 In addition to
his original songs (some of which you can hear on
Phil's
MySpace
site)
Phil also does a variety of fun covers: Fooled Around and Fell in Love, I Will Survive, Ring of Fire, Hey There Delilah, Cruel to be Kind, Come on Feel the Noise, My Girl, We Are Going to be Friends, Folsom Prison Blues, Roll Over Beethoven, Green Eyes, Lola, Spooky, Wonderful Tonight, We Are Going To Be Friends, And several others as
well.
"I have always been a fan of the singer songwriter type of artist so Neil Young is a strong influence to me. But on the other hand I am always looking for other styles to take ideas from. If you looked at my CD collection you would find John Lennon, Lou Reed, The Blind Pigs, Grinderman, Cake, David Bowie, Cold Play, Johnny Cash and Miles Davis.
I like to think that I am a little Neil Young, a little Mason Jennings and, except for the fact that I sing so you can understand the words, a very little Bob Dylan. I don't know, listen and let me know what you think."
.
Performance
Schedule
3.28.09 Private event
4.10.09 Shanes on Main
4.11.09 Sail Away Cafe
4.17.09 Munkabeans & Sunshine Cafe
4.18.09 Jays Cafe
4.24.09 Corner Coffee
4.25.09 Private event
5.02.09 Canadian Honker Restaurant
5.08.09 Ring Mountain
5.09.09 Sail Away Cafe
5.15.09 Wedding!
5.22.09 Munkabeans & Sunshine Cafe
6.13.09 Sail Away Cafe
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Bio
Phil got his first job at the age of 10. He worked the entire summer to earn enough money to buy his first guitar. Even at that early age he know music would always be a driving force in his life. Throughout high school he graduated to electric guitars and experimented with every kind of music from country to glam rock to punk to jazz. Being on stage, writing songs and playing guitar was natural to Phil and he expected to be pursuing that for the rest of his life.
But in the words of John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you while youre busy making other plans." In college, he married and soon enough children came along. Struggling to make ends meet, he eventually put the well being of family first and took "regular" jobs to support them. In the process he also set the guitar down for the next 20 years.
From time to time in that 20 year span he was able to find himself on stage occasionally as an actor or standup comic. It was not until he hit his mid-forty's that he came across a guitar again. He picked it up and found himself surprised that he remembered so much more than he would have thought. About a week later he couldn't resist his first trip to a music store in over 20 years. When he walked out he did so carrying a brand new Alvarez. A low end acoustic model, but never the less, a guitar.
Almost the moment he tuned it up and started playing lyrics and melodies began pouring out of his head. At that point in life a lot of people are winding down and the fantasy of playing for others, writing, recording and performing is only a distant and passing and humorous memory. But in Phil's case the desire and passion outweighed any other emotions he might have had.
In December of 2005 he walked out onto a stage in front of a room full of people with his guitar for the first time in decades. And that was the start! His list of "places and events he has played" has grown month by month. His performance is warm, relaxed and personable. Phil's music is sometimes funny and sometimes sad. It fills a room with the emotions and experiences of a life time. He opens up his heart to an audience and they respond. The thing he finds most exciting about any performance is after the show. When someone comes up to him to tell him how a song brought back a memory of theirs. Or how a lyric made them feel closer to their husband. Or how they enjoyed spending an evening reliving the emotions and memories of their own life.
Isn't that want music is really about?
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