Phylis Renee Marconi: News

Last night's show at UG was incredible. The audience was receptive. Brandon , our mild mannered humble soundman was on the performance bill .... He really wowed the crowd with his one man band performance. He can really handle the guitar and any toy that you can plug into it so well....very smooth vocals too!! Kelsey Montanez...I think our youngest performer to date...was just as wonderful.... very talented songwriter and mature singing style beyond her years... Mike Reeb brought his amiable songs to the table as always that evening and gave us a familiar Beatle lead in to one of his original tunes...very nice...Steph Rogers serenaded us with her sweet sounding pipes... and encouraged a jam at the end of the show.... what a delight!!!!

Wow. Here it is the last week of November. It's more than a little chilly with the fallen leaves and snow flurries....but it is amazing how there are still red blooms in the hanging planter out front.
There is a lot to be thankful for.....mostly for the experiences and opportunities and support I've had this year... so great. Happy TG to all!!

Hey all...you know I never keep up with this page...
But I thought I'd write about the fun weekend I had. I had the honor of opening for Heartsfield this past Saturday night (11-10-07) at the legendary FitzGeralds Night Club in Berwyn. Heartsfield.....Man they can sure jam a rocking hoe down!!! That band is a wall of guitar power!!!
I was their special guest and opened with my little ole guitar!!! I opened for an audience waiting for a rockin' country hoe down... ha ha ha!!!

It was great fun.... the sound was great...Mike Sharp did a great job.
Thanks to the fans that came to support me that night. Also thanks to the many friends and fans of Heartsfield that I met...who shared some truly sincere and nice comments with me.
A real fun night.
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Sunday 11/11/07
I had the incredible privilege of being a guest on Chicago Acoustic Underground. We recorded this show to podcast soon. Michael Teach interviewed me...we talked about some music experiences...life experiences and we had some heartfelt laughs. I even got to play a handful of songs from my latest CD.

I'll let you know when it gets posted.
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It was a really "hearty" weekend!!!
Get It?? ;-)
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HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!!!!!

HEY>>>I'll be crooning (ha ha) for the first time at the WHOLE FOODS MARKET in their indoor/outdoor cafe in Willowbrook on Friday 6-29-07 as well as performing at the Geneva Borders in the coming weeks. They will be solo shows. I'll be performing songs from both of my cds and doing a few fun covers that YOU love....even trying some oldie but goodies folkie covers that you may remember!!!....I hope I remember them!!!!:) My cds will be available at all shows. PLEEEEEEASE...come on out..the more the merrier....if you've been at the Borders shows lately...we (all of you and I)can get kind of silly...and have some fun!!!

AND DON'T FORGET......I'll also be performing and hosting Singer Spotlight Unplugged at the ambient Uncommon Ground on July 26 near Wrigley..in the big windy city!!!!. :) HOPE TO SEE YOU AT A SHOW OR TWO!!

As you can tell........I'm not very good with adding daily entries....I usually put current happenings on my home page.
The Martini Lounge show @ Angelino's last night was a blast. We'll be doing a few more shows there soon.

THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME OUT FOR THE CD RELEASE PARTY SOUTH!!! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN TO SEE OLD AND NEW FRIENDS AND FANS. WE'LL DO IT AGAIN SOMETIME SOON!!!

I guess I've been having fun!!! I haven't written in a long while. I've been busy....releasing a CD!!! I've actually been updating on the homepage. I am still very excited about it!!!The cd release party was a blast. I am planning more cd release parties...one south of the city and one north of the city in the coming months. Thanks to all who made it out to Fitzgerald's. The band was incredible. Kraig sitting in playing guitar and singing backup with the Singer Spotlight Band made the evening even sweeter!!! Great Fun and music!
Speaking of selling this new CD, I noticed that the CDbaby page seems to be down today.... I hope the problem is fixed soon!!!
The cd will also be available at Amazon.com as well. I need to move those CDs!!!!:)

I can cross Bette Midler's "The Rose" movie off my gift list. Now that leaves "School Of Rock" and a few other fun ones!! Only now I need a dvd player......
Geez, I need to get into this century!!!!
It's a miracle that I even went digital with my recording and not analog!!!! Bundle up my sweeties, it is cold outside!!!:)

Man..... I was in my pajamas until 4 pm today........... AWESOME!!!!!

So here it is...we've finished the first week of 2006! How was it for you? Have you gotten started on those resolutions?! Well this week I finished the final mixes of the songs for the new cd. They're off being mastered as I write this..... looking forward to getting things finished....
Speaking of getting things finished.....how about those Christmas decorations.....have you gotten them down yet? I haven't! I'm working on it though! It breaks my heart to have to drag my Christmas tree out to the curb tomorrow...when it is still sucking up 2 quarts of water a day!!! :) more later!!!!

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you've gotten everything you've hoped for!! It has been a hectic but enjoyable month finishing up a few of my gigs for the year and also getting the honor of singing for the Christmas tree lighting in my hometown....it was cool fun being part of the festivities...and it was very cool..cold...like 10 degrees outside...I almost lost my toes...and I was wearing 2 pairs of socks!!!The next few weeks I will be devoting to the final preparations for the new cd. Happy New Year !!!

Yesterday's session was fun. I worked on a new song. I actually wrote the chorus or hook a few years ago.... and wrote several sets of verses this year....and kind of plugged the ones in that fit. The hook is really pop....it's almost...well...dare I say...bubble gum....
That was confirmed when my 11 year old twin nieces grooved to it... Oh well, Disney here I come!!! Phyl gets the cash song!!!! I'll take it!!!

Today's session with genius Kraig went great. The angel song is really shaping up. Kraig tried to put some kind of out of this world sound effects in the intro but we just couldn't find the right one. So we decided to add some electric guitar instead. He added these cool little guitar riffs at the end of the song and crashing chords in the bridge. Don't worry though...it still sounds angelic!!!

Why even bother raking leaves when I notice the big tree in my front yard is still full of golden leaves within its branches ready to go!!! Aaaah , fall is in full swing!!
Last night's show was fun.
Borders are interesting. It is kind of like performing in a library with refreshments. I actually tried out a few songs for the first time in front of an audience. Something interesting happened, one of the songs called "Guardian Angel, Can You Hear Me"...after I opened my second set with it......A white feather floated down and landed right on my niece and fan club president Annie Baldwin's table, right in her notebook! Wow, I guess those angels are listening!!! Tomorrow, back to the studio to put some finishing touches on Angel!! I will hopefully put a clip up soon. More later.

I had a great session with Kraig today. He said I made him really work today...because I picked a difficult guitar chord!! Woo Hoo..my guitar skills must be improving...either that...or maybe I totally don't have a clue!!!! Anyway, we laid down a new song that I feel really good about. We put down the main frame of it...and he did a quick mix of it.....I've brought a copy home to study...the homework is to make it better. Hopefully I will be inspired this week to help the tune evolve into something awesome!! Wish me luck!!! (I hope someone is reading this out there to wish me luck!!!) I almost missed this session..... I missed the exit from the interstate.... One of the radio stations was doing a John Lennon tribute because it's the anniversary of his birthday. He would've been 65. That's unbelievable! Anyway...while driving along....I guess I got carried away in the Hey Jude song and before I knew it..."hey I think that was my exit"!!!! :)

Last night's show at the Borders in LaGrange was very interesting. Just getting there in time with rain and traffic was challenging. When I arrived, it was a different time warp...no rain...
It was the PA part that wasn't good. Which part? The part that it didn't work part! It was distorted and pretty much fried!!! It was probably from some heavy metal book signing from the night before!!! I brought my own cords and mic...but it didn't remedy the situation any. Well...what did I do? I truly UNPLUGGED it! You also never know what audience response you will get when you share your own stories at shows....I met someone who responded to my Cat Stevens dialogue by telling me that he actually knows Cat (Mr. Cat to me...I'm not that close to Mr. Stevens!) on a friendly basis, which was very cool. It was a great night of fun! LaGrange rocks!!!
This weekend...back to the studio for me. I'll be recording a brand new song I've been working on ....hopefully it will evolve even more by the time I get there!!! Wish me luck!!!

Last Friday was a riot. A pleasant enough crowd.... I performed at the Borders in lovely DeKalb, IL....corn county. I had a 3 year old rivaling me for the audience's attention. Her name was Idia (i-dee-uh)She was quite precious. She was dancing to my songs....as well as singing her own made up songs....WHILE I WAS SINGING!!! She offered me a tic-tac...and kept checking in between my songs whether I had eaten it or not. I was distracted as well as amused by her talent!!!
She asked me when I would be back at that store and then she invited me to her birthday party! I tell you, I do get invited to all the high end parties.....well with being in show business and all!!!

Yesterday was a really full day. I spent most of it in the studio, putting some finishing touches on one of my songs. It's kind of a softer song, where I get to use some of my higher range and prettier tones. This cd will definitely be different from my first one.
Kraig is great in the studio. Even when he rewinds my voice...and it makes Linda Blair..you know possessed kind of sounds....He always chuckles at my tired "Paul is dead...or Paul was the walrus" comments!!! Now, you have to know Beatle trivia to understand that statement!
Last night I had the honor of being on the guest list for Seven Day Run's DVD release party at Martyr's over on Lincoln Ave. (in Chicago)! Some of their DVD footage was filmed at the Singer Spotlight Unplugged Showcase @ Uncommon Ground that I happen to co-produce and co-host. And I do get mentioned on the footage. How cool is that? It was a great show. SDR is an awesome acoustic contemporary sounding group..kind of like Dave Matthews meets BoDeans and gets wrapped up in Hootie & The Blowfish! Yeah just like that. You should check them out!

Oh, yes. I received a critique back in the mail today of some of my newest material, which I am really liking by the way!!
#79 really was polite and tried hard not to hurt my feelings....He or she was quite complimentary..mostly...
"There is no denying your ability as a songwriter and performer"
-Thanks bud!!!-
"Your lyrics aren't personal enough"
-Personally, I feel if I would write too specifically or about a detail that only applied to myself, then a listener would have a harder time relating to it. Art means different things to different people. I feel that if you keep your lyrics open enough, a wider range of listeners would be able to apply and find a message for themselves.-
-And that's my critique of #79's critique!!!!-

Well, here I am making my first journal entry on my new site. It's not as hard as I thought it would be. Summer is winding down and it has been a great one! Not only did I strike out on my own doing many solo shows but I have also spent the greater part of summer in the studio with Kraig McCreary working on songs for my 2nd cd. I have had great opportunity in getting to collaborate with some talented players as well as lyricists. More later.