" With a vivid imagination and a nonchalant air, EG has created a unique and soothing story-telling genre of music. His crafty lyrics leave any songwriter envious of his penmanship"
- Naghmeh
- Naghmeh
The Story So Far...
Songwriter E.G. Phillips comes from a country called the Midwest. He creates lyric driven songs with his own special blend of whimsy and cinematic imagery which he uses to give a wry take on dealing with the longings of the heart and the madness of existence. You could call his music jazz-infused alternative Americana — "Bob Dylan with flatted fifths" or "lounge music that falls somewhere between Tom Waits and They Might Be Giants."
In possession of a degree in Geography, E.G. is a tech industry refugee currently based in San Francisco. He often draws comparison to the likes of Nick Cage and and Leonard Cohen while his personal favorites include the Beatles and the Kinks as well as Duke Ellington...and that crowd. When it comes to his stage presence, there's a touch of satirist Tom Lehrer in the mix. As for the inspiration for his lyrics, he readily admits an unusually outsized influence by long running British sci-fi show "Doctor Who."
"Ducks With Pants" is the name of his fake band.
E.G. has been heavily involved in the local Bay Area music community. Aside from being a fixture on the open mic circuit, E.G. is currently the host of First Fridays at Bazaar Cafe . He was previously the "Songwriter-in-Residence" there in September 2015 and April 2017. He has also has played gigs at San Francisco venues such as the Hotel Utah, Neck of the Woods, PianoFight and the Lost Church. He's been the organizing force behind ensemble events such as tributes to Bob Dylan and Tom Lehrer, a regular attendee at the San Francisco chapter of Balanced Breakfast (in September 2018 he featured in the inaugural "Balanced BreakFEST" — playing a set at Revolution Cafe), a participant in Theo McKinley's "Local Vocals" (performing weekly at the Hotel Carlton and the Marker Hotel at Union Square), a regular at the Outer Sunset Mercantile Farmer's Market as well as the Golden Gate Promenade, and he has volunteered for the Bread and Roses charity organization, bringing live music to people unable to to get out themselves because they are in institutional settings.
Across the Bay, Phillips has played shows at the Monkey House in Berkeley and the Oakland Octopus. Further afield, he's played the Mint in Los Angeles as part of his Spring '18 tour and been a guest performer in Steve Key's "Songwriters at Play" in San Luis Obispo. He's also played The Bowery Vault in Nashville as well as Sam's Jams at Bobby's Idle Hour. In 2019, E.G. played a showcase at the Jackalope in Austin for SxSW. In 2021 he participated in the Far West guerrilla showcase hosted at Bazaar Cafe. In August of 2022, you could have caught him at Al's Den in Portland.
On the radio, E.G. has been heard on San Francisco based programs such as "Bird Flu Kitchen" and “Casually Crying” on BFF.fm, “What’s Really Happening” on FCC Free Radio, and the JW Megaweg Show on Mutiny Radio. He’s also made an appearance on “Rock of the Ages” on KWMR in Marin and WEFT in Champaign-Urbana, IL.
In August of 2016, Phillips hosted the first "E.G. Phest," inviting various local singer/songwriters to cover his songs for his birthday celebration at Bazaar Cafe. A splendid time was had by all. Participants of that show have continued to perform the songs they played that evening, one even going on the record his version for his debut EP. In 2017, lightning struck again and E.G. Phest II rocked the Lost Church with another diverse collection of Bay Area musicians, each giving one of his songs their own distinct spin -- whether it be rock, soul, Bossa Nova or Americana. In 2018, EGPhest was hosted at the Hotel Utah where a total of fifteen acts played E.G. Phillips tunes for the phest's third incarnation. More than just a birthday party, E.G. Phest celebrates the local music community as well as the art of the song and the craft of performance. EGPhest has continued (mostly) annually and its eighth incarnation occurred August 18th, 2024 at Bazaar Cafe..
In early 2017 Phillips released his first album "Fish from the Sky" — a collection of well worn originals he's performed around the Bay Area for many years.
