American Routes Shortcuts: Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin

Published May 9, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT

West Texas troubadour Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Southern California roots-rocker Dave Alvin were born worlds apart. Gilmore in Lubbock, where he co-founded the Flatlanders. He left music to join an ashram, and played Smokey in the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski. Dave Alvin was raised in Downey, California, and once of age took off for Los Angeles to play guitar in rock and punk bands. Over the years, Alvin and Gilmore criss-crossed paths and admired each other from afar. I spoke to them in 2018 when they first joined forces on the road and recorded their album From Downey to Lubbock.

Dave Alvin: I first heard of Jimmie Dale in hushed and whispered tones of admiration. He was a legend, you know. When you hear his vocal instrument in person, it’s pretty impressive. When I heard his voice, I was like, “Wow, this harkens back to something primeval.”

NS: Jimmie, let me put the shoe on the other foot, or the boot on the other foot: your impressions of Dave’s voice, because he definitely-

(laughing)

Jimmie Dale Gilmore: Well you know, Dave makes fun of himself all the time but he’s actually one of my favorite singers. He’s got this incredible, beautiful, deep, rich, expressive voice, and he doesn’t believe it when anyone tells him he’s a good singer. Everybody I know loves his singing.

DA: I’ve taken my lumps.

NS: In terms of sharing vocals, “Downey to Lubbock,” the title track, is essentially a travel log. It kind of explains cosmically, and literally, where you’re coming from.

DA: Yeah, you nailed it. Whether you go west or go east, we’re all on that journey, right?

JDG: I actually had gone to California to break into the music business, but mainly what happened was I just continued my education there, by getting to know especially Lightnin’, he had the biggest effect on me. But I never saw Lightnin’ in Texas, but we got to be friends out in LA at the Ashgrove.

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JDG: Taj Mahal was hanging out there at the time, much younger, and I saw the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band there in that same period of time, mid 60s we’re talking about. The early time of folk music really exploding into becoming a huge national phenomenon.

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DA: I started going to the Ashgrove when I was a little kid. My brother Phil and I would hitchhike or bum rides, and we’d have to go twenty miles to get to the Ashgrove from where we grew up. We’d do it two, three times a week, and you could see everybody from Big Joe Turner to Freddy King to Clifton Chenier, and then you could see guys that weren’t that famous like Juke Boy Bonner or Long Gone Miles, people like that. It’s very likely that we crossed paths, and Jimmie Dale saw these little dork kids and was like, “What are these dork kids doing in here?”

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To hear the full program, tune in Saturdays at 5 and Sundays at 6 on WWNO, or listen at americanroutes.org.