“JON SPENCER & the JABBER WOCKIES
JON SPENCER & the NOW PEOPLE
JON SPENCER & the TRANSISTORS
JON SPENCER & the DISRUPTIONS DISRUPTORS
JON SPENCER & HIS GLORIOUS TWO
JON SPENCER & HIS TERRIFIC TWO
JON SPENCER & the UNBELIEVABLES
JON SPENCER & the DEFIBRILATORS
JON SPENCER & GENIUSES
JON SPENCER & the RHYTHM SISTERS
JON SPENCER & the NETWORK TELEVISION EVENT
JON SPENCER & the TAKEDOWNS
JON SPENCER & the ELECTRICALS
JON SPENCER & the WUNDERKINDS
JON SPENCER & HIS PREMIER SHOW BAND REVUE
JON SPENCER & the RIPPERS
JON SPENCER & the POP STARS
The JON SPENCER ENTERTAINMENT EXTRVAGANZA
JON SPENCER & the H-BOMBS
JON SPENCER & the MAKE IT HAPPENS (?)
JON SPENCER the DEVASTATORS
The JON SPENCER ROCK and ROLL ENSEMBLE
JON SPENCER & The UNSTOPPABLES
JON SPENCER & the SUPERLATIVES
JON SPENCER & HIS ROOFRAISERS
JON SPENCER & the FORCES of RIGHTEOUSNESS
The TERMINAL FREAKOUT POINT featuring JON SPENE
JON SPENCER & the RIP-IT-UPS
JON SPENCER & the DYNAMICS the BARNBURNERS
JON SPENCER & the DESTRUCTO-BEAMS
JON SPENCER & the BLAST CAPS the DETONATORS
JON SPENCER & the CONSUMATE PROFESSIONALS
JON SPENCER & the SMARTPHONE ADDICTIONS
JON SPENCER & the TRAGEDIANS
JON SPENCER & the HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENGINES
JON SPENCER & HIS BADASS BAND
The JON SPENCER BADASS BAND
EMERSON, SPENCER, LAKE & PALMER
JON SPENCER and the PUSSYCATS
The JON SPENCER COMMUNITY SINGALONG CHOIR
The JON SPENCER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JON KENDALL SPIDER
Jon Spencer-vocals, guitar, synth, organ, percussion
Kendall Wind-bass, vocals, guitar, piano, organ
Macky Spider Bowman – drums, vocals, percussion
Recorded by Chris Bittner at Applehead Recording, Woodstock NY, July 7-9, 2025 except Vermin Attack! & Mr. Lion, recorded by Felipe Ruz & Perrosky at Estudio Algorecords, Stgo. Chile, April 6, 2025. Mixed by Chris Bittner at Applehead.
Mastered by Dave Gardner at DSG
Produced by Jon Spencer
Studio photo by Skyler Smith. Live photos by Jonny Leather
Title lettering by Stee V. Band names & lettering by Todd Hanson
All songs (c) 2026 by Spencer, Wind, Bowman (Patricia Ann Music, BMI) ℗ 2026 Jon Spencer under exclusive license to Shove Records SHOV39″
“As always, this is a fantastic rock and roll album. It has a rugged, simple, and robust groove. The beats are wild and full of energy. With young new members joining the band, 61-year-old John Spencer is in top form.
The album, titled “Songs of Personal Loss and Protest,” is John Spencer’s first solo album since his 2024 mini-album “Sick of Being Sick!”. This is his third solo album, following “Spencer Sings The Hits” (2018). The CD you have contains the 12 tracks from “Songs of Personal Loss and Protest,” the 8 tracks from “Sick of Being Sick!”, and the single “Come On!”, which was released digitally in 2025, as a bonus track. “Sick of Being Sick!” was only released on LP and digitally, so this marks its first appearance on CD.
As you may know, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (JSBE) went on hiatus in 2016, and in 2022 it was revealed that they had effectively disbanded. The reason was Judah Bauer’s health problems. Judah was suffering from a respiratory illness that made it difficult for him to tour. For Jon, who has always declared that live performances are his lifeline, live activities were his lifeline, and the band’s disbandment was a painful decision. It was something he needed to do to move forward as an artist.
