Glen Phillips

The relaxed, warm vocal style of Glen Phillips can be deceptive. It allows him to tell stories of human depravity, evoking the darkest depths of human emotion, while still pleasing the ear. His innovative folk-rock songwriting was honed during his tenure as frontman for the critically acclaimed Toad the Wet Sprocket. The group was best known for its ambitious, reflective pop songs, particularly such album tracks as "Hold Her Down," which revealed that Phillips and company were perfectly capable of capturing stark images and commenting on the less savory aspects of our society. As a writer of remarkably perceptive music since starting his old band at the age of fourteen, Phillips continued after the 1998 breakup of Toad with a string of solo albums. These days, he performs almost entirely alone on stage, and, shorn of all other contrivances, his work takes on the intimate character that has always best suited his open-hearted tales of life's rich pageantry.