Phil Lee last toured the UK with The East Nashville Revue, playing Maverick, Summertyne & Leadenhall Americana Festivals, before that playing venues & festivals in England, Ireland Scotland & Holland with his side-kick Tom Mason who he describes affectionately/typically as "like a beloved pet barely walking up-right" now hes got a sparkly new Dobro & a yearning to tour solo, here are the dates, & all you need to know about "the Might King Of Love" one of the worlds true originals & one of the finest American born entertainers since Jimmy Durante.
When a teenaged Phi Lee left his Durham NC home for New York City, Los Angeles and sundry parts in between it wasn’t, as legend might have it, because the town wasn’t big enough for both him and his lawman daddy. It was, as they used to say, to see the elephant, that is, to have some adventures, break a few hearts, learn a few lessons and live the kind of life that gave him the kind of perspective that made it possible - and necessary - to write songs like the ones on his new album, So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You.
Working as a roadie for the Flying Burrito Brothers, drumming and bus driving for Billy Joe Royal, playing 6 AM radio shows every morning before high school with Homer Briarhopper’s Daybreak Gang (featuring guest star Clyde Moody, The Waltz King Of The Nation - “mean as a stripedy snake”) and doing other thingsmentionable and un shaped a songwriter who can come up with a song like “25 Mexicans,” which will have you smiling, crying, pissed off and heartbroken all at the same time.
Besides this new one, Phil Lee has two other albums out – The Mighty King Of Loveand You Should Have Known Me Then -and you should put down that Hot Pocket and glass of Sunny D right now and go get all three of them or order ‘em up on that World Wide Inter Web thing. You’d do well to start with So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You; being his latest it’s also his best. That seems to be the way Phil Lee works things; without taking anything away from the last one he still manages to make the new one better. It’s a pretty neat trick because it leaves you something to look forward to no matter where you start.
A lot of people will call Phil Lee’s music country rock or alt-country or whatever. But it’s really just where rock and roll would naturally have gone from the days of Jerry Lee and Chuck Berry through classic sixties Soul music, Bob Dylan, Joe South and the Beatles and the Stones if it had been allowed to progress unmolested. Spandex and mousse and silicone chips left a pretty nasty carbon footprint on the musical environment too. A Phil Lee record goes a long way toward balancing things out. If anyone is making music as true to the head and heart and soul as you’ll find on Phil’s third album, they probably spent the last few years listening to his first two.
The Donkey
203 Welford Road
Leicester
LE2 6BH
Tickets £5
Bar: 0116 270 5042
For tickets and booking enquires contact: gazbirtles@ntlworld.com
http://www.thedonkeybar.com/
http://www.phillee1.com/
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