It'd be nice to see them do shows with a core band and one or two of the larger crew at a time. I'd love to see a whole show with Christina and Wammo and the current core group, and featuring Django Porter, for example. He was playing some sweet licks on "T'Ain't Nobody's Business," but it was just enough to make me want to hear what else the guy can do. Noting his name on at least a couple of the songs, it'd be good to get a full show dose of Pops Bayless.
Most of all though, we need more Stanley Smith. He's the old dude here, a groovy hipster and their obvious mentor of coolness. He doesn't put on near the shtick that some of them do, but he knows his stuff. Ol' Stanley and his clarinet give the Spankers the crucial New Orleans element. He can also do some fair scattin'. Bringing in the Benny Goodman/Charlie Christian cut "A Smooth One" was a really fine flavor, and just the right cleansing of the palette between the comedic material.
The high class jazz of Stanley Smith runs straight into the brick wall of Wammo's crazed cracker country roots. Of course, his idea of country tends toward stuff like "Lee Harvey." He managed to dig up an obscure sentimental song narrated by a kid in 1963 who can't believe that Lee Harvey Oswald shot the president, cause he was a nice fellow who used to take him fishing. It's a fine, catchy barroom singalong detailing specific objections to the pictures and documentation against Oswald — "back, and to the left!"
Along with Wammo, Christina Marrs is the main constant member of the group, and really the head of the outfit. She's listed as musical director, and just generally obviously the queen bee. She may be the only woman in the group, but that's plenty enough.
Miss Christina is a lot of woman. Besides her inspiring physical presence, she's about the singingest chick around. She can do the cutesy Betty Boop pop stuff, or she could go all Billie Holliday on you. When she gets to channeling that deep inner pool of womanhood out through that impressively controlled and expressive vocal instrument, she's the hottest bitch in Texas — at least for as long as it takes to sing "Got My Mojo Working." The subjugation of the boys for her doo wop chorus line was just a bonus to the visceral rightness of their actual harmony singing. The queen bee inspires performance.
Article comments
1 - Joanie
Sick isn't the only mohawked non-punk musician. Ben Hernandez, an incredibly talented bluesman, is mohawked to the nth degree. Or at least, he was, until he went to the IBC finals in Memphis. I wish he hadn't toned down the look for the trip. I think it made the perfect point about the blues belonging to everyone.