Elton John's album 11.17.70, Ben Folds, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jack Kerouac, Phish, Vince Guaraldi, Richard Tee, William Burroughs, Led Zeppelin, Erwin Helfer, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preseton and all the rock piano players from Billy Joel to Tori Amos.
Thanks to everyone who came out and made our summer tour a real success for us and a lot of fun. We hung out with friends, family and lot's of new listeners!
Michael Beazley Phillips grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and was drawn to Chicago because of the blues! What's that Beat poem, "When you’ve come to the place, where the days are black and you’ve gone too far and can’t come back, then you’ve come to the place where the blues begin"!
Beazley says "I lived and drank the blues as the millennium came to a close, and I was lucky enough to play with some of the best known players on the Chicago Blues scene like Erwin Helfer, Jimmy Burns and Aron Burton" and hanging out with his idols like Pinetop Perkins, Barrel House Chuck and Ann Rabson. These players were steeped in the influences of the old Chicago sounds of Jimmy Yancy, Memphis Slim, Brother Montgomery and Floyd McDaniel. By 2003, after a gig at the Chicago International Blues Fest, Beazley decided it was time to put out his own record, he says, "I never knew if I was a Beatnik poet, a folk singer, a rock piano player or a blues man."
The first album, Shooting Ghosts, came about during a blues recording session, when the engineer, Blaise Barton suggested that he put out an album of original music; that record is now going on it's second printing and the circles keep spinning out wider and wider.
Bring the Angels Down is the groups' sophomore album and was recorded with new band mate, Philadelphia-born songwriter, Pete Nocito on drums and back-up vocals and E. G. McDaniel again on bass. The new album reflects the energy of their live shows while still maintaining its integrity as a studio album; the album is a "raucous, piano-driven rock record that highlights both Beazley and Pete's energy as well as their sense of harmony". Engineered by Acme veteran, Blaise Barton, and co-produced by Beazley and good friend and drummer from Shooting Ghosts, Eric Hill.
2008 was a busy year for the band and saw them on the road, playing shows both locally and across the US. We played with some great players over the year including Brian Ostyn on bass for our East Coast Tour and Wes Gould on bass for some of our local and midwest shows, both guys brought a lot to the band and we hope we'll be seeing a lot of both of them in 2009!
..
"We've had a lot of new listeners this past year from all over the world, so thanks to you all for showing up at our shows, downloading our tunes and supporting us on tour and at our shows, these songs mean a lot to us and it's been great to share them with so many folks! Come hang with us at our next show and we'll share a pint and a shot of Jack!"
FANTASTIC SHOW IN ASHEVILLE!! GLAD TO SEE PETE AGAIN AND TELL WES I SAID HEY...THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME. YOU ARE THE DEAL.... I BET THAT REUNION WITH YOU SISTER WAS OFF THE HOOK. SO GLAD SHE MADE IT DOWN. I ALSO TOLD YOU BROTHER WHAT YOU HAD DONE FOR ME AND HOW MUCH I APPRECIATED IT. THANKS SO MUCH. WILL KEEP IN TOUCH. MAYBE ONE YEAR I CAN PLAY WITH YA.... HOPE THE REST OF YOUR TOUR GOES GREAT. WILL KEEP IN TOUCH...
Hey Beazley, Heard ya on Local Anesthesia tonight. Thanks for letting us know you were gonna be on. You sounded great as usual. Hope to see you soon. Cheers, DT
hey man, was wondering if you could do a gig at my work in VA Beach between the dates of july 28th and august 10th. I would like to hang out before I move to San Diego August 11th
hey ur cd is great the whole family loves it .. everyone has it put in their i-pods lool ... hope to see u guys soon .. really missed ya =( Have fun in tour =)
haha!!! THATS WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR BROTHER!. uh. shoot go play at greek town. lot of celebs made it big there. like kid rock. chad smith the drummer for the red hot chili peppers had his first gig there. idk that place has lots of big people. listen to me. giving you adivce. DONT LISTEN TO ME. but thats where they startred. good luck brother.
BZ! hows it going rockstar. haha. your a local celebrity hear in dearborn. i spread the beazley phillips band name to all my white freind. (all these arabs like rap. ew.) they are lovin your stuff. so uh when are u and the band and uncle fred touring in michigan? cant wait to see you guys.