The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion performs in The Current studio
by Barb Abney, Peter Valelly and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
October 23, 2012
Starting in the early '90s, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion tore through the American indie scene with a careening, caustic strain of high-energy rock'n'roll, fusing garage-band revivalism, noise-punk and raw blues. It's a sound that's proven deeply influential: more than two decades after their debut LP A Reverse Willie Horton, JSBX's fingerprints are all over the ear-bleeding, stripped-down blues-rock of arena-packing bands like the Black Keys and the sadly defunct White Stripes.
In 2010, the band returned to touring after a six-year hiatus, and their live stint found the trio — whose line-up of frontman Jon Spencer, bassist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins has stayed intact for the band's entire existence — as ferocious as ever. The band released their ninth full-length Meat and Bone earlier this fall, and the album is vintage JSBX: raucous, high-octane, and soulful rock'n'blues.
Currently touring in support of Meat and Bone, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion stopped by The Current studios to talk to Barb Abney and play a few songs.
Songs played: "Bag Of Bones," "Get Your Pants Off" and "Bell Bottoms / Boot Cut."