Alvins interest in Music came from his older brother Joseph who was influenced to play drums after seeing the Beatles first American appearance on the ED SUllivan show.
("Joseph wanted to play drums but Mom and Dad wouldn't allow it.." Alvin elaborates)
As a child Alvin was exposed to various forms of music from his parents' Blues Ghospel and Jazz records to his brothers' Funk, Soul and Rock collection.
("I am lucky to have grown up in such fertile time for music, when there was still an interest in playing an instrument and music was made with feeling and depth..", Alvin says)

Alvins family moved from Kentucky to Selma, Alabama in 1972 and as he began formal school he recognized he was a bit different from the other kids his class.
(" I could read and write by the age of three and I didn't have much of the typical "Southern accent" so the other children made me painfully aware of this...", Alvin admids)
HE was able to make friends by being one of the class artists (an interest he also got from brother Joseph and one that continues to this day).

Although he had various toy instruments during his childhood his main practice was playing "drums" along with brother Joseph on the bed.
("We destroyed some covers and matresses during my childhood and Mom would always get at us about that...", Alvin explains)

Maybe it was the lack of having an instrument that sparked the interest to play and resonated throughout his childhood. It was so extreme he would make whole bands out of alumium foil
("I kept myself occupied by doing this and my family and friends thought I was nuts", says Alvin jokingly) It is a hobby he still has.

Brother Joeph saw a potential talent in his younger brother when he saw Alvin playing a toy guitar and he had figured out the main riff to "Highway to Hell" by the group AC/DC completely by ear.
("My brother looked at me like I was an alien", Alvin comments)

From then on Alvin received various instruments from his older brother.
("I reveived an acoustic guitar, a Hoefner copy violin bass like Paul McCartney which I still have the bory from :-) and a real drumset")

With this drumset the world began to change for Alvin. He became very serious and dedicated to playing and he had opportunity to perform.
("I joined a church and started playing there and it became the world for me)

Then one day a neighbor came to the house and wanted to speak with his mother ("I thought, I was in trouble, Alvin laughs)
He was from the church and alos played in a popular ghospel group called "The Senstaional Ghospelaires" and he wanted to know if Alvin could
play in the band.

("Thank God my Mom said 'yes'. I think she saw it was something I could and wanted to do and it would keep me from getting in trouble.
Puberty age, you know...)

Alvin joined the band as the drummer and began touring every weekend all over Alabama, Missisippi and Florida.("Those days were the greatest!" Alvin recollects)

But one fateful event changed Alvin's musical life forever:

Alvin explains: "Our bass player had quit and we continued for a while whout a bassist. We practiced every Tuesday and Thursday so this one Tuesday the manager brung the group to rehearsal (We were a self contained unit with our own instruments, microphones, PA, etc...). Anyway we were reharsing then the musical director asks one of the background singers (who was the former drummer I replaced) to play bass on a song. He played a little bass and played the bassline but it didn't really move like it was supposed to. Then he asked me to try it. I picked up the bass and I played the song like I had played it the whole time...

Everything was there: The notes, the groove, feel,...it was all there!

Everyone in the group looked at me like I was an Alien (Guess I should get used to this alien thin, huh...?). The musical director jokingly shouted: "Where have you been all my life...?" After rehearsal I received a Fender Coronado Jazz guitar to practice bass on. Wednesday I came home from school and practiced by listening to the radio trying to play the basslines to different songs. (I think this indirectly enabled me to learn and play hundreds of songs by heart). Thursday we practiced and I played drums like normal. Friday after school, I turned on the radio and learned basslines again. Then Saturday morning, something woke me up, I locked both doors, opened the window, turned on the radio and I played bass to every song that came on the radio between 7:00a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (!) I only came out for dinner and bathroom breaks.

We had a show on Sunday and that was the debut of Alvin Mills, Bass player! And I've played ever since. I Guess I was meant to do this!

After picking up Bass, Alvin continued with the group until his graduation in 1986. In that time he also recorded an album with the group. After graduation he joined the National Guard and came back after his Basic Training and lerning his military job (I learned to be a mechanic... :/ but I sucked (suck) at it, admits Alvin)

Sensing the need to do something else with his life, Alvin joined the Army in 1987 and was sent to Stuttgart, Germany. He spent 4 years in the military (2 years in Germany, 2 years in Ft. Cmpbell. Kentucky, where young Jimi Hendrix was stationed almost 30 years before). In this time he had no time to play, so he gave up playing altogether. What sparked his interest again was playing with a group called "Finesse".

In this group he met his musical soulmate Charles Simmons. ("We had an immediate hookup from the very beginning", Alvin says). Charles was the singer & keyboard player in this band and because they were similar in age there were so many thing they had in common.

Another turning point in Alvins life was being sent to the first Gulf war. Alvin saysit was here that he realized how important music was to him. ("I was scared to death the entire time and the only way I could relax wass to play this acoustic guitar that was there...! Then I realized THIS is what I wanted to do")

After the war Alvin returned to America and was discharged honorably from the Army. He then decided to return to Germany in 1991. In 1992 he started making key connections to help him break into the music scene in Germany. 16 years later he is still going strong...

(" I have had a chance to meet and and play with some very interesting and diverse artists. Some are even my idols!")

A partial List ist here (See also pictures section):

• Ronan Keating
• Mary J. Blige
• Les McCann
• Hiram Bullock
• Roy Hargrove
• Ricky Lawson
• T.M. Stevens
• Nena
  
• Nile Rodgers & CHIC
• Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann)
• Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet)
• Leo Sayer
• Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)
• Huey Lewis
• En Vogue
• Shaggy
• Steve Lukather and Simon Phillips (TOTO)
• Ian Paice & Don Airey (Deep Purple)
• and many more...!

Alvin says his future plans are to continue to learn & grow as a musician because that also enables him to grow as a person ("I try to bring my life energy to whatever situation I'm in and to try to spread some much needed positive vibes in a volatile hostile world. Everybody needs to rock out, get funky or chill out...so let's do it together!").

Amen to that!