WHITE TRASH was one of the best surprise in the beginnning of the 90’s. Two great albums (with two great producers- George Drakoulias & Daniel Rey), two amazing guitar players, an excellent songwriter, great artworks…but the band doesn’t know the success and is reported missing. Maybe the band was ahead of one’s time ! Today, Dave Alvin talks about the past, the present and the future…and the future seems to be great !

*Hi Dave, after the end of WHITE TRASH what did you do? Can you tell us what you did these last years?
I got into making experimental films (http://feroxfilms.com/) and it is something I really enjoy doing. I received a grant to study at the San Francisco Art Institute and I was fortunate enough to work with some legendary avant garde film makers like George Kuchar, Ernie Gehr and Craig Baldwin. I
owe those guys a lot.

*Let us return a little to the past, I'd like to know your musical course before WHITE TRASH ? How did you arrive in the world of the music?
I found out that beautiful women will sleep with you if sing to them. I also realized that I could drink for free if I was in a band.

*How was WHITE TRASH formed?
Aaron, Ethan and I all lived in the same neighborhood and we enjoyed the same kind of music, "Heavy Metal Music"! So, we started jamming together. We met Mike and the horn players while attending Francis Lewis High School and that's how we all got together.

*Which were the influences of the band at the time of its formation?
Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles & The Blues Brothers

*From where does the name of the band come from? Why this name ?
People used to call us that to try and put us down. So, we took that insulting term & wore it as a badge of honor. It was our way of saying 'Fuck you!" to our detractors. Now I legally own the name, so if
someone calls us that now I am flattered that they actually know who we are.

*Between the two albums, the line up was totally different. Why ?
Well, we all had different ideas about what we wanted to do next after we finished our tour. We were all arguing with each other all the time and it just wasn't going to work any more, so the other guys left to do other projects and I did one more album with new members Craig LeBlang, Eric Brodin & Dave Barckow as their replacements.

*Dave, you were the principal writer, even the sole one on most songs. However, you are not credited as an instrumentalist (except harmonica). On which instrument do compose you?
I play guitar. I am pretty good, but I don't like singing and playing at the same time on stage. I learned everything I know from Ethan and Craig, 2 amazing guitar players that I was lucky enough to have played with in White Trash.

*Was it easy to impose your ideas to others musicians ? Did you have difficulty finding musicians as motivated as you?
All the guys in White Trash were great to play with, but I have never been able to find people as good as them in recent years. That's the whole problem, it is very hard to find the right people to play with.
A band is like a marriage. You must choose your partner very carefully or it can turn into a nightmare.

*Can you describe to us the music scene at that time?
The heavy metal scene of the late 80's - early 90's was a magical thing. It was like being a viking. I started hanging out when I was like 13 years old in clubs and by the time I was 15 I was hanging out with 20 year old women who looked like playboy playmates. It's hard for people today to understand what an amazing scene that really was. It was like being at an orgy in ancient Rome.

* The group fit in with the hard rock US scene of this era when the band published its 1st album?
We were very lucky. The timing & marketing was just right for our first album. MTV really helped us out by playing the video for "Apple Pie", too.

*How did the band manage to obtain a collaboration with Jack Davis, famous illustrator of comics, on the delirious cover of the first album ?
We just called him and he said yes. We were very happy that he was into it. We wanted the album cover to look like the movie poster for "Animal House". He is truly a gifted artist.

*How do you analyze, with the passing, the lack of success of White Trash at one time when other bands amalgamating hard rock and funk knew a better fate (Extreme, Red hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More...);According to you, why was White Trash just a success of regard ?
That was totally our own fault. We didn't stick together like a good family should. And that's what we were, a big crazy family. United we stand, divided we fall. We split up and we fell .

*You were signed on a big major (big record company), how were your relations?
They always treated us fairly, but by the time that the second album came out the whole music industry had changed dramatically. We wound up being lumped in with all the other old school metal bands and that was the end of that.

*The second album of the band wants to be different from the first, with riffs more catchy and who sounded more fundamentally Hard Rock. Was this deliberate on behalf of the band to take this direction?
Oh yeah, definitely. I didn't want to just make a "sequel" to the first album, so I decided to take it in another direction that was better suited to the new musicians. It's sort of like what Robert Fripp has done with King Crimson over the years.

*Why was the adventure stopped after 2 albums ?
Honestly, I was heart broken, disillusioned and depressed after the second album failed. I really loved that album and when it didn't succeed I kind of fell apart.

*With the passing, what do you think about the two albums of WHITE TRASH? Which album do you prefer (on the level of the songs but also of the production) ?
I can't choose. It's like asking a parent which of their children they like best. I love them both.

*Can one hope to see one day a great re-issue of your cds with bonus tracks or video? Are there unreleased tracks or live tracks of White Trash that one can hope to see coming out one day?
I would love that, but that decision is up to Elektra Records, not me.
I would definitely do it if they wanted to do it though.

*What became of the other musicians? Are you always in contact with them?
I see most of the guys all the time. They are all still playing music. I love them like brothers.

*In june 2007 there was a gig of WHITE TRASH. Can you tell us why ? with who ? where ? which songs ? we want to know everything about this concert you played !!!!
Well, I hadn't sung in about 10 years and I guess that I wanted to find out if I could still do it. Also, I missed playing with those guys, so I said "Yeah, why not?". We played songs from both albums, plus a couple of songs that weren't on either of our first 2 albums. It went really well. I am glad that we did it.

