Alex Greenwald

Alex Greenwald
Greenwald in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Alex Greenwald
Born	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Alternative rock pop rock pop indie rock rock indie pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, musician, producer, actor
Instruments	Vocals guitar mandolin bass piano keyboard synthesizer programming drums percussion
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Epic Records Fueled by Ramen
Associated acts	Phantom Planet Blackblack Mark Ronson Family The Business Intl The Young Veins Phases The Like
Notable instruments
Gibson SG Epiphone Casino

Alexander Greenwald is an American musician, actor, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the California rock band Phantom Planet.

In 1994, Greenwald formed Phantom Planet in his teens with four friends – guitarist Darren Robinson, bassist Sam Farrar, guitarist Jacques Brautbar, and drummer Jason Schwartzman. The band is best known for producing the song "California", which was used as the theme song of the teen drama The O.C., which lasted four seasons. Phantom Planet announced their hiatus on November 25, 2008.

In 2006, he collaborated with DJ Mark Ronson, to cover the Radiohead song, "Just". The cover appears on the compilation album Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads, as well as the Mark Ronson album, Version. He appeared with Ronson at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival where he climbed up on to the lighting rig of the John Peel stage during the performance of "Just", and also sang "California". In 2010, he collaborated once again with Ronson on the album "Record Collection", on which Greenwald shares writing credits on six out of the eleven tracks. He became part of Ronson's band, The Business Intl. for this record. He was also a member of Los Angeles band blackblack, until 2007. At live shows, he was known for 1980s styled dance moves, which were inspired from watching David Byrne of the Talking Heads.