The Blasters are a rock music group 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. Their so-called "American Roots Music" was a blend of blues music, rockabilly, early rock and roll and rhythm and blues. They have a devoted fan base and have received largely positive critical reviews, but have never been able to achieve mainstream success. For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Location of Downey in California and Los Angeles County Coordinates: Country United States State California County Los Angeles Founded 1800s Incorporated 1956 Government  - Type Council-Manager government  - City Council David R. Gafin Mario A. Guerra Rick Trejo (Mayor) Anne Marie Bayer Kirk Cartozian Area  - City  12. ... The Blasters are a rock music group 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. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Dave Alvin (born November 11, 1955, in Downey, California, USA) is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, or using a pick. ... Bass drum made from wood, rope, and cowskin A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion group that can be large, technically classified as a membranophone. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. ... Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock n’ roll music to emerge during the 1950s. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences — first performed by African American artists. ...

The Alvin brothers had an early interest in blues music, and attended concerts by T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner and others, sometimes jamming and reminiscing with the musicians. Rhythm and Blues saxophone legend Lee Allen joined The Blasters for two albums and toured with the original line up until his death in 1994. Steve Berlin (later of Los Lobos) joined, playing baritone sax, and Gene Taylor joined as well, performing boogie woogie style piano. Blues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Big Joe Turner (born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr. ... Lee Allen (1926 - 1994) was a tenor saxophone player. ... Steve Berlin (born 14 September 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, The Blasters. ... Los Lobos is an American rock band, heavily influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country music, folk, R&B, blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as boleros and norteños. ... Boogie woogie has two different meanings: a piano based music style, boogie woogie (music) a dance that imitates the rocknroll of the 50s, boogie woogie (dance) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ...

The Blasters' energetic live performances gained a local following, and they became fixtures of the early 1980s Los Angeles punk rock scene, performing alongside X, Black Flag, The Gun Club and others. Former Black Flag singer and current Rollins Band leader Henry Rollins wrote of the Blasters, "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." (Rollins, 36) Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: , State California County Los Angeles County Settled 1781 Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... X on the cover of their 1997 collection Beyond and Back: The X Anthology. ... Black Flag was a hardcore punk band formed in 1976 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes. ... The Gun Club were a rock band from Los Angeles in the 1980s led by flamboyant singer/guitarist, ex-rock critic Jeffrey Lee Pierce. ... Rollins Band is a rock music group led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins. ... Henry Rollins (born February 13, 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield[1]) is a singer and songwriter, spoken word artist, book author (prose and poetry), radio and TV personality, occasional movie actor, comedian, and voice-over artist. ... A drummer in Action A drummer is a person who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ...

The Blasters toured almost continuously for much of their existence. The notes for The Blasters Collection report that in one particular month, they toured with psychobilly pioneers The Cramps, with western swing revivalists Asleep at the Wheel and on a leg of Queen's west coast tour. The Blasters gave boosts to both Los Lobos and Dwight Yoakam by inviting them on tour; Yoakam would later score a modest hit with his version of Dave Alvin's "Long White Cadillac". The Blasters also gained more exposure in the Walter Hill film Streets of Fire, performing two songs for the soundtrack and appearing as themselves in the film. The Blasters song "Dark Night" was featured in the 1996 Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez collaboration From Dusk Till Dawn. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Cramps are a punk rock band originally formed in 1972. ... Western swing is, first and foremost, a fusion of country music, several styles of jazz, pop music and blues aimed at dancers. ... Asleep at the Wheel is the name of an Austin, Texas based Western swing band, winner of nine Grammy Awards. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon joining the following year. ... Los Lobos is an American rock band, heavily influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country music, folk, R&B, blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as boleros and norteños. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Walter Hill (born California 1942) is a prominent American film director. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. ... Robert Anthony Rodriguez (born June 20, 1968) is an American writer and film director who is known for making profitable, crowd-pleasing independent and studio films with fairly low budgets and fast schedules by Hollywood standards. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ...

Dave Alvin--always the group's primary songwriter--left the band in 1986 for a critically acclaimed if sometimes only moderately successful solo career. Phil Alvin has led various incarnations of The Blasters intermittently since then, including a few reunion tours and live albums of the original line up. Personnel as of 2005 is Phil Alvin together with John Bazz, Keith Wyatt, and Jerry Angel. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

Albums

Albums by the "original" Blasters:

• American Music (1979)
• The Blasters (1981)
• Over There (live EP) (1982)
• Non-Fiction (1983)
• Hard Line (1985)
• Trouble Bound (live) (2002)
• Going Home (live) (2004)

Albums by current line-up:

• 4-11-44 (2005)

Sources

• Henry Rollins; Get In The Van: On The Road With Black Flag; 2.13.61 Publications, 1994, ISBN 1-880985-23-3

External links

• The Blasters Homepage
• A Testament to The Blasters
• Phil Alvin Bakersfield Interview