Asylum Street Spankers

Fans of such neo-swingers as Squirrel Nut Zippers and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies should take note: Austin’s Asylum Street Spankers are the real deal. A mixture of old school jazz, folk, swing, honky-tonk, and blues, the Spankers’ music is delightfully tongue-in-cheek. In the 12 years since the band’s inception, it has released CDs on a wide swath of subjects: the merits of marijuana (2000’s Spanker Madness), sex and lust (1997’s Nasty Novelties and 2002’s reprise Dirty Ditties), Christmas songs (2001’s A Christmas Spanking), and childhood pranks (their latest, Mommy Says No!). Their repertoire includes the work of such seminal blues artists as Bessie Smith, Sophie Tucker, and Robert Johnson, as well as covers of The Beastie Boys’ “Paul Revere” and Black Flag’s “TV Party.” Regardless of the set list, the Asylum Street Spankers should provide good — if not always wholesome — entertainment.