Jon Spencer is a man of few words. Surprising, given that the leader of the Blues Explosion is anything but meek. Perhaps the purveyor of frantic lo-fi rock 'n' roll reserves his energy for the stage. Or perhaps one simply has to push the right buttons. The roots of his sound, for instance.

"In the back of my mind," Spencer says of his music, "there's always Carl Perkins or Jerry Lee Lewis or Dr. Ross ('the Harmonica Boss'). It's the bedrock. It's always in there. Our music wouldn't be, without it."

It's a statement that may leave newcomers to Spencer's music scratching their heads.

Not that the one-time Pussy Galore frontman hasn't put his guitar where his mouth is -- a fine collaborations with certified bluesman R.L. Burnside stands as the proof -- but there is a large dollop of irony behind the name Spencer, guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins gave their band 12 years ago. Explosive? Yes. Blues? Only in spirit.

But then, labels are incidental when it comes to Spencer, a man equally at home when recording with Rufus Thomas or DJ Shadow. The most important thing for the New Yorker is to see hips shakin'.

"For me, rock 'n' roll is about freedom," he says. "I always thought it was a drag when people get too hung up on classifications, putting things in little sets and stuff. For me, if it moves me I think it's gonna work."