Throughout his whole life Phil Vassar knew he was going to be a singer. Writing and recording songs for his 9th studio album, his first in five years, Phil Vassar is one of the most gifted singer/songwriters in country music today.
At first playing drums and then guitar, the instrument Vassar is most passionate about is the piano. Vassar’s signature instrument is different from the normal guitar that almost every country artist uses, and he likes that just fine. After hearing Elton John and Billy Joel, he was hooked and never wanted to play anything else. Vassar broke onto the country music scene in the late 1990’s, and he is still as enthusiastic and passionate about writing new music and performing for his fans today as he was back then.
Vassar’s shows are something to be admired. From his infamous jumping on top of his piano to the remarkable way he never runs out of energy, Vassar puts on a concert you will never forget. In college, Vassar played football and ran track. He continues to work out today. He credits his workout routine and lots of coffee for powering him up and giving him the energy he needs to give his all when he is out on the stage. Vassar is also really inspired by artists like Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger. Recently he had the opportunity to take in a Rolling Stones concert and was amazed that a man, (Mick Jagger) seventy three years of age, could still run eleven miles around the stage while performing. Vassar was in awe of Jagger’s onstage energy and it gave him “a real shot in the arm (that he) needed.”
Priding himself for doing shows where no two are alike, Vassar never has a set song list when he goes out on stage. Every time he performs, he allows the audience to choose the songs he and his band will sing. While Vassar is performing one song, the people in the audience are holding up signs for the songs that they want to hear. He sings whatever songs they want. Vassar is amazed at how not only are his well-known songs requested, such as ‘Another Day in Paradise,’ and ‘Six Pack Summer,’ but songs that were never released as singles, like ‘Joe and Rosalita,’ from the album ‘Phil Vassar,’ and ‘Amazing Grace,’ from the album ‘Shaken Not Stirred.’ “It’s just a good time. It’s not stale. We don’t know what we are going to play every night. It’s a fun experience when you go out there and play. Folks are really liking the new music. It’s exciting to be doing new songs, and it’s just exciting to get out there and do the songs you love.”
As Vassar is writing and recording songs for his ninth studio album, he is excited to be recording a variety of styles of songs for it. It is important to Vassar that not all of the songs sound alike. Vassar’s song ideas come from what is going on around him in his real life. He never runs out of ideas for a song because there is so much going on in the world today. “All this stuff that happens in your life is really emotional. You can sit down and say I’m going to write a song about a truck and a tail gate and a dirt road all day long. It’s just the same stuff. It doesn’t mean anything. Real things happen in real life.”
Vassar has been bringing those real life songs with him on his summer tour, titled the #NoPHILter Tour. The title has an interesting story behind it. Vassar does a lot of work with colleges where he answers questions from the students about songs and writing, producing records and the music business in general. While at Nossi College of Art’s in Nashville, the students asked if instead of talking to them, could they work with him and do a photoshoot. Vassar agreed so the students put together a photoshoot then presented him with posters, and presentations using the pictures they took. “They did the photo shoot and did all these posters and it just blew my mind how talented these kids were. They put these presentations together that were absolutely brilliant.” After the presentation the students suggested that Vassar call his tour the #NoPHILter Tour. He thought it was a great idea, and soon after the photo shoot the #NoPHILter Tour 2015 made the cover of his Facebook and Twitter pages.
Vassar always looks forward to coming to New England, because he has family and friends here. He remembers driving to Maine when he was a kid to visit his relatives. They would eat lobster and hang out at the ocean. On July 19th, the #NoPHILter Tour is scheduled to come to New England, to Indian Ranch in Webster, MA for the 8th year in a row. Indian Ranch is one of his favorite places to perform, and he really enjoys singing there. He likes the way people can hang out at the lake or on a boat and then come and hear his concert later on that day. “It’s just a real deal. I love it. I’m just happy to be playing back again at the Ranch. We love those folks and we just have a really good time.”
Tickets are still available for Vassar’s show at Indian Ranch. You can purchase them here.
Vassar’s is proud that his music is multigenerational, and he loves seeing parents bring their children to his shows. As long as he has the energy, Vassar plans to continue doing what he loves for many years to come. He wants people to remember him for being innovative and different and for always putting on a great show. Vassar’s advice for new artists making their way in the business is, “Be who you are, and don’t try to be like everyone else. Don’t follow trends. Play and write music that means something to you.” Excellent advice from a man who has never been one to conform to society but instead continues to be successful being just who he is.
NECM is grateful to Phil Vassar for taking not only the allotted time to talk with us, but some extra time as well. We are looking forward to his summer tour and are very excited for him to return to, according to Phil, “one of the prettiest places (he has) ever been,” New England.
You can follow Phil Vassar here on his website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Interview conducted by Lorraine Frigoletto, contributing writer for New England Country Music. You can follow me on Twitter