Dave Eggar – Page 4 – Phillip Phillips Online

April 7, 2015

Celebrating Behind The Light – Song of the Week 5: FACE

Quietly hidden between the hopeful “Unpack Your Heart” and the uplifting “Midnight Sun,” is “Face,” our Song of the Week 5. Sneaked in between those two powerful songs, “Face” perfectly exemplifies the diversity of sound and emotion that we find in Behind the Light. As unique as “Thicket” in terms of concept and execution, “Face” is in many ways its opposite, showing a musical and emotional restraint that really contrasts with the rest of the album.

Based on a deep groove and melody reminiscent of gypsy jazz, the song has a cool, sexy feel that serves to hide–perhaps intentionally–the heartbreak we find within the lyrics. Another one of Phillip’s solo writing credits on Behind the Light, “Face” also captures the deep musical connection between the members of Phillip’s acoustic trio, made up of Phillip, guitarist Errol Cooney and cellist Dave Eggar. Although not exactly a trio on “Face” (thanks to the excellent addition of Chuck Palmer on percussion), the song captures the trio sound by highlighting the masterful contribution of each player without adornments or major production. It’s probably no coincidence that both Dave Eggar and Errol Cooney have called “Face” one of the favourite songs they got to do on Behind the Light, Errol pointing to the song’s “minimal live arrangement” and Dave to the chance it gave him to explore “a jazz or gypsy type of use of the cello.”

Both of these elements are indeed key elements of the song, and ones that help bring to the studio the pure sound, joyful creativity and musical camaraderie displayed by the trio during their live performances. Much like these performances, the song’s minimal arragement allows us to clearly hear the inner workings of the musical exchange–the conversation–between the trio without any other instrumentation or production coming between them, with Phillip and Errol laying down the rhythmic and melodic core of the song, the percussion further grounding the groove of the guitars and Dave gliding in and out freely, colouring inside and outside the lines with the cello.

Though the meaning of the song’s lyrics appears to be right on the surface, I don’t think it’s that simple, especially given the mysterious title of the song. They speak of a relationship that has not been equal, where one seems to have been more invested than the other. The lyrics could be directed at the other person but they could also be an internal conversation, a struggle between the mind and heart of somebody who is fighting to forget and move on. We can go back to the music again to give us hints and to illuminate us as we hear the percussion and the guitars maintain that in-the pocket groove but also Errol and Dave expanding over the melody and the theme more freely, romantically, almost seductively.

And later, when Phillip sings the same lyrics repeatedly over the bridge (“When you find your way back in darling, I won’t give my heart again”) it’s almost more like a self-promise than a warning to the other, as if he’s gathering the strength to say those words out loud, to actually “walk out the door.” In the end, maybe “Face” speaks of a heartbreak that has become tinted with coolness and pride, the kind that needs to show a stoic face to hide a broken, trampled-on heart.

Check out Phillip and band playing a cool, full band rendition of “Face” below. And, if you haven’t yet done so, click here to buy Behind the Light!
All photos by Phillip Phillips.

March 19, 2015

Celebrating Behind The Light: Song of the Week 3 – Thicket

Perhaps no other song on Phillip Phillips’ second album Behind the Light is as unique and revealing of his inclinations a song writer as “Thicket,” our Song of the week 3. Buried deep into Behind the Light, “Thicket” is a complex, cinematic creation that feels like a world unto itself; a jewel of a song that became a fan favourite almost immediately after the album release.

Built around an intricate circular guitar riff Phillip had been playing as practice for months, “Thicket” is very much a signature Phillip Phillips song, one that favors rhythmic complexity, haunting melodies and deep and enigmatic lyrics. This is also one of the songs on the album where he has a solo writing credit.

The guitar riff is actually played first by the cello, which opens the song with a rapid, dizzying succession of notes. Drums come in but at half time, creating an immediate tension between the rapid riff and the more menacing, slower tempo of the rest of the strings and the drums.

As with most of the songs on Behind the Light, “Thicket” features a gorgeous string arrangement by Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, Eggar playing the cello in it as well. And his contribution here is very deep, helping Phillip create the haunting, mysterious feeling that defines the song.

The lyrics are in the form of a story, a narrative painted in vivid images that look back in regret to a lost love, at what could have been. Brilliantly, the lyrics mirror the music and the music mirrors the lyrics, as the unresolved, circular melody comes back “around and round” during each verse.

