Whoever said you don’t use the skills you learned in school in the real world was wrong. Well sort of if you consider a country singer who uses these skills once every 30 years.
Country artist Tom Phillips said he always knew he wanted to be a musician and pursued a classical approach throughout his post-secondary career, but his love of country music prevailed in the end.
“It’s funny,” explained Phillips, who grew up in Bragg Creek and Calgary. “I actually went to university studying the French horn, but in the meantime what I was really liking was country.”
After a 30-year hiatus, last week Phillips dusted off the old French horn, a rented one anyhow, to play on an indie rock album he is working on with long-time friend Calgary artist Lorrie Matheson.
But Phillips will be back in full country mode Saturday evening with his band Tom Phillips and the Men of Constant Sorrow when they perform at The Stop in Black Diamond.
This won’t be the band’s first performance at the venue, which Phillips said he enjoys for its small and intimate nature. At previous shows, audience members have wound up on their feet and dancing.
“A good country song is something that will make you cry but you can dance to it,” he explained.
Phillips, who grew up playing guitar and has been writing songs since he was 12 years old, develops the band’s material. He said he will often jot down lines he hears or thinks of and will use them to build a song.
Phillips said in recent years he has tried to use song structures similar to those of country stars he admires like Hank Williams and Merle Haggard and draws inspiration from real life experiences. His songs are quite personal, he added.
“I guess I’m only concerned about myself so I just write stuff about myself,” he teased laughingly.
Phillips explained the band’s music is not new country or sappy, but more real, heartfelt and down to the core.
He said he enjoys it when a young person approaches him and says, “I really hate country music, but I like you guys.”
Tom Phillips and the Men of Constant Sorrow’s fan base is from all over, with demographics changing over the years, he explained.
A group of artists who performed at an open jam Phillips ran at a bar in downtown Calgary came together to form the band in 1998 and produced its first record in 1999. Most of the members have remained the same since then and all six current members have been with the band for a while, which can be beneficial when performing, he said.
Over the years, they have come to know each other better, listen more and become more empathetic to what each person plays, Phillips said. If a band member can’t make a performance, they hire good players to fill in, but it’s not the same as playing with the regular roster, he added.
“There’s just something about having that old shoe aspect,” he said.
The band has travelled together to play all over the west, a fair amount within Canada and down to Texas. But it can be difficult for a six-piece band that plays bars to travel, so they are fortunate to play about 150 gigs a year right in Alberta, he explained.
Phillips said the band never really had a big break and worked its way up the music scene through a progression of gigs.
“I almost like it better because then you don’t have anything to lose,” he said. “It’s like a job, but a good one that you can drink it.”
Tom Phillips and the Men of Constant Sorrow perform at The Stop in Black Diamond Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. For tickets, head down to The Stop or call to reserve them at 403-933-3002.
