players:
Christina Marrs
lead and harmony vocals, guitar, tenor guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele, musical saw, percussion
Nevada Newman
guitar, harmony vocals, lead vocals, mandolin
Charlie King
mandolin, dobro, banjo, harmony vocals, lead vocals, jug
Morgan Patrick Thompson
string bass
Mark Henne
drums and percussion
Shawn Dean
violin, fiddle
Trevor Smith
banjo, mandolin, guitar, harmony vocals
Christina Marrs
lead and harmony vocals, guitar, tenor guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele, musical saw, percussion
Nevada Newman
guitar, harmony vocals, lead vocals, mandolin
Charlie King
mandolin, dobro, banjo, harmony vocals, lead vocals, jug
Morgan Patrick Thompson
string bass
Mark Henne
drums and percussion
Shawn Dean
violin, fiddle
Trevor Smith
banjo, mandolin, guitar, harmony vocals
After nearly seventeen magnificent years, underground legends the AsylumStreet Spankers are retiring from the relentless touring schedule that has been a hallmark of their storied career. Although fan support is stronger than ever, the challenges of keeping a seven piece band and its crew on the road have also increased dramatically. With the departure of co-founder Wammo due to family commitments, fellow co-founder, vocalist and musical director Christina Marrs is the last original Spanker standing, having seen over 50 musicians come and go (and sometimes come again) through the act's history. She's decided that it's time for the group to come to its end, as all good things must.
Faced with an outcry from fans demanding "one more Spanking", the group has announced a massive six-month tour to visit their most enthusiastic markets for a farewell appearance. Starting at the Mucky Duck in Houston on September 11, the Spankers will perform forty-eight concerts across the United States in five legs, the last of which hits Colorado and New Mexico
in March 2011. Japanese and European dates are still in the works. The final blowout will happen in their hometown of Austin in early April, almost exactly seventeen years since the Spankers' first performance.
The magnificently indefinable group was born in 1994 at a booze and hallucinogen-fueled party at the Dabbs Hotel along the river in Llano, Texas. For the next decade and a half, Marrs and Wammo led their constantly mutating musical troupe from country-blues revivalism toward original compositions, intricate vocal and musical arrangements, new works for the theater stage and sociopolitical commentary.
With regular touring throughout Europe, Japan and the US, the Spankers snowballed from a local favorite at Austin dives to an internationally renowned underground institution, widely considered one of the best live acts working today. Along the way, they've been lauded by the most prestigious of media outlets, including The New York Times, NPR's All Things Considered and Weekend Edition, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, The Village Voice, Variety, and The Bob & Tom Show, and garnered over a million views on YouTube with their anti-oil war, pro-soldier anthem "Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV."
Their discography, available through Yellow Dog Records, spans nine albums, including the critically acclaimed "agnostic gospel" album God's
Favorite Band, What? And Give Up Show Biz?, a two disc live document of the group's two week off-Broadway run at New York's Barrow Street Theatre, and Mommy Says No!, one of the most honored family oriented releases of 2007, as well as several EPs, live official "bootlegs" and two full length concert DVDs.
Defiantly acoustic, fiercely independent and absurdly good, the legacy of
the Asylum Street Spankers will place them among the most original
American voices of their time.
Faced with an outcry from fans demanding "one more Spanking", the group has announced a massive six-month tour to visit their most enthusiastic markets for a farewell appearance. Starting at the Mucky Duck in Houston on September 11, the Spankers will perform forty-eight concerts across the United States in five legs, the last of which hits Colorado and New Mexico
in March 2011. Japanese and European dates are still in the works. The final blowout will happen in their hometown of Austin in early April, almost exactly seventeen years since the Spankers' first performance.
The magnificently indefinable group was born in 1994 at a booze and hallucinogen-fueled party at the Dabbs Hotel along the river in Llano, Texas. For the next decade and a half, Marrs and Wammo led their constantly mutating musical troupe from country-blues revivalism toward original compositions, intricate vocal and musical arrangements, new works for the theater stage and sociopolitical commentary.
With regular touring throughout Europe, Japan and the US, the Spankers snowballed from a local favorite at Austin dives to an internationally renowned underground institution, widely considered one of the best live acts working today. Along the way, they've been lauded by the most prestigious of media outlets, including The New York Times, NPR's All Things Considered and Weekend Edition, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, The Village Voice, Variety, and The Bob & Tom Show, and garnered over a million views on YouTube with their anti-oil war, pro-soldier anthem "Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV."
Their discography, available through Yellow Dog Records, spans nine albums, including the critically acclaimed "agnostic gospel" album God's
Favorite Band, What? And Give Up Show Biz?, a two disc live document of the group's two week off-Broadway run at New York's Barrow Street Theatre, and Mommy Says No!, one of the most honored family oriented releases of 2007, as well as several EPs, live official "bootlegs" and two full length concert DVDs.
Defiantly acoustic, fiercely independent and absurdly good, the legacy of
the Asylum Street Spankers will place them among the most original
American voices of their time.
GOD'S FAVORITE BAND
WHAT? AND GIVE UP SHOW BIZ?
MOMMY SAYS NO!
MERCURIAL
MY FAVORITE RECORD
A CHRISTMAS SPANKING
SPANKER MADNESS
HOT LUNCH
SPANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Produced by Christina Marrs, released October 2009.
Listen to this album now!
In January, 2008, the Spankers set up shop for two weeks at New York's Barrow Street Theatre. Juicing their acclaimed live show with a double shot of theatricality, the Spankers interwove tales of the ups and downs of life on the road with favorite songs old and new. The shows were recorded, edited and released as a two CD set.
Produced by JP Riedie, released September 2008.
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Produced by Wammo, released 2007.
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Covers from 1898 to 1989 recorded live to two-track tape.
Produced by Brian Beattie, released March 2004.
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A beautifully produced studio album containing many of the Spankers’ most enduring songs. Produced by David Leroy Biller and Wammo, released September 2002.
Listen to this album now!
Produced by Christina Marrs, JP Riedie & Wammo, released October 2001.
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Produced by David Leroy Biller, released March 2000.
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Produced by Bob Brozman and Daniel Thomas, released February 1999.
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Produced by Danny Barnes, released September 1996.
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11" x 17" tour poster.
click to download
