A-LIST FRIENDS
Origins of The Alpha Band
TBone (centre) with Alpha Bandmates Steven Soles (left) and David Mansfield
BONNIESCHIFFMAN/GETTYIMAGES
“I THINK it was all about two years, really ’76 and ’77 —maybe ’78 in there. Steven Soles, David Mansfield and Ibecame close friends on the Rolling Thunder tour. When the second tour was over, we decided to go somewhere and play, because we enjoyed playing. We’d go back after shows and work up songs in the hotel rooms, with no real thought of anything other than playing music together. “We booked alittle club in Taos, New Mexico. It was a pretty little room to play music in. We called my great friend, David Jackson, and Matt Betton, who I’d known since we were in school together in Fort Worth. We all met up there and practised for maybe three weeks. While we were playing, the record companies started coming and we got offers. We had worked up akiller live set when Clive Davis came down and offered us acontract for three records, which we did in about 18 months.