Dave Alvin, of the Blasters and X fame, has gradually become an American roots music icon, embracing a singularly Californian take on blues, country, rock & roll, folk and R&B. His favorite blues is the West Coast scene that coalesced around Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker after World War II. His favorite country music is the Bakersfield Sound of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. He leans toward R&B from the South Central L.A. scene of Jesse Belvin and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. His songwriting has always been shaped by his fellow California songwriters. And his favorite pop-rock songwriters are the chroniclers of California's collision of sun-tanned hopes and film-noir disappointments: Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson. Stan Ridgway. Born in Los Angeles in 1955, Alvin and his older brother Phil were blues fanatics who snuck into the Ashgrove nightclub to hear Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker and the like. The brothers teamed with drummer Bill Bateman and bassist John Bazz to form the great punkabilly band the Blasters in 1979, and over the next decade Dave would mature into one of America's great players and songwriters. Tensions between the two brothers drove them apart, and Dave would briefly join X and The Knitters before launching his solo career in 1987. His gritty solo albums have ranged from twangy roots-rock to country-folk to muscular blues. He won the Best Traditional Folk Grammy for 2000's "Public Domain." Dave will perform in a duo format in our favorite intimate venue.