“Spencer Sings The Hits” (2018) appears to have been created during a period when John was still unsure whether to continue JSBE as a band. Therefore, instead of a band project, it’s a home-recorded album where John played guitar, synthesizers, and percussion by himself, with guest appearances from Sam Coombs of Quasi and M. Sword. The raw, junky sound, reminiscent of his Pussy Galore days, certainly seemed like a return to John’s roots, but for John, it wasn’t nostalgic at all; it was probably a way of confirming where his starting point was as he searched for the path he should take in the future.
Six years later, the 8-track mini-album “Sick of Being Sick!” (2024) is a band recording featuring a trio: Macky Spider Bowman (drums), Kendall Wind (bass), and Jon (vocals, guitar). The credit is [Jon Spencer, Kendall Wind, Macky Spider Bowman]. These three also participated in the current album “Songs of Personal Loss and Protest,” and although this album is credited solely to Jon Spencer, it is thought to be the permanent lineup of Jon’s current band. Macky and Kendall were members of The Bobby Leeds.
There’s also The Bobby Leeds is a band formed in NY in 2018, centered around female vocalist/guitarist Sam Quartin, and specializes in loud rock in the hardcore/garage punk genre. John produced their second album, [Skin Suit] (2020), and from there…
It seems that this was a fortunate coincidence. In other words, John liked the young band he produced and hired their rhythm section for his own band. The Bobby Leeds have signed with Epitaph Records and are scheduled to release their fourth album, “New Self,” in June 2026, and are likely to attract even more attention in the future. Their raw, gritty band sound is exactly to John’s liking, so it’s easy to see why he selected them. This album and “New Self” were likely produced almost simultaneously, so they could be seen as sibling albums.
This album was produced by John Spencer himself, and the recording took place primarily at Apple Head Recordings in Woodstock, New York. John provided the following comment:
“Right now I’m going through a period of mental introspection. I’ve had a string of emotional struggles and personal losses in the last few years—time is relentless. I’ve lost friends, I’ve lost family, and all of this coincides with a world that feels turned upside down, as if we’re losing even the most basic freedoms… I’m trying to balance a lot of things, but the answer is always rock and roll.”
The album title, “Personal Loss and Protest,” reflects John Spencer’s own circumstances and state of mind, tormented by various misfortunes and sorrows that have occurred around him, and by the loneliness and sense of loss he has experienced, in response to the absurdity and injustice of recent times.
A protest against social conditions and a world rife with injustice and unfairness.
Does this mean that this album is a collection of thoughts and feelings that overlap with those of the past? In other words, this work has a major theme in which a certain kind of social message and “personal inner monologue” are closely intertwined.
Up until now, John Spencer’s lyrics often consisted of fragmented phrases and repeated shouts that functioned more as part of the sound than telling meaningful stories or messages. He frequently delivered short words imbued with emotion and impulse, slamming them down rhythmically like rhymes. Quoting lines from old blues and soul lyrics, he expressed desire, violence, and emotions directly, often creating a provocative and inciting atmosphere that stirred and uplifted the listener. In short, his expression pursued simplicity to its extreme, becoming an impulsive force that was, in a sense, the antithesis of sentimentalism or prosaic messaging. Regarding political messages in music, he answered my interview in 1996 with something like this…
That’s what I’m saying.
“I’m not interested. Even if I wrote a political song, it might feel real at the time, but in a few years, that political issue might not even exist anymore. The world is constantly changing. I’d rather write songs about things that are timeless and resonate with everyone. It could be about love, or various emotions… or simply everyday life. If I were so interested in politics, I’d just become a politician.
While this statement itself is typical of John Spencer, it’s interesting that he’s making similar comments about the new album 30 years later. I don’t think the lyrics of this album contain a direct political message, but it was created against such a backdrop. There have been changes in the circumstances surrounding John, as well as changes in John himself, and I can’t help but feel the drastic changes—or rather, the “deterioration” and “worsening”—of the social conditions that prompted (or forced) these changes.
But the most important point in this comment is the last part: “The answer is always rock and roll.” Even when troubled, suffering, and trapped by a sense of loss, he never forgets his rock and roll instinct. It is always rock and roll that blows away anxiety and fear and gives you the ultimate ecstasy. And that is ringing out in full here. JSBE may be gone, but John is still alive and well. There are recent live videos of the current band on YouTube, and they are simply amazing.
Speaking of which, JSBE’s latest release in 1996 was “Now I Got Worry.” That’s right, I’m always worried, but rock and roll never betrays me.
May 10, 2026 Dai Onojima”
