Ever heard of White Trash? Not the personality type, the band! You may or may not have. Of course, when one hears a band name like White Trash one might assume it’s some sort of twangy, southern rock that might as well be country. This is actually pretty far from the truth. The band are music major college drop-outs from Queens. And they took the the jazz band with them. HAHAHA. And that’s what it is: White punks on dope that write the funkiest hard rock you can imagine (seriously) with a horn section. I mean really, you going to say ‘Damn, that’s funky!’ The funkometer explodes every time the bands music is played.
It’s such a shame that this band didn’t explode to Red Hot Chili Peppers type of levels. They certainly out funk them. And they have a pinch more punch with metal guitar tones being used more often. And they have more of a singer. Plus the horn section! The horn section is everything for this band. It’s what makes them truly unique. Without the horns they’d be just another early 90’s funky, torn jeans rock band. And yes, many rock bands have horn sections. But not rock bands like this.
Formed by front man Dave Alvin and guitar/bass brothers Ethan and Aaron Collins. What’s up with the synonymous nature of that name and talent? Aaron Collins has got to be one of the most underrated bass players to ever exist. This band had everything going for them. Their debut is engineered by Brenden O’Brien for fucks sake. They had critical acclaim and all. But their debut only reached #122 on the top 200 which is shameful. They shouldn’t have released ‘Apple Pie’ as the single. It did alright for the album. But putting out ‘Buzz!’, ‘Party Line’ or ‘The Crawl’ would have behooved the band more. And #122 was good enough for record companies to invest for another album or two in the early 90’s. But they disbanded! Alvin tried to do a different incarnation of White Trash a few years later but it dwindled pretty quickly after releasing an incredibly hard to find album ‘Si O Si, Que?’.
Fortunately for the music world the band reunited in 2007 for a quick gig in Long Island. The reception was so good they decided to keep going and have released two pretty damn good albums since. 2009’s ‘3d Monkey’s In Space’ and ‘Suburban Purgatory’ which contains the unbelievably catchy ‘Return of Buzz’.
But the band has yet to achieve the commercial status that they so rightly deserve. I figure if a song like ‘Return of Buzz’ can’t do it than maybe it’s just not in the card for them. Which is shame. Because not only do they deserve household recognition, you deserve to hear a band this good a fun. They’re proof that musicality can be bad ass and ‘edgy.’ It’s alright to have musical dignity and also have a ton of gluttonous fun that it borders on not having dignity. And with what’s going on in this world these days it’s important to get funked up and have fun. And this is the band that fulfills that desire. Time to party!
You gonna say ‘Damn that’s funky!’
GET FUNKED!!
They should have released this as their first single. It displays everything the band stands for. Rock, funk, jazz and jammage. It’s like a super edge river festival type band.
And the funkometer has once again exploded within a second of the introduction.
Not sure about anywhere else in the world, but Si I Si, Que? can be found easily and real cheap in the UK. There are around 20 sellers or so selling copies on Amazon UK for next to nothing, and not all of them are in this country.
Awesome write up. Dave gives hilarious interviews. Sounds like he lived the lyrics he wrote. Pretty unique sound, I don’t really hear influence from other bands I’m familiar with.Just getting back into them after forays in 1991 and 96.
That’s right, brother. These guys are criminally ignored and underrated. Oh well, sometimes the best things are best left in a natural state untainted by the burden of popularity.
I totally agree.
13 great songs on that first album. Produced by George Drakoulias who produced The Black Crowes. One of the best albums in my collection. Dave Alvin was an original and Ethan Collins a brilliantly underrated, tasteful player—may be Rest In Peace. Brother Aaron and Mike on drums—they were just a super band.
Fuckin incredible band. Been a fan since the beginning. The first album blew my ass off back in middle school and I still blast it from time to time. Si o Si, Que is also amazing, but in a different way. Musical legends. Doesn’t matter how successful they were, or weren’t, the music speaks for itself. Brilliant stuff.
Been looking for their lyrics for their first album for years!! Love them!
whitetrashuniverse.com is the official home. I do a cover of apple Pie that Dave Alvin put his stamp of approval on. https://www.reverbnation.com/groovetank/song/33532026-apple-pie-white-trash-cover-by JMSutherland