How to go
Who: Glen Phillips with Jonathan Kingham
Where: Canal Public House, 308 E. First St., Dayton
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
More info: www.canalpublichouse.com
Artist info: www.glenphillips.com
Music is all Glen Phillips has known for most of his life. The California native, performing at Canal Public House in Dayton on Thursday, Feb. 5, was still a teenager when Columbia Records released “Bread & Circus,” the debut album from his band Toad the Wet Sprocket.
Today, at 44, Phillips succeeds by occupying himself with a variety of activities including solo work, side projects, teaching and, of course, touring with his hit-making band.
Here are excerpts from a recent conversation.
Road warrior
“I love playing shows. It’s my job, but I get to do what I love. I took a break for the holiday season, and then I went straight to work in the New Year with some solo shows. I’m lucky to be out there. It is what I do, but I’m still trying to figure out what other job will allow me to afford to succeed. It’s an interesting but esoteric skillset so I’m not sure how it applies to anything else.”
Staying flexible
“I like the solo shows, because it’s much more close to the ground and reactive than the band. I still play some of the favorite songs that are expected of me, like ‘All I Want’ and ‘Walk on the Ocean.’ At the same time, I don’t have to have a set list. I can read the audience and take the show wherever it feels like it needs to go. I like that aspect of working without a net.”
Embracing the ’90s
“We’re probably doing a summer package tour with Toad and a couple of other bands that I won’t say until it’s finalized. We resisted doing the ’90s package tours a little bit, but we figured that’s what we are, so let’s embrace it now.”
Sharing the knowledge
“I’m doing more in the way of education stuff to build up that part of life. I’m teaching some songwriting workshops and classes and doing private lessons and Skpe lessons. I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I’ve done the major-label world, and I’ve done it as tiny indie as it gets, where I’ve recorded the record, put it out and did the artwork and the web stuff. Not that I’ve done it all very well, but I’ve done every job and I’ve done it in a variety of contexts, so I have a unique perspective. I’m trying to bring that to other people.”
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