Throughout an entire decade, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion grew into a musical genre melting pot. A dash of punk, 2 cups hip hop, one teaspoon R&B. Stir. Sprinkle some garage in the mix and top off with hardcore and rock. Now, give it a good shake. Voi lah … you have dirty white boy blues-rock with a sauntering Elvis-esque frontman gushing with seductiveness and charisma. Swallow them whole or spit them out. The JSBX is and will forever be noted the original greasy haired, postmodern scuzz-blues pioneers.

In 1985, frontman Jon Spencer ditched the cushy upper middle-class digs, dropped out of Brown University and moved to Washington D.C. He teamed up with future wife and Boss Hog partner Cristina Martinez to create the "hatefuck band" Pussy Galore. After five years of making listeners grrr and purr with songs like "Pretty Fuck Look," "Cunt Tease" and "You Look Like A Jew," Pussy Galore dried up and split.

Soon thereafter Spencer and Martinez contrived Boss Hog to fill a last minute void at CBGB's. Boss Hog took to the stage -- Spencer bounced around on guitar and Martinez stood up front and center, relentless, cool and totally naked. Boss Hog spawned five albums, a major label deal with Geffen and, well, a baby (Pussy Galore met Boss Hog, so to say). And they got married. Spencer and Martinez kept their private life very hush-hush. Spencer said, "She's the one. With Boss Hog I view myself as the Flavor Flav. But one of the nicest things about the band for me is seeing Cristina smile." (Savoy) Awww, that's real nice and all, but Mr. Flavor Flav decided to put Boss Hog on hold for awhile to pursue something that would make him smile.

Spencer headed to the Big Apple, made friends with a skinny rail from Wisconsin named Judah Bauer and later clicked with Bauer's roomie Russell Simins. It's a little sketchy how it all happened … things tend to blur between whiskey bottles … but they became a band. Inspired by the blues and driven by rock and roll, the trio became the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Their early work, well, kinda sucks and is no where to be found. It's noisy, hard to understand, has no bass and distorted guitars but that amazingly raw, improvisational feeling reels you in and makes you listen. Experimentation provokes genius? Or maybe you just figure it out after doing it over and over for ten years.

With every album, Jon Spencer, Russell Simins and Judah Bauer reached a new pinnacle in their musical career. In 1992, they released their debut self-titled album that was a little easier on the ears and a lot less like a gang of garbled screaming banshees. 1993's Extra Width measured up and broke through with the track "Afro" and snagged a spot on MTV's 120 Minutes. 1994's release Orange dug deep in hip hop. "I've always been influenced by black music, especially rap," Spencer said. "Even as far back as Pussy Galore. Not just by rappers like Chuck D, who influenced me lyrically, but also the song writing and the production ideas and style. It's always moved me." (Savoy) The next two albums, Now I Got Worry (1996) and Acme (1998), lured even more curious ears. Now, far more refined and comprehensible with an infectious head-nodding energy, JSBX bit into 2002 taking a mouthful out of the lame mainstream with their album Plastic Fang.

The JSBX lives up to their name when it comes to performing live. Onstage they boomerang around, fling sweat and spit onto crowds of tongue wagging teenie-moshers, they scream, oooh and encourage even the most stagnant, sober tight ass to dance around like a freak. The band rocks and Spencer exceeds the epitome of style. We're talking silk shirts, leather pants, werewolf-ish sideburns and closed-eye microphone pole dances. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion refuse to go unnoticed. In the indisputable words of Jon Spencer, "The blues is number one!"

-Amy Schaefer