For brothers Dave and Phil Alvin, sibling rivalry was an obstacle as they attempted to pursue music together, ultimately leading them to part ways. But who knew it would take a grapple with death for Dave and Phil Alvin to reunite — almost 30 years later.
The Alvin brothers hail from California where they grew up listening to a variety of genres. But it was the blues that stuck out to them the most.
“In the cold, hard light of dawn, we are basically blues guys,” Dave Alvin said.
In the 1970s, the brothers tried their hand at music when they formed a band with two other men called The Blasters. They eventually disbanded in 1986, as the Alvin brothers began to butt heads. They moved on and began separate careers.
During their time apart, the brothers dabbled with other projects, from solo endeavors to participating in other bands. Dave Alvin once even played in a punk rock band — but he always had blues on his mind, he said.
With music pursuits to keep them busy, the Alvin brothers were far apart. But while Phil Alvin was touring in Spain, Dave Alvin received a phone call in California — his brother was dead.
“For an hour-and-a-half, I was sitting down just in shock because my brother had died,” Dave Alvin said. “And then I got a phone call saying ‘Nah, he’s OK. They brought him back.’ It was right about then that I decided if he gets through this, we will make some music together like we should have.”
After 30 years apart, the Alvin brothers released their first album together in 2014 titled Common Ground: Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy, which was nominated for a Grammy.
Though Dave Alvin had already won a Grammy, this nomination for Best Blues Album was more special because he wanted his brother to have that same experience — even though in the end, they did not end up winning.
Another duo album in September 2015 followed their first, titled Lost Time. The brothers not only made up for lost time between the two of them, but also utilized this theme in the type of music on their album.
“It’s probably that a lot of this music comes from a time that’s lost — the vanished era,” Dave Alvin said. “And my brother and I were fortunate that we got to be an extremely small part of the tail end of that era.”
The Alvin brothers plan to make another album together, but this time with songs that Dave Alvin will write for them. For now, however, they are sticking with covers so as not to start any arguments, Dave Alvin said.
This year, the brothers are on tour and will be pit-stopping at Madison’s High Noon Saloon March 18 — but this isn’t the first time, they said. And as for the type of music they play, Dave Alvin is confident it will never grow old.
“Pop music has a shelf life,” he said. “Blues, old style country, bluegrass, punk music, things like that — you can play them ’til you’re dead.”
