Dave Alvin
NewMusicforOldFolks says …
Since founding the Blasters with his brother, Phil, in the late 1970s, Dave Alvin has done a little bit of everything when it comes to American music. He played guitar for L.A. punk legends X and has recorded 11 solo albums. The Blasters played straight-ahead roots rock. (They still do with Phil recording and touring with the newest version of the band). Dave’s solo albums run the gamut from acoustic folk to Blasters-style rock, but they’re always heartfelt and accessible. Start with Ashgrove and work in both directions from there.
Artist's info
Website: davealvin.net
See him live: Tour dates
Record company: YepRoc Records
Genre: Folk, Blues, Roots Rock
See also: The Blasters
If you like this, look into: John Hiatt, Alejandro Escovedo, Lucinda Williams
Bio (From AllMusic.com)
Dave Alvin helped to kick-start the American roots rock scene in the early '80s with the band the Blasters, and has since gone on to a career as a solo performer, songwriter, producer, and sideman that's been as well respected as it is eclectic. Born in Downey, California in 1955, Alvin was raised by a family of music fans, and as teenagers Dave and his older brother Phil immersed themselves in blues, rockabilly, and vintage country sounds, collecting rare records and attending nightclub performances by the likes of T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner, and Lee Allen. Like many fans, the Alvin brothers wanted to play music influenced by the sounds they loved, and in 1979 they formed the Blasters with fellow Downey residents Bill Bateman and John Bazz. Combining the revved-up energy of punk rock with an enthusiastic embrace of classic American sounds, the Blasters became a sensation in Los Angeles and won an enthusiastic cult following across the United States and Europe. (More)
Spotify sampler
Recordings
Most Recent
LOST TIME (with Phil Alvin) (2015) —The title of the Alvin brothers’ follow-up to their Grammy-nominated 2014 Common Ground reunion project that found them working together for the first time in 30 years is multi-faceted and bittersweet. Clearly they are trying to make up for that Lost Time after not working together since Dave amicably left the Blasters in 1987. But more than that, these dozen covers are predominantly tunes that were also lost to time. Phil and Dave dig deep to reveal these hidden blues and R&B gems, then polish, rearrange and unleash them with pent up energy, providing the tracks with new leases on life. — See newmusicforoldfolks.com review
ELEVEN ELEVEN (2011): Dave Alvin turns it up. The intensity, the focus, the volume. On Alvin's new album Eleven Eleven, the man who many credit with pioneering what has come to be known as 'Roots Rock,' revisits the burning, guitar-centered blues rock that initially defined his career along with his band The Blasters in the late 1970s. After The Blasters, Alvin explored the path of American Folk music, a road that led to classic albums and Grammy wins (for his album Public Domain: Songs from the Wild Land), establishing him as one of America's most distinguished songwriters and California's de facto roots music ambassador. Fast forward to Eleven Eleven and Dave is ready to raise the stakes again, calling on some Blasters including his brother Phil, with whom he duets for the first time ever on record.
Others
Romeo's Escape (1987)
Blue Blvd (1991)
Museum of Heart (1993)
King of California (1994)
Interstate City (1996)
Blackjack David (1998)
Public Domain (2000)
Out in California (2002)
Outtakes in California (2002)
Ashgrove (2004)
The Great American Music Galaxy (2005)
West of the West (2006)
Live from Austin, TX: Austin City Limits (2007)
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women (2009)
