Philip Sayce
Encyclopedia
Philip Sayce is a Welsh
born guitarist
, singer and songwriter
from Canada
.
, but family moved to Canada when he was two years old, and he grew up in Toronto
. His parents, Kenneth and Sheila, listened to music by Eric Clapton
, Ry Cooder
and Dire Straits
, among many other artists. His parents’ love of music inspired his love for the guitar, and he also learned to play the piano and other instruments. Sayce was fifteen years old when he played in his first band. Sayce and his best friend, drummer Cassius Pereira, played in bands together throughout high school at Brebeuf College School
, holding band practice in their basements. Sayce's style is strongly influenced by Jimi Hendrix
and Stevie Ray Vaughan
, whose untimely death in August 1990 greatly affected the young guitarist.
Sayce began playing in Toronto clubs at the age of sixteen. He quickly became a regular fixture on Toronto’s bar-scene. One of the clubs Sayce frequented was Grossman's Tavern in Toronto, known for its famous jam sessions with artists such as Robbie Robertson
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
, Bob Dylan
and Jeff Healey
. His other musical influences include B. B. King
, Albert King
, Albert Collins
, Buddy Guy
, and Robert Cray
. Sayce joined Healey's band in 1997 and toured the world for three and a half years, playing such places as Baden Baden, Germany, Brazil, Finland and the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival
in Switzerland.
Sayce moved to Los Angeles to expand his music career. He soon landed a gig with Uncle Kracker
and toured with him for eighteen months. With Uncle Kracker, Philip appeared on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Regis and Kelly, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The CBS Early Show.
Sayce also wrote the music for the 2002 short film, Cockroach Blue, which he also starred in. It was produced and directed by award-winning Robert Crossman. The film was shown at the 2003 Woodstock Film Festival
and received popular acclaim.
In the fall of 2003, Sayce unexpectedly met John Shanks
at an impromptu jam session in the amp department at Westwood Music in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, just a week before, two-time Grammy award winner Melissa Etheridge
had mentioned to Shanks that she was looking for a guitar player and was thinking of trying somebody different. Shanks referred Sayce to her and in December 2003, Sayce joined Etheridge and her band for her Lucky Tour. Sayce also appears on Etheridge's Lucky CD and the Lucky Live DVD, released in September, 2004, Melissa Etheridge Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled released in 2005, The Awakening" released in 2007, and A New Thought For Christmas released in September 2008. He also performed on Etheridge's Oscar winning song "I Need To Wake Up
" from the Al Gore
2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth
. Sayce appeared with Etheridge at the 2007 Academy Awards
, Live Earth
in 2007, The 2005 Grammy Awards as part of a tribute to Janis Joplin
(along with Joss Stone
), and at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
in Denver, Colorado.
Sayce released his album Peace Machine, on Provogue Records in 2009. He released a second album Innerevolution in Europe, in May 2010. In July 2010, Philip Sayce supported the legendary ZZ Top
in Europe and in December 2010, he supported Deep Purple
on their French dates.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
born guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Early life
Sayce was born in AberystwythAberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, but family moved to Canada when he was two years old, and he grew up in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. His parents, Kenneth and Sheila, listened to music by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
and Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, among many other artists. His parents’ love of music inspired his love for the guitar, and he also learned to play the piano and other instruments. Sayce was fifteen years old when he played in his first band. Sayce and his best friend, drummer Cassius Pereira, played in bands together throughout high school at Brebeuf College School
Brebeuf College School
Brebeuf College School is a Roman Catholic all-boys' high school in Toronto founded by the Jesuits in 1963 and associated with the Presentation Brothers since 1984...
, holding band practice in their basements. Sayce's style is strongly influenced by Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, whose untimely death in August 1990 greatly affected the young guitarist.
Sayce began playing in Toronto clubs at the age of sixteen. He quickly became a regular fixture on Toronto’s bar-scene. One of the clubs Sayce frequented was Grossman's Tavern in Toronto, known for its famous jam sessions with artists such as Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Jeff Healey
Jeff Healey
Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
. His other musical influences include B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
, Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, and Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
. Sayce joined Healey's band in 1997 and toured the world for three and a half years, playing such places as Baden Baden, Germany, Brazil, Finland and the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
in Switzerland.
Career
Sayce quickly gained notoriety as a teenage axe-slinger through his regular gigs at Toronto clubs, and he gradually developed a solid fan base.Sayce moved to Los Angeles to expand his music career. He soon landed a gig with Uncle Kracker
Uncle Kracker
Matthew Shafer is an American rock musician known as Uncle Kracker. His singles include "Follow Me", "Smile", and "Drift Away". His music was more rap rock-based at the start of his career before turning in a more rock and Top 40 style music direction on later releases.-Biography:Shafer was born...
and toured with him for eighteen months. With Uncle Kracker, Philip appeared on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Regis and Kelly, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The CBS Early Show.
Sayce also wrote the music for the 2002 short film, Cockroach Blue, which he also starred in. It was produced and directed by award-winning Robert Crossman. The film was shown at the 2003 Woodstock Film Festival
Woodstock Film Festival
The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was begun in 1999. The festival was first conceived as a part of the Woodstock '99 Music and Arts Festival, with movies being screened as part of that event.-History:...
and received popular acclaim.
In the fall of 2003, Sayce unexpectedly met John Shanks
John Shanks
John Matthew Shanks is a modern rock writer and Grammy Award–winning producer.Born in New York City, Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17....
at an impromptu jam session in the amp department at Westwood Music in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, just a week before, two-time Grammy award winner Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
had mentioned to Shanks that she was looking for a guitar player and was thinking of trying somebody different. Shanks referred Sayce to her and in December 2003, Sayce joined Etheridge and her band for her Lucky Tour. Sayce also appears on Etheridge's Lucky CD and the Lucky Live DVD, released in September, 2004, Melissa Etheridge Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled released in 2005, The Awakening" released in 2007, and A New Thought For Christmas released in September 2008. He also performed on Etheridge's Oscar winning song "I Need To Wake Up
I Need to Wake Up
"I Need to Wake Up" is a song by Melissa Etheridge, written for the 2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth. It is the first instance of a documentary film winning the Best Song category, and it notably beat three other nominated songs from the musical film Dreamgirls.Etheridge received the...
" from the Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
. Sayce appeared with Etheridge at the 2007 Academy Awards
2007 Academy Awards
2007 Academy Awards may refer to:* 79th Academy Awards, the 2007 ceremony honoring the best in film for 2006* 80th Academy Awards, the 2008 ceremony honoring the best in film for 2007...
, Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
in 2007, The 2005 Grammy Awards as part of a tribute to Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
(along with Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
), and at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
2008 Democratic National Convention
The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
in Denver, Colorado.
Sayce released his album Peace Machine, on Provogue Records in 2009. He released a second album Innerevolution in Europe, in May 2010. In July 2010, Philip Sayce supported the legendary ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
in Europe and in December 2010, he supported Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
on their French dates.
Philip Sayce
- "Peace Machine" (2009) Provogue
- "Innerevolution" (2010) Limited Edition (CD & DVD) European Release, Provogue
- "Ruby Electric" (2011) Provogue
As a featured guest
- Jeff Healey Band "Get Me Some" (2000)
- Jeff Healey Band "Live At Montreux" (2005)
- Uncle Kracker "No Stranger To Shame" (2002)
- Melissa Etheridge "Lucky Live" CD & DVD (2004)
- Melissa Etheridge "The Road Less Traveled" (2005)
- Melissa Etheridge "I Need To Wake Up" (2006) Academy Award winning song
- Melissa Etheridge "The Awakening" (2007)