Very “Phillips” also, is the way the lyrics are composed and sung, sometimes running longer than they should within a beat, turned then by Phillip into syncopated notes that keep us guessing and add one more layer of rhythmic tension and uncertainty. It’s dense and intricate, like a thicket indeed. As for the lyrics, many times I feel like trying to understand them is like trying to find shapes in the clouds, but Phillip has indicated in interviews that this song may be about how we sometimes are so focused on looking at the details, that we are blinded and fail to see the whole picture.

And in the end this is how “Thicket” feels, like a puzzle we’ve been building and we finally fit the last piece and the entire picture becomes clear. The revelation here seems disturbing, but also liberating and joyous and we hear it as all sections of the music, including Phillip’s vocals, go into an exhilarating crescendo, finally finding each other on the same tempo and hitting the same beat. It is as if the bird has finally flown out, and we have followed it, and find our way out too…

Check out some rocking videos of “Thicket” below. And take a look at some of the beautiful “Thicket” artwork submitted by fans for Phillip’s lyrics artwork contest last year.

Buy Behind The Light.

Follow our Song of the Week series:
Song of the Week 1
Song of the Week 2

November 22, 2014

Phillip Phillips At The Ryman

Phillip Phillips made a stop at the historic Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville, Tennesee, as part of his extensive Behind The Light fall tour. Built in 1891, the Ryman is an U.S. National Historic Landmark and one of the homes of the Grand Ole Opry. A country and bluegrass music institution, the Ryman was the home of the Johnny Cash show and has seen innumerable country stars, and musicians from every possible genre, grace its stage.

Is no surprise then that anticipation for this show was high, not only among fans, but Phillip and the band. Though there were no new additions to the set list or new songs played that night, Phillip made sure to make his show at the Ryman an unforgettable one. He accomplished this when he invited pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, from the Robert Randolph & the Family Band, to join him on stage during “Fly” to recreate his killer solo from the album. To say it was epically delivered would be an understatement.

The lucky audience was also able to enjoy the addition of the brilliant Dave Eggar on cello, back with Phillip after missing the northwest leg of the tour, and Mark Lettieri on guitar, covering for Errol Cooney (currently on tour with Stevie Wonder). Of course the rest of Phillip’s band, Joel Behrman on trumpet and trombone, JJ Smith on bass, Bobby Sparks on keys and Jason Thomas on drums, all helped Phillip to play one of his most powerful and intense sets yet. Phillip honored the venue with his passion and skill and demonstrated that he completely belonged on that legendary stage.

Check out the set list, as well as some cool fan photos and videos from the night, below!

Set list:
Lead On
Get Up Get Down
Trigger
Raging Fire
Man on the Moon
Unpack Your Heart
Tell Me a Story
Gone Gone Gone
Thicket
Moving Out (Billy Joel cover)
Fly (with Robert Randolph)
—-
Fool For You
Home

Photos by Erika H, Elvan McM and Tiffany.
Setlist by @Phillips_Tweets.

June 20, 2014

Phillip Phillips At Lucky Strike Denver

Phillip Phillips brought his guitar, and his bowling shoes, to Lucky Strike Denver last Saturday for a special acoustic performance and CD signing. And fans in attendance were very lucky indeed as Errol Cooney and Dave Eggar, Phillip’s guitarist and cello player, joined him for the exclusive acoustic performance.

The trio performed three songs, two of them from Phillip’s new album Behind The Light. Though the show was scheduled to start at 1:00 pm, fans–including many from out of state there to see Phillip’ show at Red Rocks later that evening–started lining up as early as 7:30 in the morning to make sure they got a good spot inside the venue. The dedication of fans paid off, as they were treated to an incredibly rocking and inspired performance.

Check out some videos and photos from the event below!

May 20, 2014

Phillip Phillips Steps Behind The Light And Emerges Triumphantly

We waited, we listened to the snippets, we counted down the days, and finally, it is here. To the sheer joy of Phillip Phillips fans everywhere, Behind The Light was released at midnight on Monday; within an hour it had reached number 1 on the Pop Charts on iTunes, a testament to the huge anticipation and the incredible support from Phillip’s ever growing fan base. It’s only been a few hours and a few listens, but I feel I can say without hesitation that Behind The Light has exceeded all my expectations and hopes, and keeps proving that Phillip Phillips has arrived and is here to stay.

