August 2, 2018

Center Stage - Phil Edwards Band

We're so excited to feature Phil Edwards Band - A Radio Airplay staff  and Jango listener favorite, and this week's newest Center Stage pick!

Their feel good song Crash was one of the Top 10 winning songs in our recent Summer Song Contest. Just tune in and you'll see why! Make sure you also check out the awesome video of their song 6AM at the end of the feature. 

PEB consists of Phil Edwards, Adrian Ashdown, Callum Goldie and Graham Bell. Their live set brings together elements of blues, funk, reggae and country, all with an honest soulful vibe that's easy to move to and hard to forget.
Established in 2008, the band spent four years travelling across Australasia, performing at festivals such as Rhythm and Vines, Melbourne Moomba Water Festival, Blues Brews and Barbecues and the Whangamata Summer Festival.
The band's 2010 debut single 'Crash' hit the ears of thousands and gained an A rotation on More FM. The same year also saw the release of PEB's first album, "Slow Borders", mixed by Dave O'Donnell (John Mayer, James Taylor, Keith Richards).  
OE's took over and after a short two year hiatus, PEB are back hitting the ground running. As momentum builds for the band, they've been busy in the studio working on their second album and a number of music videos. The upcoming album is being mixed by lauded New Zealand singer/songwriter, and winner of the 2016 Silver Scroll award for his song 'If I Move to Mars', Thomas Oliver. 
    Get to know the group a bit better by diving into our newest Center Stage Q&A! 

    Can you describe your sound in one ramble-on sentence? 
    Vocally driven soulful music with a wide range of styles blended together.
      What's your earliest music-related memory growing up? 
      The easiest memory would have to be Cat stevens, his music was a big inspiration for me growing up.
        If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why? 
        I think I would pick Jack Johnson's "Brushfire fairytales", as I already know all of the songs, and this album has a lot of great memories attached with it for me.
          Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process 
          Writing a song is not something I can force myself to do, so they usually make their own way in somehow. sometimes you can get so inspired and write a whole song in one sitting, or other times in different sessions. all my songs are honest and actual feelings, so to me they are real and not made up, which I think people can easily tell if it is forced to made up.
            What was the highlight for you in 2017? Either personally or for your music career? 
            I think the highlight for 2017 was producing a music video for our song 6am, the particular song was 5 years in the making, almost a forgotten song, so that was awesome to get a bunch of people together and finish that. And also sharing the stage with the legend John Butler Trio was amazing!.
              What have you been working on recently? Can you give us a hint for whats to come in 2018? 
              We are currently working on one of our most soulful pieces of work "cabin in the woods" and are really excited about this release. In 2018 we are aiming to release at least a single a month for the coming summer.
                What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio? 
                It really depends what kind of mood you are in, but it is hard to beat playing live and sharing your music in that form, and its a great feeling when people appreciate your music. I think the reason I keep writing and performing is because of the people who listen and enjoy your music.
                  What are some artists/bands that you're into at the moment? Or any particular song you find yourself listening to over and over? 
                  At the moment and has been for a while I have been listing to Ben Howard, his music is packed with soul and has so much feeling to it I can relate to, my favourite of his would have to be "old pine". I am also actually enjoying our own song "cabin in the woods" which is kind of weird as i don't usually listen to my own stuff over and over, which makes me more excited to share it ha.
                    Any embarrassing on stage moments you'd like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy. 
                    We were playing a festival down south over the summer, I had my capo on the wrong fret on my guitar so I was in the wrong key, I start the song, so when the drums brought the bass and guitar in we were all in the wrong key, so we basically had to stop, very embarrassing , but we laughed it off eventually. I think we were hungover so thats our excuse.
                      What's one thing people should know about you? 
                      Related to music?? ah I think it would be cool if people knew all my songs were pretty much just life experiences and real feelings, theres no made up stuff, I just sing about me really. 
                        What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity? 
                        I am a very creative person so I have to be creating, unfortunately music here in New Zealand doesn't really pay the bills quite yet. I have a business building tiny homes on wheels, so basically a fully self sufficient home, that can easily be moved. We have actually gained a lot of fans through our business as well haha. But yeah a really creative job helps keep me satisfied.
                          What do you like the most about Radio Airplay? 
                          The thing I like most about Radio Airplay is the fact it exposes your music all over the world, it has been cool seeing where you listeners and fans come from.