in feedback, but that's about all they've got in common. Spencer enjoys his openers for playing the music they love, and he enjoys "making the music we love."
That attitude keeps Spencer level when newer bands that hail from the Blues Explosion's formula strike it big. He gives a slight sigh after being asked for the thousandth time about his thoughts on the relative successes of The White Stripes and The Black Keys.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked. "Of course it'd be great to have tons of money. But if we tried to change to fit what they play on the radio, it would sound like crap. That's not something I have any interest in undertaking."
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion can sound like blues at times. It can sound like rock 'n' roll. But Spencer won't let it sound like crap.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion will play at The Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 18 (with We Are Hex, Shockwave Riderz)
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