Allan’s aggressive, fuzzed-out guitar instrumentals came to thebiker crowd by way of the classic B-movie “Wild Angels.” Before Angels, Allanhad scored another movie track with Mike Curb, on “Skaterdater.” But with “Wild Angels,” lightning struck and Davie Allan’s style coalesced into a unique,robust hybrid of Link Wray’s menacing power, Dick Dale’s caffeinatedshred, and the structural and musical sensibilities of his idol, HenryMancini. The song “Blues’ Theme” charted in regional markets across thecountry for the better part of a year, and a legend was born. Curb, Allanand the Arrows went on to compose and perform many musical scores forRoger Corman’s American International Pictures. Corman, it should be noted, was the king of the B-movie hill during the 1960s.
Allan and his current Arrows lineup are no oldies act. He is still composing and touring and his guitar chops have never been better. By rights, the name Davie Allan should be mentioned in the same breath as Dale and Wray. For better or worse, Allan?s early career was launched by Curb, his high school mate. Unfortunately, Curb also managed Allan and the Arrows. His opportunism and prodigious recycling of tracks did not bode well for the longevity of Allan’s success (Allan’s recorded legacy has been described as “a shitstorm of inconsistencies”). If ever there was a perfect subject for VH1’s ?Behind the Music,? it is that of Davie Allan and the Arrows. Theirs is a long, fascinating and improbable story.
How old were you when you first picked up guitar?
Allan: I started much later than I wanted to. I was around 15 and started performing within a couple of years.
Any humorous or interesting anecdotes from those earliest days?
Allan: I’m glad you asked. My first performance was at a luau, and myfirst drummer was Jim Gordon, who co-wrote “Layla” and is in jail formurdering his mother. That still shocks me. I have nothing but fond memories of working with him.
Flipside once referred to you as “High priest of the fuzz guitar.” Where and how did your frenetic, buzz saw guitar tone develop?
Allan: I guess this story gets told by other guitarists. In theearly days, we would put vocals AND guitars through one amp and couldn’thelp but get distortion. Van Halen cites “Blues’ Theme” as his firstintroduction to that grungy sound. As the amps got bigger, I got into fuzzboxes — my first one was made by the Gibson guitar company. Your questionbrings up a performance at one of the Love Rides (that’s the yearlymuscular dystrophy benefit that features 20,000 bikers going from Glendaleto Castaic, Calif.). We were doing a sound check and the soundman (who didn’thave a clue who I was) said, “Can we do something about that buzz saw effect?
“What was the inspiration for your adrenaline guitar tone?
Allan: I did a few distorted tunes early on but it was the ?Wild Angels? soundtrack that really set the tone that would stay with me for the 35years since those recordings were made. Since it was a biker film, I guess I was unknowingly going for a Harley sound with the guitar.
Who sang the ?Wild Angels? theme? It sounds like it might be Nancy Sinatra.
Allan: I always love it when I’m asked this question. It was Barbara Pittman, who had been on the Sun label and dated Elvis in the ?50s. She and I did a few duets (“This I Say” from the “Dr. Goldfoot & The Girl Bombs” soundtrack LP, “Makin’ Love” from the “Wild Wheels” soundtrack and a Manhattan Recordssingle: “Sha La La” and “You Really Got A Hold On Me.” The latter threewere billed as “The 13th Committee”).
Did you ever get to meet Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern or Nancy Sinatra?
Allan: I almost met Nancy this past year. A “Wild Angels” reunion was planned and we were slated to appear and to back her on a couple of tunes. We were also supposed to do a tune on the “Wild Angels” DVD that is due out soon. My meeting with Peter Fonda was disillusioning. We were promised a slot on the “Love Ride” show; Peter changed his mind but was going to have me come up on stage and introduce me. He changed his mind again but I went to the event anyway. I was still excited to meet him so when I saw him, I went over and grabbed his hand and introduced myself. He said nothing, then turned and walked away. The person in charge was able to at least talk Peter into posing for a picture later that day. I think he was out of it that day because he seemed like a different person when I saw him on an interview a couple of years later.
“Blues’ Theme” was recorded as a vocal in Davie’s collaboration with The Phantom Surfers (Skaterhater). Was the piece originally composed with lyrics?
Allan: Curb threw some lyrics together for the vocal version that appeared on ?The Wild Angels, Vol. II? LP.
What is your current recording and touring set-up?
Allan: After a few years of using a Roland guitar processor, I retired it for a few simple pedals such as a Pro-Co Rat, an Ibanez Tube Screamer and a 30-year-old Vox Wah Wah. When we don’t have a back line supplied, I use a 1980 Music Man amp and the guitar I use is a Fender Jazzmaster (with alterations) that I’ve had since 1965. I rarely use anything but the back pickup full blown.
How old are you?
