Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray's Heavy Trash | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray's Heavy Trash

Yep Roc Records to release the duo's self-titled debut on 4/19/05. THERE IS A SECRET PLACE where even the best-intentioned rockabilly explorations are scarred by dirty guitars, bad dreams, and lust gone wrong...Where murder ballads rub up against filthy R&B and frantic rock'n'roll...Where country ruminations drip with echo and sadness... This is where SPENCER and VERTA-RAY fermented their very souls and gave birth to HEAVY TRASH, the perfect soundtrack for boozy all-night throw downs, pettin' parties and psychedelic fright shows.

Mr. Spencer, of course, is the Shudder and Shake behind the BLUES EXPLOSION and The Most Exciting Performer in Rock'n'Roll Today. Mr. Verta-Ray chopped heads with SPEEDBALL BABY. Together they carved these songs from Raw Tombstone and committed them to tape in Matt's basement studio in New York's' Lower East Side.
The result is HEAVY TRASH.
Charting a much different course than what the world has come to expect from the rawkus ordnance of Blues Explosion and the avant leanings of Speedball Baby, HEAVY TRASH is the rare rock'n'roll record that has a killer beat but isn't overpowered by the Crash-Boom-Bang of Big Rock Drums.

"Charlie Feathers said real rockabilly was just rhythm, bass, and guitar. That was Elvis at the beginning," says Jon. "Heavy Trash started with me on acoustic guitar, hanging out in Matt's studio, drinking beer. It was a year in the making. We'd write a few songs and have the luxury to take our time, revisit things. It was very easy going."

Indeed. While HEAVY TRASH is propelled by Matt's jagged rhythm and lead, there are moments of heart-stopping restraint where Jon sings behind the beat, replacing his famous strut and swagger with a crooning style so relaxed as to be subversive.

"If you are in the business of myth-making, especially in the music world, you want the artist to be just one thing," says Matt. "This is a more honest approach."

HEAVY TRASH. PLAY IT FOR THE ONE YOU LOVE. YOU CANNOT LOSE.

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