who: Asylum Street Spankers

what: Americana

where: PK's

when: Monday, May 24

by T.J. Jones

The uncanny qualities of the Asylum Street Spankers not only describe their notorious live musical performances but also their virtuoso-like selections and dabbling into one form or another of American roots music. On Monday, May 24 the rootsy collective from Austin, Texas, will perform their schizophrenic Americana at PK's. Tickets are available at the Practice Pad.

"We're as tenacious as cockroaches," jokes Asylum Street Spanker front-woman Christina Marrs about her band's sixteen-year run as one of the most consistent and original roots acts. As the band's vocalist, guitarist, and banjo player, Marrs has shared leadership duties with Wammo, the only other original Spanker, for nearly two decades.

The band's latest release is 2009's God's Favorite Band, a gospel record that is looser than any other gospel record ever recorded, yet simultaneously apparently reverent for the original material. Mostly takes on traditional songs like "Each Day," "Down by the Riverside," and "By and By," God's Favorite Band also boasts covers of gospel songs by Blind Willie Johnson and George and Ira Gershwin, and also the Violent Femmes' "Jesus Walking on the Water."

The band just recently ended their fifty-city, nearly six-month on-again-off-again Salvation and Sin tour. A mixture of the band's take on gospel songs and their more raucous songs, Marrs saw the Salvation and Sin tour as classic Spankers.

"I think people appreciated the fact that there were two different sides of the coin," says Marrs. "A lot of people tell me they really like the gospel music. I don't think anyone was sitting there grimacing, waiting for the bawdy stuff to come. I think the people who have been following us closely have always known that there's more than one side to the Spankers."

The theatrics of the Asylum Street Spankers are now legendary. Having performed a three-year residency in Austin, Texas, playing Sunday afternoon gospel shows, a sort of forerunner to God's Favorite Band, the Spankers have also been able to deftly create records that are self-contained pieces of Americana, sometimes themed, that are often wildly differing in personality from their last one. While their newest is gospel, 2007's Mommy Says No! is a children's album, with some great songs that both adults and children can dance and laugh to (my favorite is the gooey and giggly "Boogers"). A Christmas Spanking and an ode to marijuana, Spanker Madness, both came out in 2001. Much more intelligent than listeners might expect, Spanker Madness is both a tongue-in-cheek celebration of pot (the cute ragtime celebration "Wake and Bake") but also critiques the more chintzy side of cannabis culture ("Amsterdam") and the hypocritical political platforms of "Winning the War on Drugs," along with the most popular and accepted drug in the world, "Beer." All in all, it's all in a days work for the Asylum Street Spankers.

"Apart from themed records, we just try to breathe a little bit of life into the record that's unique," says Marrs. "That's one of the things I love about this band. There are so many different musical styles to approach. It changes from song to song or set to set. I don't think I could be fulfilled playing just one type of music or one genre. My favorite type of song easily shifts."

Down to earth and easy to talk to over the phone, Marrs gets distracted for a moment with her just-over-a-year-old child. In doing so, Marrs calls attention to how the talent and ambition of the Asylum Street Spankers is real and honest, that the best kind of roots musicians aren't rock stars, but real people. Like the music itself, Marrs often must switch gears to get things done.

"It's switching modes," she says. "I'm on the road and in that frame of mind, and just powering through and not getting lots of sleep and spending all the time with the band. Then I come home and I readjust my schedule to getting up at 6:30 in the morning instead of 11:30. It's definitely different, and it takes me a few days at the beginning of the tour to get into the touring mode, and it takes a few days to feel morning when I get home again."

Speaking of salvation and sin-- a good companion to God's Favorite Band is the band's 1997 EP Nasty Novelties, containing a cover of the Clovers' "Rotten Cocksuckers Ball" and a cover of a 1935 song "Shave 'Em Dry," and 2002's Dirty Ditties EP containing "The Scrotum Song" (a song Marrs says they will no longer play live) and "Everybody's Fucking but Me."

Find more information at <http://www.AsylumStreetSpankers.com>.

who: .38 Special, Theory of a Deadman, Randy Houser, and many more

what: HerrinFesta Italiana

where: downtown Herrin

when: May 24 through May 31

by Leah Williams Wright

HerrinFesta Italiana again features an array of musical acts throughout Memorial Day weekend with a little bit of rock and a little bit of country.

