Michael Patrick Phelan
Owego, New York, United States
Music
Press
Most recently, Michael was selected to be a featured artist on “Narrative Music” (www.narrativemusic.ca), a website that features “songwriters that tell great stories” from around the world. They wrote of Michael: “You genuinely walk in Frank and Tony’s footsteps and we are honored to feature you.” - www.narrativemusic.ca
XM Channel 15 "The Village" has now added Michael's song "Canada" to their play rotation (track no. 3 from his EP: In the Meantime). Michael's songs: "No Turning Back" and "Canada" were featured on The Village's "Slipped Disc" program in September, 2007, hosted by renowned folk singer Christine Lavin and XM producer Bill Kates.
“He’s one of these guys who’s in his twenties, like Michael Buble and Tony DeSare, who are really fine, fine musicians and songwriters, and also cover lots of standards…a one-man cabaret wave in Binghamton. I think he’s really got wide appeal.”
- Christine Lavin (reknowned folk artists / co-host)
“Some really nice stuff…he deserves to be heard.”
- Bill Kates (producer / co-host)
- XM 15 - "Slipped Discs" program
MPP was a featured guest / performer on Joey Reynolds (“The Seinfeld of Radio) Show (WOR710 - NYC) in Nov / 07. Guest Co-host was famed mentalist “The Amazing Kreskin” )aka George Kresge Jr). Michael performed his song “Canada” on the show with a live interview following.
Quotes:
“That’s A Great Song--Makes me wanna put on my maple leaf underwear…a phenomenal cabaret entertainer.”
--Joey Reynolds (host)
“I really love that—such a tribute to Canada. You have a long future ahead of you. He’s got a very gentle quality about him and I’ll tell you that there’s something romantic about listening to him. The way you dress and the way you look and the movement of your head when you’re singing is very enchanting. I’m serious.”
-- The Amazing Kreskin (guest co-host)
- Joey Reynolds / WOR710 - NYC
Michael Patrick Phelan's songs were featured on “Art A La Carte” in October 2007. Produced and hosted by Sam Goodyear, the weekly show is a “cultural round-up” of local events. Airs on WZOZ 103.1 Oneonta.
Quotes:
“Great music…a very talented young man.”
“I can attest to the fact that it (the Stella Luna show) is going to be good.”
"I think you have a blockbuster career ahead of you."
-- all from Sam Goodyear (host) - 103.1 Oneonta - Sam Goodyear
Tracie Coleman is a morning host for WSRK Mix 103.9 (Oneonta, NY), with the CNY Radio Group. She had MPP on her show in promotion for his first area appearance in Otober 2007. Her comment on his EP, "In the Meantime": "Probably the best unsolicited submission we've gotten, and we get a lot. A great, full sound." - WSRK Mix 103.9 - Oneonta, NY - Oct / 07
MPP was featured on NYC's WFUV (90.5 FM) "City Folk Sunday Breakfast" in February of 2008, a weekly radio show featuring "the singers and songwriters you know and love plus a good dose of up-and-coming artist surprises." His original song, "No Turning Back" was in a playlist of songs performed (and often written by) MUSICIANS WHO HAVE APPEARED AT BIRDLAND'S WEEKLY 'CAST PARTY' HOSTED BY JIM CARUSO. He was honored to be sandwiched in between two excellent performers: Fiona Apple's sister, Maude Maggart and Harry Chapin's brother, Tom. Said guest host Christine Lavin: "He's come from the world of the American songbook, but he's also a songwriter. He's got a really big audience in Binghamton, NY. A fine pianist, really wonderful songwriter, and he also happens to be handsome. I predict he's gonna have a really wide audience all over the country."
- WFUV - 90.5 (NYC)
If you have stopped by the lounge at Number 5 on a Wednesday night or at Lampy's in Endicott on a Thursday night, you have probably heard the dulcet tones of Michael Phelan, the 26-year-old transplant from Ontario, singing jazz standards as he accompanies himself on the electronic keyboard.
The keyboard doesn't do the man justice. He should be sitting behind a big, gorgeous piano, but space doesn't allow it.
When I first entered Lampy's I thought I was hearing a recording of some new jazz vocalist--the next male version of Diana Krall or Jane Monheit. But there was Phelan, in the back corner of the bar, playing with feeling and a remarkably welcome, restrained touch. I got to the lounge (you can't here him well in the dining room) just in time for my favorite Rodgers and Hart tune, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." It's also a favorite of Phelan's. In fact they all are.
