Brassy

Brassy was the brainchild of Muffin Spencer, Jon Spencer's kid sister and a guitar player, amateur rapper, and narcissistic loudmouth in her own right. As an expatriate living in London, Muffin hooked up with guitarist Stefan Gordon, bassist Karen Frost, and drummer Johnny Barrington, or DJ Swett, as he was known while spinning the wheels of steel. Brassy launched its brazen dance-punk with a series of singles in 1996 and 1997. By 1999, the band was signed to Wiiija and had issued the Bonus Beats double-7" EP, which featured the underground hit single "I Can't Wait." Got It Made, their full-length debut, was accompanied by a series of club tours and started to spread the word about this curious band blending punk aesthetics with funky beats and cheeky humor. Some saw the Plasmatics; others heard Biz Markie. Everyone agreed that Muffin had just as much moxie as her blues-exploding brother. "Play Some D" became the bomb track from the record. It was released as a single and was remixed numerous times, but was then re-released three years later when Motorola began using the track in a worldwide ad campaign. That high-profile placement played right into Brassy's return to wax, which happened in August 2003 with Gettin Wise, their second full-length. Wise played down the dancey elements of the past and diluted the punk furor in favor of a bigger hip-hop influence and rocking, yet curiously blank-sounding, guitars.