The Blasters are an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed in 1979 in
Downey, California
Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...
, by brothers
Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and
Dave Alvin
David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s ...
(guitar), with bass guitarist
John Bazz and drummer
Bill Bateman. Their self-described "
American Music" is a blend of
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
, early
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
,
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
,
mountain music, and
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
.
Band history
Origins and heyday (1979–1985)
The Alvin brothers grew up in a household filled with music and parents who exposed their sons to different kinds of American music.
They made friends with Bazz and Bateman, and together the boys were brave enough to go into Los Angeles blues clubs to watch their musical idols. They learned firsthand from the likes of
Joe Turner and
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...
.
Phil Alvin recalled how his mother would drive the boys anywhere, and around 1965 or 1966, she took Phil to see
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occas ...
and
Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.
Life and career
McGhee was bor ...
. At Phil's request,
Big Joe Williams
Joseph Lee Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the songs "Baby, Pl ...
introduced him to Terry, and Phil wound up taking a number of harmonica lessons from Terry. Another mentor was tenor saxophonist
Lee Allen, who later joined The Blasters.
Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner's backup band on his Atlantic records–I had these 78s–I thought they were the Blues Blasters. That ends up it was
Jimmy McCracklin
James David Walker Jr. (August 13, 1921 – December 20, 2012), better known by his stage name Jimmy McCracklin, was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. His style contained West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career that ...
. I just took the 'Blues' off and Joe finally told me, that's Jimmy McCracklin's name, but you tell 'im I gave you permission to steal it
aughs"
Gene Taylor joined after the release of ''American Music'' (1980), performing
boogie woogie
Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...
-style
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
(he remained with the band through late 1985). Later on,
Steve Berlin
Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, in Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fl ...
joined on baritone sax, forming a horn tandem with Lee Allen.
The Blasters' energetic live performances gained a local following, and they became fixtures of the early 1980s
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
scene. They performed alongside
X,
Black Flag, The
Gun Club,
the Screamers and others. The L.A. scene of the time also featured the
cowpunk
Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject mat ...
genre, and a notable example was how The Blasters helped country artist
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...
get established. They toured together in 1985.
Another local band that formed a strong musical bond with The Blasters was
Los Lobos
Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...
. The Mexican-American group first became friends with the Downey group in 1976. About five years later, The Blasters invited Los Lobos to open for them and also helped get the young men from East L.A. their first record deal. Steve Berlin made a transition to Los Lobos, with The Blasters' blessing.
The Blasters toured almost continuously for much of their heyday. The notes for ''The Blasters Collection'' observed that in one particular month, they toured with a wide range of acts: the all-girl band
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...
,
psychobilly
Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...
pioneers
the Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...
, with
western swing
Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...
revivalists
Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...
and on a leg of
Queen's west coast tour.
Breakup and subsequent lineups (1985–2022)
Like many other pairs of rock 'n' roll siblings, the Alvins got into fights with each other. In 2015, Dave also recalled that the internal tension in the band extended beyond his tumultuous relationship with Phil.
This tension came to a head on October 23, 1985, during a gig in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
at the Spectrum. Gene Taylor quit that night and offered his services to the opening act, the
Fabulous Thunderbirds. Dave Alvin also quit, joining
X for a brief stint, though he returned briefly in early 1986 amid plans to record a new album with
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,[Hollywood Fats
Michael Leonard Mann (March 17, 1954 – December 8, 1986),Liner notes from Al Blake's album ''Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir'' by Eric LeBlanc known as Hollywood Fats, was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California.
Biogra ...]
(birth name: Michael L. Mann) came aboard in the spring of 1986, appearing with The Blasters at
Farm Aid
Farm Aid is an annual benefit concert held for American farmers.
History
On July 13, 1985, before performing "When The Ship Comes In" with Keith Richards and Ron Wood at the Live Aid benefit concert for the 1983–1985 Ethiopian famine, B ...
II. Fats died in December 1986, whereupon Dave Alvin served as an emergency fill-in. In an odd twist, Fats was initially replaced as full-time lead guitarist by
Billy Zoom
Billy Zoom (born Stuart Tyson Kindell; February 20, 1948) is an American guitarist, best known as one of the founders of the punk rock band X.
Early life
The son of a big band woodwinds player, Kindell began playing a variety of instruments, i ...
, who had previously left X. Zoom's stay in The Blasters was very brief. Succeeding guitarists were
Smokey Hormel
Smokey Hormel (born circa 1959)Cohen (2017) quotes Hormel as saying he was "4 or 5 ears old when "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles was "a big hit on the radio"; the song was released in America in December 1963. is an American guitarist ...
(1988–93),
James Intveld
James Intveld (born November 12, 1959) is an American rockabilly musician, singer, songwriter, performer, actor, and film director from Los Angeles, California, United States.
Early career
Born in the Netherlands, Intveld's parents moved to C ...
(1993–95), and Keith Wyatt (1996-present). Dave Carroll succeeded Bill Bateman on drums in 1993 but was subsequently replaced by Jerry Angel in 1994.
There have also been a few reunion tours and live albums of the original lineup – including Dave Alvin. Along with these, examples of Dave's return include the need that arose from the death of Hollywood Fats, as well as Phil's knee ailment in December 2011.
In 2005, the band released its first studio CD in 20 years, ''
4-11-44''.
On July 3, 2012, the Blasters put out their most recent studio album to date, ''Fun On Saturday Night''. The album includes a duet with
Exene Cervenka
Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X.
Music career
The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old m ...
of X and
the Knitters
The Knitters are a Los Angeles-based band who play country music, country, rockabilly and folk music. The Knitters' name is a play on the name of the folk group The Weavers.
Background
The Knitters formed in 1982 as a side project to the band ...
