MUSIC
Saturday, February 18, 2006; Page C05
Asylum Street Spankers
The Asylum Street Spankers of Austin revisited their roots at Iota on Thursday, the latest stop on a tour that includes founding member Guy Forsyth.
The singer/songwriter/guitarist recalled how he and the Spanker known as Wammo first bonded: "We had a similar love for old songs and getting intoxicated." Although Forsyth left the group many years ago for solo work, the Spankers' ethos hasn't changed. The seven-piece ensemble offered up a bounty of covers from the early 20th century, appealing originals and mischievously ingenious reworkings, including a mad hillbilly romp through Nine Inch Nails' "Closer," replete with barnyard noises and pantomime best left to a sick imagination (or to the imagination of Sick, the group's fiddler and the frontman on the dirty ditty.)
  The Asylum Street Spankers made old songs sparkle Thursday at Iota. (Asylumstreetspankers.com) |
A few songs earlier, Christina Marrs sang lead on a passionate, credible "When I've Gone the Last Mile of the Way." Such is the Spankers' thematic range, and it's a testament to their stagecraft -- when technical problems persisted -- that they shushed the tightly packed bar and offered, as was once their custom, a show without "demon electricity."
There followed a children's song, "Boogers" ("You think this song is over/But it's snot"), sharp political commentary with "Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV" and Marrs's room-shaking "Shave 'Em Dry." Their instrumental wizardry ranged from Nevada Newman's nimbly picked acoustic guitar to Wammo's dueling kazoo and harmonica, and Marrs's musical saw. In short: Plugged or unplugged, there was power aplenty onstage.
-- Pamela Murray Winters
Ernie Andrews
Among the many things the East Coast Jazz Festival does well every year is team student ensembles with veteran musicians who are willing to share their wisdom. When the 15th edition of the festival got underway Thursday night, 78-year-old balladeer Ernie Andrews joked to the audience at the Doubletree Hotel in Rockville about his qualifications: "I've been their age, but they ain't been mine." He then told members of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble that those who play good music before they play anything else can "always come back home."
The Ellington ensemble is well versed in good music, thanks largely to band director Davey Yarborough. Prior to Andrews's arrival onstage, Yarborough led his young charges through a colorfully arranged series of standards -- Duke Ellington's "C Jam Blues," Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" and Sonny Rollins's "St. Thomas." Celebrating fulgent swing, churning Latin beats and joyous calypso spirit, the performances were clearly tailored to showcase the group's distinctive instrumentation, with its vibes and strings -- and featured several gifted musicians, including violinist-vocalist Integriti Reeves.
When Andrews, dapper and urbane, joined in, his baritone showed itself to be warmly robust after all these years. His duet with Reeves on "God Bless the Child" was, not surprisingly, the evening's biggest crowd pleaser.