"There's something about that old stuff that I absolutely love," said Phelan, who just graduated from acting school in Canada and decided to follow his father and move to Binghamton. "I love writing my own stuff, but I feel like there is such a richness to these old standards and they are so appropriate to right now."
Amen to that.
Phelan eventually wants to make his way to New York City; singing jazz standards here wasn't his first choice.
"There wasn't much in terms of acting in this area, so I decided to kind of start this thing up," he said of singing, something he has "dabbled" in. "The door was open so I decided to walk through it."
But for now, he is content to spread the beauty of the classics.
"I love to see older people there hearing my stuff, but I love to see younger people too, because I feel that there is so much junk out there for young people to listen to," he said. I feel like this is something different: I want people to hear these songs. I don't want them to go away.
And they probably won't. As for the people, when they hear him, chances are they won't either.
-- Sarah D'Esti Miller, Arts Critic
Press & Sun Bulletin, Binghamton, New York - Press & Sun Bulletin, Binghamton, NY, December 11, 2004
Originals show how Phelan
has risen above the pack
By Chris Kocher
ckocher@pressconnects.com
Press & Sun-Bulletin, May 10/07
CD REVIEW: Michael Patrick Phelan,
“In The Meantime”
For a couple of years now,
Binghamton pianist Michael
Patrick Phelan has been entertaining
local audiences with
his mix of originals and standards
from the
Great
American
Songbook.
On his new
six-song EP, “In The
Meantime,” Phelan shares
some of those self-penned
tunes, and listeners will be
pleased to know that all of
them retain that sitting-at-thebar
intimacy they’ve grown to
love. Spare but effective
arrangements put his deft piano
melodies out front, with
other instruments (guitar, cello
and drums) clearly in supporting
roles. Phelan’s
smooth-as-silk vocals invoke
both Broadway’s best as well
as classic crooners such as
Mel Torme and Tony Bennett,
while treading a new path of
his own.
The EP’s opening track, “In
the Meantime Blues,” shuffles
along as Phelan pines for love
in up-tempo couplets that
promise the most romantic
evening ever — if only that
special someone can be found.
Let’s just say he’s quite a
sweet talker.
“No Turning Back,” with its
heartbeat rhythm and heartfelt
cello accompaniment, is reminiscent
of fellow pianist
Joshua Kadison and other
singer/songwriters who use
average folks as characters in
their songs. Instead of focusing
on vapid party girls in
skimpy hip-huggers, the stories
are for adults — those
who do their best to juggle
jobs, marriages and kids.
The theme of “No Turning
Back” — that life’s choices can
lead both to regret and hope
— segues well into “Canada,”
where Phelan is reflective
about his own move from
Canada to New York. A trip
back to Ontario triggers waves
of nostalgia, but ultimately
Phelan seems to think he’s on
the right road.
The kiss-off tune “Sorry,
Charlie” swings like something
right out of the Rat Pack
era, and it’s easy to imagine
Frank Sinatra wrapping his
pipes around smart-aleck
lyrics like this: “I put up with
lyin’ and your cheatin’ spree /
Convinced myself it wasn’t
you, it was me / But when I finally
could admit we were
through / Oh, life got better,
baby, without you.”
Tender ballads “A Love
Song” and “Safe” round out
the set — and if you haven’t
embraced Phelan’s charms by
then, these may clinch the
deal. It’s clear he’s risen above
the “lounge singer” stereotype
to offer some solid additions
to the jazz-pop genre — and
it’ll be intriguing to see where
this journey takes him.
- Press & Sun Bulletin, Binghamton, NY.
Discography
Michael Patrick Phelan has recently completed recording his debut EP: "In the Meantime." This six- track cd was professionally recorded and produced at Bear Swamp Studios, Chenango, NY. It is now available to buy at all of MPP's gigs, on itunes, and online through CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com/mpphelan) The tracks are also available for download through MPP's myspace: www.myspace.com/michaelpatrickphelan. His song, "In the Meantime Blues," is featured on the Millenium Music
Conference's 2007 compilation album (disc 2:track 11) Michael Patrick Phelan also has demo-quality recordings of other orignal songs. Tracks are available for listening on his website: www.michaelpatrickphelan.com.