It’s easy to make comparisons, but it’s inevitable to look back and see how much Phillip has accomplished in just two short years and admire his steady and assured growth as a musician and as a songwriter. And in Behind The Light we see him not only expand his song writing vocabulary but bring into the studio the energy and exhilaration that have come to define his live performances.

I feel that confidence has always been an important quality of Phillip’s music. But where you saw the confidence you also saw the effort behind some of the songs on The World From The Side Of The Moon. In this new group of songs you can feel not only a new maturity but a new ease in his songwriting, a more direct way of expressing his ideas while still conveying the same or more complexity. This goes both for the lyrics and the music, but in particular for the lyrics. Phillip has said that the new album is about growing up, about both the fear and the beauty we experience as we get older. But another recurrent theme is truthfulness, which he explores through many images of darkness and light, fire and release. So though musically the album may be very different from song to song, the lyrics unify it in tone and feeling.

The album starts with “Searchlight,” a song whose rousing beat and background vocals contrasts with delicate lyrics about healing and redemption. It’s a perfect introduction to the journey the music will take you: there is light and darkness in every song, mournful undercurrents to the most hopeful of songs and light and hope shinning in the most sorrowful ones.

By the time Phillips sings “I see myself again/Behind the Light I flicker” in “Alive Again,” we are well into the themes of the album, the words here conveying the idea of what he is when in darkness, the true side of himself that nobody gets to see. And in “Unpack Your Heart” he touches again on acknowledging what is hidden, of revealing ourselves as we are to each other, of letting go without fear:

“Meet me where the sunlight ends/Meet me where the truth never ends/Bring all that you’re scared to defend.”

I tend to be moved more easily by music than lyrics, but this album contains so many intimate, carefully crafted lyrics, that I think they really define Behind The Light; nothing here is an afterthought. The world From The Moon already showed that Phillip has a beautiful way with words and here we can see his eye as writer sharpening and blooming, finding just the right words to create immediate images in your head that break your heart or fill it with hope (“Alive Again”), convey the passion of unending love (“Raging Fire”), the pain that creeps into a tortured mind (“Trigger”), and the heavy heartedness of fear (the quiet, repetitive mantra of “everything will be better now” in “My Boy”).

Musically, Behind The Light is very diverse, going from the stripped but incredibly rich sound in a song such as “Face,” to the sparse percussion and baroque sounding strings in “My Boy,” to sleek, intricate drums and incendiary pedal steel guitar in “Fly;” each song is allowed to be what it needs to be. Phillip has said many times that with Behind The Light he set out to do an album that would capture his “live band” sound and I think he really succeeded in doing that; the album has an incredible, organic energy throughout. A good example is “Don’t Trust Me,” a fantastic funky song (with some of the most introspective lyrics on the album) which really captures the live feel of the band, with amazing bass and horns that will be explosive in concert. As always, Phillip’s vocals are passionate and stirring, with subtle inflections and phrasing that brought tears to my eyes more than once.

Looking at the liner notes we can see Phillip reunited with the same team that made his first album such a great success: producer Gregg Wattenberg, and writers Derek Fuhrmann, Todd Clark and David Ryan Harris. It also includes an amazing new collaboration with Finian Greenall of Fink on “My Boy.” An added thrill is seeing Phillip listed as a producer on the album and the excellent members of his band playing on it, Errol Cooney on guitar, Philip Dizack on trumpet, Dave Eggar on cello, the incredible Jason Thomas on drums, “JJ” Smith on bass and Bobby Sparks on keyboards.

Most people will be downloading this album, but if you happen to own a physical copy, you will get to enjoy the amazing art by Rob Carmichael, which brilliantly captures the theme of darkness and light, shadows and fire throughout. Take a look at the images as you listen to the album and you’ll see the themes beautifully play out, poignantly, until the end.

I am the ultimate romantic, and as a fan, I care about artistic integrity and depth. Behind The Light has both–I never doubted it would. With this album Phillip has opened up and shown us what is behind the light; what we find there is beautiful to see.

