20 Questions w/ White Trash singer Dave Alvin.

Anyone remember a band called White Trash? Didn’t think so. Well, if you had MTV in 1991 you may recall a video >HERE< by the band called "Apple Pie".

The band made the rounds, the singer acted like a dick (according to his band mates) and they even had a black guy in the band. Cool huh? Then they broke up. Even cooler for the haters.

Well, we interviewed Ethan >HERE< in 2005 and now we got the singer Dave Alvin pumping lips into our ass to plug their new shit. Which we can give props since they got cool songs like "Drunk Cop". Dave talks about doing blow, homicide and admitting he was a dick. Enjoy.

1. Here is your chance to plug your shit. New cd, your tours, website, etc..?

Well, we just released a brand new CD with the original band. It’s called "3D Monkeys in Space" and it is available to purchase on our website WHITETRASHUNIVERSE.com as well as itunes, CDbaby, DigStation and also on our myspace page (myspace.com/whitetrashbuzz)

We will be having a CD release party to honor the occasion on April 24th @ Club Europa in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. If you are going to be in NYC, come on down and party like its 1999!

2. White Trash seemed to fall off the face of the earth for about 15 years, what happened?

I just walked away from it, not that there was much left to walk away from, but the music scene changed so much when The Grunge scene hit that I just couldn’t relate to what was going on any more. I liked to party, hang out with strippers and wreck hotel rooms. Heroin, horn-rimmed glasses and baggy sweaters just don’t do it for me, you know what I mean?

3. Ok, it seems like White Trash has got the re-union bug. How did all this come about? Who is all in the band? Horn players too?

Ethan did an interview with you a few years ago and when I found out about it I was like "oh shit, he’s going to make me out to be a total asshole" and I was actually afraid to read it. But then I did read it and I have to say that it was a very fair & honest retelling of the White Trash story, warts and all. After that I emailed Ethan and told him that I thought that he did a great job with the interview. I hadn’t seen any of the guys in quite some time since I had been living Cali for a few years, but when I moved back to NYC I started seeing the guys around town again. The idea of a reunion came up and I was like "why not?", you know? Plus I hadn’t sang in about 10 years, so I guess I wanted to see if I could still do it. Everyone except for Brendon (our old trumpet player) came down and played. We also had Ben Clapp on trombone and Demian Rich on trumpet, plus Craig LeBlang from the 2nd band came down to do backing vocals with us.

4. We interviewed Ethan in April of 2005 and he said: “I would have to say that Dave did suffer from L.S.D. I guess to the point that none of us wanted to really play with him anymore. Looking back it’s ridiculous, cause these issues could have probably been worked out. Also, remember that you generally want a singer with LSD. Only the good singers have LSD.”

Any thoughts on what Ethan said? Or your take on him, saying you were being a dick?

Hey, I was a dick. I went of my way to be dick back in the old days. I loved being a dick. That’s why I wanted to be a singer in a heavy metal band. You got to be spoiled brat. It was wonderful! I’ve mellowed with age though. I’m a much nicer guy now (I think).

5. If you could throw an apple pie into any musicians face who would it be and why?

Jennifer Love Hewitt, just because she is begging to be humiliated.

She’d make a great Penthouse Pet if she would just stop trying to be creative and took her clothes off already. Her music is absolutely terrible.

6. Rate an obscure D-List hair band singer 1-10.

Peter Loran of Trixter = 7.231

Steve DeLong of Sweet FA = 6.427

Frankie Muriel from Kingothehill = 6.336

Ted Poley of Danger Danger = 7.244

Drew Hanna of Wildside = 5.566

Stevie Rachelle of Tuff = 10

Chainsaw Caine of Slave Raider = 5.431

Jason McMasters of Dangerous Toys = 5.276

Stephen Shareux of Kik Tracee = 7.712

Tim Tim ‘Skold’ of Shotgun Messiah = 6.157

Editor Note: The shit on your nose for giving Stevie Rachelle a 10 is forever staind. Even more sad is that you only gave Chainsaw Caine of Slave Raider a 5.431. You should be ashamed.

7.  Tell the Sludge faithful something about you that they would be surprised to know?

Believe it or not, over the past 2 years I have been doing a lot of work for a non profit organization that serves the homeless population of NYC. Besides that, I also make experimental films (check out feroxfilms.com to learn more).

8. Kill, Fuck, Marry. (Cher, Kelly Osbourne, Martha Stewart)

Triple homicide baby!



Editor Note: Great answer. Best ever. This made up for you ass kissing Stevie earlier.

