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Asylum Street Spankers perform "Asylum Street Blues"

The Asylum Street Spankers have come a long way from the dusty strips of Guadalupe Street—commonly referred to as Asylum Street—in Austin, Texas. That’s where the duo of Christina Marrs and Guy Forsyth passed the time busking, until 11 years ago when they met a colorful character named Wammo. The unlikely trio formed up the Spankers, and since then the band has been a hard-to-pin-down, revolving door of talented musicians of every stripe, rocking on whatever’s handy, be it steel guitar, harmonica, washboard, banjo, mandolin, “punk” fiddle, musical saw, piano, standup bass or a simple acoustic guitar. The Spankers aren’t easy to characterize without rattling off a mouthful of genres, made up and otherwise—punk rock vaudeville, hick-hop, gypsy swing, ragtime, jump jazz, beat blues and toe-tapping revival. In the end, the Asylum Street Spankers are a one-of-a-kind troupe of talented musicians who create a sound that is truly their own. Naturally such a band has a bit of a chip on its shoulder, and with typical Texas bravado, they call themselves “God’s favorite band.” If that’s true, God has pretty good taste. Come see the Spankers this Sunday night at the Lafayette Tap Room, as they tour in support of their second DVD, Re-assembly, which documents the band’s 10-year anniversary show at Austin’s Texas Union Theater.

Sunday, July 7 at 7pm. Lafayette Tap Room, 391 Washington Street (854-2466).