Though he’s one of the hardest-working artists in show business, Dave Alvin is not entirely a self-made man; to a large extent, American music made him. Alvin translated a childhood spent in Downey, CA, obsessing over old records with his brother Phil into a Grammy-winning mission of further exploration. As a solo artist, Blaster or with the Guilty Men and Women, his career has spanned rock, country, bluegrass, rockabilly, blues and folk.
Like the Energizer Bunny, Alvin just keeps going and going, in the tradition of the old-time musicians he so idolizes. He’s the kind of guy that music lends a long shelf-life to. After most of his peers are gone, the singer-songwriter will be sitting on a front porch with his guitar and calling out obscure, precious tunes… songs that no one else remembers, but want to learn.
In this video, Alvin performs the Blasters classic “Marie Marie” with the Guilty Women, featuring the late, great Amy Farris.
[A Steve Stav interview with Dave Alvin can be found here.]
– Steve Stav
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