We recently connected with Brett Phillips and have shared our conversation below.

Brett, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I always knew from the moment I picked up a guitar that it was all I wanted to do with my life. Nothing else really mattered to me at the moment. I got my first guitar one summer break in middle school and spent the entire summer playing at least 5 hours a day. I’d carry it around the house, noodling while watching TV, or intently learning my favorite songs by ear. It was really exhilarating to finally find an interest that wasn’t playing Nintendo 64 with my friends. It felt productive, and I knew I had a lot to learn. 20 years later with a lot of experiences behind me, I’m still creating and learning. It’s the pursuit of trying to nail a performance or trying to write and record a great song that I love and have never lost. Hopefully when I’m much older that same drive will still be there, and I’m fairly optimistic that it will always be.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Musically, I’ve played a lot of roles over the years. Currently I am focusing more heavily on writing, recording, and performing as a solo artist. I play guitar and sing primarily, but play other instruments as well. I tend to emphasize guitar playing in my music, as that’s my favorite. You can typically find me playing at coffee shops, breweries, music festivals, and weddings. Whether it’s playing my originals, or providing classical music for special occasions, I enjoy playing all types of music.

In the past I got my start the way several young musicians do – playing in garage bands with friends, being in church ensembles, and trying to pick up as much knowledge from other players. I started teaching guitar lessons at 15 as a way to fund my growing collection of musical equipment that I needed. I’ve kept teaching up as a part-time job ever since and got my bachelors in Music Education from Campbell University. The main thing I would want potential listeners to be aware of is my new solo music releasing at the end of September, as well as my past releases with my band The Separate, in which I’ve played guitar. Our entire discography is streaming on all platforms, and you can find my solo music that way as well.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

As musicians, we tend to always think critically of our art and examine every aspect of our performances. It’s always good to get feedback from non-musicians, because they can often give more honest perspectives beyond the technical details that are often obsessed over. If you think back to music that you enjoyed early on in life, you were able to identify a song as good, though subjective, without being able to necessarily describe why. I try to carry that same attitude over to my work now, and can be summed up by one of my favorite composers, Chopin: ““Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.”

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Society does a pretty good job of supporting artists by simply consuming their content. However, I think the next step is understanding the backstories behind the music and the effort that went into producing it. Not every city has a thriving local music scene anymore, and I’d love to see more that come back.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BrettPhillipsMusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brettphillipsmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrettPhillipsMusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BPMusic06

Image Credits
Sydney B. Photography