Entertainment - Entertainment News

POSTED: Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Artist profile: Phil Heaven

Phil Heaven, 40, grew up in Ferndale. As a sound engineer, he's run live music for the Kulshan Chorus since 1994, which is where he met Dean and Dudley Evenson, co-owners of Soundings of the Planet, a Bellingham-based recording studio and distribution company, where he works. He's also a violinist and violist who's performed with Lydia McCauley's band since 1997. McCauley's band performs under its new name, Geoffrey's Nephew, at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center in Fairhaven.

Question: Where did you learn your craft as a sound engineer?

Answer: I went to college at Case Western Reserve University where I got a bachelor's degree in music with an emphasis in audio recording technology. CWRU was at the time one of the few schools that offered a joint music and audio engineering degree. The thought behind the program was that most of the audio engineers in the world were electrical engineers with an interest in music, and that it might make more sense to have a musician with an interest in technology/engineering. The concept fit me like a glove.

Q: What do you do at Soundings of the Planet?

A: It's a small company, and as such I am involved in a little bit of everything; artist royalties, licensing contracts and digital distribution. I've worked on CD (both as engineer and performer) as well as DVD projects, and even been doing some of the bookkeeping this year.

Q: What are some of the music projects you've been involved with?

A: Burke Mulvany was the musician that started my non-classical performing career. Together with Bob Paltrow and Jason Darling we started a band called AKARAKA. It was the first time I had to figure out what to play with no printed music in front of me. I was taught violin using the Suzuki Method, which includes a lot of listening to recordings of the music being learned.

Lydia McCauley was my next band. Her songwriting really speaks to me, and I feel her style brings out the best of my playing as well. I've recorded, mixed, or mastered most of her albums (and of course performed on them). After that was Cedar Moon, an eco-rock band, with Craig Olsen. He inspired me to get my five-string electric violin, in part because it was hard to get my acoustic instrument loud enough!

I'm currently still playing with Lydia, and Millie and the Mentshn, a klezmerish kind of band. This year I've also run sound and recorded several episodes of the Chuckanut Radio Hour.

Most of the recording I've done has been for the Soundings of the Planet catalog, though I have done CD projects for locals Anna Schaad, Dana Lyons, Tim McHugh and the Lost Poets, as well as for Lydia and for Millie and the Mentshn.

So far in my musical career I've identified myself as an embellisher of music rather than a creator, so I really appreciate being around those for whom song writing seems to come so naturally.

Q: What's Lydia's band all about?

A: When I first started playing with Lydia, most of the music was inspired by Celtic, medieval and Appalachian genres. We played music written wholly by her, as well as her unique adaptations of traditional melodies and ancient texts that she set to music. As we progressed we started playing more of Lydia's original music, and the music became more personal. This is when I really started feeling the shift in myself from playing music as a social activity to one of expression.

In 2008 Lydia released an all-acoustic, all-instrumental album called "Quieting," which was a bit of a change, requiring for me at least a new attention to the details of harmony and arranging. This year she is writing some faster-paced music and singing with a renewed kind of energy, and the band is now called Geoffrey's Nephew, named after an unfortunate fellow listed in the Magna Carta. Some of the new material has a bluegrass sound; some of it has a more slow-rock influence.

More than half of the songs we will perform at this concert are totally new. We have played music together for many years in various configurations, so are pretty easily able to come together as group. We enjoy each other's company and I think that comes through the performance.

We've toured south into California a couple times and try to put on a concert in Bellingham at least once a year. Lydia is currently in the process of lining up music events for next spring. We'll be in Seattle next May. Lydia will be giving a few concerts in India this winter. A new recording is in the works, and we hope to tour outside of the Northwest in the near future.

Q: What else is fun for you, besides music?

A: My wife Toby-Lyn and I like to take our dog Chubs (he's also the official greeter at the salon) camping in our little bio-diesel powered Winnebago. We've gone as far south as the Black Rock Desert in Nevada -- for Burning Man in 2007, without Chubs) but mostly just frequent the state parks in Washington. We have three nieces and three nephews that fortunately live near enough that we get to spend a lot of time with them. I think I'm known as the "fun and crazy uncle." For a while I was really into knitting - but haven't done much of that lately. In some ways I'm just a big kid. I enjoyed "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Harry Potter, the "Twilight" series, and for my 40th birthday I got a Wii video game system! Hour for hour though, I think snuggling up with my lovely wife is the best.

Q: What were your childhood dreams and aspirations?

A: As a child I liked sports, school; music was something I enjoyed - but perhaps more as a social outlet than as a creative expression. The social aspect of playing music is still a big part of why I perform - but I certainly get more out of it now than when I was a child. I at one point aspired to run track in the Olympics. I was good locally but got a dose of reality when I finished second to last at the nationals for the ARCO Jesse Owens games. As part of that experience I got to attend the '84 Olympics in Los Angeles and thoughts of competing at that level were put in perspective! I was also involved in drama in high school and I sang. I played the part of Albert in "Bye, Bye, Birdie" and Grandpa in "You Can't Take it With You."

Q: You also help out with your wife's business, right?

A: For my her salon, Sandalwood Salon and Spa (on the corner of Commercial and Magnolia) I help out as receptionist, janitor, handyman, computer tech-support, book-keeper; where ever I'm needed. Some people need to be taught to learn - but I've always been one to just figure things out. Maybe that's why my job(s) have become so multi-faceted.