Philpot

Philpot

Philpot sprouted from a flower shop in Dugger, Indiana (pop. 955), a town without a stoplight. In this blink-and-you'll-miss-it rural setting a couple of hours southwest of Indianapolis, Philpot front man Kentz Ward toils by day among the blossoms and, by night, is joined by his five band mates, who grow their, by turns, rocking, bluesy, and emotive music inside the musical laboratory of the shop.

Hard rocking but melodic, Philpot is anchored by Caleb Smith and Josh Kennedy’s deeply layered wall of guitars, AJ Boone's ambient keyboards, and the propulsive rhythm section of Arthur Ready and Tyler Evans. Kentz Ward’s growling vocals -- and brooding, pugilistic (yet hopeful) -- lyrics complete the tapestry.

Philpot first shook up the music scene in late 2004, with a head turning 3 AM set in front of celebs at a ritzy New York City night club owned by the members of Velvet Revolver and Fuel. The show created a buzz in the New York City media. Equal parts eagerness, confidence, naïveté -- and balls -- compelled the band to drive uninvited to Manhattan that night in the pouring rain and demand the owners give them the stage

A great New York story, especially for rocker wannabes from the boroughs, but Philpot (then teens) had come 800 miles from rural Indiana; a place checkered with farms and abandoned coal mines.

Since forming in 2000 on the way home from a concert, Philpot has recorded three albums. The latest, Hate Writes Better Than Love, (Toucan Cove /Universal Records) speaks well to Philpot’s musical evolution. HWBTL is a distinct amalgamation of the band’s roots, influences and unbridled talent, one that unleashes itself full throttle in their epic four hours shows in Indiana.

The story behind the new record fits this homespun American story like a glove. In 2006, a Los Angeles A&R executive from Toucan Cove journeyed the southeastern Indiana back roads to a Philpot show at the Ooodle Inn in Switz City, a gin mill/roadhouse worthy of a Tarantino film. Barely detectable on a GPS, the motto at the Oodle is “Walk In, Waddle Out.” Philpot stumbled out that night with a record deal.

This band has balls, and the musical prowess to back that up. Together they have penned nearly 200 songs in the flower shop. 2007 has seen them perform with Snoop Dogg, Kings of Leon, The Sick Puppies, Days of the New, and Seven Mary Three. Television appearances include CBS News. NBC News, Fox TV, and PBS. Their music is featured on The Speed Channel (Fox/NASCAR). NFL.com, The N (MTV Networks), and ESPN.

Hate Writes Better Than Love, was produced by Bill Klatt (Days of the New, QOTSA, Sneaker Pimps) with Philpot singer Kentz Ward. In late 2007, with typical DIY/Indiana bravado, the band sent an MP3 of “Girls Don’t Know” to the UK, and BBC Bristol threw it on the air immediately.

On its My Space page, Philpot has accumulated more than half a million plays. There the band asks its fans “Are You Ready For The Revolution”. Are you? Listen.

All Music Guide
On Hate Writes Better Than Love, the young Indiana band Philpot muscle through full-bore, no-frills, gut-punch rock, full of snarling guitars and singer Kentz Ward's raspy, classic rock howl. This is tough and moody music with clotted walls of guitars that sometimes brings to mind Oasis' young and hungry debut, Definitely Maybe (the Oasis of "Rock 'N' Roll Star"). Philpot have a real knack for the rawer and blunter side of things, such as the skuzzy, down-and-dirty "Mean Mean Mean" and the grand, rolling pummel of "Got It In," which tips into early Soundgarden territory with its edgy bombast. Another highlight is the nasty scrum "Evil Has a Face," with Ward snapping off the words in a jagged whine that more than a little recalls Liam Gallagher himself. And that's the rub with Philpot: their strength is dirty, pugilistic, melodic rock. They slide backward when they aspire into other reaches, such as the awkwardly verbose socio-political statement "This Nation's Sun," which bounces along on a ska-like riff and poses the dusty lyric "Tell me what we're fighting for." The navel-gazing ballad "Fall" also comes off a bit clichéd in a self-consciously "power ballad" manner. But those are minor transgressions in an album full of muscular guitars, strong vocals and the kind of straight-ahead rock attack that has practically become a lost art. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide

www.fracturedsounds.com (Australia)
By Adam Walsh
During the 1990's there were any number of bands re-inventing the way we hear rock n roll and using a number of past inspirations to create their own unique brand. But as the first decade of the twenty-first century draws to a close, it is already clear that this has become the anti-genre generation. No band wants to label themselves as any one type of rock. There are even a number of different titles for what I can see as being the same genre (Goth, Emo, etc...). But so far, the beauty of this genera