I'm excited to share my song "Evenflow" has been utilised for a new kiwi movie…
Mr Phil – R.I.P
This week we said goodbye to Phil Cummings – I called him Mr Phil. He passed away doing what he loved, paddling his kayak on a beautiful winters day. It was glassy calm and I know he would have been smiling from ear to ear. He had a heart condition and sometimes these things happen and we will never know all the answers.
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He met me several years ago, he was very broken and had lost his confidence. He recently lost his wife to cancer, and had moved to Nelson for a fresh start. He took up guitar lessons with me and we got on really well. He was like a grandfather or father figure to me and drove all the way from Wakefield to guitar lessons every Wednesday. I would cook us dinner and there was always lots of laughter.
In 6 months I tricked him in to singing a song at a local open mic night. He did great, then burst into tears once we’d finished. He asked to record a song in my studio.
Here’s the song we made in the studio. It’s all his guitar and vocals. He even played the guitar solo! I played it at the funeral and sang along with him with the coffin within arms reach. It was a truely special moment.
Phil joined me on stage a few times at various events and this gave him a fresh confidence to start writing his own song. Here is the recording. It was a draft, and I’ve done some edits.
He was loved by many and will be greatly missed. Thanks for reading, and I am thrilled to share his recordings with you all. He would have loved knowing that.