Henry Phillips has been seen performing his twisted songs and stories on Comedy Central, ABC’s ’Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and NBC’s ’Late Friday’. He can also be heard regularly on the Bob and Tom show, performing such songs as ’The Guitar Pill’ and ’She’s Talking Again’. His nationally released CDs, fusing mellow folk-rock ballads with psychopathic lyrics have earned him mention in Billboard magazine’s ’Critic’s Choice’, as well as acclaim from the king of novelty music himself, Dr. Demento, who referred to Phillips as "The funniest young singer-songwriter to come our way in quite a while." Also, his biographical comedy film "Punching the Clown", directed by Greg Viens, received the Audience award at Slamdance film festival '09, and is continuing a successful run on the festival circuit.
Website
henryphillips.com
Influences
Steven Wright, Jack Handy, Al Franken, Mark Leyner, George Carlin, Gary Shandling, Tom Waits, Ben Folds, Brian Wilson, Neil Diamond, Nirvana
TV Shows
"Comedy Central Presents", "Premium Blend", "Jimmy Kimmel Live", "The World Stands Up", "Late Friday", "Dinner and a Movie", "When Hidden Cameras Attack",
Films
"Punching the Clown", National Lampoon’s "Totally Baked","The Second Degree", "The Loner" short film series (See right), "Rubbernecking", "How to go out on a Date in Queens" (Song), "Comedy Hell" (Song)
Albums
"On the Shoulders Of Freaks", "Number 2", "Why Haven't I heard from You?"
Henry Phillips's Interests
General
Watching T.V., Drinking, Talking on the phone. (Girls? Any Takers?) I also like playing practical jokes that only I am in on.
About me: For me, music is like a drug. Some people are addicted to Crack, or Heroin, or PCP, (And don't get me wrong, I'm addicted to those things also), but music is my main addiction. For years I played my music in and around the filthy streets of the greater Los Angeles area, wearing my tortured heart out on my sleeve, only to be called 'Loser' and 'Faggot' by unappreciative bus station employees and other passers-by. Then, in a moment of true desperation, I found myself on a pilgrimage to the world famous crossroads, seeking to sell my soul to the devil in order to become the best guitar player ever. Sure enough, the devil was there, and of course, after signing the ominous contract, I immediately asked, "So, how does this work? Am I able to just kick ass on the guitar now?", to which the devil replied, "Well, I was thinking maybe we'd meet every Monday and I'll start you off on some basic theory and chord charts, and then we'll work on the fundamentals of music reading". Needless to say I was livid. "I thought the whole reason I sold my soul was so that I could become an instant bad-ass on the guitar?" The Devil, becoming annoyed, shot back, "Well, you have to practice!". This incident thrust me into a ten-year tailspin of depression which included binge drinking, drug experimentation, and almost constant masturbation. Years later, I feel as though I've finally come to terms with the whole thing. You know, looking back, I'm not even sure it was the devil himself that I was dealing with. For one thing, it wasn't really "the Crossroads", it was the corner of Cahuenga and Franklin. And why would the Prince of Darkness be standing in front of a 7-11 asking for change? And also, how come I could see his penis practically the whole time (not to mention that he made several attempts to touch me inappropriately)? I guess I'll never really know for sure. But in the meantime, I'm just going to continue playing my odd brand of hit-and-miss comedy music to mediocre responses from indifferent small crowds in shitty venues all across the world. Some dreams really don't come true.
Who I'd like to meet: Other anal-retentive people. (By the way, it's actually "Whom I'd like to meet"-- objective case). Also-- Tom Waits, Robert Plant, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Liza Minelli.
So glad you guys came to Corning last weekend. Had a great time at Steve and Tracy's with you. My piano playing doesn't compare. So glad you could play for us and let us sing along (if you can all it that). Look forward to you coming back to our small town.
I sorta pee'd my pants the first time I witnessed your stand-up from laughing so hard. Luckily I found my zipper in time. The people sitting next to me stopped laughing.
The song you wrote thats called The Bitch Song reminds me alot of my X girlfriend and i think its really funny, if you could git that up on your myspace songs so I could add it to my myspace so she could go on there and hear it and feel like a sack of shit. itd be much appriciated.
