Phil Alvin
Encyclopedia
Phil Alvin is an American
singer and guitar
ist. He is known primarily as the frontman of the roots-rock band The Blasters
.
Alvin grew up in Downey, California in a music-loving family where he and his younger brother
Dave
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 five albums between 1980 and 1985. While never achieving mass market
success in commercial
terms, their recordings and concerts drew critical respect 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 and returned to graduate school
to pursue a master's degree
in mathematics
and artificial intelligence
. He eventually earned his Ph.D.
from UCLA.
In the late 1980s he reconvened The Blasters, albeit without Dave Alvin (who chose instead to focus on a solo career). In 1994, he released a second solo album, County Fair 2000. In 2005, under Alvin's leadership, the revised configuration of The Blasters released a much anticipated studio album, 4-11-44, after more than a decade of touring.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist. He is known primarily as the frontman of the roots-rock band The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
.
Alvin grew up in Downey, California in a music-loving family where he and his younger brother
Dave
Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin , is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music....
were exposed to blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
.
Inspired and influenced by the music they grew up with, Phil and Dave formed the rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band The Blasters in the late 1970s with fellow Downey residents Bill Bateman and John Bazz. The group released five albums between 1980 and 1985. While never achieving mass market
Mass market
The mass market is a general business term describing the largest group of consumers for a specified industry product. It is the opposite extreme of the term niche market.-General:...
success in commercial
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
terms, their recordings and concerts drew critical respect and a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
In 1986, after The Blasters had disbanded, Alvin released a solo album, Un "Sung" Stories and returned to graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
to pursue a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. He eventually earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from UCLA.
In the late 1980s he reconvened The Blasters, albeit without Dave Alvin (who chose instead to focus on a solo career). In 1994, he released a second solo album, County Fair 2000. In 2005, under Alvin's leadership, the revised configuration of The Blasters released a much anticipated studio album, 4-11-44, after more than a decade of touring.
Blasters discography
- American Music - 1980
- Blasters - 1981
- Over There - 1982
- Non Fiction - 1983
- Hard Line - 1985
- The Blasters Collection - 1990
- Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings - 2002
- The Blasters Live - Going Home - 2004
- 4-11-44 - 2005