STEVE PHILLIPS

Guitar, mandolin & vocals

I first picked up a guitar at about age 13. Some of the first songs I learned were by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steppenwolf, The Beatles, Beach Boys, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Arlo Guthrie, Eagles, Simon & Garfunkle, etc. Early on, I was more into the acoustic music, I suppose, because that's what kind of guitar I had. I also have always been drawn to songs with lots of harmony vocals.

When I was 18, I got a job at a little store in Crown Center (KCMO). They sold arts&crafts, candies and dulcimers. My job was to stand behind the counter and play the dulcimer, and it would draw people in to buy stuff. The guy who hired me and taught me to play was the champion dulcimer player of the Winfield Bluegrass Festival in 1979. His name was Wade Hampton Miller. He taught me many of the old bluegrass songs as well as some of the classic old irish folk songs like Star of the County Down, Red Haired Boy, Drunken Sailor, etc. On the weekends, Wade and I and Becky Pryor, would go down to the old Westport entertainment district and set up on the corner of Westport and Pennsylvania and play as starving musicians and get people dancing in the streets.

In 1979, I joined a rock and bluegrass band called Fields. That was the first time I got to play electric guitar. Then in 1981, I got with a couple of guys (Bob Walkenhorst and Rich Ruth) to form a 60s cover band. We called ourselves Steve Bob & Rich. We did an album of original music and called it Balls -- occasionally, you can find it at a used record store. In 1985, we got a recording deal with Polygram, added Pat Tomek and changed our name to The Rainmakers. After three CDs, five videos and endless touring of the USA, Europe and Scandanavia, The Rainmakers broke up for a couple of years but then got back together to release two more CDs and two more videos for Polygram Norway and ,V&R Records USA.

In 1993, I got involved with my cousin, Chuck Barth, and a guy named Dwight Marcus in an LA-based band called Chamber of Poets. It's a blend of beat poetry and music that is very cutting edge and thought-provoking. This new artform is called "PULSE." I still record with them periodically. We have a DVD and a CD called News from the West, available in selected stores as of 10/99.

Sometime in 1998, I got a call from Norm Dahlor to play in a band that he and Mike Bliss and Brent Hoad were forming to play Celtic music. I said, "Yeah, I can do that!"

So, here we are with a CD of original material that is part folk, rock, bluegrass, Celtic and part story-telling with no clear delineation between all the elements.

I think as we mature, we tend to like more complex flavors to satisfy the palate. With such rich backgrounds to draw upon from all the members of the band, The Elders is a musically satisfying experience indeed!