|
| Photo
by Danielle St. Laurent |
|
Jon
Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray are...Heavy Trash!
On stage and in the studio, Jon Spencer, has destroyed
and rebuilt American roots music with such ferocity and
wild abandon it is hard to believe that there is anything
left. The trail of musical destruction in the wake of
his groovy hate-fuck combo Pussy Galore still smolders
with the stench of avant punk trash and nasty garage ooze
and grind, while his towering work with the Jon Spencer
Blues explosion remains an indelible totem to his enormous
mojo spirit and red-hot power of deliverance. He is Daddy
Boss Hog! He is the Blues Exploder and Microphone Destroyer!
A Gibson Brother! The man who shared a Chicken Dog with
Rufus Thomas, got Soul with R.L. Burnside, and enjoyed
a greasy Lap Dance with Andre Williams! He is The Man
Who Loved too Much!!! And while the Blues Explosion is
on a rock'n'roll holiday, Jon has not rested! He has not
worked on his tan, he has not read the latest summer blockbuster!!
NO!! Jon Spencer has chosen the righteous path, and got
Way Out with his pal Matt Verta-Ray and the Heavy Trash!!!
Matt Verta-Ray grew up in the loving arms of left wing
parents who would take him to folk and blues shows long
before he sprouted sideburns. (His mother passed away
in the '90s, still angry that Dylan had gone electric,
despite the fact - Matt is quick to point out - that she
owned tons of Sun rockabilly 78s, which he very gratefully
still has.) In the late '70s, young Matt found himself
one of only twelve people who went to see Bo Diddley at
a Canadian fairground. After the show, Bo came out and
preached to Matt for an hour about the dark secrets of
rock'n'roll. And the rest, as they say, is history - from
sitting on the edge of the stage with Bo, to thumping
bass for Madder Rose, and then onto his hard-wired decontructionist
rootsabilly band Speedball Baby, where he developed his
slashing-dagger guitar style - to forming Heavy Trash
with his friend Jon Spencer. Matt is also the mad scientist
behind the jungle of tube amps and old-school echo machines
that form the mutated nucleus of his analog cave, world-class
recording studio NY Hed, where musicians come from all
over the galaxy to get... Way Out!!! |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Going
Way Out with
Heavy Trash
Yep Roc
2007 |
|
