Two musicians exploring the intersection of punk rock and roots music joined forces in Heavy Trash, a project pairing Jon Spencer with Matt Verta-Ray. Spencer first drew notice from adventurous listeners in 1985 through his raw vocals and primitive guitar work in the frantic noise merchants Pussy Galore. After that band dissolved in 1990, he linked up with guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins to launch the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The group fused R&B accents and Spencer's feral blues wailing with a fractured yet potent post-punk attack, becoming one of the 1990s' most acclaimed and controversial indie acts. Even while the Blues Explosion thrived, Spencer pursued other outlets and, in his off time, performed and recorded with R.L. Burnside, Boss Hog, the Gibson Brothers, Dub Narcotic Sound System, and Spencer Dickinson. In 2005 Spencer started writing and tracking songs with Matt Verta-Ray, who had played bass on Madder Rose's first two albums and handled guitar in the hard-edged blues-punk band Speedball Baby, which had toured with the Blues Explosion. Both had also worked with R&B sleaze legend Andre Williams, Spencer on the 2000 album The Black Godfather and Verta-Ray on 2001's Bait and Switch. They called the collaboration Heavy Trash and issued its self-titled debut in 2005, an album that pulled back from earlier blues textures in favor of pronounced rockabilly and honky tonk flavors; Verta-Ray engineered and co-produced the record at his N.Y. Hed studio. The duo followed with a second album, Going Way Out with Heavy Trash, in 2007, then delivered another effort, Midnight Soul Serenade, in 2009 that marked their last release for some time. They kept appearing on stages worldwide with their raucous sound, mounting a short tour each year. In 2015 Bronze Rat issued Noir!, a brief LP collection of unreleased songs, outtakes, and casual recordings.
