Clay Tarver first came on the radar in the late ’80s as the co-founding guitarist for Boston’s Bullet LaVolta, a band that mashed up punk grit with hard rock muscle and a little post-punk weirdness. The band burned bright, fast, and called it quits by 1991.

Not long after, Tarver hooked up with Matt Sweeney, James Lo, and Scott Marshall in New York to form Chavez, releasing two beloved albums, Gone Glimmering (1995) and Ride the Fader (1996).

They went quiet for a while, but never really broke up—2006’s Matador compilation Better Days Will Haunt You pulled it all together and gave them a brief second wind.

This is our conversation with Clay Tarver. 

Links

Chavez on Bandcamp