High Roller

I knew of Phil Gammage from a sort of CD EP that I got many years ago called The Electric Radio Sampler Music Test, I believe in a grab-bag package from Bomp! Records.  Two of the songs from Cry of the City, “The Stranger” and “High Roller” were on that record that I immediately took to – slice-of-life stories that were well written and backed by a strong rock band.  His vocals are a little idiosyncratic – he doesn’t have a trained voice and has some trouble with high notes, but he packs a lot of emotion into his music.  It never occurred to me that Phil Gammage might be someone who had fallen so completely through the cracks. 

(March 2015)