“It’s a whole different world now when it comes to putting out records and measuring their levels of success,” says Phillips. “This new record has garnered some decent airplay in the US and seems to have done well in Europe, but it’s nowhere on the level of what indie records used to do back in the ‘90s. I’ve remained on the job all these years, and the industry has changed a lot. It’s been dismantled all around me, but I don’t have that much time to think about that. My compulsion to make records is far stronger than the harsher realities of the music business. I try not to let it get to me – although I might think about it if I’m ever lying awake in bed at night.”
As well as being noted for his work at the helm of bands like Shiva Burlesque and Grant Lee Buffalo, Phillips has also been a keen collaborator throughout his career. He’s worked with the likes of Donovan Frankenreiter, The Jayhawks’ Gary Louris, Eels’ Mark Oliver Everett and Robyn Hitchcock, but perhaps his most intriguing collaboration came when he teamed up with Asian-American comedian extraordinaire Margaret Cho for a song on her debut album of original music, Cho Dependent. “I’ve known Margaret for many years – I’ve been a fan almost as long as I’ve been a friend,” says Phillips of his work with Cho.
“One day, she called me up and told me that she wanted to make a record. She’d been learning how to play guitar and wanted to make a record, which I thought was mighty courageous of her. She sent over some lyrics for me to look at, and I knew there was nothing that I could change there – the work was very much complete – so I began writing music to them. The process moved very quickly – she’s a person who performs her own work, so she’s a great writer to begin with. It was only a slight adjustment to writing great lyrics that were clever and funny. When I’ve sat down with other songwriters, it’s not always been as easy. Margaret was a really unique one to work with – she’s so heroic and I’m thankful she’s out there.”
Phillips was born in Stockton, some 542 kilometres from the city he relocated to in order to pursue music, Los Angeles; and some 3625 kilometres from the city he now calls home, Nashville. The capital of country music has been kind to Phillips, who immediately set to work gathering musicians from the area to work with on The Narrows and has not looked back. “Nashville’s a nice change of pace,” he says. “It’s nice to find a place where there’s still a whole lot of music, but there’s a whole lot of trees too. It’s a place that’s down to earth, and I can’t say enough good things about it.”
Phillips is set to return to Australia this October for the first time in over a decade. “A lot has changed since those days, and many years have lapsed – I feel as though my credentials have run out as far as Australia is concerned. I’m hoping to win at least some of them back.”
BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG
