BRAD PHILLIPS
RIDELLA’S CAVE - The Liberty Street Sessions

Produced by Brad Phillips

All tracks composed, performed and recorded by Brad Phillips at Ridella’s Cave Studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the Spring of 2019.

Copyright 2019 Brad Phillips Music LLC. All rights reserved.

Recorded and mixed by Brad Phillips
Mastered by Eric Wojahn at Solid Sound in Ann Arbor, MI
Photography by Amanda Mae Lauchu at Amanda Mae Photography
Graphic Design by Paul Stroili at Touchstone Graphic Design
Packaging and duplication by World Class Tapes

Brad Phillips plays a 2003 David Van Zandt violin, made in Seattle, Washington.
His bow was made by Doulgas Raguse of Traverse City, Michigan.
He plays Northfield mandolins from Marshall, Michigan and Martin guitars.

www.bradphillipsmusic.com

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The Story of Ridella’s Cave

“Don’t show them. Let them see it.” -Jeff Daniels

This album happened by accident.

In the early spring of 2019, I began the process of designing sound for a production of the play ALL MY SONS by Arthur Miller at the Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, MI where I serve as a Resident Artist. Being a musician, sound design jobs are an opportunity to compose original music in addition to any sound effects required in the show. Good plays, like ALL MY SONS, are almost always drenched in inspirational waters. Early in the production, I came to my studio on Liberty Street in Ann Arbor to start organizing my thoughts for the play. I spent a long time warming up on the violin, meditated for a while, and set up my recording gear with the intention of capturing some improvised music for use in the show. A couple hours later, I had 14 original pieces of music on four different instruments that were more than presentable, and in the spirit of finally being okay with being seen as my own artist, I decided to release this music and share it with the world.

Through my work at Purple Rose, I have learned a great deal about creativity, the creative process, and what it means to be an artist. Most importantly, I’ve learned to “fire the judge,” believe that I am enough, to trust in my own artistic voice, to leap into the unknown and trust the process without looking for results. The process of creating this music was entirely spiritual, removed from overly academic thinking. These 14 musical leaps were guided by the feelings and emotions that I had regarding the story of ALL MY SONS, the actors who played the characters, and the feel of the show as a whole. In a way, this music is a collaboration with the entire creative team for that particular production of that particular play, at that particular place and time.

The name “Ridella’s Cave” is from a journal entry from September, 2018. I was on tour with the band The Verve Pipe when I wrote in my journal that day. We were in the van, heading east on Interstate 10 near Brookeshire, Texas. We had been driving across the desert southwest for a couple days, heading from Phoenix to San Antonio. As I often did on this tour, I pulled my journal out of my backpack and started dumping my thoughts onto the page. I wrote “Free write. The Cave” at the top of the page, and without considering any intention or forcing any meaning, I began writing the story of a mysterious creative master who was walking with his young pupil, John, through a familiar forest -- a place in which John, an artist, found the energy and inspiration for his work.

At some point, I looked up from my journal and out the window at the passing west Texas terrain, and the name “Ridella” popped into my head. The name Ridella, has no meaning in and of itself. In the creative space of my free write flow, this completely arbitrary word became the name of John’s creative space -- the forest. The great master had been tutoring John on artistry and creativity all of his life and had now decided that it was time to show John where a deeper, more potent and meaningful truth dwelled within Ridella: Inside the cave, deep within the familiar forest.

Inside Ridella’s Cave lived John’s deepest emotions, most pure spirit, and his sometimes hidden or unacknowledged truths. These, the master said, would be where he would find the magic he seeks in his art. Here, in the cave, lies the source energy for his best work. All he had to do was have the courage to open the door to the cave, and take the leap into the darkness of his deepest, most truthful self, and trust that he could find the truth and authenticity he seeks for his life’s work. It’s a trust fall, backwards into the darkness, while having faith that you have what it takes to not only succeed, but thrive in the unknown.

This album is named as such because the story of Ridella’s Cave has become a symbol of my own creative and personal journey as an artist. The music on this album is sourced from the deepest, most honest, and truthful parts of my heart and soul that I can currently access. A place I never would have found if I didn’t study the art of theatre. Sometimes you have to take a leap into new, unexpected, unknown places to find what you’ve been looking for, let go, and trust the process.

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This album is dedicated to my Purple Rose family, especially the cast, and crew of WILLOW RUN, who have shown me how to dig deeper, be more truthful, and to believe in my artistry. It was within this truth and the newfound belief that I am enough, that I was able to allow this music to flow, and share it with the world.

This music represents a glimpse of what lies inside Ridella’s Cave in my own heart. May these fleeting moments of creativity find meaning in yours.

With unending gratitude,
Brad