Photos
Bio
After hearing him live on an nyc radio show the Amazing Kreskin, world reknowned mentalist said: "He’s got a very gentle quality about him...there’s something romantic about listening to him. You've got a long future ahead of you."
In September of 2007 reknowned folk singer Christine Lavin introduced the sounds of Michael Patrick Phelan to the airwaves on XM 15 The Village's "Slipped Discs" program. Commenting on MPP she said: "“He’s one of these guys who’s in his twenties, like Michael Buble and Tony DeSare, who are really fine, fine musicians and songwriters, and also cover lots of standards…I think he’s really got wide appeal.” XM Producer Bill Kates echoed her enthusiasm: "Really nice stuff...He needs to be heard." Shortly after the program's airing, two of Phelan's songs were added to rotation on XM 15 alongside songs by folk icons such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell. Michael was also thrilled to be invited to join the legendary Ms. Lavin as a surprise guest on one of her tour stops in April 08 in Elmira, NY. The audience was equally as enthusiastic.
While his vocal style has drawn comparisons to jazz greats, Michael's songs and the themes they explore share more common ground with folk-pop icons James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. He has found inspiration in recent years from fellow singer/songwriter/pianists Bruce Hornsby, Marc Cohn, and Sarah McLachlan, to name a few.
In his own words:
Comments Mike on his music: “While the day-to-day struggles of normal people (myself included) may not seem overly dramatic, I think they are very real, and important, and need to be written and sung about. More than anything, I want people to feel that someone is telling their story; that they are understood, and that they are not alone.” His songs, while written from a personal perspective, touch on universal themes: love, loneliness, growing up, family, and the many ups and downs of living day to day. Many listeners often comment that while they had never met Michael prior to seeing him perform, they felt as though he had written the songs specifically for them; that he transported them to a time and place vividly painted by his storytelling.
Background:
Born and raised in Brockville, Ontario, Canada on the shores of his beloved St. Lawrence River, he began playing the piano at 5 years old and studied classically for twenty years. After hearing Michael perform his song "Canada" on his NYC radio show, host Joey Reynolds commented: "It makes me wanna put on my maple leaf underwear."
An avid singer as well, his vocal training ranged from school choirs and theatrical productions to studies and performances with renowned opera singers. A graduate of the prestigious bachelor of fine arts acting program at the University of Windsor (Canada), in May 2005, Michael has been involved in many aspects of the performing arts. While in university, he found himself moving away musically from his classically-based training and embracing a more stripped-down style that borrowed from the worlds of pop and folk with tinges of jazz. Making the move to Binghamton, New York post-College (he’s a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S.A.), he made the risky decision to put his acting career on hold and focus on what had been a side gig for many years: his music. It paid off. Michael has enchanted thousands now with his popular originals and his warm, soulful renditions of classic songs.
In December of 2006 Michael embarked on a new phase of his music career: writing, arranging, performing and producing an EP of original material with the help of seasoned record producer, Kenny Belanger, through his studio, Bear Swamp Records, near Binghamton, New York. In addition to Michael (vocals/keyboards) and Kenny (guitar/bass), local musicians Doug Laura (drums/percussion) and Sara Wolfe (cello), lent their talents to the recording. The echoes of Michael Patrick Phelan’s musical influences and inspirations can be heard in his writing, from Mozart to Gershwin to Randy Newman to Damien Rice.
The EP, titled In The Meantime is now available on itunes and through CD Baby.com as well as at Barnes & Noble Booksellers and at all of Mike’s gigs.
Accomplishments:
Michael was selected to showcase at the 2007 Millennium Music Conference (www.MMC11.com) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The event featured a diverse roster of artists from all over the world. In addition, Michael’s song, “In the Meantime Blues,” was featured on the MMC11 2007 compilation album. Michael was also selected to be a featured artist on “Narrative Music” (www.narrativemusic.ca), a website that features “songwriters that tell great stories” from around the world. They wrote of Michael: “You genuinely walk in Frank and Tony’s footsteps and we are honored to feature you.” He was selected to showcase at NYC’s M.E.A.N.Y. Fest in October of 2007. Most recently, he was selected by a panel of judges as a winner of the
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