Matador Records | The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion News

03/21/02
She Said (not the Cramps, Beatles or Scratch Acid song)
“She Said” is the first video from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s new album, ‘Plastic Fang,’ and following filming in Toronto last week, the clip is nearly ready for public consumption on the Matador site and other lucky outlets. Classic videos are nothing new for the Blues Explosion but this might be their best to date. Check the tour dates section for upcoming ‘Plastic Fang’ shows. Excerpts from a video interview with the band, conducted prior to their gig at LA’s El Rey Theatre on March 11, will be available on this site shortly.

02/12/02
After a crazy one-night stand opening for Ike Turner in NYC in January, the ‘Plastic Fang’ onslaught begins in March when the Blues Explosion play a quick two-night stand on the west coast, March 10 at Bimbo’s in SF and March 11 at the El Rey in Los Angeles. More dates in April and May are being confirmed as we speak. The first European single and accompanying video from ‘Plastic Fang’ is the track “She Said” (not a Beatles or Cramps cover, but much better than anything either band has done recently.)

07/19/01
On stage and in the studio
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are continuing work in a New York studio with producer Steve Jordan on their next album. They’ll be taking a brief respite from recording and overseas gigging when they play Maxwell’s tomorrow, as well as headlining the Siren Festival at Brooklyn’s Coney Island, playing along with Guided By Voices, Superchunk, Quasi and others. In an unrelated note, the Brooklyn Cyclones will be taking on the Staten Island Yankees in what pundits have called "the submarine series," July 25 at Keystone Park. Tickets are sold out, so you might want to go to the Siren Festival instead.

03/07/01
This generation’s greatest live band risks being blown off the stage by old fucks
In an act of extreme bravery or colossal stupidity (we’re betting on the former), the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have given a wondrous musical gift to their fans by inviting James Chance & The Contortions (March 7) and Suicide (March 8) to support them at Irving Plaza this week. There aren’t many artists who would dare take the stage following such legendary performers, but the Blues Explosion aren’t many artists. There are 3 of them to be precise, but a big thumbs up to Jon, Judah and Russell for trying to make a hot evening out even hotter.

08/14/00

Russell Puts The Muscle Into Solo Debut
Russell Simins, easily the finest looking drummer in the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, lets loose with all those thoughts and feelings (musical and otherwise) you didn’t know he had in him — or maybe you just suspected, but were too afraid to ask. ‘Public Places’ is the name of Russell’s new CD/LP, and you can find it in all responsible record stores on October 17, courtesy of our friends at Grand Royal.

05/25/00
Jon Spencer — Even when he’s inactive, he’s more active than you. The Blues Explosion will have some of their wonderful music featured in the upcoming Todd Phillips masterpiece “Road Trip,” thus continuing Jon Spencer’s long association with MTV affiliated motion pictures (we are of course, referring to Boss Hog’s winning cameo in “Joe’s Apartment”). Jon is also a contributor to the forthcoming David Holmes album, which I’d pre-order from Amazon if they sold vinyl.

04/14/00
Jon Spencer is currently on tour with Boss Hog. You can find tour dates for them up on the Billions web site.

03/06/00
Blues Explosion, Extended and Revised. Our friends at Mute U.K. have just reissued Extra Width as a double CD that includes Orange, the Australian Mo’ Width album, plus enhanced CD/video stuff. There’s also a double LP/CD reissue of Experimental Remixes including new mixes from John Oswald, Beck, Prince Paul and others. And if that weren’t enough to drain your bank account, there’s a 12" of Acme material remixed by Techno Animal. All of the above (’cept for the Techno Animal mixes) should be hard to find in North America ’cause Matador are still selling these things (i.e. don’t even think about pissing us off), but if you’re that bothered about it, you could always just move to Europe. Nudity on daytime television. Progressive attitudes towards human/vegetable relations... you might want to consider it!

02/25/00
But not just yet. Coming up on March 5, everyone’s favorite premium cable TV show, "The Sopranos" will feature the Blues Explosion’s "Lapdance" collaboration with Andre Williams playing in the background or foreground of some undoubtedly brutal (or funny) scene. "The Sopranos" is wonderful entertainment, but what’s with all the bad language?

02/01/00
In the Red is releasing a remix 12" of the Andre Williams/Blues Explosion track "Lapdance." It has a Jim Waters/Scott Benzel remix on one side and a Jim Thirlwell remix on the other. If you haven’t heard the name "Jim Thirwell" in a while, well, you are as much to blame for that as anyone else. In The Red are also releasing the new Boss Hog record, "Whiteout" on Feb. 22nd. Dave Martin tells us that "the cover of the full length is oddly reminiscent of Surgery’s ‘Shimmer’ album" and I’d love to debate this point but it would require repurchasing the Surgery album on eBay and I’m not quite up to it. Which reminds me, the new Ann Marlowe novel, "Punch Me Now" does for drugs what E. Wurtzel does for not-as-many drugs. Reading is fundamental.