Grant Lee Phillips spins 'Eighties' music to his own taste

BY TIM SHELLBERG

Times Correspondent

When songsmith Grant Lee Phillips made his way to Los Angeles in the mid-80s, the lines were clearly drawn, for better or for worse, in its music community.

"You had the bands that were very flammable, with all the hairspray, and then you had those out there that were putting out these great records seemingly on their own," he said. "And to me, the guys that were doing it on their own were really making music for the art of it, and that to me was what was very exiting, and I followed that."

Scheduled to perform Tuesday and Wednesday at Schubas on Chicago's North Side, the northern California-reared songwriter and performer first rose to prominence in the '90s as the leader of the alt rock outfit Grant Lee Buffalo, which released a quartet of critically heralded albums before calling it a day in 1999.

Phillips struck out on his own a year later, releasing his solo debut, "Ladies Love Oracle." Along with releasing acclaimed works such as 2001's "Mobilize" and 2004's "Virginia Creeper," Phillips' cult grew as a result of frequent appearances as the town troubadour on the long-running "Gilmore Girls."

Phillips' latest collection, "Nineteeneighties," is a tribute to some of the artists that inspired him to become a songwriter and performer. Sticking solely to the album's title decade, Phillips covers acclaimed, but largely overlooked at the time pre-alt bands such as R.E.M. ("So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"), the Smiths ("Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me") and the Pixies ("Wave of Mutilation").

"All of these songs had a big influence on me in various ways," he said. "I came to L.A. when I was 19, and my head was kind of way open (for music). I was quite the sponge for everything that I could devour. And luckily for me, I chose some pretty interesting music. The mainstream radio wasn't adventurous enough for me."

But while paying homage to his masters, Phillips, on "Eighties," doesn't play strictly by the originals' books. Here, Phillips spins these now-classics into a dreamy sonicscape and changes a line or two to suit his interpretation.

"These songs are in my blood and in my memory banks, but I did take a few liberties with a few chords and with maybe a few lyrics," he said. "That's how we do it around the campfire."

Despite the recent release of "Eighties," Phillips is already deep into his next set, his first collection of new material since "Creeper." If all goes well, Phillips' fifth full-length set could grace record store racks early next year.

Phillips also expects to be back on set when "Gilmore Girls" reconvenes for its seventh and rumored final season. He had a larger-than-usual role on the show's season finale in May, when his character was chosen to open for a Neil Young show and other real-life rockers, including Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo, who make their way to the "Girls'" town to get attention as well.

"Having Sonic Youth there was kind of a stranger than fiction thing," he said.

"I talked to (Sonic Youth frontman) Thurston Moore and they actually went on tour with Neil Young once."

onstage

Grant Lee Phillips

When: 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday (21-and-over show)

Where: Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave., Chicago

Cost: $15 advance, $18 at the door

FYI: (773) 525-2508 or www.schubas.com