Allan: It’s hard to lie about it anymore since my career goes back 40 years! I’m 56. In the last couple of years I have seen Link Wray and Dick Dale play live shows. They were absolutely at the top of their games, and even though many of the songs were familiar territory, there was no hint (sonically or in stage presence) that these guys were well past the age to be collecting Social Security.
Looking to your future, do you see yourself continuing to record and play live?
Allan: Unfortunately, the money isn’t there (I desperately need a tune in a film!) but I have no thoughts of giving it up. I’m working on making a CDR of my home demos to see if I can find a backer to finance a new album. We still do live shows and a tour is being discussed for later this year.
Will you do a cross-country thing or just regional to California?
Allan: We’ve done trips to Northern California plus Seattle, Portland and Tucson. In July/August of 1999, we did a three-week East Coast tour and we may do a similar one by the summer.
In 1996 you wrote the song “Vanishing Breed” for Dick Dale. How did this come to pass?
Allan: Dick and I have only worked together a couple of times but we go back to the ?60s. He played on a tune of mine in 1985 titled “Surf Trek” for my ?Arrow Dynamic? vinyl LP. I wrote “Vanishing Breed” for him and he said he would record it. He even told me that his son was going around the house humming it. After two years, I gave up and did it myself for the flipside of my “Shape of Things to Come” single for “Total Energy.”
You have referred to 1996’s “Fuzz Fest” as being the best thing you have done, and it is a solid and remarkably fresh-sounding release from start to finish. Was it just good kharma? What made this one special?
Allan: It was one of those magical moments like I had many times in the ?60s. Dave Provost was on bass and David Winogrond was on drums. We were totally in sync. So, there we were — Davie, Dave and David. All we needed was to add Dave Davies on second guitar! We came close with ?The Arrow Dynamic Sounds Of? CD in 1999. Dave had bowed out but Pete Curry stepped in and did a great job.
You really almost got Dave Davies from the Kinks to record with you?
Allan: That would’ve been too cool, but it was just a standing joke because of all the Daves.
Who are your favorite up-and-coming guitar-slingers? Do any of the current pack catch your ear?
Allan: I rarely listen to today’s music. I guess it’ll be surprise to learn that I listen mostly to Elvis, Frank, Bobby (Darin), Mancini, The Beatles and big band music.
The surprise is that none of these are instrumental guitar groups!
Allan: Well, I did mention Nokie Edwards (The Ventures). Some other favorites (are you sitting down for this?): Keely Smith, Linda Ronstadt, Matt Monro, Perry Como, Glenn Miller, ELO and Heart.
Are there any fuzz-drunk guitarists out there today who cite you asan influence?
Allan: I’ve been told that there are but I’ve only heard from fans who tell me how much I’ve influenced them. One fan recently told me that his young son watched a video of us to see how I played “Blues’ Theme.”
What do you think of the Insect Surfers and specifically the song “Volcano Juice”?
Allan: We’ve done quite a few shows with them and I was flattered when I was asked to play on that track. David Arnson and I soon became friends and he even appeared as an Arrow on a couple of shows.
I know you are influenced musically by Henry Mancini, but among guitarists, who influenced you?
Allan: Even though the guitar was basically a prop, my first influence was Elvis, followed by Duane Eddy, Nokie Edwards and George Harrison. Another favorite is Scotty Moore.
Were you/are you a Hendrix fan?
Allan: Never got into Jimi. I’ve been asked many times if he influenced me and except for his Top 40 hits, I didn’t hear any of his fuzz/wah stuff until years later.
Your new live CD, “Live Run” is on the Total Energy label, which also released “The Arrow Dynamic Sounds of Davie Allan and The Arrows” in 1999 and re-released “Fuzz Fest” in 1998. Have they done a good job promoting your work?
Allan: Without putting any blame on anyone, we’ve had great reviews on all three CDs. We did an East Coast tour in ’99, we won the LA Weekly Music Award for Best Instrumental Band of 1999, but there has been very little money made as far as CD sales.
Rumor has it that you either recorded an album of all surf stuff(fuzz style) or someone put out a compilation of your more surfy songs.True?
Allan: You must be referring to “Surftime On LBI.” That was anobvious bootleg that someone put together (badly) in New Jersey. The tuneswere re-titled. For instance, “Cycle-Delic” became “Surf-A-Delic” by DavyArrow & The Allens (nice spelling of both names).
What was the original idea behind your magnum opus tune “Cycle-Delic” Some fans think it’s the most free-form song you ever did. Were you influenced by outside trends or sources?
Allan: It was just something we started jamming on that tookshape after our August 1967 tour. When we got home, most of it was makingsense to us so we went into the studio and recorded it. We were reallyhappy with the result. What a shame that the multi-track tapes are gone;how I would love to hear it in stereo!
How long have you been playing with your current Arrows lineup of Lee Joseph on bass and David Winogrond on drums?
