Sadly, Art Fein, host of Art Fein's Poker Party and rock 'n' roll's best friend has passed away. He'll be greatly missed!
Dave Alvin remembers Art Fein
Extremely sad hearing of the passing of Art Fein.
There is so much to say about Art. A music journalist, a passionate (though always nicely cynical) true believer in rock and roll, rockabilly and other raw creations, a sometime band manager/advocate for The Cramps, The Blasters and other notable groups, a public access television host (check out his old Little Art's Poker Party shows on YouTube), a sneaky photographer and a complicated friend. I'll save the details for the eventual memoir but for now, I'll just say a belated, sincere thank you to Art, for everything he did for The Blasters and me.
Back in the early days of The Blasters, when few outside of Rollin' Rock Records knew or cared who we were, Art cared deeply.
In late 1979/early 1980, I was a wannabe poet working as a fry cook in Long Beach. I was also a clumsy guitar basher in a R&B combo from Downey who was beginning to write songs for my brother to sing. One of those songs was called Marie Marie.
Long story short: Art Fein played Marie to a Welsh rock and roll singer named Shakin' Stevens, who quickly recorded my song and made it into a huge international hit (everywhere except the USofA). Thanks to Art Fein (and the ensuing BMI royalty checks), I was soon able to quit my job as a cook and pursue music.songwriting and rockin' n' rollin' full time.
I can never, ever thank you enough for all you did for me, Art. Especially for ending my career as a fry cook.