9. If you were replaced as the lead singer in White Trash and suddenly given a wind instrument and a back up roll, which are you more likely to play?

A. Clarinet =

B. Flute =

C. Oboe =

Well then, I would have to add harmonica to the list you provided. That’s the only wind instrument that I can play. I usually run it through a small tube amp and it makes the most beautiful noises, like a stoned elephant in heat.

10. Did anyone ever mistake your band for Warrant and the hit Cherry Pie instead of White Trash and Apple Pie?

Yeah! I hooked with this hot chick that I met in a club years ago and she kept telling me how much she liked "Cherry Pie" and I kept trying to explain to her that our song was "Apple Pie". I’m still not sure who she thought she was sleeping with that night. Those guys are much prettier than us.

11. Touring memory of…

New York City, NY = The good ole’ days when the Cat Club, Limelight & L’Amour East were raging. That was the best time of my life!

Dallas, TX = I cursed out a room full of booking agents at this convention we were playing. They were all there to book acts for colleges all around the country and we were supposed to showcase our act for them. I don’t remember why I got so mad (LSD?)

Cleveland, OH = I was briefly kidnapped by a fan. I was returned relatively unharmed.

St. Louis, MO = We discovered the difference between East St. Louis & St. Louis. Our hotel was in East St. Louis and the show was in regular St. Louis. That was frightening! If you’ve ever been there then you know what I mean.

Denver, CO = Lots of coke & strippers in Denver. What else do you really need? I loved it!

Los Angeles, CA = I got so drunk at "The Cathouse" that I kept walking into a mirror. The funny thing was that I was so out of it,  I actually thought that I kept bumping into someone and I was like "What is this jerk doing?". I finally figured out after 5 or 10 minutes that it was just my reflection in this mirror I kept bumping into. I probably shouldn’t have told you that.

Seattle, WA = Some dude gave us the tastiest buds ever after the show.  God bless that man!

Atlanta, GA = I met the most beautiful girl in the world at a club called "Masquerade"

Philadelphia, PA = They don’t like us NY Giants fans in Philly.

12. Of all the bands you shared the stage with, who were the coolest, and who were the dicks?

We opened for Kiss at this convention and Paul Stanley mentioned us in a magazine. He said that our album was one of his favorites to listen to at that time, which was really very flattering coming from somebody as cool as Paul is.

As for the worst, my brother plays in this terrible band called "Bert & Ernie" and I let them open for us a couple of times. They have some good songs, but him and his idiot partner would drink all of my beer and scare all of the good looking girls away. I love the guy, but he’s a fucking mess! I probably shouldn’t have said that either.

13. Tell us about your most unlucky day ever with White Trash. What happened?

Oh man, I got food poisoning at this club in New Jersey that we were playing at back in like 1994. They served me these chicken fajitas before the show and I got deathly ill. Somehow I played the show, but man I thought I was going to die. I lost about 10 pounds in 2 days. Yikes!

14. Your own band mate said you had LSD, many other singers have been labeled the same. If you were asked to sing in the following bands what are the chances you sing for them on a scale of 1-10.



Danger Danger =10

Velvet Revolver = 10

Warrant = 10

LA Guns = 10

Van Halen = 10

Britny Fox = 10

Ratt = 10

Skid Row = 10

Slaughter = 10

Vixen = 10

*I am a whore, so assuming that these are all paying gigs I would take on any of these jobs, no questions asked. They would just have to leave some cash next to my pillow and I would be very happy to scream at the top of my lungs for them as loud as they want for as long as they want. If they throw in a 6 pack of Pabst I’ll even dance around a little.

15. Memory Lane:

1977 =My first car was a 1977 Chevy Nova. I still miss that beautiful machine. (I got in 1990 though)

1980 = I remember being a little kid staying up late to watch SCTV on little black and white television in my room. That’s still my favorite TV show.

1983 = Motley Crue releases "Shout at the Devil", which changes my life forever.

1988 = That’s the year that White Trash was formed.

1991 = Madness, substance abuse & strip clubs (AKA- lots of fun!)

1994 =My premature retirement from the music biz. I moved to Florida and everything (What’s up Tarpon Springs?)

1998 = Lost & confused, I decided to shave my head & go back to school.

2002 = I was briefly married to a talentless, semi-famous actress who still owes me a lot of money.

2005 = I drank 6 beers in 6 minutes as a guest on "The Drinking With Bob Show". (My mother was very proud)

2008 = The NY Giants win their 3rd Super Bowl and White Trash starts recording their long awaited 3rd album "3D Monkeys in Space".

