Wild Rice Concerts presents:
The Asylum Street Spankers
Christina Marrs explains her group's name
Austin's State Hospital is located on Guadulupe Street, or "the Drag", a main conduit through the city's center, near the University of Texas. In Austin's olden days, the city was centered way south of the hospital, then called the State Asylum, and the only reason you would go north on this street was if you were going to the Asylum. Local folks called it Asylum Road. This is the street where the Spankers played our first shows, busking on "the Drag."
A "Spanker" is one who plays an acoustical instrument with skill and vigor, an old jazz era term...."Spank that guitar, etc. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

"The Asylum Street Spankers had the crowd howling, shaking their heads in amazement, reluctantly drifting out the door at the end of the evening after the best show of the year."
- Jeff Spevak, Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle

"One of the best live acts you are likely to see anywhere, and any true fan of music would be a fool to miss them. Their effect on audiences is positively awe inspiring."
- Chris Davis, The Memphis Flyer

"Unabashed, unforgettable and incredibly un-self-conscious in a variety show that spanned 1920s jazz to yesterday's gangsta rap and everything in between...musically inventive, terrific and simply brilliant."
- Seth Rogovoy, The Berkshire Eagle

"The Spankers pull it off like vaudevillian pros and back it up with serious musical talent....inspired, lunatic brilliance."
- Richard Skanse, Rolling Stone

"If you ever need a reminder of all that is great and good about music, the Spankers are everything you could want: funny, sexy, soulful, road-worn rebels who are willing to go to great lengths to stay true to their own vision."
- Zach Dundas, Willamette Week (Portland, OR)

"One of the best shows we've had this year."
- Barry Everitt, The Borderline, London

"Definitely the audience favorite of the entire event. The Spankers showed amazing showmanship and brilliant musicianship. All day, all around the festival people were talking about how the Spankers put on the best show this year (other performers included Beck, Patti Smith, the Cure, Bob Dylan, Rebirth Brass Band, Ozomatli, Nick Cave and Neil Young) maybe even better than Neil Young. Well, okay, Neil is the king, but he doesn't rule alone."
- Rikke Raske, Roskilde Festival, Denmark

"The Spankers blew us all away at our Spring 1998 event. Their rousing main stage set grabbed the crowd's attention and never let go. A very impressive and immensely talented act."
- Charlie Cran, Strawberry Music Festival, California

"The Spankers were the surprise hit of our 1998 fest. Easily the biggest crowd-pleaser among the twenty or so acts, the Spankers generated an enormous buzz among festival-goers!"
- Ron Carnevali, Johnstown (PA) Folk Festival