Original Blast

The Brothers Grimace are back together on stage for the first time in 17 years, and even if it’s for a limited engagement, it’s been a welcome jolt for a certain breed of Southern California rock fans.

Here they were at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana on Thursday, the original Blasters--singer Phil Alvin with his face stretched into that trademark death-mask grin, his brother Dave contorting his features with the exertion of his guitar fusillades.

These are the visual accessories to one of the defining sounds of Los Angeles rock, the rock-solid, poetry-smart music the Blasters unleashed in their early-’80s heyday. Long out of print, their classic records have just been released on a Rhino Records two-CD compilation, “Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings.”

The collection has generated something few fans thought would ever happen--a reunion of the original lineup, which ended when Dave and pianist Gene Taylor left amid personal and career tensions in 1985.

The Downey-bred Alvin brothers were as famous for their personal battles as for their music (overshadowing the fact that all the guys tended to mix it up, in various combinations), so when plans for the reunion--also including Taylor, drummer Bill Bateman and bassist John Bazz--were announced, the immediate question was whether it would survive even its planned five-day span.

Even Dave, now a prominent figure as a musician and producer in the world of contemporary folk music, can joke about that.

“All five of us grew up together, and to have this thing where we don’t play together is a little silly to a point,” he said in his dressing room before Thursday’s show, “So this is OK, let’s do this and see if we can make it through five gigs without killing each other.”

So far so good. The first show, Wednesday in San Diego, went well by all accounts, and Thursday’s Galaxy set (which set the stage for Friday’s scheduled Hollywood homecoming at the House of Blues) was everything a Blasters fan could want: a no-nonsense race through the songbook, fueled by the spirit and intensity that made the Blasters a major force two decades ago.

Starting with “Red Rose,” from the 1983 album “Non Fiction,” the band quickly shook off any cobwebs and was instantly in high gear as it coursed through its variations on rock ‘n’ roll fundamentals (“Long White Cadillac,” “American Music,” “So Long Baby Goodbye”), some of Dave’s incisive story songs (“Border Radio”) and his blue-collar social commentary (“Common Man”).

And there was the added sentiment and nostalgia that came with the reunion, from the large photo on stage of the late Lee Allen, the veteran New Orleans saxophonist who had been part of the Blasters, to the visible pleasure on the players’ faces as they interacted during the show.

“Without getting too teary-eyed,” Dave said earlier, “I rarely see Phil, both of our parents are gone now, you know. It’s kind of like goin’ home a little bit ....

“Whether there is or isn’t an afterlife, my parents are pretty happy right now. Lee Allen’s pretty happy that we’re doin’ this at least once. If that sounds sappy, Phil and I are a couple of sappy guys.”

Of course they’re also a couple of headstrong guys, and it wouldn’t be the Blasters if there weren’t some issues. Phil Alvin still leads a version of the Blasters, consisting of Bazz, guitarist Keith Wyatt and drummer Jerry Angel. For him, the idea of playing with the old band had limited appeal.

“What bothers me the most is the ambiguous description of who the Blasters are,” the singer said, sitting in his own dressing room at the Galaxy. “This is very much what I was worried about, and I still am.... ‘Is David here tonight? Is Phil here tonight?’ It’s disheartening to play for people and have them think that they were coming to see something else.”

But Phil’s current mates encouraged him to go ahead, on the premise that spreading the Blasters name could only do them good.

For Dave, though, it’s a matter of reclaiming that name.

“One of the reasons I’m glad this [CD] is coming out is I kind of feel like the name of the band has been besmirched. I wish my brother called his band the Phil Alvin Band. Because to me the Blasters were these guys that are gonna be on stage and that’s it.

“Its been 17 years since I quit. There’s people that have no idea what the Blasters were.... I wanted to redeem the name of the band. Now I’m gonna have a big fight with my brother for saying that.”