intro to Boss Hog!
Drinkin' Lechin' & Lyin'
Cold Hands
Action Box ep
Girl + ep
Drinkin' With the Boss
Boss Hog
I Dig You single
Winn Coma single
Whiteout import cd
Get It While You Wait import single
Whiteout import single
Whiteout
Itchy & Scratchy import single
Soultrap

All you need to know about this band is that Christina Martinez sings and she has that true-to-life rocker-chick attitude that you always were afraid to say Joan Jett never truly mustered. More importantly, there are very sexy photos of Martinez on almost all of their releases. Other important details include her marriage to John Spencer who is also Boss Hog's guitarist. Both of them were once in an infamous experimental noise-core band called Pussy Galore back in the '80s.

On early Hog, Martinez and Spencer split vocal duties and the band had nothing other than occasional chick vocals with which to distinguish itself from Spencer's other band, the John Spencer Blues Explosion. Hog tracks were straight ahead blues-scale rockers (with occasional retro-grades into Pussy Galore noisedom). There were also numerous line-up changes within the band during this period. But in 1995, when Hog signed to the majors, the line-up solidified and Martinez became the stronger influence in the band's personality by singing lead on most of the tracks, conducting most of the interviews, and, on their releases, plastering her image more prominently than those of her bandmates. By 1999's Whiteout, Martinez and lady drummer Hollis Queens provide the bulk of the vocals and are the only bandmembers to appear in the Hog vids. Overall sound is still progressive blues rock but the band did add a full-time keyboardist giving them their most organic, almost psychedelic sound to date.

(FYI: I decided to review their singles as well. Boss Hog loves to load up their singles with material you can't get on their albums.)

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This early Boss Hog stuff reminds me of other music that was going on back in the late '80s. What were you listening to back then? Remember, "grunge" (at least as mtv defines it) is still at least two years away. However, if you check around, you'll find that grunge was evident all over the place back then including here on the first Boss Hog release. The Butthole Surfers were still cool acid-eating freaks back in '88 and '89 and this was the same time that Nirvana's Bleach debuted on Sub Pop. I doubt the Hogs (from NYC) were influenced by Nirvana (from Seattle) at this time particularly since, prior to the Great Grunge Rush of '91, most New Yorkers thought Seattle was part of Canada. But there are Nirvana similarities to be drawn here mainly in the grinding-out-of-simple-fuzzy-grooves and the wailing-torturously-in-despair departments (hear: 'Trigger Man' and 'Spanish Fly'). As for the Surfers, they very well could have been an influence on these early Hogs for there is a definite sense of psycho-delic mania on some of these six tracks (hear: 'Pullout' and 'Fix Me'). Remember, Martinez and Spencer's previous band, Pussy Galore, was a Butthole Surfer contemporary if not full-on weird colleague.

Apparently, Christina Martinez's role at this point is to sing below the noisy dirge on the tracks her husband John doesn't sing on and to pose naked for Boss Hog's album covers. Her lyrics are undecipherable and get swallowed up by all the noise. At times this sounds like early Blues Explosion and not much like the band we presently refer to as Boss Hog.

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Taking the Butthole Surfers comparison one step further... I'd have to say Cold Hands is to Boss Hog what Locust Abortion Technician was to the Surfers: Totally different, even for them. This album is all over the place. The band experiments with back masking, tempo changes (slowing things way down on some cuts) and volume (quieting things down to the point where you think the disc is over).

'Eddie' could've been an Alice Donut song (I'm certain Hog and Donut must have crossed paths in NYC around this time). 'Go Wrong' sounds like early Psychedelic Furs complete with freaky sax. 'Duchess' is total Blues Explosion. 'Pete Shore' is kinda surf punkish. So where's Boss Hog in all this? That's up to you I s'pose. My thoughts are the Hogs are still somewhat embracing the "Pussy Galore" sound at this point in their careers and may also have been subconsciously sponging off of other acts.

That's just a theory, mind you, and you know how those go...

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Edging ever closer towards the definitive "Boss Hog sound". Four tracks of thrash noise with discernable blues hooks. Boss Hog releases are now fun and begging for repeated listenings. The Pussy Galore influence is almost completely gone. 'Bunny Fly' rocks and has a blast doing so and 'Black Throat' is a foul-mouthed raunchy Boss Hog classic.

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Kicks off with the muted trumpet and 1930's-style jazz sass of 'Ruby', which mutates into wails of punk desperation ("Ruby!!"). 'Cream Agent' provides something of a roadmap for where the band headed after this ep: to that whole blues-rock-played-with-punk-ethos thing. The remaining three songs are above average for this early Hog.

All in all, a nice little ep. However, four years along and Boss Hog's best years are still ahead of them. Also with this release, the line-up solidifies into: Martinez and husband Jon on guitar and vocals, Hollis Queens on drums and Jens Jourgensen on bass).

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Beautifully packaged and well-produced CD-R of Boss Hog's hard-to-find Amphetimine Reptile-era material (most tracks drawn from vinyl-only releases). Contains all the songs from Hog's four major releases on that label (if you weren't paying attention, they are: Drinkin, Lechin, & Lyin; Cold Hands; Action Box; and Girl +) plus two additional tracks 'Red Bath' and 'Fire of Love'.

The only place I ever see this disc is on eBay offered as a "special bonus" to the winner of a Boss Hog concert photos auction. This 'leg may be your only chance to hear the early Hog.

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Finally... that blues-punk 'monster mash' sound that I love so much. Very strong material flowing from the Hogs now as they truly hit their stride. The switch to a major, of course, polishes the mix some but the new cleaner sound strengthens the songwriting rather than exposing any musical flaws in the band.

