Philip Joseph Alvin is an American singer and guitarist known primarily as the leader of the rock bandThe Blasters. His voice has been described as "robust...powerful...rich, resonant, supremely confident."
Biography
Alvin grew up in Downey, California in a music-loving family where he and his younger brotherDave Alvin were exposed to blues, rockabilly, and country. Inspired and influenced by the music they grew up with, Phil and Dave formed the rock and roll band The Blasters in the late 1970s with fellow Downey residents Bill Bateman and John Bazz. The group released four studio albums between 1980 and 1985. While never achieving mass market success on the music charts, the group's recordings and concerts drew critical acclaim and a cult following across the United States and Europe. In 1986, after The Blasters had disbanded, Alvin released a solo album, Un "Sung" Stories. He then returned to graduate school at California State University, Long Beach, where he eventually earned a master's degree in mathematics and artificial intelligence. Numerous accounts have stated that Alvin earned a Ph.D. However, there is reason to believe that this accepted wisdom is not accurate, and that Alvin's most advanced degree is in fact his master's. Incidentally, before launching his music career, Alvin had taught mathematics at the same university. When The Blasters reconvened in 1986 without Dave Alvin, who was pursuing a solo career and other projects, Phil resumed his role as the band's lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and harmonica player. In 1994, he released a second solo album, County Fair 2000. In 2005, under Alvin's leadership, a revised configuration of The Blasters released 4-11-44, the first studio album from the group since 1985. The band followed that effort in 2012 with the studio album, Fun On Saturday Night. In June 2012, while playing in Spain with The Blasters, Alvin had a near-death experience owing to an infection from an abscessed tooth. Though he had an emergency tracheotomy and flatlined twice, he recovered with his voice intact. In 2014, Phil and Dave Alvin released the albumCommon Ground, a selection of Big Bill Broonzy covers, as a duo. It was the first studio collaboration by the Alvin brothers since the mid-1980s. They followed up with Lost Time in 2015. Some 40 years after The Blasters got started, Phil Alvin remains their frontman. The lineup includes two other original members, John Bazz and Bill Bateman, as well as Keith Wyatt.
