Balancing relevancy with absurdity, Wahoo Skiffle Crazies offer post-modern, time-traveling, Gonzo-Folk traditional jug band tunes, ragtime, protest songs, blues and Steampunk originals, influenced by the 60s folk revival and Depression Era Americana (both). Midway through a set last summer at MUSIKFEST in Bethlehem, Penn., it started to pour. All plugs were pulled, speakers were covered, and all stages stopped activity – except the one on Main Street with the Wahoo Skiffle Crazies. They just played on, loud as they could, and invited the growing, poncho-wearing crowd to come closer and sing along. The summer of 2008 was a seminal year for the Staten Island music/art scene. Debates about its significance raged throughout major New York City-based blogs and newspapers. The newly established ROCK THE HARBOR all-day music festival premiered on the Island in June. The festival drew more than a thousand and featured more than 30 local bands, including the Wahoos (who were followed by the world-famous headliners: The Budos Band). Born in the middle of the last Bush Administration, the band cut its teeth on protest folk and busking around town with an arsenal of rags, rhymes, and blues. Last year, the band’s single, “Which Side Are You On,” (a reworking of the old Labor song into a political anthem) was featured on an album titled, “Jugs Across America!: A Modern Jug Band Compilation,” produced by Whiskey for Breakfast Records with creative and selective input from Jim Kweskin. In 2007, the band was honored to play THE CUTTING EDGE OF THE CAMPFIRE FESTIVAL at the celebrated CLUB PASSIM in Cambridge, Mass., which gave the Wahoos a great sense of folk legitimacy. In 2006, the Crazies played PNC ARTS CENTER, Holmdel, N.J., and the TWEETER CENTER, Camden, N.J., for OPIE & ANTHONY’S TRAVELING VIRUS TOUR, after being broadcast coast-to-coast on the comic duo’s radio show. Wahoo Skiffle Crazies have played many venues in New York City, including: THE BITTER END, CBGB’S 313 GALLERY, OTTO’S SHRUNKEN HEAD, 169 BAR, WICKED WILLY’S, and MAGNET THEATER (with Barrelhouse Improv Comedy), and THE MERCURY LOUNGE in Manhattan. In Brooklyn, the Wahoos have been no strangers to the nearby scenes in Williamsburg and Park Slope, playing GALAPAGOS ART SPACE (opened for The Decemberists), SOUTHPAW (opened for Outernational), THE LUCKY CAT, LONE STAR BAR, BROOKLYN LYCEUM, KINGS COUNTY OPRY, and HANK’S SALOON. Last summer, the band was honored to play the MERMAID PARADE on Coney Island. On Staten Island, the band plays regularly at MARTINI RED (singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson once opened for the jug band), EVERY THING GOES BOOK CAFE, THE CUP, LEIDY’S SHORE INN, CARGO CAFE, and Historic Richmond Town’s prestigious TAVERN CONCERT SERIES. Hopping over the Arthur Kill, Wahoo Skiffle Crazies have often played in New Jersey, including: REDBANK UNPLUGGED FESTIVAL (with Staten Islander Kevin Devine); PIRATES DAY FESTIVAL, Barnegat; ATLANTIC CITY ARTS CENTER; and THE CROSSROADS in Garwood. Wahoo Skiffle Crazies released a DYI, self-titled album in 2006 and released a live album, “LIVE in Brooklyn,” in January 2009. They are currently recording a studio EP titled, “Songs For The Next Great Depression,” due out in Summer 2009. Recently Wahoo Skiffle Crazies were asked to play a Benefit for Haiti at THE BELL HOUSE in Brooklyn, where they shared the stage with National acts such as Ted Leo, The Wrens, Sondre Lerche, The Walkmen, Rhett Miller and many more. And if you loved that first album, just you wait, more music is being recorded and live shows put together for your listening pleasure. Stay tuned for the latest in Crazie! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.