In 2018 Phillips released a cover of one his songs by indie artist Samantha Margret — " Sunday is Made for Loving" — and two new originals — "The L.A. Song" and "Lady of the Shadows," both of which he produced music videos for.
His album "At Home At Sea" came out on July 12th, 2019 and features popular songs from his repertoire such as "Lighthouse at the Edge of the World" and a raucous rendition of live performance favorite "The Albatross Song" . Of this work, AmericanaUK wrote "It's hard to see this album having wide appeal" — high praise indeed.
In October of 2020 he put out an EP entitled "Nashville Recordings Vol. 1" — although this humble volume was actually recorded in East Nashville, which is appropriate because Phillips considers himself "Nashville adjacent" ...for better or worse. Additionally, songwriter Shawn Byron released his cover version of “Lighthouse at the Edge of the World” as a single and as track his own debut album, “Doing Business as Shawn Byron” that came out December of 2020.
The E.G. Phillips album "Alien from an Alternate Earth" debuted April 22nd of 2022 (Earth Day, naturally) after the release of the singles "Till We Have Faces Again" (December 10th, 2021), "The Octopus Song" (January 21st 2022), "This Infertile Valley" (February 11th, 2022), and "Brave Heart, Luna!" (March 11th, 2022).
In October 2022 the folk-rock inspired "Mental Maps" came out — a reunion of E.G. with producer Kenny Schick, this volume of five songs contains true stories that will undoubtedly get E.G. into trouble one of these days.
In other 2022 release news, Ken Newman released his cover of "The Fish Song" on his album "What Am I Afraid Of?"
In November of 2024, a release of a series of singles culminated with the EP Outlaw the Dead, E.G.'s second set of recordings done at Hyde Street studios in San Francisco.
More music is coming in the latter part of 2024, starting with the release of "These Are Burning Days"
E.G. is also the composer of the theme song for the webcast "In Lieu of Fun" which was started during the pandemic and was a good way to spend and hour with stimulating conversation, trolley problems, and cheese.
More information about E.G. Phillips can be found on the Internet at famous web sites such as The Facebook and the 'gram. Mini-rants largely unrelated to music can be found on Threads. There is also a Newsletter for the truly devoted.
In possession of a degree in Geography, E.G. is a tech industry refugee currently based in San Francisco. He often draws comparison to the likes of Nick Cage and and Leonard Cohen while his personal favorites include the Beatles and the Kinks as well as Duke Ellington...and that crowd. When it comes to his stage presence, there's a touch of satirist Tom Lehrer in the mix. As for the inspiration for his lyrics, he readily admits an unusually outsized influence by long running British sci-fi show "Doctor Who."
"Ducks With Pants" is the name of his fake band.
E.G. has been heavily involved in the local Bay Area music community. Aside from being a fixture on the open mic circuit, E.G. is currently the host of First Fridays at Bazaar Cafe . He was previously the "Songwriter-in-Residence" there in September 2015 and April 2017. He has also has played gigs at San Francisco venues such as the Hotel Utah, Neck of the Woods, PianoFight and the Lost Church. He's been the organizing force behind ensemble events such as tributes to Bob Dylan and Tom Lehrer, a regular attendee at the San Francisco chapter of Balanced Breakfast (in September 2018 he featured in the inaugural "Balanced BreakFEST" — playing a set at Revolution Cafe), a participant in Theo McKinley's "Local Vocals" (performing weekly at the Hotel Carlton and the Marker Hotel at Union Square), a regular at the Outer Sunset Mercantile Farmer's Market as well as the Golden Gate Promenade, and he has volunteered for the Bread and Roses charity organization, bringing live music to people unable to to get out themselves because they are in institutional settings.
Across the Bay, Phillips has played shows at the Monkey House in Berkeley and the Oakland Octopus. Further afield, he's played the Mint in Los Angeles as part of his Spring '18 tour and been a guest performer in Steve Key's "Songwriters at Play" in San Luis Obispo. He's also played The Bowery Vault in Nashville as well as Sam's Jams at Bobby's Idle Hour. In 2019, E.G. played a showcase at the Jackalope in Austin for SxSW. In 2021 he participated in the Far West guerrilla showcase hosted at Bazaar Cafe. In August of 2022, you could have caught him at Al's Den in Portland.
