Dave Alvin launches tour 'West of the West'

Blasters guitarist and founding member Dave Alvin will set out on the road this summer in support of his upcoming solo release "West of the West," which is due in stores May 30.

The album--of which Alvin contributes only a single original writing credit--is devoted to material by California songwriters who helped shape Alvin's own work, including Jerry Garcia, Merle Haggard, Jackson Browne and Brian Wilson.

Appropriately, Alvin's tour will kick off with three California dates, starting with a May 28 appearance at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival in Aptos, CA. After a month's layoff, the outing will begin in earnest June 23 in Grover Beach, CA. The hard-working singer and his backing band, The Guilty Men, have lined up gigs well into September.

"West of the West," which follows 2004's "Ashgrove," is Alvin's second collection of cover songs. His first, 2000's "Public Domain," won him a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.

"We started with a list of 25 songs, from Steve Gillette to Captain Beefheart and everything in between," Alvinsaid of his new album in a press release. "I was even thinking of doing 'Going Back to Cali' as a blues thing. In the end, though, it wasn't about choosing my favorite songs so much as choosing songs that I could sing well enough and arrange differently enough to make them interesting.

"When I did the traditional songs on the 'Public Domain' album, I asked myself, 'How do I take these songs and make them sound like I wrote them?' Now I'm asking, 'What can I bring to 'California Bloodlines' and 'Redneck Friend' to justify doing them again?'"

TOUR DATES
 tour dates and tickets
May 2006
28 - Aptos, CA - Santa Cruz Blues Festival

June 2006
23 - Grover Beach, CA - Mongo's
24 - Los Angeles, CA - Safari Sam's
25 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
28 - Columbia, MO - 9th Street Summer Festival
29 - Omaha, NE - Murphy's Lounge
30 - Sioux City, IA - Chesterfield

July 2006
1 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
3 - Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald's American Music Festival
4 - Benton Harbor, MI - The Livery
6 - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head Tavern
7 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere
8 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
9 - Amagansett, NY - Stephen Talkhouse
12 - Quebec City, Quebec - Square Dyou Ville
13 - Cambridge, MA - Regattabar @ Charles Hotel
14 - New York, NY - Seaport Music Festival
15 - Woodstock, NY - Woodstock Playhouse
16 - Ottawa, Ontario - Lebreton Flats
18 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
19 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
20 - Iowa City, IA - The Mill
21 - Lincoln, NE - July Jamm
22 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
29, 30 - Calgary, Alberta - Calgary Folk Festival

August 2006
11 - Portland, OR - Waterfront Park
16, 17 - Santa Cruz, CA - Moe's
18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
19 - Reno, NV - Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater
24 - Bakersfield, CA - Fishlips
25 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - Coach House
26 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
27 - Los Angeles, CA - Sunset Junction Street Festival

September 2006
1 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
3 - Santa Fe, NM - Eaves Movie Ranch
15 - Chattanooga, TN - Nightfall Concert Series @ Miller Plaza
16 - Atlanta, GA - Smith's Olde Bar

November 2006
3 - Los Angeles, CA - Getty Center

 tour dates and tickets
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