A few years ago, the 1970 Louie and the Lovers vinyl Rise sold on eBay for around $80. It was the only copy available on the mega online auction site. 


The Salinas-based outfit behind it, fronted by Louie Ortega, is a tortilla soup of Mexi-Cali rock and southern blues. The definitive sound – led by Ortega’s Neil Diamond-esque tenor – helped pave the way for later bands like Los Lobos. Louie and the Lovers performances are now about as easy to find as its records, which have become collectors’ items, but Ortega hasn’t disappeared, consistently performing for the past 40 years. In 1990, he won a Grammy Award for his work with the Texas Tornados. On Saturday, he will perform at Fernwood with Dean Giles and Gary Roda.


When Ortega was touring with the Tornados, singer-songwriter Andrea Blunt was barely out of diapers. The 24-year-old CSU Monterey Bay product – performing solo on Saturday at Alternative Cafe – may not have decades of experience under her belt, but the young talent has already developed a comparable work ethic: She is currently working on three albums for three projects, including one with the Santa Cruz-based White Walls. (She’s also a member of the all-girl quartet honeymoon, which Weekly readers named 2011’s Best Local Band in the county.)


“I’m beginning to think that 2012 wasn’t meant for sleeping,” she says. 


Blunt is working on a loop-based solo album that features her on an array of instruments. The LP will showcase her new approach to songwriting.


“I’ve been writing songs since I was really young and it started as a cathartic process I used to help figure out stuff that I was going through, like heartbreak, love and tragedy,” Blunt says. “Now that I’ve covered that, I’m writing about life using different perspectives; I’m stepping into someone else’s shoes and giving spins on random stuff you normally wouldn’t hear in a song.”


On “Iron Spine,” Blunt captures a seductive essence and unassuming indie charm also present in tunes like Deerhunter’s “He Would Have Laughed.” And her words – “The body moves on instead of the mind” – breathe wisdom beyond her years. 


LOUIE ORTEGA plays 9:30pm Saturday, Jan. 14, at Fernwood, 47200 Highway 1, Big Sur. Free. 667-2422. Andrea Blunt plays 8:30pm Saturday, Jan. 14, at the Alternative Cafe, 1230 Fremont Blvd., Seaside. $5. 583-0913.