On paper, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore are a musical alliance that shouldn't necessarily work. Jimmie is a folkie mystic flatlander from Lubbock, Texas and Dave, raised in Downey, Calif., has roots in the punk blues band The Blasters with his brother Phil.
Jimmie Dale is 10 years older than Dave, so you think they would have grown up with different musical influences. But, as the longtime acquaintances found out when they were thrown together as tour-mates in 2017, they have the blues, classic folk and the L.A. club The Ash Grove in common. On stage, they would surprise each other with their mutual admiration of Lightnin' Hopkins and even The Youngbloods' classic "Get Together."
The pair recorded an album called Downey to Lubbock and hit the road. Lucky for us, World Cafe was a stop on their sold out, full band tour. The duo sat down with David Dye for a chat and, to start their story in song, they performed the album's title track. Hear that and more in this session.
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