Well hello friends,
So I'm on tour right now. The bus has driven 40 hrs in the last 4 days. My ass hurts from the seats, but I'm having fun. I'm going into the studio to record a couple more songs for the album later this month, and im finally going to finish this thing up. Thanks for all the love. Let's make 2010 a big one, for all of us!
Cheers (do a fake cheers with me..plz? Haha)
Phil

well i really haven't written a blog in a while. as of now, i'm still not sure what the subject of this blog will be. hmmm...oh, i can write about california. so i'm living in san diego now. i'll only be out there for a few months but the weather on the west coast is amazing. there's really no need to check and see whether or not it's going to rain tomorrow, sat, sun etc. believe it or not i'm still working on my record. it's done...but i have some minor changes i want to make. i really hope it's an addicting album. it's certainly my best, but i really want it to make you guys feel good. i've had albums i'd listen to so much it's embarrassing...ie bright eyes' i'm wide awake it's morning...mayer's inside wants out, stevie wonder's songs in the key of life...and more recently mraz's we sing, we dance, we steal things. oh yea, and my mgr gave my album to mraz's manager. he called back a week later to tell me jason loved the album. that made me feel like a love struck 12 year old girl haha. it was actually an amazing feeling to have someone i've admired since high school reach out to me like that.

anyway, i'll be touring again this fall from what i'm told. be good, new songs coming.

thanks
phil

hello friends,
so unless you live in a village in rural africa i'm sure you know michael jackson passed away yesterday. i'm not sure why i'm writing about this, but for some reason i'm just so bummed about it. maybe it's because i've sung "i want you back" to close every set of mine for the past 2 years, or just because everyone was hoping for a redemptive michael jackson in his later years. i just think it was a really sad ending to a really bizarre, amazing, and hopeful life. i'm not pretending to know every michael jackson song or anything like that, but he was soooo good. he's one of those performers i look at and go "okay, i'll never be that good...". michael jackson seemed to be all inclusive. his fans were every age, color, gender etc. that was the dude who invented the f%&$#n moonwalk!
phil

hey guys,
so a lot of you have been asking me when i'm touring and what's going on with me? well, as you know, i recorded an album feb-april in cali. the album is done (minus a few finishing touches) but now we're just meeting people to find out how we'll release the record. so, in the meantime, i just have to wait around. it does kind of suck waking up everyday with nothing to do, but i'm not complaining too much haha. i know many of you seem really concerned and i really do appreciate that, but i'm in good hands, and i think the new record is really going to strike a chord with people...i hope. anyway, i will be touring again soon and thanks so much for sticking with me.
thanks guys
phil

hello friends,
so i was just thinking today about why i play music, why music is important to me, and what i'm trying to accomplish by playing music. sometimes, you get into a routine and you're driven towards a goal and you lose sight of why you're doing what you're doing. these last 2-3 years have been amazing. i've been able to tour the country, record albums, meet cool ppl, and just do what i love. but, when i started doing this i had a true mission. i wanted to connect with people. high school was a very confusing time. i think it is for everyone. when your parents loosen the reigns and you need to start thinking for yourself, you can think yourself in circles. but, for me music always had a good way of making me feel okay with not feeling okay. guys like elliot smith, dave matthews, john mayer...i always felt like no matter how lost i was, their songs told stories about how lost they are/were. maybe it's just comfort in numbers. maybe it's just feeling normal in your dizzying journey you're on. but,  if i can write songs where people go "oh wow, i feel the same way" then i think i've done my job as a musician and writer. the new album i just wrote really feels like me. it's the first album i've written that feels like me. when you guys hear it, i hope we can have some sort of zen friendship sort of thing. but, anyway..see you guys soon.
phil

hello cyber friends,
so a lot of you guys have asked if i was playing bamboozle. well, actually i'm not going to be playing this year. They're not having an acoustic stage this year, and i don't have a  band so it would be weird doing a solo electric show haha. but, i will be there. i may make  a cameo with a band for all you dreamers out there. but come say hello. i can't wait for you guys to hear the new album .

i'll be touring a ton this year.

holla!

phil the bensen

hello friends,
so i'm in LA now just wrapping up the album. all of the tracking is done (like the playing...guitars/drums/etc.) and we started mixing. that is, getting all of the levels right so they sound cooool. i'm back on the east coast in about a week and a half. i can't wait for you guys to hear this stuff, i'm so pumped. this is the first record i've made that i love. i also can't wait to get touring again. the next year and  a half should be constant touring. i miss you guys, see you soon.
phil

hello friends,
so week 2 in la la land was quite eventful. We laid drums down on all the songs. i must say, they sound really amazing. The album is shaping up to be what i intended it to be. kenton (myspace.com/kentbryant) just turned 19 and for his birthday, i destroyed him in soccer on xbox all day haha. So, today i'm finishing lyrics on some songs. Writer's block sucks! Anyway, i'll see you guys soon, thanks so much for the support.
phil

hello friends,

So week one, i'll give you the rundown.

arrive in lax airport. get our stuff. go pick up our guitar player...his name is kenton bryant check him out. he's a 19 year old virtuouso from kentucky. see mr. jonas in the airport (crazy coincidence). say hello to mr and mrs jonas. our car rental guy gets mad we're taking so long. he kicks us out of the car. no joke, he flipped out and started taking off with our stuff in the car. so, we get a new car from the airport from a different company. we drive to granada hills where we're staying. we hang out for a couple of days doing a lot of nothing, and it was everything you'd think it would be. i get to work with the producer all week in a little dungeon of a room with just acoustic guitars. i wrote a lot of new stuff and tweaked a lot of old stuff. today is my first day off. i think i'm going to do nothing today. but, the album is going great thus far. i can't wait for you guys to hear it.
i hope everyone is splendid.
phil

hello cyber and real life human friends,
Well i'm heading to LA tomorrow to record my first full length album. i'm very pumped. i'll be working with a producer named matt wallace. He produced Maroon 5's "songs about jane", so i'm in good hands. You can expect new songs and new versions of old songs like bruised. i'm going to stay true to what i love doing. The album will be sort of a mix between funky stuff like maroon 5 and more acoustic john mayer/jack johnson sort of stuff. Wish me luck, i'll need it. Thanks so much for everyone's support. See you on the flip side (only cool people say stuff like "see you on the flip side").

holla
phil the bensen