There are tons of great songs here (I only skip past 'Texas' which is a bit too melodramatic for my tastes): 'Winn Coma' starts things out in fine fashion. It jumps out of your speaker so loud and fast you may want to stand back and use your remote control when you throw this disc on. On 'Sick' Spencer wails repeatedly "I'm not wweeellll!!". Martinez and Spencer do a great straight blues cover of Ike & Tina's 'I Idolize You' and are only slightly less successful with a rendition of their own similar themed 'I Dig You' (which has some Tom Waits bell/percussion-thing happening in it). The rebellious 'Ski Bunny' goes "1... 2... Fuck... School!!". There's a manic yet psychedelic twinge to the short but great 'Green Shirt'. There's yet another Alice Donut moment happening in 'What the Fuck' (in the form of the main riff which sounds like something off of Untidy Suicides...). 'Punkture' is punk/funk with some intriguing percussive moments. And Martinez's lyrics get a little more personal on the excellent track 'Sam' ("Tell me why... it makes you hard when I cry").

Spencer is a major presence on Boss Hog, but Martinez is slowly taking over...

Reader Comments

pergolesen@hotmail.com (Katie)
Hey I've been looking for the lyrics to the song "Sam" for some time now, and can't find them anywhere. There aren't many fansites or much information about Boss Hog on the web, and so I was rockin' out when I found your site. If you could send those lyrics my way I'd be totally spazzing.

mattro@raptorial.com (mattro)
Yo, Hog Fans... got lyrics for Katie? Help a sista out.

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Not exactly the track I would have chosen for their first single. I imagine Geffen chose it for them but, then again, I'm paranoid (who was it that said, "It's not paranoia if they're really after you." ?). I think 'Sam' would've been the better single but what do I know? I've never given a speech involving flipcharts in an airconditioned room 100 storeys up in the air.

The b-sides are great: 'Soultrap' is one of Hog's best. 'Hell Mary' is darned good to. Hog's cover of Wire's '12XU' is more interesting than the song it's b-siding. Sexy cartoon girl artwork on the packagaing...

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Better song than 'I Dig You', but still not the best track from Boss Hog to float as a single. Once again there are three bonus tracks for your glad hand: 'Texasville' (a remix of album track 'Texas'), an instrumental jam called 'Boogie with Marce', and 'Reform '.

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Everything great about the impending U.S. release Whiteout (see review below) is here and so much more. This German import debuted (months before the US's) as an enhanced disc with two cool bonus tracks ('Defender' and 'Lobito'*), a computer game, a quicktime video for the song 'Whiteout', and a screen saver. Load me up, Boss! It also has better photos of Christina on the cover and gatefold than the U.S. disc. I'm glad I found this version of Whiteout, but I had to pay a guy in Germany to send it to me.

Which begs the question, why do the Europeans get all the good stuff?! I mean, they have universal healthcare, great train systems, Amsterdam, free universities and trade schools... Apparently they demand all this! Tell me why Americans can't have all of these things and more!!!! Don't tell me we have to demand it too! I'm comfy right here on my ass!

*the second bonus track is an mp3 awarded as a prize after you finish the computer game.

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The best song of the three Whiteout tracks that were released as singles. However, the extra tracks 'Drive Me Crazy' and 'Dedicated' do seem like average throw aways (a rarity for Hog b-sides).

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The single with the best b-sides. 'Structure' and 'Count Me Out' are two of the best tracks Boss Hog has ever done. 'Whiteout' isn't one of my favorite Hog songs but it's okay. Would have loved these b-sides on the 'Get It While You Wait' single.

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After a one record-and-out thrashing by major label consolidation (and the requisite contractual hell ensuing in that reality), the Boss is back in DIY mode. Liberation from corporate frustrations must be a beautiful feeling because Whiteout is their best work yet.

Though Spencer does sing back-up on several of the cuts (and lead on 'Chocolate')... 'Get It While You Wait', 'Whiteout', and 'Stereolight' are great radio friendly songs that take Boss Hog further out of the Blues Explosion shadow by adding Mark Boyce's moody keyboards to Martinez's sexually-charged (yet somehow restrained) vocals. Cool monster mashin' is in full-effect on 'Nursery Rhyme' and 'Fear for You'

Then the album gets stronger (and rocks harder) as it goes! It closes out with four excellent tracks that leave you hungry for more: 'Get It While You Wait', 'Jaguar', 'Trouble' and 'Monkey'.

Author! Author!

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The third single from Whiteout is alright, I s'pose ( I actually find it to be the weakest song of the album's electrifying 10 tracks)... and there are two adequate remixes of it that you haven't heard before... but the most interesting thing on this disc is the Quicktime movie of the band's 'Get It While You Wait' video. Damn Christina is bee-yoo-tee-full!!

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This CD collects all(?) of the Boss Hog b-sides and compilation appearances since 1995. There are 15 surprisingly strong tracks on here and only two or three are throw away type songs you might expect from other bands' singles.

The standout tracks are 'Soultrap', 'Hell Mary', covers of The Kinks' 'I'm Not Like Everybody Else' and of Wire's '1 2 X U'. There are two cool instrumental jams: 'Boogie with Marce' and 'Lobito'. Oh yeah, 'Structure' is a great tune as is 'Count Me Out' !

Soultrap also lifts the Mac multimedia files from the import version of Whiteout and the 'Itchy..' single. So if you have a Mac then you're totally gear.

All-in-all an excellent Boss Hog package to have.

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Hog Links:

The Official Boss Hog site

Grunnen Rocks: Boss Hog. Discography, bios and general info.

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