My guest this week is Colin Alvarez. We had an interesting chat about being a working musician, where to save money on gear, road triumphs and horror stories, and we wrap everything up with a story about how you should never pretend to be a percussionist. Here's some more info about Colin:
Now calling Enola, PA home, Atlanta GA native Colin Alvarez pays his respects to our past while forging a new sound all his own.
Colin began his exploration into the musical world at the age of eight when he started playing trombone. He picked up the guitar at 9 after his father gave him Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Texas Flood" album. Although Colin's background is in trombone, euphonium, tuba, and French horn - these days he focuses solely on guitar. His guitar influences include Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B. B. King, Joe Bonamassa, Robben Ford, while his songwriting influences include Marc Broussard, Jonny Lang, and Ray LaMontange.
Colin got his start professionally at the age of seventeen with The Patrick Vining Band. Cutting his teeth with this powerhouse vocalist, Colin learned the business as well as how to front a band and entertain a crowd. He left Patrick's band at age twenty-one and went on to do guest and fill in work with several artists including Trickum, Bellum Rose, Jelly Roll, Southern Accent, Larry Griffith, and Ion Avenue. Colin's own personal ventures include Free Flight and Sazbo - the latter recording and releasing two studio albums and one live.
Seven years ago, Colin assembled an original rock band; Crashing Midnite. Crashing Midnite released one original ten song LP titled Coming Home. This project was an incredible learning experience and allowed Colin to truly find his voice. Crashing Midnite gave him the confidence to begin writing and releasing music under his own Name, beginning with 2015's "From the Top", a 5 song EP full of powerful guitars, soulful vocals, and hook-based songwriting.
Today, Colin is working to promote his 2021 Release and aptly named Album "Long Time Coming". The album includes ten songs written and arranged by Colin and Joel Edwards, with horn charts written by Kevin Carwile. Long Time Coming marks an exciting new chapter in Colin's music, Keep your eyes and ears peeled for exciting new things happening in Colin's career!
