Satire With Bluegrass Twist

The newest CD from the Austin Lounge Lizards is called “Paint Me On Velvet.”

It opens with a song called “Boudreux Was A Nutcase” and closes with “That Godforsaken Hellhole I Call Home.” The former spoofs Moby Dick and such folk-song heroes as John Henry; the latter pokes fun at “Little House on the Prairie” (“As squalid as Calcutta, as decadent as Rome/That Godforsaken hellhole I call home.”)

From Spike Jones to the Bonzo Dog Band and Frank Zappa, musical satire has a rich and varied history, which the Austin Lounge Lizards are proud to embellish with a bluegrass twist.

They’ll play at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Holy Names Music Center at the Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute.

The Lizards are one of Austin’s best-loved institutions; the readers of the Austin Chronical perennially vote them Austin’s best “none-of-the-above” band or best bluegrass band.

Nothing is sacred once it’s in the sights of the Lizard: country-pop takes it in the shorts on “Put the Oak Ridge Boys in the Slammer” and Christian zealots get their commupence on “Jesus Loves Me (But He Can’t Stand You).”

But the eclectic Lizards do covers, too - such as bluegrass versions of Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage” or Sheb Woolley’s classic “Purple People Eater.”

These guys win rave reviews everywhere and this is clearly a must-see show.

MEMO: This sidebar ran with story: Austin Lounge Lizards Location and time: Holy Names Music School Center, Mukogawa campus, 3910 W. Custer, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Tickets: $10, available at Street Music, the Sound Hole and Guitar Gallerie, or by calling 535-1868; ($12 at the door)