Dave Alvin

Dave Alvin

Profile

Dave Alvin

Movies

Pay Up Cheaters: The Story of the Beat Farmers
Self
A documentary about legendary San Diego-based, roots rock band, THE BEAT FARMERS featuring interviews with members Jerry Raney, Joey Harris, Buddy Blue, Rolle Love, and Country Dick Montana, plus Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin, Harry Shearer, Dr. Demento, and Mojo Nixon (among others).
Troubadour Blues
Himself
A journey into the world of well-traveled singer-songwriters like Peter Case, Mary Gauthier, Chris Smither, Dave Alvin, Slaid Cleaves and many more. The film contains live performances of 40 brilliantly crafted songs, as well as informal moments and interviews in which the artists reflect on audiences, songwriting, the music business, and life.
Merle Haggard: Learning to Live With Myself
Self
Haggard actually lived the rambling, gambling, love ‘em and leave ‘em, often brutal life that remains the bedrock of country music lyrics – he hopped his first freight train at the age of 10, became a chronic truant and drinker and was locked up some 17 times as a youngster. Serious criminal charges followed, including car theft. He was, literally, in the inmate audience in 1959, when Johnny Cash gave his New Year’s Day concert in San Quentin – and, as he’s said repeatedly, “my life changed forever.”
Ghost on the Highway: A Portrait of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and the Gun Club
Interviewee, The Blasters
A biographical study of seminal punk blues singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce and his band the Gun Club.
Hootenanny
Hootenanny can best be described as a roots, rockabilly, blues, punk lifestyle event with an edge. It is the premier Americana event. Hootenanny merges the primordial roots of rockabilly, blues and swing with the counterculture it has spawned amongst generation Xeres of today. Its eclectic mix of the innovators and originators affords it the honor of being one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year. Artists include Joe Strummer, Rocket From the Crypt, Nekromantix, Cadillac Tramps, John Doe, The Blasters, The Paladins, Hot Rod Lincoln, Lee Rocker, James Intveld, Dave Alvin, Junior Brown, Tex and the Horseheads, Russell Scott, Manic Hispanic, Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords.
It Came from... Baltimore!!
Self
Short documentary about the making of Cry-Baby (1990).
Floundering
Chauffeur
A disaffected and increasingly disturbed young man journeys through post-riot Los Angeles.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Musician
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Border Radio
Dave
Before carving out a niche as one of the most distinct voices in nineties American cinema, Allison Anders made her debut, alongside codirectors and fellow UCLA film school students Kurt Voss and Dean Lent, with 1987’s Border Radio. A low-key, semi-improvised postpunk diary that took four years to complete, Border Radio features legendary rocker Chris D., of the Flesh Eaters, as a singer/songwriter who has stolen loot from a club and gone missing, leaving his wife (Luanna Anders), a no-nonsense rock journalist, to track him down with the help of his friends (John Doe of the band X; Chris Shearer). With its sprawling Southern Californian and Mexican landscapes, captured in evocative 16mm black and white, Border Radio is a singular, DIY memento of the indie film explosion in America.
Streets of Fire
The Blasters
Raven Shaddock and his gang of merciless biker friends kidnap rock singer Ellen Aim. Ellen's former lover, soldier-for-hire Tom Cody, happens to be passing through town on a visit. In an attempt to save his star act, Ellen's manager hires Tom to rescue her. Along with a former soldier, they battle through dangerous cityscapes, determined to get Ellen back.