16. If you could be a butt plug for any celebrity who would it be?

Asia Argento (Asia, il suo asino fotte così bello che amerei strisciare l’interno di lei e soggiorno lì per sempre).

17. Word Association:

Sylvia Rhone = CEO of our old label Elektra Entertainment. They gave us a lot of money, swag & limo rides, so I miss Sylvia very much.

Ethan Collins = He turned me onto David Cronenberg. Long Live the New Flesh!

Dweezil Zappa = The uniquely untalented offspring of a musical genius.

Brendan Stiles = M.I.A. (Shine on you crazy mother fucker)

Aaron Collins = The collaborations that I have done with Aaron have been some of the greatest creative experiences that I have had as an artist. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to have worked with him again.

Stuttering John = A very smelly guy

Chris Arbisi = Electric Bugaloo (Chris has this amazing video of him breakdancing when he was like 13. I want to see that again)

George Drakoulias =Pudgie’s Fried Chicken (That fat bastard stole Terry Thomas’ fried chicken while we were rehearsing!)

Mike Caldarella = Tito’s Burritos (Mike’s awesome Mexican restaurant in New Jersey)

Craig LeBlang  = The human music encyclopedia

18. Name the 3 high points and the 3 lowest points of your music career to date?

Okay, let’s start with the high points:

1- Before we ever got a record deal we played the Cat Club in NYC and Axl Rose showed up. I was a really big fan of G-n-R in those days, so I was very nervous, but I just went all out and did the best show that I could. After the show, he called me over to his table and told me that I fucking rocked! Man, that was such an honor. I was shaking like a 12 year old girl (thanks again Axl for making my day!)

2- When we made the second album "Si O Si Que" (C-O-C-K, get it?) we got to play with Bernie Worrell from Parliament/Funkadelic. He came down and played some clav for us on the song "21 Club". That totally kicked ass!

3- Recording the new album "3D Monkeys in Space" with the original lineup. It was great to just play again without all of the bullshit getting in the way.

And now, the worst:

1- We were shooting a music video for the song "Minor Happiness" and someone from the record company came up with this idea that we should play in the middle of this trailer park in Mississippi… ON THANKSGIVING! We got there and there were all these nice people living there that had fallen on hard times and I was expected to run around and make fun of this really depressing situation for some dopey music video. I refused to do it and I made everyone pack up. We sat down and ate and talked with them for a little while instead. Poverty really isn’t funny.

2- I had a meeting with an A&R person from Elektra in which she explained to me that in our song "Senorita" I didn’t say the word "Senorita" enough. This conversation went on for about an hour. It was so ridiculous and she really thought that she knew what she was talking about. She made a really big deal out of it, too. In the end I had to make the changes to appease her. I still regret making that compromise.

3- We showed up at a club that we were supposed to play, loaded in and started doing a sound check when all of a sudden another band starts loading in and wants to do a soundcheck. It turns out that the booking agent we were using at this time (a total loser)  had never confirmed the show and it turned out that we weren’t booked there. The club had cancelled our show due to poor ticket sales and our wonderful booking agent never informed us because he was afraid to tell us. That was about two months before I shut down White Trash. We had hit bottom and I wanted to cry.



19. What was your biggest ever musical related check for and what did you buy with it?

I got a huge check when I wrote the theme music for the short lived "The John Stewart Show" that used to air on UPN. I bought a fur coat, an eight ball and a 1969 Dodge Charger. They are all gone now, but man that was a fun week!

20.  The last of Dave Alvin of White Trash.

Last type of cereal you ate = Flutie Flakes

Last famous person you shook hands with = John Waters

Last time you puked from drinking = 12 seconds ago

Last time you saw the inside of your own tour bus = I have a tour bus?

Last illegal drug you ingested = Kif

Last time you cashed a royalty check for over $ 100.00 = May 2008

Last time someone called you D’Bone= My barber calls me that all the time.

Last time you rehearsed with a full horn section = December 2008

Last time you ate Apple Pie = 1991

Last time you saw someone wearing a Metal Sludge shirt = 12 seconds ago

Thanks Sludge! I love your website. Keep on keepin’ on my brothers from another mother.

peace,

d@ve

We thank Dave Alvin for a cool interview, you almost blew it with the nose in our CEO’s ass, but made up for it with a few amusing answers. We hope Chainsaw Caine beats your Apple Pie ass if you ever go to Minnesota again.

Visit these guys on MySpace >HERE<

Metal Sludge

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