| September 2011 |
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| Interview: Phil Common |
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What got you started in this business?
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I've been writing and playing since I was a small kid in the 80s. My first bands were with friends
from around NYC where I grew up and I still talk to and even play with some of those folks. The
most notable of my earlier bands was Commonhaus which played and toured both NY and Chicago
through the nineties.
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As Phil Common solo I don't have a set group of players which tends to free me up to add different
sounds and instruments as I like. On the record, most of the music is played by me and my producer
Chris Cubeta at Galluminumfoil Studios in Williamsburg, NYC.
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Who writes and produces all of your material?
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I write and play everything. When I'm in the studio or playing a show I have a number of different
musicians I can call on to put together interesting stage shows with. So far the producer I have
liked working with the most is Chris Cubeta. He and I work very well together and as a co-producer
that is really important.
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Have you played in front of or with any acts our readers would
know from the mainstream?
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Over the years I have played both on and off stage with a few great players including Chris Barron
(Spin Doctors), David Poe, Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) plus many many others throughout a long
career touring in the Mid-West.
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Where can people access your music on the web?
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A simple web search for Phil Common will turn up pretty much all my published work. But readers
should start with www.philcommon.com as it will always be the most up
to date.
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Any embarrassing moments on stage?
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Well, there are always going to be shows where things don't go as planned… One time at CBGB as the
band was in the middle of a screaming number, my drummer at the time went to toss his drumstick in
the air and it launched across the stage and caught our bassist in the head! I wasn't looking at
the time but the two of them started laughing so hard we had to start the song over! Haha. I think
there's even a photo of this somewhere out there.
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Who are your musical influences?
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My influences are pretty broad. I mean I grew up listening to bands like The Police, Pink Floyd and
The Stones, but though my writing career I have listened and been influenced a lot by bands as
diverse as White Zombie, Sisters of Mercy, U2, Jack Johnson and a whole host of the newer musicians
getting popular now like Jason Mraz and Wakey! Wakey!
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What is your musical background like?
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I was raised by a music teacher. My mom is a Juilliard School graduate in voice and theory. I was
sitting in from of a piano and playing a violin before I was 3. Guitar started just a few years
after. I have always felt driven to write songs, starting from before I could even really play
the music I heard in my head. Later I went to my mom's music school Bloomingdale Music School as
well as Manhattan School of Music plus many workshops and shirt term education camps like USDAN!
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Any other members in your family that are musicians?
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My mom.
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What is the top reason why you want to play music?
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That's an easy one. Nothing in life gives me more pleasure than writing and playing songs. I've
done many different things in my life but its only music that has always been with me thought it
all. If I couldn't write and play music for people, well, there would be very little left to me.
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What has been your best show?
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As long as the audience is able to hear me and I'm able to sing, they're all great. I've played
stages as small as a love-seat and as large as a arena, but once the music starts it doesn't matter
where you are. It's just life as I know it.
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