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All Music Guide:
A hard-working punk band from Wilmington, CA, Left Alone were formed by leader Elvis Cortez (guitar/vocals) and played their first keg party in 1996. Combining his love of punk, ska, the Clash, Rancid, and Elvis Costello, Cortez was loyal to the D.I.Y. attitude from the very beginning and formed his own label, Smelvis, to release his band's music. Numerous EPs and singles were issued, and while the band's following slowly grew, a rotating lineup stalled their momentum. In 2003, things started falling into place. Smelvis rounded up the band's hard to find recordings for the Left Alone: 1996-2000 compilation, while Cortez hit the road with the influential Vans Warped Tour as a roadie. His backpack was filled with Left Alone CDs, which were handed out to anyone and everyone. A year later the band was invited on the tour as "the BBQ Band," a band that got to play a set in exchange for the honor of cooking and feeding the other bands on the tour. They played the same role in 2005, but this time they ran into Tim Armstrong of Rancid. Armstrong signed the band to his Hellcat imprint and issued the full-length Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts that same year. By now the lineup had settled with Rick Cruz on bass, Ramrod Briseno on drums, and longtime fan Noe Guzman joining on sax. This crew appeared on the 2006 album Dead American Radio, which featured a guest appearance from Tim Armstrong along with Patricia Day from the Danish psychobilly sextet HorrorPops.
Wikipedia:
Left Alone is a punk rock band from Wilmington, California. They were formed in May 1996 by lead vocalist and guitarist Elvis Cortez. Cortez formed his own label, Smelvis Records, to release Left Alone's records, and has since expanded the label to include numerous other underground bands. Cortez was also the owner of the PCH Club in Wilmington, which is now defunct. Left Alone's music has ska influences, and the band is notable for adhering to a do it yourself ethic by avoiding major labels, booking their own tours, and making their own merchandise.
After releasing numerous demos, splits, and EPs, Left Alone released their first full-length, Streets of Wilmington, in 2002. A year later, the band compiled their earlier, out-of-print recordings on the anthology Left Alone: 1996-2000. In 2003, Cortez went on the Warped Tour as a roadie. After Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman heard Left Alone's music, he chose the band to be the Warped Tour BBQ band for the 2004 tour. The band were invited back to be the BBQ band for the 2005 tour. While on the Warped Tour, Tim Armstrong of Rancid heard Left Alone's 2004 album, Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts. Armstrong signed the band to his label, Hellcat Records, and re-released Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts. The band released their third full-length album, Dead American Radio, on August 8, 2006, which features guest appearances from Tim Armstrong and Patricia Day of the Horrorpops.
The band released their self-titled album on April 7, 2009.
They were touring with the Vans Warped Tour 2010.
