The members of Alva met in Tampa, Florida, in 1990 and formed a band that defies comparison. Playing music grounded in acoustic and wind instruments, including violin, sax, piano, and bone flute, Alva released their debut album, Fair-Haired Guillotine, on the Avant label in 1997. Liza Wakeman (ex-Chocolate USA), Michelle Anderson, and Aida Ruilova are the original and continuing members of the band. In late 1997, Anderson appeared on a release by Neutral Milk Hotel, playing sax on a few songs. Alva played at the 1997 Terrastock Festival, a benefit concert for the magazine Ptolemaic Terrascope. ~ Nick Kemper