Growing up, Phillip-Michael Scales had an uncle who played guitar for a living. He knew it was a big deal but didn’t understand the significance that his uncle’s name was B.B. King. Even though Phillip-Michael played guitar, he shied away from soloing and most things blues. Instead, he fell in love with songwriting when an English teacher told him “A great writer can make their reader identify with anyone.” The trouble was he couldn’t find his story in the blues.
Born with a fierce independent streak and a passion for performing, Scales fronted his own indie bands, wrote and recorded his own music, and worked to make a name for himself on his own terms. All the while, his uncle just smiled a knowing smile and encouraged him to “stay with it.” As Phillip-Michael began to discover “the blues” in his private and personal life, their relationship grew closer.
It wasn’t until his uncle passed away, that Scales began incorporating more of the blues into his music. “These days I’m finding more of my story in the blues. A lot has led me here between politics, my identity, and of course: Legacy.” The result is a sound he calls “Dive Bar Soul” which takes a bit of indie rock story telling and couples it with the passion of the blues.
In our interview, Scales, whose music was featured on episode 143 of Adobe & Teardrops, dishes on his new album and taking accountability as a singer-songwriter.
Explain the title of your album.
I picked the name “Sinner-Songwriter” because when I think of singer-songwriters, it’s always some person who’s been hurt singing about their feelings. I felt like taking some accountability for the situations I’ve found myself in and it just ends up being a little more fun. It tips its hat to the blues and it’s also a great play on words.
Does your album have an overarching theme?
I would say that the big themes from Sinner-Songwriter are heartache, race, and growth. There’s a level of self-awareness that I think is the through-line in my music.
Do you have any songwriting tips you can share?
Just start. Sometimes you’ve gotta get through bad verses and bad songs to get to good verses and good songs. I used to be so precious I would just avoid writing but I’ve found you gotta start because the bad idea could lead to the idea that leads to THE IDEA.
Do you have any go-to albums to listen to in the van?
I do a lot of solo touring and I gotta say that sometimes music doesn’t always make the time pass as quickly as I’d like so I listen to podcasts. Go to’s are: WTF with Marc Maron, Bodega Boys, Still Processing, and Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perrel.
Have you ever been given something remarkable by a fan?
I am a bit of a basketball fan, specifically, the Giannis Antetokounmpo/Milwaukee Bucks (for the past 3 years!), and a fan in Milwaukee met me at a coffee shop when I was on the road and gave me a signed Jersey by him! I was totally blown away. There’s a photo here.
Phillip-Michael Scales — Official, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter