Boss Hog was formed in 1989, as something of an accidental side project, when Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer were told of a last minute vacancy on the bill at the influential New York punk club
CBGB's. The pair put together a group of musicians from members of
The Honeymoon Killers and
Unsane, along with Kurt Wolf from
Pussy Galore. The gig is reported to have been an underground sensation in New York. Spencer, Martinez, Wolf,
Charlie Ondras, and Jerry Teel recorded the EP ''
Drinkin', Lechin' & Lyin''' with
Steve Albini for the record label
Amphetamine Reptile in 1989. The band's first full-length album,
Cold Hands', was recorded thereafter with Peter Arsenault and Ed Bair, and featured Pete Shore of Unsane on bass. Soon after the album's release in 1990 Shore and Teel left the band. Jens Jurgensen joined on bass and the band toured 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, Wolf left the band and Marcellus Hall of
Railroad Jerk joined on guitar for another European tour, and to record the track "Fire Of Love" for a Sub Pop single compilation called
Smells Like Smoked Sausages. Soon after, drummer
Charlie Ondras died. Their 1995 major-label debut was simply entitled
Boss Hog and was recorded with the help of Steve Fisk at NYC's famous
Sear Sound studio. The band, with the help of keyboard-player Mark Boyce from the Goats, toured to promote this release in Europe, Japan, and Australia, as well as the US. In 1996, Boss Hog made a brief appearance as themselves in the movie ''
Joe's Apartment. After this, they took another extended break, reemerging in 2000 with the Whiteout album and Mark Boyce as part of the permanent lineup. Made with the help of Tore Johansson, Andy Gill, Jim Sclavunos, Roli Mosimann, Jim Thirlwell, and Bil Emmons Whiteout
featured a typically minimalist approach and strong levels of glamour and sexual provocation, within a more polished sound. Their return was well received by fans. The success of Whiteout'' was accompanied by a number of singles and gigs and a flurry of publicity, before the band went silent again. Boss Hog played their first US show in 8 years on December 3, 2008 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey, and have since played various dates throughout Europe and the US. Mickey Finn took over the keyboards position in 2009. In 2016,
Amphetamine Reptile Records reissued ''Drinkin', Lechin' & Lyin'
on vinyl and CD with new cover artwork as well as the Psychopticotic Vol. One'' EP to which Boss Hog contributed a cover of "Talk Talk" by
The Music Machine. Tour dates and details of the
Brood Star EP and
Brood X album were officially announced in May 2016. == Discography ==