Phil Flowers was born and raised in Moncton, NB and studied philosophy at the Université de Moncton. He still lives and works in the Hub City. Following the untimely dissolution of Moncton, New Brunswick’s The Courage of Being, Phil Flowers, armed with resolution and an acoustic guitar, went off on his own with the intention of making music that reflects the anxieties of existence and the integrity of true art thru traditional forms. With the release his debut album, People People (2010), which earned him three Music NB Awards, Phil Flowers did just that. His album was received very positively by his peers and the public, his music likened to Sam Roberts and Wilco; his words to Kerouac and Dylan.
Under the heavy influence of American folk music, blues, and jazz, People People, creates the perfect atmosphere for Flowers’ fiercely imagist lyrics about social heartache, deception, and candour. Influenced by legends such as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and at times Hank Williams, Phil Flowers is not content with the status quo and challenges the conception of what a singer/songwriter should be. Whether he’s scatting or growling, crooning or pleading, he brings the listener in and carries him along. If you may chance to bear witness to his live show, you will know that there is something effervescent in the atmosphere. With passion and soul, you’ll be brought to the summits of mountains and so far down into the chasms below. You’ll be marked for many days and nights thereafter…
2011 marked Phil Flowers’ first appearance at the East Coast Music Week, where he performed as a showcasing artist. Phil has played over 15 dates this year including a few spots on summer festivals such as Sunseekers Ball Music & Arts Festival and has played alongside Bernard Adamus, Keller William, Joe Grass, Les Païens, The Haunted Hearts, The Divorcees and Backyard Devils.
Web
www.myspace.com/philflowers
http://philflowers.bandcamp.com
Link to interview on CBC’s Atlantic Airwaves
Reviews for People, People
Quand Phil Flowers s’aventure en terrain jazz sur “Torpedoes”, cela est fait avec authenticité. C’est la même chose avec le morceau le plus lourd du disque, “Desert Walk”; les chansons ont un impact direct. Il définit lui-même le son qu’il veut se donner de morceau en morceau tout en conservant une ligne directrice qui permet de garder beaucoup de cohérences entre les pièces rock et les instants seuls à la guitare acoustique. - Jean-Étienne Sheehy (30 novembre 2011) http://500khz.wordpress.com/?s=phil+flowers
It is tough to resist the folk-punk twang of Phil Flowers’ debut CD People People. Crafted over the course of two years, the Moncton musician hits all the right notes here, combining upbeat melodies with thoughtful lyrics that will have you tapping your toe in no time. Highlights worth checking out on the disc include Disguises, Week Day Blues and Torpedoes. (Ken Kelley (December 9, 2010) – http://musicnerd.ca )
(…) Hmm, is there such a thing as an acoustic punk? Sure… Phil has a bit of the folk singer in him, strums a mean acoustic guitar, but also plays with a kicking band This ain’t Peter, Paul and Mary, this is hard-charging stuff, with that punk edge on display. Most of the ten tracks here are with the full band, known as The Cuban Missile Crisis, although when he does goes acoustic, just him and the guitar and harmonica, it’s that rapid-strumming, post Dylan, attitude stuff. For his official bio, Phil calls himself a singer/songwriter/cynic. My kinda writer.
Words… Phil has lots and lots of words. It’s a torrent of words. They’re just pouring out of him, those cynical ones, those funny ones, poetic forms, images, scenes and cityscapes. We get the occasional Moncton mention, like the Tidal Bore reference in the title cut, songs go to dark places of the heart, there’s lots to chew over, and Phil has a lot to say obviously. In the cut Torpedoes, with its jazzy feel, the words threaten to turn into scat, he’s spitting them out so quickly. There’s another hold-over from the punk stuff. I like this mix, because there’s an obvious and heavy folk influence, but combining it with the tough stuff, it’s even more intense, plus you let the melodies come free, so people can enjoy the song too. If you want some simple comparisons, I think he’d fit in well for fans of Sam Roberts or Matthew Good in this country, maybe some Wilco followers from the U.S. could get into Phil as well.
One of Phil’s recurring visual images, in his website, in his ways of describing himself and his music and attitude, is the typewriter. Not the new computer keyboard, but the old-style, big metal keys version. The typewriter of the hard-drinking reporter, the moody poet, the driving songwriter. Hemingway, Kerouac, Dylan. Words, attitude and music, all coming at you with intensity. Yah, that works, that’s what you’re going to get from Phil Flowers.
- Bob Mersereau @ CBC’s East Coast Music (June 8, 2011) -
Show Review
When Phil Flowers returned to the stage, four musicians accompanied him. It was the first time his group had numbered so high – the surprise musician was Julie Doucette accompanying Flowers on piano and back-up vocals. The first songs I saw from a black and white screen the Paramount has over the bar which projects a camera feed angled overhead from the stage. Phil’s dashing good hooks and the band’s tight dynamic showing on the screen almost felt like a broadcast of the Ed Sullivan Show. His sound is reminiscent of influences as timeless as Bob Dylan and as local as The Nuclear, with a gamma of others in between. The show-goers were carried through a set that rocked, swayed, caressed and punched through the songs. All the while, Phil’s double-entendre lyrics – what I feel is one of his best strengths — permeated through the speakers. His wit was matched only by the cast of musicians who knew the subtleties of their craft. Everything felt in its right place.
- Mario Gautreau @ Noisography.ca (November 27, 2010) http://noisographyreviews.blogspot.com