E.G. Phillips: Mental Maps
Written in Phillips' instantly recognisable style..."
— FVMusicBlog
Produced by Kenny Schick
Instruments and backing vocals by Kenny Schick recorded at Basement3Productions in East Nashville
Vocals by E.G. Phillips recorded at Ducks With Pants Music in San Francisco
ArtemesiaBlack on backing vocals (tracks 1, 6)
Renee Padgett on backing vocals arranged by Kevin Seal and recorded at Wally's Hydeout in San Francisco (track 3)
Peter Cloclasure on piano (track 5)
All songs by E.G. Phillips, © 2022 Ducks With Pants Music
Instruments and backing vocals by Kenny Schick recorded at Basement3Productions in East Nashville
Vocals by E.G. Phillips recorded at Ducks With Pants Music in San Francisco
ArtemesiaBlack on backing vocals (tracks 1, 6)
Renee Padgett on backing vocals arranged by Kevin Seal and recorded at Wally's Hydeout in San Francisco (track 3)
Peter Cloclasure on piano (track 5)
All songs by E.G. Phillips, © 2022 Ducks With Pants Music
Party in the Sunset
Party in the Sunset - artwork by Mario M. Noche
There’s party in the Sunset
And I don’t want to go Conversations of obligation All of which I’ve had before While you and I communicate In the language of words unsaid There’s a party in the Sunset And I don’t want to go |
There’s a party in the Sunset
Inviting you is useless From the the facts I’ve seen you’re a factory That only makes excuses Never once heard you make a sound That resembles a word like yes There’s a party in the Sunset Inviting you is useless Oh all the social graces Trying map names to faces How much longer must I stay after I arrive? Eat hors devours, blend into walls Look at all the pictures in the halls All the while aware you reside so near by There’s a party in the Sunset And while I’m there you call I can’t recall that you’ve ever called I never hear from you at all Of all the calls that I’ve missed of late This is the one I missed the most There’s a party in the Sunset And while I’m there you called |
Pulled You from the Fire
|
She says she can undress a man
In ten seconds flat I don’t get why a married woman Is saying things like that Now I’ve got to go so I hit you up for a ride I can tell you want to stay Yet reluctantly you Oblige What you may not realize is I Pulled you from the fire It was not my priority still I Pulled you from the fire Ya don’t need to know why I just Pulled you from the fire She creates chaos and Expects ya just to deal You shouldn’t have even been there, If we’re being real Maybe you think getting a singed Is all good and well But you gotta watch for the honeypots and Intentions that pave your way to Hell What you may not realize is I Pulled you from the fire It was not my priority still I Pulled you from the fire Ya don’t need to know why I just Pulled you from the fire |
It’s true this situation is inflaming my old wounds
It’s true that there’s nothing here to win or to lose I try my best to be mindful and what do I owe you I am not your keeper — but I’ve also been there too Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, I said under my breath As I slammed that car door shut And who knows what you went and did next If you leapt right back in, Then that’s not on me You may be ten years her junior But you cannot be that Naive What you may not realize is I Pulled you from the fire It was not my priority still I Pulled you from the fire Ya don’t need to know why I just Pulled you from the fire The fire…. The fire…. The fire… The fire… Oooh… |
Chained to the Sun
Chained to the Sun - artwork by Mario M. Noche
Here comes that feeling that comes with the dusk
I am Hector as he’s dragged around the walls of Troy It’s a fate the ice giants can't even escape It’s a fate the ice giants can't even escape Helios is riding away with my joy For my heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun It’s not that I am ruing that a day is done Or dreading the onset of evening’s bitter chill The only warmth I crave is your breath and your embrace The only warmth I crave is your breath and your embrace Their absence saps me and puzzles the will For my heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun |
Forged by Hephaestus, it’s binding is relentless
Not a single link’s fabricated weak Sunny days uplift me, cloudy skies set me drift’n The constant rattle drives me crazy Don’t wanna be play’n host to ancient imprisoned ghosts Does anyone around here possess the key? For my heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun Can’t stand being inside so I decide to go outside Neighbors walking their dogs barely stop to say “hi” Pretty girl head’n towards me, clearly trying to avoid me I must accept that I’m suspect in her eyes I’m just some maladroit en route to Inspiration Point To marvel at the colors of the sky Were I to chase the light would time come undone? Like a spinning wheel that’s wound in reverse? Pull the threads of your lace and its pattern is erased Pull the threads of your lace and its pattern is erased Could I outrun this star to which I have been tethered? For my heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun My heart has been chained to the sun 
The alternate "Slow and Bluesy" take
|
The Time Space Vortex
|
We’d been talking a bit when she said she wanted
To go and get a drink An invitation or excusing herself? I didn’t know which to think So I played it safe and stayed where I stood While she headed to the bar Leave it to me to find a way to make everything awkward The two of us were born in the same town But many years apart When we’re conversing I rarely feel Like I even know where to start The gulf between us feels so wide We’re not on the same wavelength I’ve spent too much time lost in the space time vortex Outside the course of human events Outside the flow of it all Stuck in my pocket universe No talk ever feels like it’s small I cling to skin of her world As if a soap bubble Attraction and beauty to me are nothing but trouble |
She picked up her jacket and slung on her purse
Said she’d be right back I’m anxious by nature but felt reassured Seeing she’d left her bags When she returned it struck me Particularly my nose Somehow I’d never pegged her as a smoker I turn myself back towards the stage No more or less at ease And when I left I tried not to read Too much into that shoulder squeeze |
Mental Maps
Mental Maps single artwork
Silk road through the roof of the world
Flowed to the spice lands of the East A persistent belief In a Northwest Passage Tempered fears of the Kraken and Other beasts of the deep That’s the stuff of history books Dreams found in an atlas from the past Yet still live at the intersection Of our mental maps |
We both sketched the city in the dirt
Drew landmarks from our memories We clearly referred To all the same places Yet shared no ground in common As far as I could see We set a course for the morning star The sky fell and we lost the path Which direction is the intersection Of our mental maps? The compass rose is in full bloom Let’s get the lay of the land You insist we stick to the forged trails Lest we step into a mess of quicksand Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa Last week you set off on your own A voyage of discovery, a walkabout One of those journeys Where you delve deep though the self And drift as far as you can from All of your doubts I had a vision — we arrived at a point Where space and time had collapsed And there we met — at the intersection Of our mental maps |
This is a set of songs I've been working with Kenny Schick of Basement3Productions to help realize — he'd previously worked with me on my EP "Nashville Recordings, Vol.1.” Where as my previous album "Alien from an Alternate Earth" was backed with classic jazz stylings, this its folk rock cousin, with many of the tunes written as contemporaries to that batch. In some ways I consider consider them as volumes I and II of the same project.