.38 Special.

Donnie Van Zant formed the band with his neighborhood friends Don Barnes and Jeff Carlisi on guitar, Ken Lyons on bass, and both Jack Grondin and Steve Brookins on drums. Two short years later, the band signed with A and M Records and released their self-titled debut album.

But neither .38 Special nor the sophomore followup Special Delivery garnered much attention, although the band was gaining a following through an extensive touring schedule. Finally, the 1979 album Rockin' into the Night delivered just the driving sound the band needed to help break them into the mainstream, and in 1981 .38 Special landed their breakthrough hit "Hold on Loosely," which became a top-forty hit for the wild-eyed southern boys.

The next album, Special Forces, helped the band reach new rock 'n' roll heights. A couple of their next singles, "Caught up in You" and "If I'd Been the One," hit the top spot on Billboard's album-rock chart.

As the music industry drifted to heavy hair bands, .38 Special lost much of their luster. Strength in Numbers was popular, but it lacked the same charts staying power as its predecessors. The band needed a new sound and a new direction. The more polished Rock 'n' Roll Strategy slowly became a hit through the aptly titled contemporary ballad "Second Chance." The song, sung by former Specialist Max Carl, reached the top ten and hit number one on the adult contemporary chart, and Rock 'n' Roll Strategy became the band's final big hit.

In 2007, .38 Special opened for the Rowdy Frynds Tour, which also featured Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr.

Theory of a Deadman.

HerrinFesta gets a little bit country as the weekend chugs along. On Sunday, May 30, the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards Top New Solo Vocalist Luke Bryan will take the center stage. His single "Do I" reached the number-two spot on the country charts. The single was cowritten by Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum.

Closing the weekend on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, Randy Houser is going out with his boots on for a performance on the Piazza Stage. Houser cowrote "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" for Trace Adkins. Houser's song "Boots On," which featured a video with a child lip-syncing the lyrics in the back seat of a car, is a top-ten hit for the country crooner.

Other performers include Southern Illinois University alum and country darling Emily Riesen, the LoCash Cowboys, Wild Horses, Bad City, Solovus, Against the Tide, Southbound, Crossroads, the Killer Pimps, and Hairbangers Ball. The Colgate Country Showdown competition takes place Sunday afternoon.

HerrinFesta also has a variety of family friendly activities throughout the weekend, including a grape stomp, carnival, bocce tournaments, parades, and car shows.

For more information, including a complete event schedule, visit <http://www.HerrinFesta.com>.

Big Show

Todd Snider.

Both Kinds of Music

One of the preliminary rounds for the Colgate Country Showdown will take place Tuesday, May 25 at the Copper Dragon Brewing Company. Sort of a mostly untelevised Nashville Star, the Colgate Country Showdown is a nationwide country-music talent search.

It starts with 450 talent contests sponsored by local country radio stations (in this case by WOOZ-FM). The winner of the Copper Dragon show will move on the state regional at HerrinFesta Italiana. From there, winners advance to the state finals at the Illinois State Fair, then move on to regionals, and ultimately to the national finals at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee...

That's (Not) All Folks

A bonus concert to the Cousin Andy's Coffeehouse schedule will take place Friday, June 4, when the Red Wellies perform. An Asheville, North Carolina trio that plays Irish music, the show is sponsored by Bryan Crow, host of WSIU-FM's Celtic Connections syndicated program. The family group consists of two fiddle players (Duncan Wickel and his aunt Beanie Odell) and a bouzouki player (Beanie's husband Vincent Fogarty, an Irish native). Crow calls the Red Wellies' 2008 debut CD a Celtic Connections favorite...

Summer Summary Redux

Though SIU is in intersession mode for a few weeks, Southern Illinois has an amazing number of ways for anyone to keep busy.

The Stellaluna Circle will hold a women's retreat Friday, June 4 through Sunday, June 6 at the Green Retreat just east of Murphysboro. The festival will feature a ritual that will explore the journey of Persephone and Demeter as the latter becomes Queen of the Underworld. Workshops and seminars will include working with plant spirits and totems, soap and wood carving, gemstone magic, goddesses in pop culture, and sand mandalas.

Organizers are looking for musicians and vendors for the retreat. Those interested in performing, exhibiting, or retailing may register through Jennifer "Jay" Bull (of Nightlife fame) at (618) 684-6403.

