Album Notes

Mark Henry Phillips was born on Sept 13, 1982 in Columbus, OH. He was almost called Hank after his deceased great-grandmother Helen, but instead was named after Captain Mark Phillips, master equestrian and member of British royalty. Mark began piano lessons with Lucy Chu at the budding age of 6. The versatile Chu taught Chinese cooking classes, sold her own line of very sharp knives and gave group piano lessons. Mark showed mild interest and talent but mostly enjoyed the briefcase he received to carry his various music books.

Six years later all that remained from the piano lessons was that briefcase which Mark now used to store pages cut out from Victoria's Secret catalogs. But that summer he made a mix tape taking a few songs from each of his dad's Beatles albums and he listened to it over and over while doing minor landscaping work on his grandparents' hilly lawn. By the end of the summer, at the age of 12, he bought his first guitar.

Though he wanted to play nothing but Beatles songs, he found them quite difficult and instead learned easier songs like "Big Gun" by AC/DC from "The Last Action Hero." By the age of 14 he could play many tunes by the Beatles and he bought a 4-track to imitate the songs with more psychedelic arrangements Ð his favorites of course.

After a couple bands, a couple solo albums and graduating high school early, Phillips moved to New York City in 1999. He immediately squeezed into various bands like Williamsburg noise-rock outfit Ghost Car Conductor. Mark continues to collaborate with various projects like the electronic musician Build Buildings and the folky Elvis Perkins.

In early 2004 Mark made his way to Cuba to study leftist politics and met Nick Kinsey and Brigham Brough who were studying jazz in the Havana's conservatory. Phillips brought along demos he had recorded in his bedroom and the three listened to them on the beach one afternoon. Upon their return to the states, Mark brought Kinsey and Brough into the studio to lay tracks on top of the demos with other friends like Anthony Pirog and Sam Champion's Jack Dolgen. The resulting album would be named I'm in August till July and was followed by tour in 2004 that brought Sono Oto to 12 cities. Highlights in Montreal, New York, and D.C. showed off the band's jazzy and psychedelic interpretation of their catchy pop tunes.

Now, Phillips is simultaneously working on two new albums, one in which each song is about a different variety of apple. He continues to score films from his Brooklyn studio. He spends many hours alone so please contact him so he feels less lonely.