Chats With Guitar Cats Podcast #56 PHIL BUCKLE | SOUTHERN SONS | JOHN FARNHAM

[@peternm]

Great interview Rick! I hassled my parents from age 5 for guitar lessons after watching Southern Sons on Rage. Later in life I became an audio engineer, and one of my favourite all time mix engineers is Michael Brauer. It was great to hear from Phil about these two important influences in my life from his perspective. Thank you so much!

[@mycavpups01]

Rewatched this today purely because I absolutely adore Phil Buckle and needed a pick me up. Hearing his stories all over again just makes me love his talent even more than I already do. I hope Phil continues to make music and share his beautiful talent with us for many more years to come 💕

[@helenpinchen4712]

I rewatch this to remind myself of the value of persevering and keeping on improving yourself and your work and it doesn’t matter what the work is. It’s also a good insight into the music industry. Lovely man and love his work. Custom Made on high rotation at my place.🌼

[@helenpinchen4712]

Loved hearing this interview. Have the album and it is amazing. Somebody to Rely On and To the Coast are my favourites.

[@glennSuperdude]

Took me a while but I finally made it through this marathon interview. Fantastic and insightful. I was at the first Southern Sons gig at The Grainstore, and every one for the residency after that. Miss that venue! Also remember heading down to Myer in Melbourne every day waiting for The State album to be released. Looking forward to interview #2

[@RickHollis]

I’m lining up some previous guests to come back for round two soon. I’ll get in touch with Phil to see if he’s keen for another chat. Thanks for watching :)

[@glennSuperdude]

@@RickHollis Sounds great Rick! Really appreciate the fantastic interviews you're putting together. Is Luke still on the cards?

[@timsimon8995]

That's cool. What memories. Ever check out Hans Valen?

[@nickangus3211]

One of your best so far Rick, what a genuinely insightful, humble virtuoso Phil is. I lapped up every second of everything he had to say, one of the finest guitarists and songwriters this country has produced.

[@RickHollis]

And a nice guy to chat to on top of all that. I’m glad I reached out to him

[@resonatorman]

Thanks Rick, this was great & big thanks to Phil for being so open & honest, truly refreshing to hear. I really love Phil's playing, songwriting & singing, that State album 'Elementary' was killer & very underrated. Can't wait for Phil's album to to drop, digging the new single, classy stuff! On another note when Phil was talking about a guitarist with the surname of Hinds referring to great guitar tone coming from the neck, this is another phenomenal & tasty player named Allen Hinds, solo & session artist & MI Instructor, he has a cool youtube channel, well worth checking out & hopefully a possible candidate for a future interview Rick? Cheers

[@johnfarnhamexperience]

Great vid Rick and thanks for bringing Phil to your catalogue of vids, as Phil doesn't get enough cred for his work in the music industry... I mean he's literally worked with the who's who of Aussie music... he's an amazing talent... as for 'Burn for you' his version is a masterpiece, and I'll prove it to you how awesome his version is. Later on down the track they released a trashy version for the United States, you can listen to it on John's Anthology 3 rarities album... and sorry but it's trash, it's like a piano synth version, but it just has nothing on the acoustic guitar version of Phils... I'd love to actually hear the story as to what happened there and why they had to change it so dramatically for the United States??? While America does some great things, they seriously got it wrong with that version of 'Burn For You', even with the magic of Johns voice couldn't save that version... anyway, that's my 2 cents worth... anyway, thanks for the interview with Phil... some amazing stories there...

[@RickHollis]

Thank you for watching. Phil has always been a monster player and songwriter in my book and a top guy to chat with on top of that.

[@davidpatten9109]

Great interview! Phil's album is what I'm really enjoying at the moment; it's up on TIDAL. Great playing and guitar tone, which comes as a refreshing relief from the typically distortion-saturated guitars (which I also love) on recordings everywhere else. Oddly, my other fave album at present is from another Aussie, Martha Marlow. Not that they have much in common, apart from showcasing genuine talent and musical honesty. (Gotta give Martha a plug; god knows, we need more real music to be made)

[@25dbz-ot9br]

Custom Made is an amazing work. It sounds like nothing else. It sounds better and better with repeated listens. It’s a rich, original piece of work. This music needs to be recognized as the genius stuff it is. It’s beyond its time.

[@timsimon8995]

This is so good. Never heard the origins of SS and Phil meeting Jack. So cool to finally know all of this.

[@mq5150]

Hey Rick. Another great interview. I know this one went for 3+ hours, but I could have easily listened to Phil for another 3 hours worth! Cheers Matt

[@RickHollis]

Thanks for sitting through it all Matt. Time goes quickly when you’re talking to someone Ike Phil.

