.

Sam: What was it like playing it before it was released versus after? You’ve done a few shows after you released it as a single. What was the response like?
Phil: You know what, playing anything unreleased is always fun, because you’re kind of messing with people. You’re like, “you’re not gonna know this. There’s no way you’re gonna know it.” It’s kind of like, one of the favourite things a songwriter can do is play unreleased material. It doesn’t happen often. But when you do have a bunch of unreleased material. I mean, it’s sometimes makes it pretty difficult for the audience to love the show, I’ll be honest. Somewhat, it can be I guess, perceived as inherently selfish to play unreleased material. I’ve been doing that for like the last 10 years playing. I think YCBM has been floating for that long as well, maybe eight years ago.
So, I’ve been playing that song solo for a long time as well. And Lights On as well for a while people would be like, “what is this sound? Like? How do we find it?” I’m like, “oh it’ll come out one day.” Yeah, I mean, obviously, there’s a lovely reaction to Kapow!, Lights On and Somebody Else and Trouble now when they’re played live and that’s, really nice.
It’s nice to remember those days when no one knew what the fuck was going on. Everyone’s like “what’s this?” “Should we get a drink?” “Yeah, let’s go get a drink, we don’t know this one.” And they’ll wander off and you’ll be playing to like three people and they’ll be trying to remember what the second verse was. Or videoing it, which is cute and they’re like “oh this is when I saw it first.”
So, I think it’s ultimately Somebody Else is a little bit of a gift. People have been coming to support me solo for over 10 years now. They’d be buying tickets not knowing what the hell they were gonna get, you know, and now they know what they’re gonna get. For better or for worse! So it’s really kind of people to come and see me do my thing. Obviously, I just started playing on my own, on my own, with just guitar, and a harmonica, and now the band I’m taking with me, especially to Melbourne, I’ve got Davey Lane on guitar with me this time and Rob on bass and Sam on drums. They’re great musos and I’m really excited about getting stuck into pre production. I start pre production actually at the Curtin on Monday. So I’m going to be in there practicing and then obviously I’ll play there on the 4th of August which should be fun.

Sam: Yeah, that will be fun. So, I guess the differences between past shows is you’ll have the band with you and are you going to be playing most of or if not all the album now?
Phil: Oh yeah, the whole album will be played. So every song off the album and then we’re just debating what covers to do. So there’s like Life On Mars, which came up and then there’s Ace Of Spades which came up. And then there was some old 90s stuff that’s come up as well. I was thinking about We Don’t Need Another Hero by Tina Turner. So there’s lots of like kind of spit balls being thrown up in relation to how to flesh out the setlist. I released a record in 2005 under the name Lost Gospel, which for all intents and purposes was kind of a solo album in some ways. So yeah, this is my ninth studio release, which sounds pretty good actually when I think about it!

Sam: Yeah! That’s impressive!
Phil: Thanks! So I was listening through to the 2005 recording of the Lost Gospel thinking whether I’ll chuck a few surprises from that record in the set as well. But yes, everything off the record will be played. And then we’ll be adding some, some surprises, which will be fun.

Sam: Yeah, that sounds awesome. Do we have time for one more question?
Phil: We do have time for one more. Yeah, hit me.

Sam: So something I love about your writing is that your songs can be so, kind of, up for interpretation by the listener and you write a lot of songs that people can insert into their own lives. How much of your writing comes from personal experience or is it just pure storytelling?
Phil: Oh you’d be giving away a lot there wouldn’t you!? I had someone come and tell me one time, I was playing a solo gig down in Western Australia, I want to say it was Bunbury, perhaps. And this guy, I was doing soundcheck and I was on my own, maybe it was a Sunday afternoon, some schooners were being had. And he came and told me he knew exactly what Bad Funk Stripe was about.

Sam: Oh I love Bad Funk Stripe!
Phil: Thanks! It’s like three verses of me just on this kind of other planet off the debut Grinspoon album. And I was like, “Do you really, because I, I’d love to know what that song’s about, because I’ve actually got no idea.” And I think that people, there’s a line in that third verse “and your pain won’t go back” and I think people, the word pain can mean many things. And obviously, it helped him for whatever reason. He loved the song and he got through something traumatic with that line or with that lyric. And I think that’s where the magic happens. Right?
So yeah, there’s definitely stuff that’s here on this record, it’s incredibly personal. But, in saying that, it would be remiss of me to call it that because it’s ultimately for other people to make it personal to them and that’s where it should happen. And yeah, there’s hopefully enough ambiguity to create a sort of we’re all in this together and this song is about me as well. Because I don’t particularly write always confessional stuff, heart on sleeve stuff, but you know, there’s enough in here.
I think that line in Trouble “for all the things I’ve sung” and everyone’s like, “Well, what have you sung that it’s got you in trouble Philip?” Calm down detective journalist. That’s okay! *Laughter* Everyone’s taking that line particularly literally. And in Somebody Else they’re like, “oh, did you really want to turn that time?” I’m like, “No, I was in Back to the Future and I had the DeLorean and Marty McFly was trying to go back to the future. So sometimes it’s literally 80s adventure movies, and sometimes it’s really, really personal. But, where the line is drawn between that I hope there’s enough ambiguity for the listener to go “oh well, who knows?” But more than anything they’re songs I really love and I can’t wait to play them live to people.

Sam: Yeah. And that’s just what’s so special about music in general, right? How relatable songs are and people can use music to get them through something. It’s just, it’s what I love about it as well. But, thank you so much for the chat.
Phil: Thank you for listening.

Sam: No worries. Hopefully, I’ll be at your Melbourne gig shooting some good shots for you!
Phil: I will make sure you’re there and thank you very much for your time today. And I’m glad you like the record and the show’s gonna be really special so I can’t wait.