I like it. I like it a lot.
Sometime during the (Dubya) Bush Administration my friends and I saw Phil Marshall at John’s Bar in La Crosse. We all were highly impressed with his set. There was no question of my buying the CD (Dondonisi) he had for sale at the show.
Phil is one of the artists from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, (he hails from the UK) that I followed in the late 90s into the 2000s (I know, I know..you’re wondering how did I, a person from Minnesota get into acts from Oklahoma. Don’t worry that will be explained in the coming days). Over the years I’ve seen Phil numerous times and its always been a good time as well as a good show.
One of the things I like most about Phil’s music is his lyrics (Notice a theme here guys? I like words). In the song December Girl, Phil tells the story about a the time a friend of his was having a hard time. She wanted to go travel, see the world and had a lot of anxiety about it. Phil had a lucky half dollar he had found/received. He felt it had a lot of good juju in it as it had served him well. He gave it to his friend and with it she traveled the world and had a great experience. She returned it to him a year later. I’ve always felt a certain connection to this song as I too, have, in my case a lucky penny, given to me by a close friend. All these years later it serves me well still.
Dondonisi is full of gems like December Girl and it certainly didn’t end on this album. His follow-up album Providence? is just as good with songs like Energy and 24 Hours. If you have the time or inclination I would urge you to check out Phil Marshall’s music on his website.
Yesterday's Tomorrow Today 