Ex-Blasters axman still left of mainstream
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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| Singer/songwriter Dave Alvin, founding member of early 1980s Los Angeles cult faves The Blasters, will give a solo concert this weekend at the Hawaiian Hut. Alvin won a Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy in 2000 for "Public Domain: Songs From the Wild Land."
Dave Alvin With Rick Shea and Ledward Ka'apana • 9 p.m. Saturday On Maui: 7:30 p.m. today, McCoy Studio Theater, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, (808) 242-2787 Note: Ledward Ka'apana will not perform at the Maui show |
But as a founding member of early '80s Los Angeles cult faves The Blasters, Alvin is also regularly cited as a godfather of both musical off-shoots of modern American roots rock, alongside bands such as Los Lobos and Rank & File. Only a tad mellowed by age, Alvin is still rebelling against a mainstream music scene he has no intention of joining.
"L.A. had a great music scene in those days," remembered Alvin, Honolulu-bound for a solo gig this weekend. "And I'm not just talking about the ... roots rock bands, (but also) punk rock bands, electronic bands and art bands. There was this camaraderie of people who were outsiders. That was the thing that united everyone."
While never a hit on the mainstream music charts, The Blasters' hard-charging cocktail of rockabilly, R&B and blues was embraced by punk and new-wave devotees alike. With Dave Alvin offering up wild guitar acrobatics and brother Phil Alvin on roof-raising vocals, The Blasters were also a live force to be reckoned with.
Behind the scenes, Dave and Phil Alvin fought as often, and as brutally, as Kinks' sibs Dave and Ray Davies.
"All five (of The Blasters) grew up together, and we fought verbally and physically over the most ridiculous things. Minor chords. A word in a song that I wrote. Big huge fights, hurt feelings, yelling and screaming," said Alvin. "In some ways, it fueled The Blasters and made (it) work."
Still, the band's constant bickering ultimately ended with Dave Alvin leaving The Blasters in 1986. Alvin soon accepted an invite from songwriter/bassist John Doe to join his most quintessential of '80s-era college rock/punk bands X.
Alvin had played with Doe, vocalist Exene Cervenka and drummer D.J. Bonebrake in an X offshoot called The Knitters.
"I think it was somewhere in the second week of the first tour (with X) when I pulled D.J. aside and asked, 'When do we fight?'" said Alvin.
Bonebrake replied, "Well, we don't. We just talk things out like reasonable human beings."
"I've tried to run my solo career on that no-fighting rule," said Alvin, laughing.
Since departing X in 1987, Alvin has written and recorded eight albums of increasingly nuanced solo sojourns through the American musical experience. "Public Domain: Songs From the Wild Land," an album of reinterpretations of his favorite traditional folk songs won Alvin a Grammy for best traditional folk album in 2000. His first.
The Grammy win lent Alvin some bargaining leverage when he briefly reconnected with The Blasters last year for a handful of reunion gigs.
"I hate to say it (but) there was a little bit of begrudging respect (given) to me, particularly from a relative of mine," said Alvin, laughing. "What it basically boiled down to is I could take longer solos and play louder. I only had to play the Grammy card once. But I had to play it."
Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.