Allan: Lee goes back to 1998 as my bass player but we had crossed paths in 1990 when he released my “Old Neck And New Strings” LP. It wasre-released on CD (with extra tracks) and re-titled ?Loud, Loose And Savage?in 1993 on the Iloki label and then re-released again on Lee’s Dionysuslabel in 1999. David and I did one track together in 1987 (“The MissingLink”) but he didn’t become an official Arrow until 1994.
Your accompanying group throughout the ?60s was variously referred to as The Visitors, The Hands Of Time, The Sidewalk Sounds, etc. Is there what you would consider to be a “classic” Arrows lineup?
Allan: There were two classic lineups. The musicians who did ?The Wild Angels? and many other tracks were Larry Brown on drums, Drew Bennett on bass, Russ Viot on rhythm guitar and vocals and Jared Hendler on keyboards. After “Blues’ Theme” hit the charts, the traveling “Arrows” (and a few sessions) were Drew, Don Manning on drums and the multi-talented Wayne Allwine on rhythm guitar and vocals. Wayne is a great guy and we still keep in touch. I always love telling his story. He became the third official voice of Mickey Mouse in 1977 and married voice-over actress Russi Taylor a few years ago. She is the voice of Minnie Mouse!
Did you really write and perform more than 20 movie soundtracks in a three- year period back in the mid-60s?
Allan: We actually worked on about two dozen “B” movies. Mostwere awful but a few cult favorites came out of the bunch such as “The Wild Angels,” “Devil’s Angels,” “Wild In The Streets” and “Born Losers.”
How involved were you in scoring the movie soundtracks?
Allan: We recorded many full tunes although some were done in snippets. Soundtrack albums were planned so we did some versions especially for that purpose. Also, in a great many cases, some of our previous recordings were remixed and retitled.
Did you ever visit the movie shoots and/or do any kind of cameo?
Allan: The band was in one perfectly awful film titled “Albert Peckingpaw’s Revenge” in 1967 that was retitled “Jennie, Wife Child.” Someonesent me a video of it about eight years ago and it was worse than Iexpected. I was also in the background of another bad one titled “WildWheels” in 1969.
Is it true that you have never ridden a motorcycle?
Allan: Yes, but I do ride a bicycle on occasion.
Merl Haggard, Kacey Jones, and more recently Hank Williams III have complained bitterly about getting screwed by Curb Records. Tell us a bit about the history of your business relationship with Mike Curb, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Allan: I’ve been working on a story about my relationship with him for about six years. I’m holding back on telling it because a deal is being offered to sign off on the ?60s and start with a clean slate to re-release all the old tracks on CD. Many labels have approached me (in hopes that I owned the old recordings) to do box sets. Curb owns everything and has refused to lease anything out except for “Blues’ Theme” that has been on a few comps, including Rhino Records Nuggets four-CD box set that did quite well. Thankfully, I got my co-writing credit back because I’ve received nothing as the artist. Who knows, Curb and I started together in 1961, maybe he’ll get tired of all the bootlegs and take those recordings off the shelf and put them back out there where they belong.
I’ve seen elsewhere a reference to the year 1963 as the date you began working with Curb. Was 1961 when you were still going to high school together?
Allan: We met in the high school choir in ’61 and started doing demos in the studio soon after. The first releases were in ’63.
Was the song “Curb Job” a shot at Mike Curb?
Allan: That’s a tune that Mel Bergman (Phantom Surfers’ guitarist) wrote for me that is really a mafia term. It’s so disgusting that I would rather not describe it. It was also a shot at Curb. I did another project with Mel Bergman, a Ventures take on The Ramones. We called the group theRamonetures and an LP and CD came out in ’99. It was quite a challengefor me in that I had to learn the melodies of 16 tunes that I had neverheard before. It was released on the Blood Red Vinyl & Discs label.
What are your hobbies, outside of music?
Allan: Movies, a few TV shows, hiking, bicycling, softball. I used to collect autographs but got turned off when Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw turned me down at a club I was playing in Palm Springs. I also collected View Masters as a kid but all I collect today are Hallmark’s “Star Trek” ornaments.
In addition to Allan’s recent discography, there are various bootlegs floating around on the market, including a recent CD of the 1967 ?Blues’ Theme? LP. Perhaps the popularity of these bootlegs will helpconvince Mike Curb to release official versions of those oldrecordings. Fans who wish to rattle Mike Curb’s cage can write to him at47 Music Square East, Nashville, Tenn. 37203-4324.
Several Davie Allan CDs are available directly from his Web site, www.davieallan.com, including “Fuzz Fest,” about which Davie comments, “This follow-up to “Loud, Loose and Savage” was first released on AVI in 1996 and then re-released on “Total Energy” in 1999. Where does this one come in on the list of my almost four decades of recording? My favorite, my best.”
