As one of the premier Rhythm & Blues drummers in Los Angeles, Phil maintains an ongoing schedule of studio and live playing, producing and songwriting. His infectious, New Orleans-influenced grooves are as sought after as his down home shuffles and straight ahead R&B grooves. From the rootsy, southern rhythm & blues of Terry Evans and Ry Cooder to the supremely soulful grooves of the King of Rock & Soul, Solomon Burke, to the discerning ear of ace Motown arranger and keyboardist Hense Powell, Phil's playing provides a solid, tasteful foundation, perfectly complimenting the songs. He's honored to work with some of the best Artists around, and in some of the top studios and live venues in the world.
Phil has produced numerous music projects, mostly in Rhythm & Blues, although he recently produced a classical recording for operatic tenor George DeMott, a jazz recording for guitarist Tom Hynes and a children's recording featuring some of the best children's Artists around, including The Chenille Sisters, Canada's The Magpies, T Bone, Sooz, Bethie and Tickle Toon Typhoon.
As a songwriter, Phil has been working in a number of different areas and has had featured cuts across a wide musical area, from Terry Evans/Ry Cooder collaborations on Telarc Blues to songs for Disney Imagineering. Those songs will be heard inside Disney Quest, their new, five-story, interactive entertainment and media buildings.
He is in the process of forming a record label dedicated to preserving American Roots Music. The label will present live, "in the moment" recordings, captured with inspiring realism. Some of the sessions will be videotaped for future presentation through historical outlets.
Performance credits include recorded and/or live performances in the U.S. and overseas with: Terry Evans, Ry Cooder, Solomon Burke, Little Richard, Marva Wright, Willie Green, Jr., Hamish Stuart, Delaney Bramlett, Steve Cropper, Tom Scott, Hense Powell, Jorge Calderon, George Bohanon, Tony Gilkyson, Mark Shark, Steve Moos, Randy Weeks, John "Juke" Logan, Randy Sacks, Doug Legacy's Zydeco Party Band, Lisa Haley's Zydekats, Dawayne Bailey, Hans Theesink, Reggie McBride, Billy Watts, Scott Plunkett, Reggie Hamilton, TJ Sullivan, Baz O'Brien, Midnight Skye, composer/arrangers Bill Fayne, Nelson Kole, Matt Harris and Lenny Stack, staff songwriters at Sony, Warner Bros. and MCA Records, and movie and television work in Los Angeles and New York for national television networks NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX and various cable networks.
Since 1981, he has been a consultant for numerous companies, including Remo, Inc., Yamaha Corporation (America and Japan), Apple Computer, Korg and Alesis. He's been directly involved in the research, development and after-market technical support of both acoustic and digital music products. These include drums, heads, sticks, hardware, direct trigger and MIDI percussion systems, keyboards, sequencers, drum machines, sound modules and professional audio equipment. In demand have been his abilities as a performer, clinician, project manager, author, sampling session producer, computer operator, systems programmer (including FM, Additive, Subtractive, Sampling and Physical Modeling systems), music composer and educator.
Over many years, he has worked on drum sampling and drum loop projects for Yamaha, Korg and Ilio Entertainments. His playing is featured on two highly successful drum loop projects from Ilio and hit programmer John "Skippy" Lehmkuhl, Skippy's Big Bad Beats and Skippy's Noizbox. In addition to the deep grooves, interesting sonic landscapes and percussive variety offered, these CDs were among the very first to incorporate the groundbreaking "Groove Control" software.
He has worked on software and/or hardware product development with Opcode Systems, Blank Software, Prospect Digital, Yamaha Corporation, Korg, Apple Computer, Nisus Software and Digital Music Services.