Jon Spencer on the chemistry of Spencer Gets it Lit with the HITmakers

Jon Spencer & the HITmakers (clockwise from upper left: Bob Bert, Sam Coomes, Janet Weiss, Jon Spencer). // Photo by Bob Coscarelli

Musician Jon Spencer has been making music for decades in a slew of rock and roll-adjacent genres.

The noise-punk of Pussy Galore, the punk blues of the Blues Explosion, and the jittery rockabilly of Heavy Trash are just a few of the influential acts in which Spencer has performed or fronted, but his combo Jon Spencer & the HITmakers combines all of those styles into one potent mix.

His latest, Spencer Gets it Lit, is out now via In the Red Recordings, and we spoke with the rocker ahead of the band’s appearance at the recordBar on May 4 about the new record and so much more.

The Pitch: How did the HITmakers come together?

Jon Spencer: The first record was written and tracked in 2017. I’d been kind of sitting around for a year or two feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t really have a band of my own anymore.

I was busy with Boss Hog, and that was great, but the Blues Explosion had pretty much come to an end, and I really missed having a band and playing in a rock and roll group. I didn’t want to stop.

I tried starting something with a couple of different people. Nothing panned out, so then I figured, “Well, instead of making the band first, I’ll make a record and use that to get the whole thing rolling.”

So, I wrote an album’s worth of songs and reached out to a couple a couple of musicians that I admired. People were sympathetic to this setup.

That included Sam Coomes, famous for the band Quasi, and a drummer named M. Sord who lives up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He’s somebody that I just met over a few visits to the Key Club Recording Co. in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

I knew I wanted to make another album at Key Club. Sord was in the neighborhood and a fantastic drummer.

In fall 2017, we recorded everything, and I think by summer 2018 we were playing shows before the record even came out. There was a big gap. The record-making process got paused because of a death in my family.

When it came time to play some shows, I wanted to fill out the sound. On the record I had overdubbed a lot of percussion—specifically metal percussion, banging on pieces of scrap junk. I wanted him to have that be a part of the live sound.

I called my old friend Bob Bert, who I used to play with in Pussy Galore. Bob has a lot of experience banging on pieces of metal, and thankfully, he was game for the challenge.

That was the band: Bob Bert, Sam Coomes, M. Sord, and myself. Our first tour was through the Midwest in summer 2018, supporting the Melvins. Again, this was before the record had even come out.

It was probably the first couple shows when I began to refer to the group as the HITmakers from the stage, and that name stuck. The HITmakers name came from—well, the title, because the title of the album was Spencer Sings the Hits.

So yeah, things clicked. The four of us got along just fine, and we played through 2018 and 2019 and did a lot of touring. The chemistry was there, and we started to develop that musical communication—that unspoken stuff you share on stage—and started building up our muscles.

This new record, Spencer Gets it Lit, was recorded in July 2021 with the full band—the live band including Bob, Sam, Sord, and myself. It is also credited to John Spencer and the HITmakers. For the first one, it was just under my own name, but both records are part of a series, and it’s the same band. But yeah, it’s nice to have Bob on this new album.

Because of the inclusion of Bob Bert as part of the HITmakers and what he does, Einstürzende Neubauten gets thrown around a lot as an influence in reviews of this new record. Is that really the case for you, or is that just coincidental?

Oh no, it’s really the case—certainly for me. When I started Pussy Galore in ’85, ’86 Einstürzende Neubauten was a huge influence. Bands and groups like Einstürzende Neubauten, Test Department, Swans, SBK. Even people like Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. Industrial music, but the bands that were banging on and using trash—society’s throwaways.

To make music and to peel apart rock music was incredibly exciting to me, and that was a big part of Pussy Galore. There was all this junkyard aesthetic or scrap metal bang in Pussy Galore.

With the HITmakers, sure. I’d say no doubt. It’s definitely an influence, certainly for me as the guy writing the songs, but I think it’s probably easier to say, “It’s Bob Bert from Pussy doing the Bob Bert Pussy Galore thing.”

Given that you have a former bandmate in this band, and as part of the touring aspect, you’ve got Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss who are in—

If I could interrupt, we made this second record, Spencer Gets it Lit, but then, after we finished the record sometime in the fall, he said he needed some time off. He had some stuff he had to do. He had to take a break. We’re very lucky that Janet Weiss of Quasi—Sam’s partner—is coming on board to fill Sord’s shoes for the foreseeable future.

Janet’s playing in the HITmakers, and that’s happening on this tour, and Sam and Janet’s band Quasi will open every show. They’re playing a full Quasi set, and then they play as part of the HITmakers.

One of the things we’ve really enjoyed about the HITmakers project are the videos that you’ve crafted to go with it. The first video of Spencer Plays the Hits, for “Do the Trash Can,” with its collection of all that old footage, had us trying to figure out what we knew from where.

You and I are coming from the same place.

Who are you working with to make these videos, how much of this is your concept, and how much of this is collaborative?

Well that video you’re referring to was made by a guy named Andrew Hooper. I think I met him a long time ago. He’s helped me with stuff for Heavy Trash and the Blues Explosion, and he’s also done some stuff for the HITmakers and Boss Hog.

Andrew is just a very creative filmmaker and can work on a budget, for sure. It was really just that he also enjoys or appreciates a lot of the things and influences that I do.

I mean, I’m involved in the stuff. I don’t know if it’s 50/50. Most of the credit should go to the filmmakers. I will try to find people that have done things that I have liked. You have to share similar sensibilities. I’m definitely involved, especially when it comes time to edit.

You mentioned earlier about wanting to go back to Key Club in Benton Harbor to record. What’s the appeal of that recording facility?

One of the main appeals is Bill Skibbe, one of the people that owns and runs the facility. Bill does that with his wife, Jessica Ruffins. They built that place.

It’s very easy to work with Bill, and he gets great sounds and again—the same thing as looking for a filmmaker to make a video with is that you have to find somebody who you can get along with, who shares a similar sensibility, and you’re able to communicate.

You’re trying to find a like-minded soul that will help you realize something, and in this case, trying to get a sound that’s in my head out in the world.

Besides that, the Key Club has a fantastic collection of equipment—just really one-of-a-kind of pieces. And they know how to use it. Great microphones. Great consoles. The physical layout of the studio and the rooms themselves are just great.

Plus, it’s affordable, and they have apartments above that you could stay in. When you’re there, it’s just like you’re living and working there.

There’s not much else to do in Benton Harbor. If it’s summer, you can go swimming in the lake. It’s on the shores of Lake Michigan. It’s a good place to just really immerse yourself in the job of making a record.

You’re going out on tour for a good solid month.

I know! Can you believe it’s been over two years since I played a show? I mean, as I got older, especially after I had a child, I tried to keep tours around two weeks. But this one, I guess because we’re flying out to the West Coast and coming back, has just ballooned to its four-week length.

Yes, this is a long tour. I mean, back in the day, I used to go out for six to eight weeks, no problem, but that was a long time ago.

Have you been doing anything in preparation after having to take two years off?

I’m glad you asked that question. I’ve been working very hard. I’ve been eating a lot of chocolate donuts. I find they have the sugar and energy I need to get me through my day. Little chocolate donuts—it’s part of the cornerstone of any good breakfast.

I mean, I’m looking forward to the tour, but I’m mostly very nervous. I’m always nervous before a trip, but also this one, especially because we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, and so you know—ay yi yi. We’re going to try to be the safest we can but I hope it will be all right.

Jon Spencer & the HITmakers play the recordBar on May 4 with Quasi. Details on that show here.