Those interested in attending can find out more at <http://sites.google.com/site/StellalunaCircle>...

Along with Cobden and Makanda, Alto Pass is the heart of wine country, but so many of the people who travel the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail stop at the wineries without taking a look at their host communities. A good reason to pause in Alto Pass's downtown is Saturday, May 29, when that small village holds their annual Springfest. Flea markets, art vendors, a parade, and live music are all on the schedule.

To get to Alto Pass, head to Murphysboro, then turn south on Route 127. The historic downtown is just south of Von Jakob's Orchard and Alto Vineyards, east off of Route 127.

Artists, vendors, or others who would like to do more than attend should contact Mila Maring at <milakel.sims@gmail.com>...

Speaking of Cobden, the Summerfest and Backyard Barbecue will take place Saturday, June 5 along the historic railroad village's Downtown Park. The event will also feature a flea market, live music, and children's activities.

For those who wish to feast on the low-and-slow, Hog Wild Barbecue will sell sandwiches and other vittles.

To get there, take U.S. 51 south of Carbondale-- about thirteen miles total-- then start looking for Cobden signs pointing west. The easiest way in is to take Wing Hill Road, but Bell Hill Road, across from Water Valley Road, will also work. For more information, call the village hall at (618) 893-2425...

The Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale will gather one-hundred local men together Saturday, June 5 at the SIU Ballrooms. These men, from professional chefs to backyard-barbecue masters, will create their favorite dishes in a friendly competition to raise money for the club, which seeks to provide a safe learning and recreational environment for area youth. In addition to food (from appetizers and salads to entrees and desserts), the public is invited to enjoy live music by Storm Limit, an auction, and other entertaining features.

For tickets, contact Jennifer Olson at (618) 457-3758 or <jennifer.olson@OldNational.com>. For more about the club, visit <http://www.bgc-cdale.org>...

Broadcast News

WSIU TV-8 will celebrate the contributions of veterans for Memorial Day and, in fact, the next two weeks with a huge volume of special programming. Highlights include two local productions by the station's excellent newsmagazine show WSIU InFocus. The first, Quiet Acres: Mound City National Cemetery, airs Sunday, May 30 at 1:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Southern Illinois-- mainly the area from Cairo to Mound City along the Ohio River-- was an essential staging ground for Union incursions into the Confederacy. Quiet Acres will remind viewers of Southern Illinois's importance during the Civil War.

Then Friday, June 4 at 5 p.m., WSIU InFocus will feature Honor and Sacrifice: Larry Breeze; Walt and Juanita Ramsey. Larry Breeze will recount the horror of his wartime experiences during the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest and the Allied invasion of Nazi Germany during the final months of World War II. Then Walt and Juanita Ramsey of Herrin will discuss their harrowing wartime stories. Walt was shot down during a bombing mission to Munich, barely escaping the exploding plane. Listed as missing in action, Juanita had to wait nearly two months for word that her husband was alive.

For more information, visit <http://www.WSIU.org>...

Gallery Walk

Carbondale Community Arts and the city of Carbondale will present Taiwan Sublime, a photographic celebration of Taiwan. The exhibit will open with a reception Wednesday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m. in the Carbondale Civic Center Corridor Gallery.

A delegation from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Chicago, including director-general Perry Shen, and Carbondale mayor Brad Cole, will introduce the exhibit. The exhibit stems from Carbondale's Sister City relationship with Taiwan's Tainan City.

The exhibit includes Chen Chih-shiung's Interfaces: Rhythms of Nature and Humanity, an album of lyrical portraits of Taiwan's seasonal rhythms; Huang Ting-sheng's Folkways: Melding the Mundane and the Celestial, which celebrates the diverse religious traditions of Taiwan; Liu Chen-hsiang's Passion: Heavenly Feast of the Performing Arts, which documents Taiwan's performing artists; and Chi Po-lin's Soaring: An Elevated Vision of Natural Taiwan, whose images were shot from helicopters, some from as high as fourteen-thousand feet...

The deadline for artists to enter the biennial Historic Structures and Machinery V exhibit is Friday, June 4. The show will run from June 15 through July 31 at the Little Egypt Arts Centre in Marion. The exhibit is open to any Southern Illinois artist from Interstate 64 south to Cairo and Metropolis. The juried show will include prizes for winners. For more information, call the art centre at (618) 998-8530...