By: Lanny Stewart

myWestman.ca

Phil Neville, 55, a Neepawa product, is a long-time piano player and singer, who recently composed 10 cuts of music all by himself. He calls the recently released CD, “Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks”. It is the first CD Neville has ever produced. Neville was in charge of entertainment for this year's Lily Festival, which took place in July. He took time to talk to Lanny Stewart of myWestman.ca about his love for music and the time he spent in Mexico with his wife where they owned and operated a nightclub. Neville currently manages the restaurant at the Neepawa Golf and Country Club.

Hi Phil, thanks for taking the time to talk to myWestman.ca. First off, can you please fill the readers in on your musical background if you don't mind.

For sure, well, I started taking piano lessons when I was five years old. Then, when I became a teenager, bands were a big deal, so I ended up in Neepawa forming various little bands with several guys around town so I guess that's when I really started.

When did you begin to seriously consider becoming a musician?

I was on the road in my 20s, and I did a lot of playing across Canada. But it's pretty tough to be a professional musician because you don't make much money unless you're at the top of a very small percentile of the musician population. I learned quite a while ago, that I was never going to become a star, so it sort of became a passion. I also needed something to support the passion. So I've done all sorts of different careers but music has always been in the background.

Fill the readers in on the CD release. Why did you decided to release the CD and explain how you did this all by yourself?

The CD is called “Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks”. I've been writing music for years but I've never really had the wherewithal to go into a studio professionally. So for the last four or five years, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. I used what is called “virtual instruments” which are sampled and are actual instruments. For example, when you buy a “virtual trumpet”, it  is a trumpet and you play it via your keyboard through a computer. I collected various instruments. I purchased a drum package and I bought a base package and horns etc. I did that until I accumulated all the instruments that I would need if I were to put on a live concert and I spent the winter basically building all of the music, but playing it all by myself through the virtual instruments. It's always great to have real live people but if you can't afford real guys, this is a way to get the job done (laughing). The whole compact disc is me and the computer with the exception of some vocals. I got some people to do some back-up vocals for me.

Are you happy with the finished product?

I'm very happy with how it turned out. From now on, I hope to do something every two years or so. Now, that I have the accessibility to do that. It's an odd collection of material because it doesn't really have a style because it represents probably 30 years of experience. I've had all kinds of experiences during my time. There are pieces that are blues-y and you'll also have others that are ballads. They sound different because it's not a one-year project or a two-year project. It's over many years. Some of the material I wrote was from 25 years ago and my influences are much different than they are now. But I still wanted to lay all this music down on tracks.

Do you have a favourite song on the CD? What's the song about?

Yes. I'd have to say “Someone Singing”. It's a ballad. It's basically a tribute to music and what it can do for you and what it's done for me.

You left Neepawa right after high school and spent time in various cities across Canada. Why did you and your wife move to Mexico?

I guess there are various reasons. My wife and I both like the philosophy of the people in Mexico. We felt people were first in Mexico. Material things and money was second it seemed. The climate was also tremendous. We were away from winter and snow and all of that. But it was really the people and their outlook on life that really attracted us initially.

Did you move to Mexico for a business opportunity?

We went to Mexico and we wanted to do something but we weren't sure what. We kind of left it wide open. We became pretty close with a Mexican nationalist. We ended up starting a night club together. He had a restaurant background and I had an entertainment background. So we thought that if we put our collective experiences together, maybe we could make something happen. So we started a night club called “The Canucks” which ended up surviving seven-plus years and we attracted musicians from all over the world. It was a real good experience. I did a lot of playing there which helped get the business off the ground.

Who are some of the musicians that have influenced you during your musical career?

There's been lots of influences over the years. Not so much singers, but rather composers or pieces of music. I'm influenced quite a bit by Mark Knopfler, who's the guitar player for “Dire Straits”. I always thought he wrote some great stuff and of course, Paul McCartney.

I understand you were part of the Neepawa Lily Festival this year. How was that experience for you?

It was great. I did the booking for musical talents this year. I used my contacts to put together the show for Neepawa this year. The message that I got was that it was beginning to get a little tiresome and it was sort of the same thing all the time. So I wanted to put something together that was different and something for everybody. I tried to mix it up so that there was all different style of music.

You happy to be living in Neepawa again?

Neepawa has always been a place to come back to. Mexico is going through a tough time with its history of drug wars and stuff. We felt it was a good time to not be there for a while so we sold our business and Neeepawa was the logical choice to come back to.