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7655 S. Lumpkin St. / 543-0989
LIQUID SUNSHINE
fresh i ri n & \ e(;et uh*i
JUICE BAR
GYLAND'S
BAR & GRILL
Christmas (kris'mas) n.
1. Day that begins December 1
and usually ends December 25.
2. Something to do with
celebrating and friends.
3. Just plain fun at
Gyland’s.
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Jon and his Blues Explosion have had a prodi
gious year: they have released their best record, the
soulfully-punkish Now I Got Worry, and backed up
bluesman R.L. Burnside on the Matador record A
Ass Pocket of Whiskey and have been touted by the
likes of Alternative Press as the new ‘saviours of rock
and roll. * Fortunately, the Jon Spencer Blues Explo
sion doesn't give a damn about saving anything: for
them, it’s all about the music
This in' ew was made up from Spencer’s com
ments in various places while awaiting a phone call
that had not come by press time. We're pretty sure
Elvis was involved in the whole scheme, but you’ll just
have to decide for yourself.
Flagpole: What do you think about the state of
music today?
Jon Spencer: The music industry has gotten
corporate and street savvy in a way that Hollywood
did years ago. If a company even smells a chance at
making a profit, then you can just hear that money
making machine winding up Artists are starting to
become disposable, in the sense that major labels
will sign young bands, bands that haven't really had
an opportunity to mature, and milk them for one or
two albums and then leave them high and dry. Pussy
Galore probably could have gone on. but I just felt
that that band had reached the end of where it was
going to go, and you could see the sharks circling
FP: In a really strange way, it's almost like the
return of the “one—hit wonder’syndrome that came
down so hard on the music business during the
'80s.
Spencer: Artists that stay focused and don’t
get caught up in that whole scene can survive.
That's why we’ve been so leery dealing with major
labels, but I'm comfortable with the fact that I'm
gonna do whatever i want. This music is who and
what I am, so I'm gonna make the records I want
FP: Speaking of audiences. Jon, you've said
that you really like to be out on the road with the
Blues Explosion.
Spencer: Well, this album is a really good one
to tour behind because it's more straightforward
with less studio tricks and samples and shit. It’s
the kind of material that you can really rip it up with
and have fun with. And that’s an important part of
being a musician: being an entertainer and giving
the audience something they can get off on. That's
real. Sitting in the studio or in some publicity of
fice, that's not. It's also the best way to touch base
with the fans.
FP: Jon, a lot has been made about the sound
of the new record and what the band took away
from playing with Mississippi Blues legend R.L
Burnside and how the band came South a la the
Stones “Exile on Main Street’and ‘Sticky Fingers.'
Spencer: Yeah. So much has been made of
tne name Blues Explosion. It’s silly — we're defi
nitely not a blues band, as the new album clearly
shows; we're more of a punk-rock fusion type of
thing. As for R.L., I saw a documentary on the blues
that he was in and he just seemed like a cool guy
to work with. We enjoyed working on his record,
but we did it iust for the experience—not necessarily
to learn any great spiritual blues tomes. As for record
ing in Easlpy studios in Memphis, we first did that back
on Extra Width in '93, when practically no one had
ever heard of us. Easlev just has a great feel and vibe
to it, as groups like Sonic Youth and Pavement have
found out.
FP: Aside from the Burnside record, you have
been busy with your side band Boss Hogg (which in
cludes Jon's wife, Christina Marines), and drummer
Russell Simins has formed his own side band, Butter
08. Where do you find the time ?
Spencer: Well, the last year has all been whirl
wind and flash. But I think the side stuff helps the Blues
Explosion by giving everyone a ciiance to stretch out,
experiment and purge some of those musica 1 demons
FP: Last question: You used to work for Details
magazine: what do you think of the comparisons the
press has made between you and people like Mick
Jagger, Robert Johnston and even Elvis Presley?
Spencer: It’s all a load of hyperbolic shit. As for
all the name-dropping, all I can say is: I'm not British
I've never been down to the crossroads, but I have
been to Graceland.
Dave Basham
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion plays the 40
Wat! Saturday, Dec. 7.
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