"Part of the genius of this event is that it wasn’t just a birthday party, it was also a celebration of song, songwriters, community, and friendship."
- Don Shearer
E.G. Phest is an annual show that E.G. Phillips hosts in August where he invites other singer-songwriters from the San Francisco music community to come perform his songs as part of the celebration of his birthday. The venues hosting this event are on the small and intimate side and the atmosphere is relaxed. Streamers and balloons are traditionally put up and there's a card to sign in accordance with the whole "birthday" aspect of the festivities, but the real focus is on the art of performance and the performers, usually numbering around a dozen, who put their own distinctive spin on a body of work that spans many years and a variety of genres.
Inspired in part by the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary concert and the Hotel Utah open mic's "cover your friends" night (Phillips will also note -- only partially in jest -- that the idea was to ask for a gift that was within the budgetary limits of most musicians) the whole affair actually harkens back to older ideas about the sharing of songs and musicians building off and riffing off each other's ideas. Everyone who participates or attends always has a splendid time and insists this odd little affair must happen again next year -- often with a request to do one song or another. Some of the performers continue to play the songs they take on and a few have even gone on to record their versions -- though nothing compares with being at the show itself.
The performers come from all walks of life -- there are industry veterans and new comers, men and women, solos and duos, young and old.
The artwork for the show is itself is a cover of sorts, with E.G. asking a local illustrator to do their take on his "Ducks With Pants" ... "theme." for the 1st EGPhest and for EGPhest II.
Alums from the 1st E.G. Phest (held at Bazaar Cafe, August 13th 2016) and Josh Johnson (then the host of Bazaar's open mic, now one of the proprietors) provided the artwork. Alums of that show include Shawn Byron, "James Delmar," Brendan Getzell, Maya Hall, Josh "Beemish" Johnson, Allie Jones, Eugene M. Joseph, Christopher Mizell, Ken Newman, Oscar Plizga (aka Lonely Dingo), Naghmeh Shaf (of Naghmeh and the Southern Shores), and Joel Taylor.
EGPhest II convened at the Lost Churchon August 11th 2017 and Clyde Always (host of the Cafe International open mic) did the artwork. The show featured The Complements, Brendan Getzell, Samantha Margret, Ken Newman, Mario M. Noche, The Old Kraftsman (Chris Martellotti), Michelle Renee, Nina Jo Smith, Swamp Child, The Ten Thousand Ways and Wesley Woo.
On August 11th, 2018 EGPhest III was at the Hotel Utah as a matinee show and featured returning EGPhest alums Shawn Byron , The Complements, and Ken Newman as well as Drew K, Teresa Tuan (of Oh The Nerve) and Tohm as well a special guest all the way from Madrid Spain, Natali Castillo who brought her accompanist Pepe Arribas along and he played a tune too . Artwork for the 3rd installment was handled by Mario M. Noche, himself an EGPhest alum (who happens to share the same birthday) and a host of the Ireland's 32 open mic. See this big blog post for the photo gallery of E.G. Phest III performers.
EGPhest IV will be Sunday August 4th, 2019 and will be held a special location called the Secret Garden (the password for the event on EventBrite is "duckduckgoose"). The artwork this year was done by Jesse Israel, who also worked with E.G. on the video for "The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World" which will be released along with the new album "At Home At Sea."
- Don Shearer
E.G. Phest is an annual show that E.G. Phillips hosts in August where he invites other singer-songwriters from the San Francisco music community to come perform his songs as part of the celebration of his birthday. The venues hosting this event are on the small and intimate side and the atmosphere is relaxed. Streamers and balloons are traditionally put up and there's a card to sign in accordance with the whole "birthday" aspect of the festivities, but the real focus is on the art of performance and the performers, usually numbering around a dozen, who put their own distinctive spin on a body of work that spans many years and a variety of genres.
Inspired in part by the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary concert and the Hotel Utah open mic's "cover your friends" night (Phillips will also note -- only partially in jest -- that the idea was to ask for a gift that was within the budgetary limits of most musicians) the whole affair actually harkens back to older ideas about the sharing of songs and musicians building off and riffing off each other's ideas. Everyone who participates or attends always has a splendid time and insists this odd little affair must happen again next year -- often with a request to do one song or another. Some of the performers continue to play the songs they take on and a few have even gone on to record their versions -- though nothing compares with being at the show itself.
The performers come from all walks of life -- there are industry veterans and new comers, men and women, solos and duos, young and old.
The artwork for the show is itself is a cover of sorts, with E.G. asking a local illustrator to do their take on his "Ducks With Pants" ... "theme." for the 1st EGPhest and for EGPhest II.
Alums from the 1st E.G. Phest (held at Bazaar Cafe, August 13th 2016) and Josh Johnson (then the host of Bazaar's open mic, now one of the proprietors) provided the artwork. Alums of that show include Shawn Byron, "James Delmar," Brendan Getzell, Maya Hall, Josh "Beemish" Johnson, Allie Jones, Eugene M. Joseph, Christopher Mizell, Ken Newman, Oscar Plizga (aka Lonely Dingo), Naghmeh Shaf (of Naghmeh and the Southern Shores), and Joel Taylor.
EGPhest II convened at the Lost Churchon August 11th 2017 and Clyde Always (host of the Cafe International open mic) did the artwork. The show featured The Complements, Brendan Getzell, Samantha Margret, Ken Newman, Mario M. Noche, The Old Kraftsman (Chris Martellotti), Michelle Renee, Nina Jo Smith, Swamp Child, The Ten Thousand Ways and Wesley Woo.
On August 11th, 2018 EGPhest III was at the Hotel Utah as a matinee show and featured returning EGPhest alums Shawn Byron , The Complements, and Ken Newman as well as Drew K, Teresa Tuan (of Oh The Nerve) and Tohm as well a special guest all the way from Madrid Spain, Natali Castillo who brought her accompanist Pepe Arribas along and he played a tune too . Artwork for the 3rd installment was handled by Mario M. Noche, himself an EGPhest alum (who happens to share the same birthday) and a host of the Ireland's 32 open mic. See this big blog post for the photo gallery of E.G. Phest III performers.
EGPhest IV will be Sunday August 4th, 2019 and will be held a special location called the Secret Garden (the password for the event on EventBrite is "duckduckgoose"). The artwork this year was done by Jesse Israel, who also worked with E.G. on the video for "The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World" which will be released along with the new album "At Home At Sea."
Artwork for E.G. Phest IV by Jesse Israel
The artwork for EGPhest III by Mario M. Noche
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