Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Confirm Breakup After 6-Year Hiatus

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the bluesy, punky garage rock trio that released 10 studio albums and played hundreds of concerts worldwide over 25 years, confirmed their breakup this week. The New York-based band had been on hiatus since 2016.

Namesake bandleader Jon Spencer explained the situation on the podcast Kreative Kontrol on Tuesday (March 22). He said health issues plaguing Blues Explosion guitarist Judah Bauer caused the group to stop touring and call it a day.

Listen to the excerpt near the bottom of this post.

Asked by Kreative Kontrol host Vish Khanna about the Blues Explosion's abrupt end — and if it was common knowledge that the outfit is no longer together — Spencer replies, "I thought people knew. We didn't really wanna make a big announcement about it just in case something changed. You know, what's the point of saying 'never again'?"

He continues, "The last record was Freedom Tower [2015's Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015] … and we were touring after that and playing all over, touring around the world, and then Judah Bauer got really sick with a respiratory ailment. And it's very, very hard. It became impossible for him to travel, and also being in a venue — yeah, we had to stop."

Spencer adds that Bauer is better now, however. "He's OK; he's all right," the rocker shares. "He's much better; he's fine. You know, we had a good long run."

The bandleader had all but confirmed the split in the past. Questioned about the act's hiatus in 2018, he answered, "It's hard to know what to say. It’s not like we had an official end, but for me, it was helpful in order to move forward." (via Louder)

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, formed in 1991, also featured drummer Russell Simins. Their albums include a 1992 self-titled effort, 1994's Orange, 1996's Now I Got Worry, 2004's Damage and 2012's Meat + Bone. They last performed live in March 2016.

Hear some Blues Explosion highlights from throughout the act's career beneath the clip. Check out Spencer's full Kreative Kontrol interview here.