Boss Hog should not be confused with Boss Hogg, the Dukes of Hazzard character. Sorrell Booke, portraying the character that made him famous, Boss Hogg. Spoiler warning: J.D. (Jefferson Davis) Hogg (better known as Boss Hogg) is a fictional character featured in the United States television series, The Dukes of Hazzard. ...

Boss Hog is a garage rock/punk rock band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer (guitar) and Cristina Martinez (vocals) along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), Hollis Queens (drums) and Mark Boyce (keyboard). Garage rock (performed by garage bands, not to be confused with UK Garage dance music) was a simple, raw form of rock and roll that emerged in the mid-1960s, largely in the United States. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (sometimes abbreviated JSBX) is a New York based band, made up of members Jon Spencer (vocals, guitar), Judah Bauer (guitar) and Russell Simins (drums). ...

Their name derives from a slang term amongst bikers for a really good/desirable "boss" motorcycle "hog".

The band acheived some notority, not only due to their abrasive sound, but more to Martinez's confrontational use of full nudity on the band's debut live performance and record sleeves. Their releases were relatively sporadic, but comprised three full length albums, a mini-album, an EP and a number of singles in an 11 year history.

Jon Spencer's other bands include Pussy Galore, of which Martinez became a peripheral member, and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion which existed in parallel to Boss Hog and now continues under the name Blues Explosion. Pussy Galore is a character from the Goldfinger novel and feature film. ... The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (sometimes abbreviated JSBX) is a New York based band, made up of members Jon Spencer (vocals, guitar), Judah Bauer (guitar) and Russell Simins (drums). ... The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (sometimes abbreviated JSBX) is a New York based band, made up of members Jon Spencer (vocals, guitar), Judah Bauer (guitar) and Russell Simins (drums). ...

History

Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez first met in 1985 at a gig by the Jesus and Mary Chain in Washington DC, where both were living. Spencer was already a member of experimental noise band Pussy Galore, which soon moved from D.C. to New York, accompanied by Martinez, mainly due to her romantic interest in Spencer, although she also enrolled on a film course at New York University. Martinez was soon to drop out of her course and join Pussy Galore as 3rd guitarist, despite her lack of musical knowledge at that time. 1989 promo shot for the album Automatic The Jesus and Mary Chain were a British Indie rock band that revolved around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim Reid and William Reid. ... ... Pussy Galore was an American noise rock band that formed in Washington D.C. during 1985. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ...

Pussy Galore were reportedly plagued by inter-band arguments, notably involving Martinez and second guitarist Julie Cafritz. Martinez left the band in 1987 but the arguments continued. They eventually split up in 1990, by which time Spencer and Martinez had married.

Boss Hog was formed in 1989, as an almost accidental side project, when Jon and Cristina were told of a last minute vacancy on the bill at the influential New York punk club CBGB. The pair put together a group of musicians from members of The Honeymoon Killers and Unsane and Kurt Wolf a member of Pussy Galore. The gig is reported to have been an underground sensation in New York, not least because Cristina performed the whole show naked. The outside front facade of CBGB CBGB, also CBGBs or CBs is a club at number 315 on the Bowery in New York City, New York. ... The Honeymoon Killers (William Kastle, 1970) is an American film starring Shirley Stoler. ... Unsane is a New York City noise rock trio, formed in 1988. ...

The same line-up of Spencer, Martinez, Charlie Ondras, Jerry Teel and Kurt Wolf recorded the mini-album Drinkin', Lechin' & Lyin' for the obscure label Amphetamine Reptile in 1989. Martinez continued the sexual notoriety by appearing naked other than thigh-length black leather stilletto boots and arm-length black leather gloves on the sleeve art.

The line-up of the band became highly unstable in the early '90's with members rapidly arriving and departing. Pete Shore of the Unsane joined on bass and the band did a few dates on the east coast with the Laughing Hyenas. The band recorded their first full-length album Cold Hands in 1990. Once again, the cover featured a nude Martinez, although this time in a more tasteful and non-explicit pose. These first two releases are now long-deleted and are rarities on the collectors' market. After recording "Cold Hands" Pete Shore and Jerry Teel left the band and Jens Jurgensen joined as bassist in order to tour Europe to promote the record. This lineup recorded the BBC Radio session and additional tracks that were released as the "Action Box" double single. Shortly thereafter Kurt Wolf left the band and Marcellus Hall of Railroad Jerk joined on guitar for another European tour and a Sub Pop single called "Smells Like Sausages",for a cover of "Fire Of Love". During the next year drummer Charlie Ondras died of a heroin overdose.

The band took a break for over two years, whilst Spencer concentrated on the Blues Explosion, prior to emerging in 1993 with a new, stable line-up of Spencer, Martinez, Jens Jurgensen (bass)(not of[ [The Swans]] as has been repeatedly reported because of a fictitious joke band biography that was circulated by Geffen Records) and Hollis Queens. The new line-up released the Girl Positive EP to some critical acclaim, especially for lead track "Ruby". This proved to be a turning point for the band's fortunes and they went on to sign a deal with David Geffen Company.

Their major-label debut was simply entitled Boss Hog and featured toned-down cover art in which Martinez appears only as a black-clad cartoon holding an umbrella. Within, the sleaze-glam punk sound of abrasive buzzsaw guitar and part sneering, part shouted vocals continued largely unabated. The band toured to promote this release in Europe, Japan and Australia as well as the US, reportedly the first time they had toured for more than a fortnight at a time.

The band made a brief appearance as themselves in the 1996 movie Joe's Apartment. After this, they took another extended break whilst Spencer and Martinez had their first child together. Joes Apartment is a 1996 musical-serio-comic film starring Jerry OConnell. ...

In 2000, Boss Hog re-emerged with the Whiteout album, adding keyboard player Mark Boyce to the lineup, who had toured with the band after the Geffen Record. The album featured a typically minimalist sound and a strong visual statement of dressing exclusively in all-white. Parenthood proved no barrier to restoring the levels of glamour and sexual provocation, within a more polished sound. This time, the album was released on two record labels, with different cover art for different territories. On both covers Martinez posed against an all-white backdrop, in one wearing white underwear and on the other topless with long hair extensions.

The success of Whiteout was accompanied by a number of singles and gigs and a flurry of publicity, before silence returned.

Boss Hog have not had any public activity since 2001, although there seems to have been no official statement of their disbanding. Jon Spencer continues with the Blues Explosion and is still married to Cristina Martinez.

Discography

Albums

• 1990: Cold Hands
• 1995: Boss Hog
• 2000: Whiteout

Mini Albums & EP's

• 1989: Drinkin', Lechin' & Lyin' (mini-album)
• 1993: Girl Positive (vinyl EP)
• 1993: Girl Positive + (CD extended EP)

Singles

• 1990: Action Box
• 1996: I Dig You
• 1996: Winn Coma
• 2000: Whiteout
• 2000: Old School
• 2000: Get It While You Wait
• 2000: Itchy & Scratchy

Links / References

The following web sites have been used to assemble details for this article:

• Boss Hog official site In The Red records
• Boss Hog Whiteout official site at City Slang records
• Boss Hog mini-biography at MTV.com
• Biography at Cristina Martinez fan site
• Boss Hog fan site with full discography
• Cast list for Joe's Apartment including Boss Hog members