*There are other gigs in the future ?
We are playing Don Hill's in NYC on August 30th. It is going to be a great show!

*Is there a chance one day to see/hear an album with new songs, or a solo album?
Yes, I am trying to make something happen. There is a lot more music coming from the world of White Trash very soon. That's all I can say right now.

*Are there possibilities of getting recordings on which you would have worked, or had you moved away from the world of the music?
I did some film scoring for a bunch of independent films over the past few years, but I don't believe that any of that is available right now. I also did the theme music for John Stewart's (The Daily Show) first 2 talk shows. Aaron has a band called Butterbrain and they have an CD out. Chris Arbisi produces music also.

*What was the best moment in WHITE TRASH ? And the worst ?
The best and worst moment both happened at the same time. It was the last show that I played with the original band back in like 1992. It was the best show we ever did! It was an outdoor concert in front of a monster crowd and it was total chaos. There are a few bootleg videos of the show out there somewhere if anyone wants to see for themselves. It was also the worst moment because essentially it was all down hill for us from there as a band.

*Out of all the bands you ever toured with, which ones were the coolest to work with, and which ones were the worst ?
The worst was when we opened for Dweezil Zappa. He treated us very poorly. I don't know what that was all about. Maybe he was just having a bad day, but I got really pissed off. The best band we ever played with was "Collision". We played lots of shows with those guys and they were always totally fucking amazing. They were the real deal, for sure!

*What do you think of the musical evolution since the Eighties?
There is always good and bad music out there to listen to. I really like a lot of new stuff, especially Liars. Buy their albums!

*What do you think of the musical scene at the present time?
What music scene? Seriously, I don't know what it is like over there in France, but here in America there is no music scene. That is something that really needs to change, FAST!

*What do you think of the Internet, the remote loadings, the mp3's...?
I think it is all great. It gives the independents a chance to get their music out there, even if they don't have a big record company backing them. Long Live the New Flesh!

*How do you see the future of musical industry?
I really don't know what will happen, but there will always be great music out there to listen to and that is all that really matters in the end.

Now a few quick hits:
- First concert you ever saw ?
Iron Maiden at the Nassau Coliseum

-Last concert you saw ?
Suicide at the South Street Seaport

-Worst concert you ever saw ?
Lindsey Lohan once sang for me privately in my home. She was so terrible that my neighbors started complaining and so I had to ask her to leave. True story.

-Best concert you ever saw ?
Bootsy Collins at S.O.B.'s

-First album you buy ?
The Very Best of Richard Pryor

-Last album you buy ?
Von Sudenfeld "Tromatic Reflexxions"

-The most embarrassing album in your collection ?
Liberacci's Greatest Hits

-What are your top 5 all time songs ?
"The Beautiful Ones" - Prince
"Story of an Artist" - Daniel Johnston
"Sunday Morning Coming Down" - Johnny Cash/Kris Kristofferson
"Stand by Your Man" - Tammy Wynette
"Since I've been Loving You" - Led Zeppelin

-And your top 5 albums ?
Prince "The Black Album"
Jimi Hendrix "Axis: Bold as Love"
Velvet Underground & Nico "Andy Warhol"
Black Sabbath "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
James Brown "The Motherlode"

-What is your dream band ?
My dream band would be called Bunny Rabbit:
Bjork - Lead Vocals
Vincent Gallo- Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards/Bass
Prince - Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards/Bass
Bill Bruford- Drums/Percussion

-The one thing Dave is best at is ?
Drinking

-The one thing Dave is worst is ?
Waking up

-Dave 's guilty pleasure is ?
Dirty, kinky sex with multiple partners (I'm Catholic)

*Little question concerning France, what in this country inspires you? And do you know French bands or singers?
The most inspiring thing about France for me is that it is the birth place of the Surrealist movement. That and the French New Wave of course. And all of your beautiful woman. Unfortunately I am not familiar with the French music scene, but I would love it if you could suggest some good french music for me to listen to.

*And about french cinema, french actors/actresses ?
Jean Luc Godard is really amazing to me. "Weekend" is such a magnificent film. As far as actors, I think Jean Pierre Leaud is fantastic and Catherine Deneuve just keeps on getting better and
better.

*So you're a fan of cinema. What's your favorites realisators and what do you think about cinema industry today ? Don't you think money is too important and creation less present ?
Wow, there are so many... In the U.S. - David Lynch & Harmony Korrine, in Asia- Takashi Miike & Tsai Ming Liang, Italy- Lina Wertmuller & Pier Paolo Passolini, Mexico- Carlos Reygadas & Alejandro Jodoworsky, Spain- Luis Bunuel, Germany- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Canada - David Cronenberg... I am leaving out so many great directors.

There are always great films being made. You don't need a lot of money to make a great film. The solution is for audiences to stop paying attention to all the advertisements for big budget nonsense. Dig a little deeper and you will find gold.

* Do you still have these splendid white shoes which you proudly raise on the cover of the second album?
No, those weren't mine, but i love those shoes! My whole wardrobe for that album was based on the clothes that Warren Oates wore in the Sam Peckinpah film "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia".

*Don't you think these shoes were perfect for the Duke from The Big Lebowski ?
Ha ha, yes! Absolutely perfect. That's another great movie.

*Thanks a lot Dave for your patience, sorry for my poor english and if you want to tell me something it's the moment.
I just want to thank all of the wonderful people who have supported my band, my strange films and my music over all of these years. I owe you all my life. PEACE!