Dave In-Store Appearance!

Well, I was there too. Yes, Dave Alvin (X, the Blasters, the Knitters, the Pleasure Barons) put on a fine little acoustic gig at Fingerprints in Long Beach earlier this afternoon to promote his new album "Ashgrove". I first met Dave nearly ten years ago after a McCabe's gig, and then again at a sparsely-populated gig up at Cal State University at Stanislaus, where some friends of mine nearly pulled off a loosley coordinated Knitters reunion. Anyway, Dave and I spoke again about the Knitters, and he confirmed that the next studio record should be out somewhere around June 2005. I, myself, cannot wait!

Still, I found myself chatting a bit more at length with Dave's sidekick for the day, Amy Farris. Amy's album "Anyway" actually made my top-album-of-the-year list (sorry Mr. Alvin) early on. It's no surprise that it was produced by Dave. To me, the surprise was the traditional sound that holds throughout the entire record. She's a fine fiddle player and friendly as can be. I commented on her hip wardrobe for the day and she went on to tell me how much she paid for each item at different garage sales during the previous week. I forgot to ask her how she got around to choosing X's "Poor Girl" for the album, but now that I think about it, why should I question anyone who has good taste?