UKE OF PHILLIPS & ERIN TOBEY - "Live On The Phone" - Tape - 2005

     Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved the sound of AM radio, lo-fi recordings and the way that music sounds over the phone through those tinny speakers. Put me in a tour van driving through the middle of the US at 2 am and I will guarantee that the radio will be tuned in to Coast To Coast AM. If that's not available, I'll be scanning the AM radio stations anyway. I also love it when any band has a sample of music being played over an answering machine. Once, an old friend called my house when she was at an X show and held the phone by her side for most of the show. My friends and I put it on speaker-phone and danced in my bedroom. It sounded amazing. So, imagine my delight when I stumbled across the radio show, "Phoning It In", which is comprised entirely of musicians calling in to the radio show and playing their songs over the phone!  

   The radio show ran from 2005-2011 and featured artists ranging from DANIEL JOHNSTON to DANIEL HIGGS to BILLY CHILDISH to SARAH DOUGHER to JULIE DOIRON to USAISAMONSTER to everything in between. Their archive is insane and impressive (and can be found here)(and here's another link)

   This tape compiles two separate 2005 performances by ERIN TOBEY and UKE OF PHILLIPS. Erin plays her otherworldly, nimble-fingered songs over a land line from the back room of a now-defunct punk warehouse called The Ark in Gainesville, FL (Fun Fact: A fitness club has now opened up in that warehouse that once hosted so many punk shows and debaucherous parties. That club is called...wait for it...The Ark). The tinny sound of the phone gives her songs a beautiful, faraway feel that is warm and enveloping. You can find more music by Erin here and a lot of her fantastic art here. 

   UKE OF PHILLIPS phone in from tour during a stop at MARS in Missoula, MT. They alternate between their gutter country/folky songs and just being totally "out there". On this recording, the group consists of Dan Beckman, Matt Beckman and A.M.O.S. Shit gets really weird at some points. It's cool. You can find way more stuff by UKE right here and you can find newer stuff here. Keep up with their rare appearances on their blog.

    Not so fun fact: When I went to digitize this tape, I accidentally put it in the wrong deck and the stereo immediately chewed up the analog tape and mangled it beyond all repair. I just looked at it helplessly and then just nailed the damn thing to my wall. Erin Tobey was nice enough to email over the tracks of both artists for you to enjoy in the digital realm. So, thanks Erin!

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