Could You Be the One?

Describing his sound as “too folky for the rockers and too rocky for the folkers,” Phil blends (at least what he thinks are) clever lyrics with melodies full of hooks. On his EP Tumble Stairs, digitally released on Revolution Road in May 2011 and physically released on his own in June 2011, Phil went into the studio with a band full of friends to build on his songs. Two of the tracks, “Ninjas vs. Zombies (Let’s Keep Our Heads)” and “The Bottom of an Urn”, appear in the movies Ninjas vs. Zombies and Ninjas vs. Vampires, respectively. “The Gift of Love”, a song whose verses were written by his friends in the lo-fi legends of southern California cassette culture Wckr Spgt, also appeared on the compilation Smooth Sounds: Various Artists Play the Future Hits of Wckr Spgt. This compilation was in honor of the 20th anniversary of Shrimper Records and features bands like The Mountain Goats, Sentridoh, So Many Wizards, Jad Fair, Simon Joyner, Amps For Christ and Franklin Bruno covering Wckr Spgt songs. Wckr Spgt, in turn, covered the Phil Yates penned tune “Honeycomb” for their Today I Saw Turtles EP that came out in April 2011. Over the years, Phil has had the opportunity to open for a variety of acts. He has played with The Mountain Goats, The Dead Milkmen's Joe Jack Talcum, Franklin Bruno, Wckr Spgt, Ann Beretta, and Mary Prankster. Phil has also shared a basket of chips and salsa with The Apples in Stereo’s Robert Schneider. "Phil Yates doesn't write good pop songs. He writes really good pop songs. And that's no mean feat. Tumble Stairs by Phil Yates is as close to a perfect pop record that Burlington has seen in years." - Dan Bolles, Seven Days, Burlington, VT, July 20-27, 2011