Album Notes

Inspired by Springsteen, U2, and Oasis, Phil has the energy of Bruce, the passion of Bono, and none of the attitude of Oasis' Gallagher brothers (well, usually...).

Like most kids, when Phil was in junior high school he ignored his mom when she encouraged him to take music lessons. Instead, the hard-working, dynamic singer/songwriter's music career began in college. Phil made a local name for himself creating, fronting, and engineering the Boston band Riverside Train, as well as through his solo acoustic performances.

While with his former band Riverside Train, Ayoub (pronounced A-yoob) amassed a solid, loyal fan base, with shows at some of the most well-known and popular Boston and New England live music venues.

When he eventually brought Riverside Train to its final stop, Ayoub walked away armed with experience, new friends, a growing mailing list of fans, and over 40 acoustic demo songs. He answered an ad online from a producer looking for new talent to work with and that producer turned out to be Tim Bradshaw. Bradshaw has been the keyboard and guitar player for David Gray since the late 1990's, including playing on Gray's breakthrough record White Ladder and hit song "Babylon." Bradshaw liked Ayoub's demos and signed on to produce his solo record.

The result of the collaboration is Schoolbus Window Paper Heart, the debut disc from Phil Ayoub, which consists of 12 brand new tracks written or co-written by Ayoub. The record also features the drumming of Ed Toth, formerly of Vertical Horizon ("Everything You Want," "You're A God") and currently with the Doobie Brothers.