Jon Spencer has worn many hats over the years. First with D.C. noise and 'groovy hate fuck' combo Pussy Galore, then later with the punk/blues Boss Hog and of course his own eponymous Blues Explosion. And wherever Spencer goes, he always takes American roots music and dips it in a modern moonshine laced with a dash of punk.

A natural destination on Spencer's musical travels has been rockabilly, which his project Heavy Trash explores with equal parts beauty and ferocity on Midnight Soul Serenade, their third full-length.

Spencer took time to speak to Blender only a few hours before boarding a flight to Europe, calling us as he emerged from a New York City subway on an afternoon packed with last minute errands.

A little frazzled. We're leaving for a tour, flying to Portugal via Madrid—a hectic day. Frazzled, again, is the word.

Do you like playing Europe?

Yeah—it's awful nice. They seem to like us over there, and we get to see some pretty nice places.

Pick five words to describe Midnight Soul Serenade.

[Thirty-five second pause...]

It's hard, because the words that come to mind are 'love,' 'devotion'... Uh... 'mature'?

You know, I wouldn't make a good ad man. The words i should be saying are 'stupendous! fantastic!'

Describe one of the highlights of making the album. Anything stand out?

I enjoyed very much working with Alap Momin (aka Oktopus) from the group Dalek. We mixed a few songs with him at his studio in Union City, NJ. I got along well with him, we had a nice working relationship, and I think the songs we did with him that are on the record—"Isolation," "Sweet Little Bird," "In My Heart," and "Pill"—came out awful nice.

What musician, living or dead, would you most like to collaborate with?

For many years I wanted to do something with Tony Joe White. Tony Joe White is a singer-songwriter from the south... he was most famous for a song called "Polk Salad Annie" in the early '70s. He still writes and records. He's sort of the real version of John Fogerty; beautiful voice, great songwriter, and a great, funky blues guitar player. I've always held him in high regard.

Besides you, who's had the best sideburns in rock?

Besides me? Well, Tony Joe White's always had some nice sideburns.

Is there a particular rockabilly artist that you draw inspiration from?

My all time favorite rockabilly artist is Charlie Feathers, I think he was the greatest rockabilly guy ever. He was a Memphis musician who played rockabilly his whole life; devoted his life to rockabilly. He was around Sun Records in '55, and he claims to have taught Elvis everything. Just an incredible vocalist.

What's the worst rock n' roll injury you've ever suffered?

I cut my ear open at a Blues Explosion show somewhere I think in South Carolina. It was back in the '90s and we were playing with Southern Culture On The Skids. It was towards the end of our set, and I somehow got hit in the side of the head with the face of the microphone stand. It punctured and left a hole—a nice, neat hole—in my ear. There was a ton of blood, but I finished the set and then just walked to the hospital. The venue was close to the hospital; I just went over and got stitched up.

What's your favorite city to play and why?

When I first started out with Pussy Galore I was very enamored with Columbus, Ohio, and really all of those Ohio cities—Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. I enjoyed visiting those places early on, and made some good friends in those places.

And these days, well, we did some shows in the Balkans. We did Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade, and Belgrade was very nice. We played in this beautiful old building that had been many things over the years, including a secret police headquarters, or so we were told.

Do you have a least favorite place?

Least favorite? Well, England can be a little rough, you know? And we always seem to find ourselves there in November, or March. But the food's gotten a lot better... and so has the coffee.

MP3s, digital files, music today... Thoughts?

The way people consume music these days is OK with me. Technology has always been changing. The vinyl LP is not something that was carved in stone and brought down from the mountain, you know. There's always been changes in technology and the way people consume music. It's all OK with me!

What's the rock n' roll dream?

It's being able to play music. To go to Ljubljana, to go to Columbus, Ohio, to go to Manchester, England. To be able to make a record, to release a record, then do a tour.

For me, I came out of hardcore, so it's all about responsibility; about trying to do things for yourself.

Midnight Soul Serenade is out now.

Heavy Trash 2009 Tour Dates

* Appearing with Elliott Brood
Tue 10/13/09 New York, NY @ Bowery Electric – CD release show! (w/Bad Girlfriend)
Tue 10/20/09 New York, NY @ Santos’ Party House – CMJ showcase
Wed 11/11/09 Cleveland, OH  @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Thu 11/12/09 Pontiac, MI  @ Pike Room
Fri 11/13/09 Columbus, OH  @ The Summit
Sat 11/14/09 Champaign, IL @ Cowboy Monkey
Sun 11/15/09 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
Mon 11/16/09 Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Tavern
Tue 11/17/09 Louisville, KY @ Vernon Club
Wed 11/18/09 Nashville, TN @ The End
Thu 11/19/09 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Fri 11/20/09 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 *
Sat 11/21/09 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern Cafe and Music Hall *
Sun 11/22/09 Washington, DC @ DC9 *
Mon 11/23/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie *