John Phillips, Songwriter

Biography

John swears he was raised by poodles, musical tap-dancing poodles. Other than frequent trips to Paris, we've found little evidence to support this claim.

We do know he wrote
his first song at 13, while a classmate, using the eraser ends of #2 pencils, pounded the captivating rhythm on John's Silvertone guitar.

Infused with music from the earliest age, John soaked up Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, Andrés Segovia, Woody Guthrie, Merle Travis and everything in between.

Following the requisite term in a mediocre teen-age band and legitimate careers as a legislative research analyst and photojournalist, John started writing his own songs, pulling the best from all his influences.

Audiences quickly connected to the funny and touching tunes as he played clubs and festivals in his native Arizona.

His first two CDs, the recent "Shadow Song" and his 2002 release, "Tiny Notes, Big Ol' World," each contain 14 wonderful original songs, spanning a wide variety of sentiments and styles.

In addition to writing all the songs, John produced, recorded and mixed both projects. He also was lucky enough to draw upon the talents of several gifted Arizona musicians.

The future should find John touching an expanding circle of audiences and listeners. New songs, new ears to reach.