Phil Lee John Sieger Bill Camplin Tom Mason Songwriting Song Clinic

Songs and talk about songs dominated a very entertaining evening as Cream City Music opened it’s doors to Phil Lee and special guest Bill Camplin in a clinic hosted by John Sieger. Joining the fun were Phil’s sideman, Tom Mason, who dusted off a few of his own gems, Jason Klagstad, who added his stellar Strat licks and Mike Sieger on bass and high harmony. The evening kicked off with Phil’s ode to himself, “The Mighty King Of Love,’ and proceeded along the lines of a classic Nashville (where Phil and Tom live) song-pull. Bill Camplin, a folk hero here in Wisconsin is the owner of a vibrant tenor and extracts a deep, baritone-ish sound from his Martin with his fingers. Sieger’s turns at the mic featured songs from his classic band Semi-Twang (who have recently reunited) and some others that have been covered by national artists. A little bit of music education was thrown in near the middle of the night, with a brief discussion of the Nashville number system, an invention of that city’s great session pickers that allows you to view a song in 11 keys simultaneously and also helps a writer step back and look at any song in a more detached manner. As informative as that was, it was obvious after about five minutes, that the crowd was there for music and they got it. More songs ensued, from happy to sad, fast to slow and when no more could be said, the evening ended with a little song and dance on Phil’s “Les Debris Il Son Blanc.” (The Trash It I White!) Phil, Tom and John resurrected a little known dance The Shadow Slide during the instrumental break. That took care of the better part of two hours and, quite honestly, it felt like it could have gone all night. If you are ever in the neighborhood when Cream City Music has a clinic, please stop in and join us, you’ll be glad you did.