In case you haven't been "talkin' 'bout the blues" lately, that will all change come March 30. That day the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion kick off their reissue series, with Shout Factory! releasing a "best of"-type compilation called Dirty Shirt and Rock 'N' Roll: The First Ten Years, which looks back at the seminal '90s band's first ten years.
In the coming months, the JSBX will follow-up the comp with a series of reissues via Shout! Factory of the five albums they released in their first decade. Band leader Jon Spencer recently spoke with Exclaim! about what fans can expect.
"The first release is this compilation, which covers the first ten years of the band," Spencer explained. "Then we're gonna do Now I Got Worry and Controversial Negro. Controversial Negro was the live album that was only ever released in Japan. Then it's gonna be Year One, which is made of all the different records that came out during the first year of the band, and Extra Width, which will include Mo' Width. And then Orange followed by Acme. Acme is going to include Extra Acme, and Orange will probably include Experimental Remixes."
Spencer added that "all the CDs are going to be filled to the brim with extra stuff - anything that was recorded just before or around the time of the album. And they'll all have booklets with extra liner notes and photos."
As with any reissue campaign like this, Spencer says reunion shows will follow, including one at Montreal's Osheaga Festival in the summer. He says no tour is actually planned though.
"We're not going to do a full on tour," says Spencer. "In April, we're gonna play New York City, in the summer we're going to play the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, Osheaga in Montreal. And so for those two festivals, we'll be playing shows leading up to them. Just short little trips. We're working on some other possible dates for the summer and the fall, but not a full tour."
Knowing the JSBX will be crossing the border suggests the band could line up a few more Canadian gigs. Spencer isn't so sure yet, but says they'd be interested.
"I don't know what the restrictions are for the [Osheaga] festival in Montreal," he says. "But if we're going all the way up there it would be nice to play Toronto. Toronto is a very nice city."
In the coming months, the JSBX will follow-up the comp with a series of reissues via Shout! Factory of the five albums they released in their first decade. Band leader Jon Spencer recently spoke with Exclaim! about what fans can expect.
"The first release is this compilation, which covers the first ten years of the band," Spencer explained. "Then we're gonna do Now I Got Worry and Controversial Negro. Controversial Negro was the live album that was only ever released in Japan. Then it's gonna be Year One, which is made of all the different records that came out during the first year of the band, and Extra Width, which will include Mo' Width. And then Orange followed by Acme. Acme is going to include Extra Acme, and Orange will probably include Experimental Remixes."
Spencer added that "all the CDs are going to be filled to the brim with extra stuff - anything that was recorded just before or around the time of the album. And they'll all have booklets with extra liner notes and photos."
As with any reissue campaign like this, Spencer says reunion shows will follow, including one at Montreal's Osheaga Festival in the summer. He says no tour is actually planned though.
"We're not going to do a full on tour," says Spencer. "In April, we're gonna play New York City, in the summer we're going to play the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, Osheaga in Montreal. And so for those two festivals, we'll be playing shows leading up to them. Just short little trips. We're working on some other possible dates for the summer and the fall, but not a full tour."
Knowing the JSBX will be crossing the border suggests the band could line up a few more Canadian gigs. Spencer isn't so sure yet, but says they'd be interested.
"I don't know what the restrictions are for the [Osheaga] festival in Montreal," he says. "But if we're going all the way up there it would be nice to play Toronto. Toronto is a very nice city."