The notion of the mental map has always intrigued me — that our subjective and fragmentary geographical knowledge effects how we interact with the world. As my geography professor explained, the reason that people don’t stray from the familiar paths they know when going somewhere is because there are vampires in those unknown areas.
For "Party in the Sunset," the Sunset referred to in this song is not the literal sunset, but rather one of those lesser known, ocean bounded neighborhoods of San Francisco in the western part of the city — certainly not one that draws tourists or even other residents of the city for that matter.
I'm dropped this boppy 50s beach party-esque track ahead of my August 6th mostly annual birthday show where I invite other Bay Area songwriters to cover my songs. This was the 6th edition of this little shindig and this year it will beheld held at Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco's Outer Richmond neighborhood.
The irony of this timing should be readily apparent from the lyrics, which may otherwise hit a bit close to home. Not only is a relatable social anxiety of the singer on full display, but so is a pre-occupation with someone not present, with whom communication and connection prove ever elusive and misconstrued.
The EP version "Chained to the Sun" features Renee Padgett on backing vocals, whose contribution was arranged by Kevin Seal and recorded at Hyde Street Studio C during the session for AfaAE when she also recorded her contribution to "This Infertile Valley." An alternate "Slow and Bluesy" take has also been released that features ArtemesiaBlack providing some gospel tinged vocals.
With references ranging from classical mythology to William Shakespeare to more contemporary astronomical terms as well as my own local environment (Inspiration Point being a favorite local destination for evening constitutionals), the song is about trying to absorb the heaviness that comes at the end of the day. This version is realized as an uptempo rocker with lead guitar stylings that owe a bit to Kenny and I having a mutual affinity for jazz guitarist Marc Ribot.
In addition to producer Kenny Schick of Basement 3 Productions (who’s recent credits include Anthony Arya’s “Jaded Rust”), the rollicking folk rock title track features Peter Colclasure on piano. Peter is a musician/composer based in San Jose, California who plays piano at the New Ballet School and teaches at Evergreen Studio of Music and the Arts. The way his piano line builds to a crescendo in the final verse is reason enough to give this track a listen.
The remaining songs are based on true stories... and that will probably get me into trouble one of these days.
The notion of the mental map has always intrigued me — that our subjective and fragmentary geographical knowledge effects how we interact with the world. As my geography professor explained, the reason that people don’t stray from the familiar paths they know when going somewhere is because there are vampires in those unknown areas.
For "Party in the Sunset," the Sunset referred to in this song is not the literal sunset, but rather one of those lesser known, ocean bounded neighborhoods of San Francisco in the western part of the city — certainly not one that draws tourists or even other residents of the city for that matter.
I'm dropped this boppy 50s beach party-esque track ahead of my August 6th mostly annual birthday show where I invite other Bay Area songwriters to cover my songs. This was the 6th edition of this little shindig and this year it will beheld held at Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco's Outer Richmond neighborhood.
The irony of this timing should be readily apparent from the lyrics, which may otherwise hit a bit close to home. Not only is a relatable social anxiety of the singer on full display, but so is a pre-occupation with someone not present, with whom communication and connection prove ever elusive and misconstrued.
The EP version "Chained to the Sun" features Renee Padgett on backing vocals, whose contribution was arranged by Kevin Seal and recorded at Hyde Street Studio C during the session for AfaAE when she also recorded her contribution to "This Infertile Valley." An alternate "Slow and Bluesy" take has also been released that features ArtemesiaBlack providing some gospel tinged vocals.
With references ranging from classical mythology to William Shakespeare to more contemporary astronomical terms as well as my own local environment (Inspiration Point being a favorite local destination for evening constitutionals), the song is about trying to absorb the heaviness that comes at the end of the day. This version is realized as an uptempo rocker with lead guitar stylings that owe a bit to Kenny and I having a mutual affinity for jazz guitarist Marc Ribot.
In addition to producer Kenny Schick of Basement 3 Productions (who’s recent credits include Anthony Arya’s “Jaded Rust”), the rollicking folk rock title track features Peter Colclasure on piano. Peter is a musician/composer based in San Jose, California who plays piano at the New Ballet School and teaches at Evergreen Studio of Music and the Arts. The way his piano line builds to a crescendo in the final verse is reason enough to give this track a listen.
The remaining songs are based on true stories... and that will probably get me into trouble one of these days.