[@steveSticksE]

I remember from Monday to Friday after school I used to hang out in the shop play some drums help out with cleaning with the staff !! It was the best music shop back then!! It was the shop that got my passion for drums !! Question how can I get a copy of the states demo tracks

[@mattrixx_audio]

Rick, I am still working through this 3 hours of absolute gold!! Thank you so much for this interview.

[@RickHollis]

Thanks for sitting though it all. Time went by really quickly talking to Phil. I thoroughly enjoyed it as it happened.

[@mattrixx_audio]

@@RickHollis Love it mate. It's a total journey. I forgot that I'd also worked for Hans Valen too. Just a whipper snapper on monitors. Such great times.

[@sirgarence]

I think Phil was talking about Helmut's Music on Maroondah Hwy in Ringwood, but I first became aware of his amazing talent when he was working at Fretted Instruments nearby. I bought my first guitar at Helmut's in 1986, and was served by the the recently-departed Wayne Monger, who was also a bit of a local guitar legend.

[@anthonyward8587]

I learned guitar from Phil in the '70s, @Helmuts; a terrific teacher and person.

[@paultighe1298]

Phil Buckle guitar legend love to see Jack Jones/Irwin play again together

[@steveSticksE]

Helmet music in Ringwood!! I meet Phil and Ross early 80.s to buy my 1st Pearl drumkit

[@glennSuperdude]

Call out the boys in blue! 🤣

[@steveSticksE]

And my brother got guitar lessons from Phil for few years too !!

[@alstrange6055]

👌🏻

[@SteveR5954]

Great interview Rick

[@RickHollis]

Thanks for watching, Steve.

[@SteveR5954]

@@RickHollis Phil and Jack... they were (and are still I'm sure) burning guitar players.

[@mattrixx_audio]

2:20 for my selfish self reference, this is amazing. For anyone else that just gets stuck!!

[@jamestejada3673]

Was Virgil Donati in Southern Sons?

[@RickHollis]

Yep

[@jamestejada3673]

Thought so.

[@matthewhinds8982]

"The Reason Why" (Then Again, John Farnham); Phil wrote the words, as Richard Marx, had to return to the USA. This song is my next song after "Burn For You"...

[@TheMotiveDJ]

Just for anyone trying to make sense of his "Burn For You" tutorial at the end, it's not in the key of E as he says. It's in the key of B major, it just starts on the 4th that's all. So those B flats he refers to are A sharps. Nothing unusual going on when you centre all these chords and inversions around the correct key signature.

[@mattrixx_audio]

Pihl, you are an absolute gentleman mate. I do have question about one of the songs on "The State" album and please forgive me if I have asked you this question before. (I might have asked when working with you guys on monitors, with Steve Scanlon out FOH with the Sons). In "Responsible"**(actually, it could be the delay effects in "That's not my life"), is there something in the chorus, that is maybe a backward vocal?? I'll have to pull the CD out of the shed. Anyway, loved listening and then loved working with you guys xx

[@mattrixx_audio]

Disclaimer - I think the first time I saw you guys play, was when you were doing a support for either BCO (who I went onto do FOH for) or the the Venetians (mixed by the RIP, I have so much respect for the opps you gave me, Aaron Chug) at the Colonades Tavern in Southern Adelaide. A great mate @Steve Kah, I was playing in a band with, said, you've got to try and get in (yes, I was underage). You guys blew my mind!!!!

[@philbuckle]

@@mattrixx_audio Hey Matt, thanks for all the kind words. I cannot recall any particular effects we used on The State album. I know I didn't have much in my rack at home but it is possible that when Doug Brady and Ross mastered the album that they might have added something. I remember the Foster 8 track sitting at the end of the SSL console in Studio 1 at Metropolis so I know we had seven tracks of guitars, bass and vocals and were probably running my SP12 drum machine via SMPTE from track 8. Given that those 7 tracks were coming back through the desk I guess some other FX could have been added! Adelaide was always a great audience for us! Great memories!

[@mattrixx_audio]

@@philbuckle cheers Phil. I used to love doing monitors for you guys (Sons) and I also did a few clinics with Virgil. Still can't get over how he'd just play along to the DATs with no click track. Just had to make it fairly loud in the drumroll LOL.

[@mattrixx_audio]

2:30 wow! yup.

[@Looshbaby]

Guitar and amp sound being directional, ha, so timely, as i am tweaking a new amp into a 4x12 cab, and that very thing you said keeps happening, it sounds good one minute, then awful if i move

[@raymond1064]

Phillip, keep challenging yourself like you did when you climbed the hydro tires to the top after a grass fire downtime in bloody Glenroy. It’s who you are.

[@JordyJayHomer]

Someone get Phil a Wikipedia page 😃👍