[WM] Did you audition him?
I can remember this, Kevin left really abruptly, white tank top on, just sitting on the sidewalk.
like two days before a run of shows down the We were like, “Let’s just do another lap and
[Peter] The Newsboys were touring in New California coast. We had a guy play bass… we think about this.” (Laughs). So we picked him
Zealand, and Phil’s band opened up for us, did a show up in Victoria Island in Canada, a up. We had auditioned a bunch of guys and
they were called Drink Water (a three-piece well-known bass player in CCM, he played for they were awesome players but they just didn’t
rock band pretty well known in New Zealand). us and it just didn’t work. He was an incredible have what we were going for. There was one
And I actually didn’t watch them play, I went bass player and still is today and is a producer. guy in particular, I don’t remember his name but
down and got a coffee because I was just kind But it just didn’t work, he was really too good. he was an awesome player, an incredible singer,
of burnt out and been working hard. So, I got
sweet personality, but there was something
a coffee and was just waiting, but I walked up So at the next show we used our monitor guy, and everybody was pretty impressed with Phil he just came out and played, Marc Chevalier, and what they saw. We didn’t think much about and he played a couple shows. While that was So, when we got Phil, he shows up at rehearsal,
it then, but then Kevin left and we remembered all going on we called Phil. So he flew out from we’re in Los Angeles somewhere at a rehearsal
Phil. So we called up Phil and said, “Hey can New Zealand within a couple days notice. He hall. And he doesn’t know any of the parts,
you play bass?” And he said, “Yes”, so he lied traded somebody for a bass guitar and flew doesn’t know anything, but there was just
to us right from the beginning. (Laughing) out. Funny story, I remember when we were something about when he did lock in.
that wasn’t there.
driving around in the van in Los Angeles, we
[WM] What was he in the band, was he had a big show and we’re pulling around and There was something about his vocals,
playing guitar? there’s this New Zealander with long hippy obviously. I remember, I was like, “This is the
looking dreadlocked hair, he had these purple guy.” And the other guys were like, “Not this
sheepskin shorts down to his knees with a guy.” (Laughs). So the guy who was incredible,
[Peter] He was the guitarist and lead singer.
photo by Caleb Cook
January 2019
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