Even today, Glen Phillips sounds a bit baffled that he?s a well-known rock musician.
Phillips teamed with three of his Santa Barbara, Calif., high school friends to form a band called Toad the Wet Sprocket. In 1988, they recorded their first album, “Bread and Circus,” in just eight days for $650. When the group was midway through recording their second album, “Pale” (16 days, $6,000), they received a contract with Columbia Records and soon signed with Sony.
“It wasn?t my dream to go out and be a rock star,” said Phillips, now on a solo tour. “I was going to go to college and was going to be a high school teacher. Basically without making one phone call, we had 11 companies come see us play. We graduated from high school and by the end of the summer we were on tour. This wasn?t a typical story.”
But nothing about Phillips seems typical, which is likely one of the reasons for his incredible success that includes platinum albums and certified hits. While he?s grateful for the success, he said, it?s not what he sought.
“I like dealing in subtler realms with an audience,” he said. “I love playing shows that aren?t locked into the ?rock and roll? world.
No one who?s heard Phillips? third solo CD, “Mr. Lemons,” can accuse him of formulaic writing. “Mr. Lemons” is a group of haunting acoustic songs that examine everything from love to death to expectations.
“I was trying to make music that had a certain elegance,” said Phillips, who still occasionally regroups withToad the Wet Sprocket and plays with others. “I?m not trying to show off with cleverness. I wanted a simplicity so that I could invite people to sit in.”
The freedom of being a solo artist extends to his show, where Phillips picks and chooses each evening?s songs. He often plays favorites from Toad?s catalog, and of course many of his own. This freedom allows him to closely connect with the audiences.
“I get to be a more natural me. That?s what I enjoy,” he said. “I like rock. I just also like storytelling and seeing a human being there and feeling like the audience and I relate. Then it?s a shared experience. You?re not playing at people.”
IF YOU GO
Glen Phillips
» Venue: Rams Head on Stage, 33 West St., Annapolis
» Time: 8:30 p.m. Sunday
» Tickets: $25
» More info: www.ramsheadon stage.com; 410-268-4545
