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'Modern Sounds,' a Blast from the Past

The Knitters are John Doe, Dave Alvin, Exene Cervenka, Jonny Ray Bartel and D.J. Bonebrake.
The Knitters are John Doe, Dave Alvin, Exene Cervenka, Jonny Ray Bartel and D.J. Bonebrake.

If you read their band biography closely, you'll notice that The Knitters are American roots music. Why, they even conducted a recording session with Jimmie Rodgers. In 1927.

Ahem.

In reality, The Knitters have been around a while. Just not quite that long.

In 1985, John Doe and Exene Cervenka of the punk band X got together with guitarist Dave Alvin, also of X and Blasters fame, to make an album of country and rockabilly music. They named themselves The Knitters as a tribute to Pete Seeger's Weavers.

Twenty years later, Doe, Cervenka and Alvin are together again for a second record: The Modern Sounds of the Knitters. They gathered recently to tell Debbie Elliott about it.

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