20 Miles

Biography

Early Life

20 Miles is a garage rock and punk blues duo formed by brothers Judah Bauer and Donovan Bauer, raised in Appleton, Wisconsin. Judah, the younger of the two, relocated to New York City at age 17, eventually becoming the rhythm guitarist in the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Growing up in the Midwest, the brothers had a hands-on, working-class upbringing — they spent time as gravediggers at a local cemetery, an experience that would later surface in their songwriting, most directly in the track "Gravedigger." Their deep immersion in raw American music forms — Delta blues, rockabilly, and early rock and roll — laid the foundation for a sound that was visceral and unadorned.

Career

20 Miles launched in 1996 when Judah, fresh off work on the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion album Now I Got Worry, recruited his brother Donovan for a recording session that produced their debut, Ragged Backyard Classics (In the Red Records), a triple 7" package of blues originals and covers cut in under four hours on guitar and drums alone. The follow-up self-titled album (1997) was recorded in Mississippi with local players including Spam, the drummer for Delta bluesman T-Model Ford, and a fife-and-drum duo, deepening the band's ties to the Fat Possum Records world. I'm a Lucky Guy (1998, Fat Possum/Epitaph) refined the formula with sparse arrangements and strong songwriting. Keep It Coming (2002) was recorded on an 8-track in Judah's New York apartment with an eclectic cast of about fifteen musicians, including seven different bassists chosen for specific tracks. Their last known release, Life Doesn't Rhyme, arrived in October 2003. The duo toured North America and Scandinavia, building a modest but devoted audience despite occasional friction from European crowds who bristled at their rock-inflected take on blues.

Musical Style

20 Miles occupies the raw intersection of Delta blues, garage rock, punk blues, and rockabilly, with occasional touches of folk, soul, and bluegrass. Judah's guitar work is characterized by what critics have described as "spectral guitar lines" and "hundred-pound heavy grooves," and he frequently incorporates harmonica. The band deliberately avoids bass guitar in the studio, creating an open, stripped-down sound that magnifies the tension between Judah's vocals — described as "buttery abrasion" — and Donovan's driving drum work. Judah has been explicit that 20 Miles is not a blues band in the traditional sense, drawing on those roots without replicating them: the early Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, and East Village punk energy are equally present. Their recordings were intentionally lo-fi and confrontational, prioritizing feel and immediacy over polish.

Legacy

20 Miles occupies a niche but respected place in the late-1990s and early-2000s American underground, particularly within the orbit of Fat Possum Records' gritty Delta blues revival and the New York garage rock scene. Their debut Ragged Backyard Classics remains a cult artifact of the In the Red Records catalog, and the band's appearance on the Fat Possum compilation Not the Same Old Blues Crap Vol. 1 (originally 1998, first vinyl pressing 2016) helped cement their association with a broader revivalist movement. As the rhythm guitarist of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Judah Bauer's parallel career ensured that 20 Miles was always connected to one of the defining acts of American underground rock. Though the duo has been largely quiet since 2003, their small but uncompromising catalog continues to be discovered by listeners drawn to raw, blues-derived American rock.

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Fun Facts

• The debut album Ragged Backyard Classics (1996) was recorded in under four hours — just guitar and drums, no overdubs, no second-guessing.
• The brothers worked as gravediggers at a Wisconsin cemetery in their youth, an experience Judah channeled directly into the song 'Gravedigger.'
• Keep It Coming (2002) was recorded entirely in Judah's New York City apartment on an 8-track machine. He quipped that he 'could brush his teeth between takes' — and used seven different bassists across the album, matching each player to specific songs.
• Despite being two white guys from Appleton, Wisconsin, 20 Miles became embedded in Fat Possum Records' Mississippi Delta blues world, recording their second album in the South with local Delta musicians including T-Model Ford's drummer.
• During a Scandinavian tour in 2004, the band encountered hostile audiences who objected to the rock influences in their set — a pointed irony for a duo who insisted they were never a blues band to begin with.

Musical Connections

Member Of

• Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Judah Bauer is the rhythm guitarist of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, his primary long-running project running concurrently with 20 Miles throughout the late 1990s and 2000s. The two projects share personnel, aesthetic DNA, and label connections. (Now I Got Worry (1996), Acme (1998), Plastic Fang (2002)) [1991–present]

Collaborators

• T-Model Ford - The self-titled 20 Miles album (1997) was recorded in Mississippi with Spam, T-Model Ford's longtime drummer, as well as a fife-and-drum duo from the Delta. The brothers also appeared on Fat Possum showcase bills alongside T-Model Ford. (Twenty Miles (1997))

Associated Artists

• R.L. Burnside - As part of the Fat Possum Records world, 20 Miles were embedded in the same blues revival scene as R.L. Burnside. Judah Bauer (through the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) had documented connections to Burnside's recordings. [late 1990s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia