Phil Short is a talented guitarist who has played for the likes of Chipmunk, Tyler James and most recently Westlife. He won the presigious LickLibrary Guitar Idol competition in 2016 and has never looked back. We caught up with him as he prepares for Westlife’s forthcoming tour to find out more…
[MPS]
You have played with quite a variety of artists throughout your career, who are you working with at the moment?
[PS]
I’ve just recently started working with Westlife.
[MPS]
I can imagine those are big shows... As well as huge pop acts, you’ve also worked with your own bands, TV stars and unsigned artists; what different kinds of challenges do these musical settings present?
[PS]
I think the main challenge is understanding your role within the context of each gig you’re on. When I’m working as a sideman for another artist, my job is to help realise their vision for their music. Sometimes that can mean needing to play parts that may not particularly connect with you, but you have to remember that it’s not primarily about you and your own creative ideas (although sometimes they are needed), it’s about serving the song and the artists music.
In some ways, working as a sideman or a session guy can feel like there is a clearer pathway in terms of coming up with parts. The artist will have a brief, maybe it’s playing in a certain style like funk for example. You can draw upon your stylistic awareness to create a part that fits the sound world they’re looking for.
When I’m working on my own stuff, there’s no one telling me what they want me to play, so I often find that ideas and parts for my own writing come much more slowly, as I am free to do whatever I like. Sometimes that freedom can be exhausting because I can go round and round in circles trying to decide which direction I should go.
[MPS]
Interesting to hear how your own material can be the most challenging to work with. You are an educator as well as a performer; do you find that teaching students brings something to your own development as a performing musician?
[PS]
Definitely! Teaching has made me a much stronger, and more well rounded player I think. Sometimes I have to read up and explore players and styles that I wouldn’t naturally be drawn to, but that is a really enriching experience. There is so much amazing music to learn, and you gain so many different valuable skills from it, whether it’s a new technique, or a new way of phrasing lines, or new chord voicings, whatever it might be. It all helps to give you a much richer vocabulary.
[MPS]
Out of all the areas of music you are involved with, what kind of work do you get the most satisfaction out of?
[PS]
Oooh that’s a hard one. They all bring great satisfaction for different reasons. I love teaching students who are passionate about their craft, and put time and effort into their development. Watching students develop over a 3 year period is a really rewarding experience as you see them grow and develop throughout the course.
I also love studio work, spending the time really crafting parts and building the whole sonic picture is a really fun and rewarding thing to do. When it’s done, taking a step back and enjoying the fruits of your creative labour is a really great feeling.
But it would be fair to say, my heart really lies with performance. Nothing beats the feeling of being on stage and nailing really well crafted and rehearsed music. I love playing with people who are better than me who push me to play harder and grow. I’ve learned so much from gigging and working with more experienced players over my career, that’s been extremely rewarding.
[MPS]
Can you pick out a favourite gig?
[PS]
There have been so many great gigs, but one that really stands out for me was when I was depping for a friend who played for Chipmunk. This was years ago now when I was in my early 20s, I think I must have only been 22 at the time. The show was at the O2 Indigo, it was my first proper session playing for a major label artist. The show was very guitar heavy, with lots of solos and unison lines and arranged hits and stuff like that. I think we must have done about 20 hours of rehearsal in preparation for the show, it was really involved! I really got to play out on that gig which was a lot of fun. I remember feeling so nervous before going on, but also feeling really pumped. The adrenaline rush was just incredible, I think I flew on cloud 9 for about a week after that. There’s a cool clip of the outro solo floating around on YouTube I think!
[MPS]
You’ve cited Ritchie kotzen and Guthrie Govan, who else do you count among your musical influences?
[PS]
Greg Howe has been a major influence on my lead guitar style. He has this really cool rock thing going on, but mixed up with more Jazz/Fusion vocab, and a lot of funky elements to his playing. I always loved how cool he sounded and how versatile his type of playing is. That’s what I also loved about Ritchie Kotzen, he has all these burning rock chops, but he’s got such amazing blues and soul vocabulary as well, with tonnes of feel and groove and great tone.
A huge childhood influence on my playing though has been Brian May. He has incredible tone, and he always played in a way to serve the song. His solos and parts always added that little extra to the tracks. I love the fact that his playing is so melodic and lyrical, he really knows how to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, and play those notes that really just get you if you know what I mean.
[MPS]
On that note, if you could go back to any musical era what would it be?
[PS]
For me it would be the 80s haha! I secretly love 80s rock and that whole era. For guitar I think it was a particularly exciting time. I’ve always loved the sound of 80s style lead guitar. I love so many other styles as well, but that stuff has a special place in my heart.
[MPS]
What was your first guitar?
[PS]
Good old Squire Strat starter pack with the little 10 watt amp.
[MPS]
And what guitar are you playing at the moment?
[PS]
At the moment I’m endorsed with Ibanez, and I’m using their new AZ Prestige guitars. Essentially a strat style guitar with a humbucker in the bridge, it’s incredibly versatile. It covers all the classic pop and funk tones and can handle the higher gain stuff effortlessly. Seriously good instrument, very happy with it!
[MPS]
Tell us about BigSky and Mobius, what made you chose them?
[PS]
Well I’ve had the Timeline for about a year now, and I just love it. All the presets sound really musical and you can do some really creative things with it too. Unlike some other powerful delay units, the Timeline doesn’t colour my sound, the core tone is still the same, and it feels the same under the fingers, something that’s very important to me. I knew I needed to upgrade my old reverb pedal to the BigSky to keep up with the quality of the Timeline.
The thing I love about the BigSky is that all of the tones are so clear! There’s no muddiness, all the notes keep their definition, but the glorious ambient reverbs just sound incredible and allow me to be really creative with ideas for parts.
I also really needed a pedal that would give me all the modulation FX in one box, and it was a no brainer to stay with Strymon and go with the Mobius. I have all three hooked up with midi, and programming presets with my Gig Rig G2 switcher is just a breeze. I love it, so easy to use!
[MPS]
What else do you have on your pedalboard?
[PS]
I’ve got some Wampler stuff on there with whom I’m endorsed. They make amazing overdrive pedals. I’m currently using their Euphoria overdrive and the Tumnus overdrive. I also have some stuff from JHS. I have the Angry Charlie Version 2, which is the best high gain distortion pedal I’ve ever tried, it’s thick and juicy, but really smooth as well. I also have their double barrel overdrive pedal, and I use the Morning Glory side as a boost into the other distortion pedals when I want just more of the same tone. There’s a wah and a volume pedal, and of course, the Gig Rig G2 to control everything.
[MPS]
Is there anything you have parted with that you really miss?
[PS]
I did sell my first Wampler Euphoria pedal, then really regretted it so I bought another one!
[MPS]
Can you think of anything that really changed things for you?
[PS]
The first would be the Gig Rig G2. I’ve had that for the last couple of years, and it’s been a huge game changer in having greater control over combinations of pedals. It also keeps the signal really clean. I can’t gig without it now!
The other game changer is the Two Notes Torpedo live. I’ve always loved analogue gear, and this allows me to use my analogue equipment with the benefit of the digital tweak-ability and consistency. It’s similar to a Kemper profile really, but I plug my head into the Torpedo Live and it digitally emulates a mic’d up cab, so it’s my analogue tone that gets captured into the digital sound world. I can change the mic or speaker type and add post EQ if I want to in the unit. I can send that direct to the front of house and the In Ear Monitoring. I can still use the cab on stage to feel the air move, or turn it off if it’s a smaller venue, but I get really consistent tone each night to my in ears and front of house. So the best of both worlds, the sound guys love it!
[MPS]
Is there any advice you can offer to people starting out on their musical journeys?
[PS]
My advice would be, play because you love to play. We all need to earn a living, but we all started playing because of a love for music and the instrument, and it can be easy to lose sight of that when you’re trying to start out in your career. Play as much as you can with as many people as you can. Be patient for opportunities. Don’t be too proud to teach or do the ‘less glamorous’ gigs. Some opportunities come earlier for some musicians than others, and that’s ok. Never look down on other musicians if you’re fortunate enough to get a big break. Keep working hard at your craft and putting yourself out there, and ultimately do it because you love it. As soon as fame and fortune become the objective, everything becomes very frustrating and music becomes a means to an end rather than a passion that you love.
Find out more about Phil Short
