Growing up in a musical household and exposed to his parents’ eclectic record collection that included the likes of Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder and Dire Straits, he was particularly drawn to the guitar – being taken by his parents to an Eric Clapton concert left the young Sayce awestruck and in no doubt about which was the instrument for him.
By the time he was 15 he was playing guitar in his first band; he was up and running. He soon became a regular fixture on the Toronto club scene, where his fluid soloing and mesmerising overall musicality turned heads an earned him many fans. With an insatiable appetite for jam sessions at the likes of Grossman's Tavern in Toronto, Sayce began rapidly distilling his own singular guitar style and tonal palette from a melting pot of influences that included such greats as Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Cray, and in particular Stevie Ray Vaughan, to whom he is, understandably, probably most often compared.
While still a teenager, Sayce was held in such high regard that, after jamming on stage with one of his heroes, guitar player and fellow Canadian Jeff Healey, he was invited to join Healey’s band. Sayce was now living the dream. He can still remember the first time he heard Healey – and the effect it had: “It was in a supermarket car park. I was 11 and my parents had gone into the store. This song, See The Light, came on and I was just overwhelmed. I literally punched the radio.”
After three-and-a-half years with Healey’s band, playing with them at the Montreux Jazz Festival and at gigs around the world, Sayce, the apprentice having learned well from the master, felt it was time to move on.
Looking to further expand his musical horizons, in 2001 he moved to Los Angeles. He joined Uncle Kracker, and was with the band when they had their massive US No.1 hit song Drift Away. He starred in and wrote the music for the short film Cockroach Blue, directed by the award-winning Robert Crossman, which received high acclaim when it was shown at the Woodstock Film Festival. Then, in 2003, Grammy and Oscar winner Melissa Etheridge came calling (“very talented – like Stevie Ray Vaughan,” she enthused), and he enjoyed an “awesome” time playing and recording with her band until 2008.
During his stint with Melissa, Sayce released his debut solo album, Peace Machine, using what he describes as Etheridge’s “shit-hot” band and producer Michael Nielsen. Recorded live in the studio in just a couple of days, it’s full of raw, high-energy, low-maintenance retro-blues delivered with startling punch and real style, and showcases Sayce as a soulful, powerfully expressive vocalist as well as a supremely talented guitarist and all-round musician. The album also includes a crunching version of the Neil Young classic Cinnamon Girl, the song often a resonant inclusion in Sayce’s thrilling live shows.
And live is where Sayce, his jam-club years in his pocket, shines brightest, he and his band performing with a potent mixture of power and finesse, the guitarist regularly pulling the trigger and unleashing visceral, mesmerising solos. And while they’re checking out the hot licks, it’s clear that many of the girls in the audience are equally taken by the good-looking guy with the swept-back blond hair and charisma to spare. If you’ve got it…
May 2010 saw the release of, INNEREVOLUTION, recorded with his live band - keyboardist Fred Mandel (Queen, Supertramp, Elton John, Alice Cooper), bassist Joel Gottschalk and drummer Ryan MacMillan (Matchbox 20). This collection of songs, some co-written with Richard Marx, busbee, Mike Bradford, Dave Cobb and Marti Frederiksen among others, further establishes Philip Sayce not only as one of the finest blues guitarists around, but also as a musician, singer and songwriter with tremendous talent and potential.
“Richard came out to a show and we immediately hit it off,” Sayce explains of how he came to write with Richard Marx. “He's a massive talent and to have the opportunity to collaborate and learn from him is something I am grateful for. Anyone I collaborate or co-write with, the goal is to be open and learn, and I've been blessed to work with some of the best of the best.”
More varied than Peace Machine, and overall more sophisticated and more polished in terms of songwriting, sonics and performance, Innerevoltuion is a stylish, engaging and thrilling album that should bring Philip Sayce to the attention of a bigger and wider audience.
With Peace Machine, Innerevolution, Ruby Electric, Silver Wheel Of Stars, and Steamroller, Philip Sayce continues to write his own chapter in the long and continuing history of popular music. And it’s clear that this gifted young musician has many more pages yet to write.
Peace Machine
Philip Sayce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Night falls, night hides, mars greets the war widows
Mother earth wipes the tears from her eyes
Father time drowns his grief in the tides
Children pray politicians do right, and dream
To ride the peace machine
War hates, war lies, hades feasts on souls tonight
Mother earth wipes the tears from her eyes
Father time drowns his grief in the tides
Children pray politicians do right, and dream
To ride the peace machine
The lyrics of Philip Sayce's "Peace Machine" speak to the power of unity, hope, and the collective human desire for peace. Sayce paints a picture of the world as caught in a chaotic and destructive cycle of war and violence, with the light of the sun and the darkness of the night serving as symbols of the conflicting forces at play. In the face of this violence and suffering, however, the chorus brings forth a vision of a "peace machine"- a force that could restore order, bring people together across borders and differences, and reign in the destructive impulses that threaten us all.
The imagery of the lyrics is both striking and poignant- Mother Earth wiping the tears from her eyes and Father Time drowning his grief in the tides lend a sense of cosmic and ageless struggle to the human quest for peace. The invocation of a peace pipe, a symbol of unity and reconciliation in some Indigenous traditions, and the mention of "billion friends beyond the sky" suggest that the song speaks to a universal yearning for peace that transcends cultural or national boundaries. Ultimately, the song calls on listeners to hold hope close, to dream of and work towards a better, more peaceful world.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunrise, sunshines, chaos bleeds the world below
Amidst the start of another day, the chaos of the world spills blood on the ground below.
Night falls, night hides, mars greets the war widows
As darkness creeps in, it conceals the horrors of war that greet the widows of the fallen soldiers.
Mother earth wipes the tears from her eyes
The planet mourns for the damage inflicted on it and tries to cope by wiping its tears.
Father time drowns his grief in the tides
Time helps heal the sorrows of the world by washing them away in the tides of life.
Children pray politicians do right, and dream
The young generation hopes that politicians lead the world towards the right path, and they dream of a better future for all.
To ride the peace machine
The only hope for healing the wounds of war and violence is to embrace the concept of a 'peace machine' which propagates love, harmony, and tranquility.
Peace pipe, peace child, a billion friends beyond the sky
Amidst the world's conflicts, the concept of peace through unity is embraced, with infinite friendly souls beyond the skies.
War hates, war lies, hades feasts on souls tonight
In war, hatred and deceit run rampant, and the god of the underworld celebrates the multi-faceted loss of souls in the violence.
Contributed by Arianna L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Steph
on Give Me Time
Well I had a similar experience but I was in grad school. My parents thought they were doing me a favor by setting me up with a guy my own dads age. Turns out he has tons of issues. Falls for everyone hes with extremely fast, and super creepy!! Wont leave me alone!! Nightmare!