News:

The Asylum Street Spankers joined NPR's Liane Hansen for an interview and performance, aired nationwide on Weekend Edition Sunday.  Hear live versions of songs from the new album, God's Favorite Band.  Discover which Spanker was twirling a fire baton that night in Llano, Texas, which one was conceived on a Slip 'n Slide, and what sort of vehicle God might drive on his anonymous visits to Earth.

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Labels: Asylum Street Spankers

Austin's postmodern jug band takes a wide left turn with the world's first agnostic gospel album.  Mixing raucous old traditionals with wryly humanistic originals from co-bandleader Wammo, the all-acoustic roots mob pays homage to one of America's seminal musical styles while staking out a theology of healthy skepticism leavened with tolerance.  With special appearances from emeritus band members Guy Forsyth and Stanley Smith!

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Labels: Asylum Street Spankers

A man works long hours at the circus, cleaning up after the animals and giving enemas to constipated elephants. A friend, observing the menial nature of the work, offers to help the man find another job. The man replies, "What? And give up show biz?"

The punch line to that worn-out vaudeville joke served as the title when the Asylum Street Spankers set up shop for two weeks in January 2008 at New York's Barrow Street Theatre to look back on their underwhelming career and complain about their place in the music world. Juicing their acclaimed live show with a double shot of theatricality, the Spankers presented a musical revue and memoir of the troupe's fourteen year history. Featuring many of the most popular songs in their large repertoire along with tales of the ups and downs of life on the road, the show ran for fourteen performances, garnering good critical response, strong ticket sales and many free drinks for the band.

All fourteen shows were recorded, then edited to make this album.

"What? And Give Up Show Biz?" contains adult humor, including frank discussions of sexuality, drug use and/or rock and roll. It also contains four-part harmonies, blues, country, pop, jazz, rock and hip-hop songs, inventively clever arrangements, and a musical saw.

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Labels: Asylum Street Spankers