All Photos: Alan Mercer
K Phillips’ life has been like a country song. Born in West Texas and raised by his grandparents in the Concho Valley, K’s grandfather was both a cattle rancher and a criminal court judge. His mother was a radio disc jockey who named her only son after her favorite Texan, Kris Kristofferson. K began playing guitar at age 5 and began writing songs at 6. At age 18 he lost both his best friend and his girlfriend in two separate drowning instances. In the wake of these tragedies, music understandably took on a deeper resonance. It became how he processed life and heartache.
K’s first release, ‘American Girls,’ garnered accolades from the likes of No Depression, Buffalo News, and Daytrotter for its blend of the literate and the lowdown. Many of these publications spotlighted a mythical essence about K, remarking about his chiseled Hank Williams-esque good looks, and a character quality that’s both vulnerable and reckless.
His latest album, ‘Dirty Wonder’ (Rock Ridge Music), was released March 10, 2017, and is a breakup record that’s part autobiographical, part imagined, and part observational, chronicling a third-party breakup K witnessed firsthand. It’s a redemptive album, brimming with clever allusions, pent-up sexual tension, and loveable roguish characters. The album was produced by award-winning songwriter Gordy Quist of ‘The Band of Heathens’ and features a vocal cameo from Adam Duritz from ‘Counting Crows.’
I met with K Phillips before his recent show at the Magnolia Motor Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas where we talked about his music, his love of building things, his musical influences and how to write a good breakup record.
AM: I must tell you K, I think you are the next big thing. In all seriousness.
KP: Thanks man. I really appreciate that.
AM: You are mega-talented. What is your song writing process like?
KP: What I like doing is building a song. That’s fun for me. I got into this business because I like making something I never thought could exist. Also, I don’t know where it comes from a lot of the time, but then I figure out this is really a song from my dad’s point of view. I know the person I am writing about. That’s like a gift. I also like building things.
AM: Just in general?
KP: Yes, I was a pottery major in college. In between being on the road I also worked in construction. I like it because it gets me out of my head. Otherwise everything I do is in the ether. I can write a song but it doesn’t matter unless someone listens to it. You can’t touch a song, but I can build a staircase and someone can have it in their house for the next fifty years. I love that and I love knowing that I built it.
AM: What made you want to be a songwriter then?
KP: The thing that made me want to be a songwriter was hearing songs that I couldn’t believe someone wrote. I would wonder how they did it? I’m talking about songs that are so good you can tell it wasn’t a burst of spontaneous creative energy to finish it. That is the seed. There was labor involved.
AM: You write a lot of good story songs.
KP: Thanks, you can’t just go in and be inspired to write a story song. There has to be a blueprint. You have to have the boy and girl and conflict. Any great story has conflict. Then you can look at it from different points of view for the verses and use the chorus over and over so it fits into a popular song structure. I love that kind of thing.
AM: You seem like an intellectual to me K.
KP: Yeah, I don’t know. Sometimes I think I’m smart but sometimes I think I’m dumb.
AM: Well, we all are a little of both I guess but I’m not used to young Songwriters referencing e.e. cummings.
KP: You did your homework! Thanks!
AM: I just really appreciate your artistry. Why did it take 5 years to release your second album?
KP: There was another record I made, after the first record, but it didn’t feel like a good scenario.
AM: What was wrong?
KP: It’s weird because now I wear them, but they wanted me to wear a cowboy hat and some other things that felt so contrived.
AM: I understand.
KP: A lot of times I make what might seem like foolish decisions based on my feelings at the time, but this one turned out to be the right decision. Although five years in between albums is like a whole career for some people. I recorded it four years ago, but it just didn’t work out so I moved on.
AM: That’s true. You have a more mature sound now.
KP: Thanks. It’s funny because this album was recorded two years ago, but it took so long to get released. I really wanted to get it right and that takes time.
AM: I hope you’re happy with ‘The Dirty Wonder.’
KP: Yes, I like it. I don’t hate it. I got all the right people so that’s why it works. We’re already starting the next record.
AM: Good! I hope it doesn’t take so long this time.
KP: We’re wanting to record one record a year from now on. It’s really all about money. I was so broke, there was no way to pay for another record. I like the DIY (do it yourself) spirit but you still need the best equipment. I’m very picky about aural quality so it took a long time.
AM: So you started recording this album on your own!?!
KP: I did buy some gear and I started recording this record and I realized I couldn’t do it on my own so Gordy Quist from Band of Heathens got involved because you need somebody on the other side of the glass. He’s a talented well-adjusted artist and those people are so hard to find.
AM: Do you have a sense of business?
KP: I don’t know. I’m trying. At first I had a seven-piece band and now it’s just me and drums. I like it though, it’s a challenge because I have to cover the base now.
AM: Who did you listen to growing up?
KP: I was raised by my grandparents but my Mom was around too. She wasn’t on drugs or anything. She just had me young and was trying to get her life together. I can’t imagine doing what she did. Anyway, being around my grandparents I listened to a lot of Big Band music, operas, and musicals like ‘Man of LaMancha.’ That’s a big part of my musical upbringing. Also, my great grandmother helped raise me and she was a gospel organist.
AM: I love the gospel influence in your music!
KP: I love gospel. I love hill country blues like Jr. Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside and those guys. Their music is almost like a meditation. As a piano player, I love Ray Charles. I love the way he sings. So, I grew up with all that and my Mom loved Kris Kristofferson and I was named after him. My Dad is a fan of Songwriters so I heard a lot of Texas Songwriters like Towns Van Zant.
AM: You’re such a natural and talented musician, it’s hard to imagine you doing anything else.
KP: I went to school and tried to be an English major because music didn’t seem like a viable option and I was always writing. I was just too dumb to ever quit. I never felt super talented or that I had a natural ability. I want to say this because, I want people who think they can’t do anything, know they really can, especially now with the internet.
AM: K, you seem like an old soul. Do you feel in sync with your generation?
KP: Hmmm, I don’t think I do feel in sync with them. I almost feel bad about it now. There is this whole hipster movement where people are learning how to make their own beef jerky. The only reason I ever did that was because I was poor and bored. I was raised to believe I didn’t deserve anything for nothing. I was raised by people who grew up in the depression. I’m so grateful to be doing what I’m doing.
AM: So, you are saying that you don’t feel entitled like a lot of your age group.
KP: Yeah, I don’t feel entitled.
AM: You deserve all the success because you have done the work.
KP: Thanks, I appreciate that. I feel funny talking about it but I don’t connect with people who think they deserve something just because they were born. I’m on the cusp of a couple different generations and one of these generations is about giving participation awards where as you used to have to earn awards. The other thing is you held the desire up high until you reached your goal. It’s important for an artist to understand his generation and maybe endear himself to that generation.
AM: Or you can LEAD your generation by being a little off the center.
KP: I like that a lot better. I will say that I didn’t grow up with a carpenter in my life but I wanted to build things so I went out and learned how to do it. My grandparents discouraged me from music. They said I needed a real job so I went to school to be an attorney, but then I found a writing program and I was already writing, so that took over. What happened to people saying,” I know who I am so I’m going to be better at my job.” I was raised by people who taught me to be on time.
AM: What was your main inspiration for writing ‘The Dirty Wonder?’
KP: What happened was I had a breakup. I was looking for a good breakup record and I couldn’t find one. I wanted a breakup record that was many things including uplifting. I read this Robert Graves poem called ‘Love Without Hope.’ In four lines Graves explains it all.
“Love without hope, as when the young bird-catcher
Swept off his tall hat to the Squire's own daughter,
So let the imprisoned larks escape and fly
Singing about her head, as she rode by.”
The bird catcher lets go of the birds for this girl. This is how he pays for his bread and his coal, but for one moment he broke out of his cell to give joy to someone he would otherwise never have an encounter with or maybe he just did a dumb thing to impress a girl. That’s why I made ‘The Dirty Wonder,’…to connect.
