Meet Phil Swann | Composer, songwriter, and author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Phil Swann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phil, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
It’s been said those who pursue a career in the creative arts do so because it’s our calling. I used to believe that, but I have a different take on it these days. I don’t think it’s so much a calling as it is a personality trait. I believe we folks who choose this wacky, and often ridiculous, life, do so largely because our personalities don’t easily fit anywhere else in civilized society. I don’t think I’m breaking news here pointing out we can be a rather eccentric lot at times. Seriously though, I’ve found people who work in the creative arts tend to see the world differently. We’re in it, but not of it, as it were. Creative folk have this weird ability to stand on the outside of life and examine it, while at the same time swim deeply in the sheer madness and mess of it all. It’s quite the paradox, but people who work in the arts, more often than not, are adept at doing it. At least, that’s been my experience. I think that’s why we choose this life. It fits us. We’re comfortable in it. At least I am…or as comfortable as I ever am anywhere.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Wow, that’s quite the question. Well, let’s see, I was born and raised in a small town in West Virginia. As a kid, I could play the piano and sing better than anyone else in town, especially for my age. So, after high school, I moved to New York City, knowing fame and fortune awaited. I quickly faced the harsh reality that not only was I not the best, I was barely average.

I enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where I was naive, socially awkward, and light years behind the other students when it came to being anything close to cultured. I was the definition of a country bumpkin. But, I could play the piano and sing, so I was able to make friends and support myself by booking gigs in little restaurants and taverns around the city. It was around this time I started taking songwriting seriously.

After New York, I went on the road, where I spent most of the 80’s playing in rock ‘n roll bands and living the “Almost Famous” life. I moved to LA toward the end of the decade, and started gigging and doing recording sessions around town.

In 1991, I sighed my first songwriting deal with a publisher. It wasn’t for much money, but I was being paid to write songs, so I thought it was awesome. Also, around this time, Nashville started exploding in pop music. The songs I wrote weren’t conventional country songs, but they fit well into the new genre, so I started getting the attention of Music Row. Over the next twenty-five years or so, I bounced between Nashville and LA, writing a bazillion songs and producing recordings. It was an exhilarating, creatively rewarding, and downright exhausting period of my life. For about twenty-five years there, I didn’t sleep much.

It was somewhere around 2003, I think it was, when my good friend, and Second City legend, Ron West, asked me if I’d be interested in writing a musical with him. Ron and I had been friends for a number of years and I thought it’d be fun. We wrote “The People vs Friar Laurence, the Man Who Killed Romeo and Juliet.” It ran here in LA, and then moved to Chicago where it had a great run at The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. It’s since played in a number of other cities. The show was successful beyond what Ron or I ever could have imagined. We’ve gone on to write ten other shows together including DeLearious, and Neil Simon’s Musical Fools. That turned out to be Mr. Simon’s last show, and it’s the great honor of a lifetime to have my name on a piece of published work next to Ron West and Mr. Neil Simon.

I also composed the music for a show that ran in New York City called “Play It Cool.” It was a personal thrill for me to be working on a big, lavish production in a theatre on 42nd Street, a stones-throw away from the little Hell’s Kitchen rattrap I once called home. Life’s a funny old dog.

About ten years ago, I started writing mystery novels. It began as something I would do to relax while working on music projects, but now it’s become more of a side career. My first book, “The Mozart Conspiracy,” is also published in Italy under the title” Il Codice Amadeus.” I’ve written seven other novels including a series called “The Sideman Mysteries.” I just released my fifth book in that series. They’re fun, little, mystery thrillers, set against a music canvas. The Sideman Mysteries take place in Las Vegas in the 1960s. They are a blast to write, and I’m very proud to be a published author.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, of course, there are some legendary dining spots in LA where we’d have to have dinner; like Davenports, Nobu, Musso and Franks, The Smoke House, etc. But I’d also want to take them to the Aroma Café in Studio City for brunch, and visit one or two mom and pop diners—I’m a big mom and pop diner guy. My favorite is VIPs in Tarzana. I’d introduce them to the food trucks parked down around the Peterson automotive museum—which I’d take them to, as well the Getty, the Huntington, and my personal favorite museum, the Norton Simon. There’s great theatre in LA—both big and small—so we’d take in a show. We’d have a few espresso martinis somewhere on the beach, of course, and if they’re a friend of mine, they probably play golf, so we’d hit the links a couple of times. Probably play Debell or Wilson Harding, or we’d make the trek down to Fullerton and I’d let them experience the special hell that is Coyote Hills Golf Course.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so may people who deserve credit for any success I’ve enjoyed. Off the top of my head, I’d have to start with my parents, Lewis and Nancy Swann. My good friend and first publisher, Steve Bloch. All the musicians, songwriters, and other creative types I’ve worked with over the years who taught me how to be better at what I do. And, finally, my wife Amanda. She should be the first person on the list. Without her unwavering love, belief, and support all these years, I can’t image where I’d be. In the tall grass, that’s for sure.

Website: https://www.philswann.com

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Image Credits
Headshots by Andy Marx
All others by Amanda Swann