WCBN-FM, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor's unpredictable student-run radio station built something of a local following for the Austin Lounge Lizards even before these outstanding Texan satirists first came to town last year for a show at the Ark. There was strong word of mouth around outrageous airplay items like "Jesus Loves Me (But He Can't Stand You)" and the Lizards' full-tilt bluegrass rendition of Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage." But even those aware of the band's talents came away in giddy amazement.
The Lizards offered fully thought-out, verbally hilarious satire, four CD's worth of absolutely unknown stuff. (They're now touring in support of their fifth effort, Small Minds.) They excel equally at a range of humorous song types: upbeat numbers with an edge of romantic dissatisfaction ("I bought her a real sexy negligee/She packed it for her business trip today," vocalist Hank Card explains in "He's Just a Friend"); political and cultural satire, which in Texas often has a bite lacking in the work of northern folkies who've been preaching to the choir for too long; narrative parodies ("Boudreaux Was a Nutcase," from the Paint Me on Velvet CD, transfers the Moby Dick story to a Louisiana swamp where a large-mouthed bass "as white and strong as Huey Long" battles the owner of "a mighty Evinrude"); drinking songs sharply animated by fear of alcoholism; and, last but not least, lots of sheer whimsy.
The instrumentation is basic bluegrass -- banjo, mandolin, guitars, bass, and fiddle or pedal steel when the mood calls for them -- but the bluegrass ensemble is just a vehicle for the humorous matching of musical cliche to lyric type. If one of the requirements for good musical satire is a thorough knowledge of the music one satirizes, the Lizards fill the bill; they have a range of country and bluegrass song types at their command. TV western-epic music is applied with deadly effect to Ronald Reagan's life story; bluegrass pathos comments on the high-tech future in "Grandpa's Hologram" and heightens the acerbic jabs of "Life Is Hard (But Life Is Hardest When You're Dumb)." Country-pop lamentation provides backdrop to a desperate lover's quest:
Tonight will find me in the penny arcadeFor close listeners the Lizards' musical narratives are as varied and funny as their verbal ones.
Maybe I'll win a free game or two.
Well, I'm goin' back to Dallas, Texas
To see if anything could be worse than losing you.
Fixtures of Austin's vibrant and intensely competitive music scene for ten years now, the Lizards have recently been trying to broaden their base. Still, while Texans can hear them most Saturday nights, we in the Midwest are favored with a concert once a year at most. Don't miss your next chance to see the Austin Lounge Lizards.
NOTE: The Austin Lounge Lizards performed at The Ark in Ann Arbor on June 11, 1995.