Phil Alvin

Alvin grew up in Downey, California in a music-loving family where he and his younger brother Dave 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. deg…