Phylis Renee Marconi
Phylis Renee Marconi has been singing almost all of her life. Starting out early in her career with just her guitar, she has since woven through a long thread of bands. She reaches many different audiences due to her church singing as well as her pop/rock singing. Phylis’s style has been categorized as bluesy/rock/roots sometimes Americana. When fronting her own band, Phyl ‘n the Cracks a.k.a. Phylodendron, she was featured on radio personality Jonathon Brandmeier’s morning show on WLUP-FM. She has since been featured on other Chicago radio programs including "Local Color" on WJJG-AM, "I Do, I Do" on WCKG-FM , a Singer Spotlight feature on WZRD-FM, Northeastern Illinois University Radio and also “Local Playground” on WMKB-FM. Phylis has showcased her music at many fine Chicago venues (Abbey Pub, Beat Kitchen, Fitzgerald's, Schuba's, Uncommon Ground). She has also been a guest on Muse, an arts program aired through Comcast in Chicago. She performed two songs from her first demo cd. That same cd earned a review from the Musesmuse songwriter’s cyber magazine and also a finalist placement in the Sennheiser’s Evolution Mics Band Contest in February of 2000. In summer 2001, a live performance of Phylis's "Meet Me At The Café" floated around in the top 200 (out of 10,000 songs) for several weeks at MP3.com. Her song "Meet Me At The Café" was also included on a compilation disc distributed at the Midwest Music Summit held in Indianapolis, IN in summer 2001 and Phylis performed at the summit in summer 2002. Her cd "I’ll Find My Way" is being distributed at some Barnes & Noble and Borders locations as well online at CDBaby, Tower, iTunes and Rhapsody (to name a few) . In January 2002, "Make Your Path" co-written by Phylis made it to semi-finalist status in the Chick Singer Night National Song Competition. You'll find the latest review of Phylis’s cd "I'll Find My Way" at ChicagoGigs.com. In April 2002 & October 2003 and May 2006, Phylis was featured in several local editions of The Star Newspaper and The Daily Southtown. Since debuting in June 2003, Phylis is continuing to enjoy standing room success after assuming the role as co-producer and co-host of Singer Spotlight Unplugged, an acoustic showcase featuring four singer-songwriters held the last Thursday of every month at Chicago’s Uncommon Ground. In October 2003, Phylis performed an original song at Teacherpalooza sponsored by Washington Mutual that was held at Grant Park in Chicago. She competed for and walked away with a $15,000 grant for her local school district. Phylis performed at the MECA Music Conference in Chicago May 2004. She is an ASCAP member. March 2006, Phylis released her 2nd CD entitled "Let Me In' co-produced with Kraig McCreary (Jonathon Brandmeier, talented saught-after session player, Lucky Penny Studios) and mastered by Danny Leake (Stevie Wonder, Tome Waits, Ramsey Lewis, Janet Jackson). In just its first release months, it has gotten favorable reviews, radio play as well as a runner up ranking in VH1's song of the year monthly contest. She continues to write, perform, co-produce her showcase and record her own music. Check her out!!!