Live Review
Philip Sayce Guitar Ace
In Melissa Etheridge Band on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show
Feb. 2, 2004
by Joe Curtis
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"Keeping the Blues Alive Award" Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by The Blues Foundation
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I had a rare and unique opportunity to see Toronto guitar ace Philip Sayce playing his heart and soul out, in Melissa Etheridge’s band on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, Mon. Feb. 2, 2004. Phil did a superb job as usual! This rare performance by Ms Etheridge and her band on Leno, helped publicize her exciting new CD, ‘Lucky’. Although not performing on ‘Lucky’, Sayce is now Melissa’s guitarist and tours with her extensively. Ms E couldn’t have made a better choice of guitarist in her band than Philip. He’s a top-notch player and one of the finest guitarists around. He follows in the footsteps of other Toronto guitar virtuosos such as Domenic Troiano (ex-Mandala/Guess Who/James Gang), Jeff Healey, and Tony Springer (ex-David Bowie).
Sayce has a long history of entertaining droves of fans in his hometown of Toronto. He got his start at Grossman’s Tavern -- ‘Toronto’s Home of the Blues’! He held down the fort at his popular weekly Tuesday night gig there for years. After attracting a loyal and appreciative fan base at Grossman’s, he moved ‘uptown’ to the now defunct Blues On Bellair, a posh blues club located in the former 60’s hippy enclave of Yorkville. Philip’s frequent appearances at Bellair -- sometimes with Bellair co-owner and ‘Toronto Sound’ B3 player Peter Jermyn sitting in – (Luke & the Apostles/MRQ) -- always ensured a packed house of appreciative Sayce fans. The same could be said of Phil’s appearances at the popular ‘Sir Frog’s’ and ‘Mad Hatter’ jams hosted by Jim Krueger in the Aurora/Newmarket area just north of Toronto. Wall-to-wall eyes oogled and oggled Phil’s guitar mastery at these events, backed by ex-Jeff Healey drummer Cassius Pereirra! It was understandable that a move to L.A. would attract a hugely popular artist like Melissa Etheridge to Phil’s guitar genius! Prior to being hired by her, he was star guitarist with L.A.-based/nationally touring Uncle Kracker! Ms Etheridge has made an excellent choice in Phil as her lead guitarist. You can’t get any better than Sayce! He is unique to say the least! His captivating guitar excellence speaks for itself!
Jay Leno introduced Melissa and her band in her Feb. 2/04 Tonight Show appearance, mentioning, “‘Lucky’ will be in stores Feb. 10th.” (The CD cover art is amazing – a 50’s rocket, spaceman, and horse in a soap bubble!) Melissa shone on acoustic guitar and vocals that night, singing her great new single, “Breath”. Besides plugging ‘Lucky’, she had a chance to show off her amazingly talented touring band! Phil as I said, was incredible on guitar … as usual! Melissa’s bassist Mark Brown was confident, relaxed and in the groove all the way! So was high-intensity drummer Kenny Aronoff who knocked ‘em dead on the skins! Melissa’s face was lit up like it was her birthday. She’s obviously very happy to musically ‘breath in’ her current rhythm section, and show off her new single. She sang her heart out, all-smiles, while playing some energized acoustic guitar rhythms. Sayce was wailing away on his Fender Strat as only he can – in his trademark ballistic way, complementing Melissa’s rhythms and lyrical rhymes perfectly! (At one point I could easily hear Sayce’s Hendrix-like licks, as Leno was coming back from a commercial break!) “Breath” ended with a rapid, scorching lead as only Phil can provide, jiving perfectly with Melissa’s vocals. Hopefully this magical, musical chemistry will fare well for Melissa’s current tour. Leno was impressed, as I’m sure most if not all viewers in the N.B.C. audience were too -- live and in the millions of homes Jay Leno’s highly entertaining Tonight Show is seen in the U.S.A. and Canada! I wish the best of luck to Phil – he certainly deserves it! The same goes for Ms Etheridge and her new ‘Lucky’ CD – especially now that Philip’s a part of her present musical success!
Check out Melissa Etheridge’s colorful website: www.melissaetheridge.com You can order ‘Lucky’ directly from her site, or through amazon.com It’s available in stores Feb. 10th.
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