Philip Sayce

Born in Wales, but family moved to Toronto, Canada when Philip was two years old. 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.

He 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, 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.



Philip 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 he 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. With Healey, Sayce toured the world and played in such places as Ohne Filter, Germany, Finland and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.



Philip quickly gained notoriety as an axe-slinger through his regular gigs at Toronto clubs from 1992 to 2001, and he gradually developed a solid fan base. In 1996, he released his first CD, the self-titled ‘Philip Sayce Group’ which has since become a rare disc.
 It was reissued in 2005.


Looking to further expand his musical horizons, Sayce moved to Los Angeles in September of 2001. 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.



Philip also starred in and wrote the music for the 2002 short film, Cockroach Blue, 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, Philip 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, Philip joined Etheridge and her band for The Lucky Tour. Philip also appears on Etheridge's Lucky CD and the Lucky Live DVD, released in 2004. Sayce released his second solo effort ‘Peace Machine’ in 2005 and ‘Silver Wheel of Stars’ in 2007.¹

'Innerevolution' followed in 2010, and 'Ruby Electric' (2011) and 'Steamroller' (2012) appeared in quick succession. Philip toured diligently with his road band, sharing stages with the likes of ZZ Top and Deep Purple. And in 2013, he performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in New York City.

In 2015, Philip signed with Warner Music Canada in 2015 after Warner executive Steve Waxman discovered Philip's music while streaming tunes on Spotify. Sayce made his major label album debut on April 7, 2015 with the release of 'Influence', and scored a top 20 hit at rock radio in Canada with his rendition of Ten Years After's, "I'd Love To Change the World". He toured in support of Influence in 2015, with performances at the Fuji Rock Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, and Ottawa Bluesfest.

References

1. wikipedia