I know what you're thinking. “Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women? What's Punk about that?”. You may know Dave Alvin as one of the founding members and guitar player for The Blasters. You may also know he played for the Los Angeles based punk band X. Did you know he also played guitar with The Flesh Eaters and The Gun Club? In an interview, Exene Cervenca said that he has the best sense of humor out of pretty much anyone she knows, and I would have to agree with this statement.
Written by Dylan Lathlean.
On friday, April 23, I had the great honor of not only seeing, but also meeting Dave Alvin and The Guilty Women at the Sons of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum. When the band came up to play I wasn't sure what to expect. Dave wasted no time belting out some loud, hard, guitar licks. The songs the band played were very versatile. They played some very blues oriented songs, they played songs in the style of roots rock, they played Blasterssongs, and they played songs that Dave had written and performed with X. Unfortunately, Mr. Alvin lost his voice towards the end of his performance, and I was unable to record an interview with him.
None the less, the night was far from ruined. I waited around in the hall near the dressing room until everyone had cleared out, and by pure chance, Mr. Alvin came out. I asked if I could just get a quick picture with him. He nodded at me and in a hoarse voice he said “Come on”.
I followed him and another band member inside the dressing room and I was in awe. I told him how I was writing a review for TX Punk, and he asked me what is new in the world of punk. He then had us follow him outside because he wanted to smoke, so we went to the back and when he opened the door we found out that it was storming. So we braved the rain and talked about music and how hard it is to get people together for a band. He said that the only person in a punk band that actually has to know how to play is the drummer.. I had brought a Blasters album with me to have him sign and on the back is a picture of his Fender Mustang guitar. So I asked him why he doesn't use it anymore, and he told me that he retired it. He pointed out a scar on the guitar and told me it was from a beer bottle that someone had thrown at him at a club called the Cuckoo's Nest, which Mr. Alvin said was a “blood bucket”. The night ended there and we parted our ways. He wished me good luck and I told him I really appreciated everything. It was an amazing opportunity to actually meet and hang out with a true Rock Legend. If you ever get the chance to see him play, I recommend you do it. His performance and musical talent will leave you wanting more and will make you go home and pick up an instrument. By the way, he'll be back in the DFW area in May playing with the Knitters (aka John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and DJ Bonebreak from X).
None the less, the night was far from ruined. I waited around in the hall near the dressing room until everyone had cleared out, and by pure chance, Mr. Alvin came out. I asked if I could just get a quick picture with him. He nodded at me and in a hoarse voice he said “Come on”.
I followed him and another band member inside the dressing room and I was in awe. I told him how I was writing a review for TX Punk, and he asked me what is new in the world of punk. He then had us follow him outside because he wanted to smoke, so we went to the back and when he opened the door we found out that it was storming. So we braved the rain and talked about music and how hard it is to get people together for a band. He said that the only person in a punk band that actually has to know how to play is the drummer.. I had brought a Blasters album with me to have him sign and on the back is a picture of his Fender Mustang guitar. So I asked him why he doesn't use it anymore, and he told me that he retired it. He pointed out a scar on the guitar and told me it was from a beer bottle that someone had thrown at him at a club called the Cuckoo's Nest, which Mr. Alvin said was a “blood bucket”. The night ended there and we parted our ways. He wished me good luck and I told him I really appreciated everything. It was an amazing opportunity to actually meet and hang out with a true Rock Legend. If you ever get the chance to see him play, I recommend you do it. His performance and musical talent will leave you wanting more and will make you go home and pick up an instrument. By the way, he'll be back in the DFW area in May playing with the Knitters (aka John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and DJ Bonebreak from X).
Plus, There's Pictures!