On the radio, E.G. has been heard on San Francisco based programs such as "Bird Flu Kitchen" and “Casually Crying” on BFF.fm, “What’s Really Happening” on FCC Free Radio, and the JW Megaweg Show on Mutiny Radio. He’s also made an appearance on “Rock of the Ages” on KWMR in Marin and WEFT in Champaign-Urbana, IL.
In August of 2016, Phillips hosted the first "E.G. Phest," inviting various local singer/songwriters to cover his songs for his birthday celebration at Bazaar Cafe. A splendid time was had by all. Participants of that show have continued to perform the songs they played that evening, one even going on the record his version for his debut EP. In 2017, lightning struck again and E.G. Phest II rocked the Lost Church with another diverse collection of Bay Area musicians, each giving one of his songs their own distinct spin -- whether it be rock, soul, Bossa Nova or Americana. In 2018, EGPhest was hosted at the Hotel Utah where a total of fifteen acts played E.G. Phillips tunes for the phest's third incarnation. More than just a birthday party, E.G. Phest celebrates the local music community as well as the art of the song and the craft of performance. EGPhest has continued (mostly) annually and its eighth incarnation occurred August 18th, 2024 at Bazaar Cafe..
In early 2017 Phillips released his first album "Fish from the Sky" — a collection of well worn originals he's performed around the Bay Area for many years.
In 2018 Phillips released a cover of one his songs by indie artist Samantha Margret — " Sunday is Made for Loving" — and two new originals — "The L.A. Song" and "Lady of the Shadows," both of which he produced music videos for.
His album "At Home At Sea" came out on July 12th, 2019 and features popular songs from his repertoire such as "Lighthouse at the Edge of the World" and a raucous rendition of live performance favorite "The Albatross Song" . Of this work, AmericanaUK wrote "It's hard to see this album having wide appeal" — high praise indeed.
In October of 2020 he put out an EP entitled "Nashville Recordings Vol. 1" — although this humble volume was actually recorded in East Nashville, which is appropriate because Phillips considers himself "Nashville adjacent" ...for better or worse. Additionally, songwriter Shawn Byron released his cover version of “Lighthouse at the Edge of the World” as a single and as track his own debut album, “Doing Business as Shawn Byron” that came out December of 2020.
The E.G. Phillips album "Alien from an Alternate Earth" debuted April 22nd of 2022 (Earth Day, naturally) after the release of the singles "Till We Have Faces Again" (December 10th, 2021), "The Octopus Song" (January 21st 2022), "This Infertile Valley" (February 11th, 2022), and "Brave Heart, Luna!" (March 11th, 2022).
In October 2022 the folk-rock inspired "Mental Maps" came out — a reunion of E.G. with producer Kenny Schick, this volume of five songs contains true stories that will undoubtedly get E.G. into trouble one of these days.
In other 2022 release news, Ken Newman released his cover of "The Fish Song" on his album "What Am I Afraid Of?"
In November of 2024, a release of a series of singles culminated with the EP Outlaw the Dead, E.G.'s second set of recordings done at Hyde Street studios in San Francisco.
More music is coming in the latter part of 2024, starting with the release of "These Are Burning Days"
E.G. is also the composer of the theme song for the webcast "In Lieu of Fun" which was started during the pandemic and was a good way to spend and hour with stimulating conversation, trolley problems, and cheese.
More information about E.G. Phillips can be found on the Internet at famous web sites such as The Facebook and the 'gram. Mini-rants largely unrelated to music can be found on Threads. There is also a Newsletter for the truly devoted.
Press Kit Images
Photos by Andy Strong
Photos by Andy Strong
Ducks With Pants Artwork Gallery
Acrylic paintings created over the years featuring ducks with (not necessarily in) pants either as album artwork or promotional /flyer art for shows.
Acrylic paintings created over the years featuring ducks with (not necessarily in) pants either as album artwork or promotional /flyer art for shows.
Neck of the Woods February 2018 Photo Gallery
Photos by Jared Swanson
Photos by Jared Swanson
More Performance and Miscellaneous Photos
