Jon Spencer Has Moved Past the Blues Explosion With His New Band, the HITMakers

Jon Spencer and quality music go hand in hand. Love him or hate him, the guy just knows how to make interesting music.

From his time in the perennially underrated Pussy Galore to the sultry noise fiends Boss Hog, and then to the phenomenal Jon Spencer Blues Explosion from 1991 to earlier this year, Spencer has provided a soundtrack befitting underground royalty, leather-clad denizens of the lower east side, and anyone looking for a slippery beat they can slink across a dance floor with on a sweaty Saturday night.

On Saturday, April 30, Spencer brings his latest project, Jon Spencer & The HITmakers, to Valley Bar.

While some might think The HITmakers are rising from the ashes of Blues Explosion, this isn't the case. In 2018, Spencer put out his first solo record, Spencer Sings The Hits (In The Red Recordings/Shove). He was joined for that recording session by Quasi’s Sam Coomes on that record, as well as drummer M. Sord (a.k.a. Michael Gard), both of whom would become HITmakers. The ground for the new band was laid before Blues Explosion came to an end, but it wasn’t without some rough spots for Spencer.

“In 2017, I was in between bands. Blues Explosion, we had made our last record, Freedom Tower, which came out in 2015. We were in the middle of touring and somebody in the band got sick, and so we had to stop, and it became clear that we weren't really going to be able to continue working as a band," Spencer says. "So, I kind of moved around for a couple of years. I was down and out and feeling sad. I really missed having a band. I figured, well, instead of having a band, maybe I'll just go and make a record.”

Spencer reached out to Coomes, who he respected from his work in Quasi, and Sord, who he knew from various trips to record in Michigan. According to Spencer, the three worked well together and toured a bit with Melvins in 2018. Because of the various percussion overdubs on Spencer Sings The Hits, Spencer reached to old friend Bob Bert (Pussy Galore) to add the metal-on-metal sounding percussion in the live setting. At some point during the band’s shows in 2018 or 2019, one of the members dubbed them “The HITmakers” from the stage, and the moniker stuck.

With the band gelling on the road, plans were made to record their first record in August 2020, but these plans were felled by the pandemic. Eventually, though, with Bert officially in the fold as percussionist, the band convened in Benton Harbor, Michigan, at the Key Club Recording Company in July 2021 to record Spencer Gets It Lit, which came out on April 1.

“We had all that experience playing all those shows, you know, all the concerts we did, all the touring. We really developed as a band and grew. All that experience and the kind of muscles you develop, or the communication you begin to develop between the members of the band, I think that helped us a lot in the studio was definitely influenced this new album,” says Spencer.

Unfortunately, after Spencer Gets It Lit was finished, Sord decided to step away from the band. Spencer calls it a “break” and sayshe went down a “dark spiral” for a bit, but Coomes’ Quasi bandmate, Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney), came onboard and will be handling the drum duties for the current tour.

“She’s a great drummer. I’m very, very excited. I think it’s going to be pretty cool,” says Spencer.

Jon Spencer & The HITMakers: With Quasi. 7 p.m. Saturday, April 30. Valley Bar, 130 North Central Avenue. Tickets are available here.