Review by Andreina Romero

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April 29, 2014

Exclusive interview with cellist Dave Eggar

You may think you don’t know Dave Eggar, cellist, composer and arranger, but if you listen to music at all, you probably have heard the sound of his cello at some point in your life. That’s because Dave Eggar is an extremely busy and prolific musician who has worked with numerous artists across many genres and styles, from classical, to world music, to rock, including recording and performing with bands such as Coldplay and Pearl Jam and a long time collaboration with Evanescence’s Amy Lee.

Fans of Phillip Phillips best know him as the creator of the beautiful cello and string arrangements on Phillip’s first album The World From The Side Of The Moon and as one third of Phillip’s wonderful acoustic trio. PhillPhillcom had the pleasure to interview Dave Eggar recently to talk about his inspiration and evolution as an artist, his collaboration on Phillip’s upcoming album Behind The Light and life as musician on tour. Check our interview below.

PhillPhill.com: We know you started playing music at a very young age. How did you start and when did you realize the cello would be the instrument for you?

Dave Eggar: I started playing the cello when I was 6 years old! It’s kind of a funny story. My mother really wanted me to be a concert violinist, so she enrolled me in those Suzuki violin classes for kid–you know–the ones where you march around holding the violin and play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”! Well I really hated it–so I smashed my violin (I know it’s immature)! For Christmas that year my mother bought me a cello and I took to it right away–it was kind of weird–it just fit me. Six months later I was playing the Brahms sonatas.

PhillPhill.com: Throughout your career you have worked with an incredible amount of musicians and artists in many different mediums and genres. Can you share a little about your evolution and inspiration as an artist?

DE: Until I was 21 I didn’t play any music except for classical–my whole family was classical musicians. However I was always improvising and writing songs. When I was a teenager I started to fall in love with rock music–especially Nirvana and Pearl Jam which became a major influence on my musical development. In my early 20’s I started to become fascinated with the use of the cello in other music. The cello is like a huge bowed fretless guitar–and I found very quickly that I loved the idea of re-imagining the instruments in different styles (jazz, rock, Persian music, South-East Asian folk music). Pretty soon I was on tour–even with some of my heroes–and I kind of didn’t look back!

PhillPhill.com: How did you get to work with Phillip for the first time? Can you tell us a little bit about your collaboration on Phillip’s first album, The World From The Side Of The Moon?

DE: I first met Phillip through his producer Gregg Wattenberg. Gregg is an incredible producer of pop music-and I have worked for him on many projects. Phillip and I just started jamming at the beginning of the first session–and I don’t know, it just clicked [and] we just kept playing. He’s my musical brother in a lot of ways. I loved his music immediately and found a voice for the cello in it right away. The first album was made very quickly (in about a month) and we all worked around the clock–it was a really amazing adventure.

PhillPhill.com: What do you look for in a song or a piece of music, either as a listener or as a musician? What is it about Phillip’s music that makes you want to play with him?

DE: I care about the story and the depth of emotion in a song. I also care about clarity of execution and intellectual detail in playing. I also love music that pulls together influences you would not normally find together. I really dig Phillip’s guitar patterns and melodies. I feel they have both directness and sophistication. I also love the emotional diversity of his songs and the tremendous dynamic of the live show–it’s rare that you will have an artist with a fragile acoustic song like “A Fool’s Dance” in the same show with an epic pop hit like “Raging Fire” and a rocking cover of “Thriller.” His shows keep us on our toes technically and I like that.

PhillPhill.com: Phillip’s second album, Behind The Light, is coming out in just a few weeks. How much did you get to play on this album? Can you walk us through the process of creating the cello or string arrangements for a song?

DE: Much like the first album, the process was very organic and very fast paced. I am really excited about the strings on the record (there are strings on most of the songs), as we were able to create a powerful diversity–some songs have a full rich orchestral arrangement (like “Raging Fire”) others are quirky and cool with an almost jazz or gypsy type use of the cello. Many times we would come back to a song a number of times tweaking it over and over till the parts were just perfect.

PhillPhill.com: How would you say this new album is different musically from The World From The Side Of The Moon? Did you approach your work differently this time? What is your favourite song that you got to work on in the album?

DE: I loved working on “Raging Fire”–and also some of the more striped down acoustic songs. I like “Face” a lot. It was great working on this album because I have done hundreds of shows with Phillip since the first album and I felt I understood his message and style much more. It was personally a very important album for me for that reason as well.

