Phil Alvin has led various incarnations of The Blasters intermittently since then (he devoted much of his attention to graduate studies in mathematics). Hollywood Fats died in December 1986. In an odd twist, he was initially replaced on guitar by Billy Zoom, who had previously left X. Zoom's stay in The Blasters was very brief. Succeeding guitarists were Smokey Hormel (1988–92), James Intveld (1993–95), and Keith Wyatt (1996-present). Dave Carroll succeeded Bill Bateman on drums in 1993 but was subsequently replaced by Jerry Angel in 1994.