Master Blasters

There's Americana music, and then there's American Music, and in the anything-goes days of the early 1980s L.A. punk scene, the Blasters' American Music blew the barnyard doors wide open with a then- shockingly un-punk mix of pre-Beatles rock, country blues, and rockabilly firepower. Led by brothers Phil (vocals) and...

By Lewis Goldberg

January 19, 2006

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There's Americana music, and then there's American Music, and in the anything-goes days of the early 1980s L.A. punk scene, the Blasters' American Music blew the barnyard doors wide open with a then- shockingly un-punk mix of pre-Beatles rock, country blues, and rockabilly firepower. Led by brothers Phil (vocals) and Dave (guitar) Alvin, the Blasters spent the first half of that decade playing roots music to guys with mohawks, equally at home at blues festivals or the Whisky in L.A. with Dave's future bandmates in X. After four critically acclaimed albums and a half-hearted attempt at mainstream acceptance, the band ran out of ammo in the mid-'80s. But last year, Phil Alvin recruited new bandmates and released 4-11-44, a comeback album that proves just as rollicking a good time as they were back in the days of "Border Radio" and "Marie Marie."

The Blasters perform at 9 p.m. Wednesday, January 25, at the Bamboo Room, 25 S. "J" St., Lake Worth. Tickets cost $32. Call 561-585-BLUE, or visit www.bamboorm.com.

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