PhillPhill.com: The string arrangement on the album’s first single, “Raging Fire,” is beautiful and quite prominent. How did the strings came to be such an important part of the song?

DE: It was Gregg’s idea (and a brilliant one). We found a perfect blend of violins and cello that are reminiscent of Gustav Holst and Elgar–there was a moment where we found the perfect sound–you know when everyone looks at each other with a smile in the studio. I’m really excited about how that track turned out.

PhillPhill.com: You are a very busy musician, but fans were lucky to see you on the road with Phillip during his college tour last year. You have also played numerous shows with Phillip and Errol Cooney as part of an acoustic trio. How do you approach these two settings? Does your playing and arrangements change when playing with a full band?

DE: We are always playing. While we don’t rehearse all the time, we are always jamming on the bus, in the hotel, etc. The trio is a lot of fun because there is so much freedom. Errol is pretty much the best guitar player I have ever played with so I love when the three of us get to really stretch out. Full bands rock though, and that is tremendous fun!

PhillPhill.com: The video for “Where We Came From” was shot during the band’s stop at the Alaska State Fair last summer. How was it to record the music video for this song, in particular the “trio” version of the video?

DE: Haha—it was COLD! But a lot of fun. When we recorded on the mountain it was also very, very windy and the cello almost blew off the side of the cliff. The show itself was magical though–so many awesome fans and an unbelievable setting.

PhillPhill.com: Phillip’s shows are known for having a good amount of jamming and for their display of excellent musicianship. How much do you get to practice as a band before a tour or before a show? How much of what happens on stage is improvised and how much is rehearsed?

DE: We are always rehearsing. We set aside time before the tours for more structured rehearsals, but also, since Phillip does different groups of songs each night, we are always doing touch-up rehearsals on the bus, and trying new things at sound check. Some of the new songs emerged from things Phillip would teach us at sound check and then over months they developed into the new songs. It’s a very organic process.

PhillPhill.com: What song do you most like to play with Phillip? Among your performances, which one is the most memorable and why?

DE: I like all the songs, but some of my favorite to play are “Hold On,” “Tell Me a Story,” “Where We Came From,” and “A Fool’s Dance.” I feel I really connect to these songs and they have really challenging and fun cello parts. It was really amazing playing “A Fool’s Dance” at the Hollywood Bowl last summer. I had played the second to last concert of Michael Brecker, who was my teacher and mentor, on that stage and it was very meaningful for me to play on that stage with Phillip a song that meant a lot to me.

PhillPhill.com: We read recently that you play the Bach cello suites almost every day. Is this part of your daily practice or part of a special ritual for you? Do you have any special rituals or things you do before a show to get ready?

DE: I really love to practice classical music–I do it every day and it is really grounding for me; I love the balance and the subtlety of detail. It makes it easy for me to play all the other styles I play. I also am really into Karate, so sometimes I will do a Kata before going on stage. I also eat a lot of chocolate, which probably isn’t a good thing haha.

PhillPhill.com: Do you have any funny or interesting stories about life on tour with Phillip? What do you like to do on your days off when you are not playing or practicing?

DE: Man–we have a great time–we’re kind of like a family. It’s always fun. Phillip is a really down-to-earth guy, so it’s a great hang. We’ve finished a lot of video games on the bus too haha.

PhillPhill.com: We know you will be performing with your band Deoro in May. Will you be joining Phillip on his tour this summer?

DE: Yes, I will be touring with my own band in May with a collaboration we do with this really cool dance company called Hammerstep which fuses Irish Step dance and hip hop and then I will join Phillip in June for the tour with O.A.R. which will be awesome!!!

PhillPhill.com: You are an amazingly prolific artist and a huge inspiration to many other musicians. Do you have any tips or advice for beginning music students?

DE: Thanks so much for your kind statement. You always have to follow your dreams and be persistent no matter what anyone says. A lot of teachers told me the way I played the cello was different and strange and wouldn’t work. There was one very old teacher, Ardyth Alton, who was the person who accepted me into Juilliard when I was 9. I saw her years later when she was in her 90’s–she said: “Thank you for being different–I always knew you would be the one who would make a difference for the instrument.” There is really room for all artists, you just have to find your own way home, so to speak.