Bill Phillips profile picture

Bill Phillips

We CAN change the world one song at a time.

About Me

You may find me playing under a few different guises, but this is just me, hanging on the edge of geezerdom, wondering how THAT happened... I did a bit of singing and songwriting in my teens and early 20's, then got sidetracked by starting a family and earning a real living, necessitated by paying a real mortgage and having real kids with real feet needing real shoes...! For the better part of my adult life my music was relegated to friend's living rooms and alcohol-fueled campfire sessions. Now I'm rediscovering how good it feels to share the music that is in my heart, making new friends, and helping to create, sustain and support a community of people who love live acoustic music. So, any way I can I'm trying to keep it going, in spite of what seems at times to be overwhelming odds.So... a band? Well, there's me and my guitar, banjo and occasional dulcimer. You mostly hear the banjo and dulcimer when I'm playing with my friends, many of whom you can see in the slide show, below, or on my photos page. I play guitar bare-handed with a unique clawhammer style of fingerpicking. My music is mostly in the folk tradition, but I edge toward rock on some occasions and rockabilly and country on others. Depending on the venue and the crowd I can get into some honky tonk, swing and blues, but the straight-from-the heart sound that is me is rather folky, however it's flavored at that particular moment in time.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/25/2006
Band Website: CHECK OUT MY LATEST EFFORT - SONG 5!" CHECK OUT MY LATEST EFFORT - SONG 5!
Band Members: This guy named Bill Phillips - not that he necessarily wants to do it all by himself but that's how it works out a whole lot of the time.
Influences: I grew up listening to my dad's scratchy 78's - Bill Monroe, Jimmy Rogers, Hank Williams, Hank Snow - all were strong influences for me growing up. Then along came the great folk song scare of the 60's and I listened to a lot of Dylan, Donovan, Tom Rush and folks like Peter, Paul and Mary. The Beatles, the Stones in their quieter moments, the Bonzo Dog Band and the Kinks influenced my teenage years. Then there was Doc Watson, coming from way off the radar - oh, I wanted to pick like that guy! I started writing with my friend Marshall around that time and we surrounded ourselves with the music of the Eagles, CSNY, the Dead, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Gordon Lightfoot - these bands and writers inspired both style and musical direction. I have come closer to my roots now and I listen to a lot of alt-country and bluegrass and that is reflected in my newer work.
Sounds Like: My friend Derek suggests I sound a lot like James Taylor if he made his living doing Steve Goodman and John Prine covers.
Record Label: Each made individually with a Sharpie
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Miscellenay

Yeah, I know I've used this nondescript word to head up a blog before.... but it's been so darned long since I've posted I have no clue what I'm gonna say.... only that I'm gonna say it.I just got bac...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:51:00 PST

Keep on moving....

Hey, all.Sorry it's been so long since I've actually WRITTEN about what's really going on.  Early in the morrow we're off to Madison, WI for my baby girl's PhD ceremony.  So much has been ha...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Thu, 15 May 2008 12:29:00 PST

Lets help Jana out

My friends Jana and Mel are incredible artists.  Period.  It looks like they really have a good chance to make the leap from barely scratching a living doing what they love to being recogniz...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Tue, 13 May 2008 12:54:00 PST

My babys a doctor!

If MySpace only allowed artists to state their situation like everybody else, it's be: proud parent.No kidding.  My little girl, Maggie, survived her dissertation defense yesterday, so is now "of...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:46:00 PST

The State of the Planet

A few posts back I said I had a few things to say about the state of the planet, in particular the state of the environment in my own back yard.  We live in a fairly isolated part of the east - i...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:22:00 PST

Remember Earth Day

From thehungersite.com this morning:I have a vivid recollection of the first Earth Day.  It was 1970, and I was a senior in High School.  We had planned a big event for that first Earth Day,...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:41:00 PST

"Because We Can, We Must"

My lady sent this to me this morning.  I wish I had the wherewithal to say it, let alone say it better.  Please have a read.  Then think about all the blessings you and I have in our li...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:40:00 PST

Slowing it down...

I wish I could slow time down just a bit. It seems like the days are flying by and there's precious little of real value that gets accomplished. For the past couple of months the-job-that-pays-the-b...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:42:00 PST

Lest I forget....

Oh yeah....A sincere "Thank you!" to everyone who's commented, called or written regarding Leslie's passing.  It feels very different around the Ranch - I'm still getting out of bed gently during...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:30:00 PST

Remembering Leslie

It wasn’t all that long ago I wrote a blog about my dog turning 13.  Leslie died as the sun was coming up this morning.  This was taken on Wednesday, as Leslie was kibbitzing with baby...
Posted by Bill Phillips on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:27:00 PST