, track number 2, "
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
" — a cover of the 1963 song made most famous by
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
and
June Carter Cash
Valerie June Carter Cash (June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American country singer and songwriter. A five-time Grammy Award–winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior to her marria ...
.
In advance of the album's release, the band was touring Spain, and Phil Alvin had a near-death experience owing to an infection from an abscessed tooth. Though he had an emergency tracheotomy and flatlined twice, he recovered with his voice intact, and The Blasters have since continued to tour.
Personnel as of 2022: Phil Alvin, John Bazz, Keith Wyatt, and Bill Bateman. Bateman rejoined the band in 2008, replacing Jerry Angel.
Timeline
Reception
The Blasters have a devoted fan base and have received largely positive critical reviews, but have earned only limited mainstream success. Critic Mark Deming wrote of them, "the Blasters displayed a wide-ranging musical style
ndwere a supremely tight and tactful band with enough fire, smarts, and passion for two or three groups."
''Trouser Press'' cited their strengths: "tight ensemble work, swingin' original tunes in the classic mold and Phil Alvin's ageless, confident vocals." ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' noted the ever-increasing numbers of originals written by Dave Alvin—songs about cars, girls, the working man and road dreams—and how he matured into a great songwriter.
In his memoir ''
Get in the Van'' (1995),
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1 ...
of Black Flag and
Rollins Band
Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag (band), Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "L ...
detailed his admiration the Blasters, after seeing them perform live many occasions as Black Flag and the Blasters crossed paths in southern California venues: "In my mind, they were a great band that not enough people found out about. Bill Bateman is one of the best drummers there is, and then of course, there are the Alvin brothers. A lot of talent for one band."
Music used in popular culture
The Blasters gained exposure appearing as themselves in the
Walter Hill
Walter Hill (born January 10, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western (genre), Western genre. He has directed such films as ''The Driver'', ''The Warriors (film), The ...
film ''
Streets of Fire
''Streets of Fire'' is a 1984 American action crime neo-noir film directed by Walter Hill, from a screenplay by Hill and Larry Gross. Described on the poster and in the opening credits as "A Rock & Roll Fable", the film combines elements of ...
'' (1984). They performed two songs, "One Bad Stud" and "Blue Shadows".
Their song "
Dark Night" was featured in a 1985 episode of ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...
'' (Season 2 Episode 2, "Whatever Works "). Later, it was also used over the opening sequence of the
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
-
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...
collaboration movie ''
From Dusk till Dawn
''From Dusk till Dawn'' is a 1996 American action horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino from a concept and story by Robert Kurtzman. Starring Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Tarantino, Ernest Liu, and Juliet ...
''.
Albums
Studio albums
* ''
American Music'' (1980)
* ''
The Blasters
The Blasters are an American rock music, rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman (drummer), Bill Bateman. Their s ...
'' (1981)
* ''
Non Fiction'' (1983)
* ''
Hard Line'' (1985)
* ''
4-11-44'' with Keith Wyatt (2005)
* ''Fun on Saturday Night'' with Keith Wyatt (2012)
Live recordings
* ''Over There (Live at The Venue, London)'' (1982) 6-song 12" EP
* ''Trouble Bound'' (2002)
* ''Going Home: The Blasters Live'' (2004)
* ''Live 1986'' (2011)
* ''Dark Night: Live in Philly'' with
Hollywood Fats
Michael Leonard Mann (March 17, 1954 – December 8, 1986),Liner notes from Al Blake's album ''Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir'' by Eric LeBlanc known as Hollywood Fats, was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California.
Biogra ...
(2013) 2-CD
* ''Let's Rock Again (Live 1982)'' (2021) from the PBS 'Soundstage' TV program featuring special guests:
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
and
Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
* ''Over There (Live at the Venue, London 1982) – The Complete Concert'' (2024) 2-CD
Compilations
* ''The Blasters Collection'' (1990)
* ''Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings'' (2002) 2-CD
* ''Mandatory: The Best of The Blasters'' (2023)
Covers by other artists
In 1980, singer
Shakin' Stevens
Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s.
His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although ...
scored a minor UK hit with his version of The Blasters' song "
Marie, Marie". The original was on ''
American Music''. Stevens's version appeared on his album ''
This Ole House
"This Ole House" (sometimes spelled "This Old House") is an American popular song written by Stuart Hamblen, and published in 1954. Rosemary Clooney's version reached the top of the popular music charts in both the US and the UK in 1954. T ...
''.
In 1985, for Stevens' album ''Lipstick Powder and Paint'', he also covered "So Long Baby, Goodbye".
In 1987, Buckwheat Zydeco covered the Blasters' "Marie, Marie" on his album, ''On a Night Like This.''
Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall I ...
recorded "Trouble Bound" in 1987. The cut was eventually released on the ''
Seedy'' compilation in 1996.
Dwight Yoakam's version of "Long White Cadillac" led off his 1989 album ''
Just Lookin' for a Hit''.
In 2004,
Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries.
Origin
''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel", and is therefore related to the name ...
covered The Blasters' "Marie, Marie" on their album, ''
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
''.
Matchbox
A matchbox is a container or case for matches, made of paperboard, cardboard, thin wood, or metal, generally in the form of a box with a separate drawer sliding inside the cover. Matchboxes generally measure 5 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm, and commonly have ...
also recorded "Marie, Marie" for their 1980 album ''Midnite Dynamos''.
References
Bibliography
*
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1 ...
, ''Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag''. 2.13.61 Publications, 1994.
External links
A Testament to The BlastersPhil Alvin Bakersfield Interview*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blasters, The
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1979
American rockabilly music groups
Cowpunk musical groups
Roots rock music groups
Slash Records artists
Musicians from Downey, California
X (American band)