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628spotlightnj2_2025-06-28-09-19-58

This morning on Spotlight New Jersey, our de la Cruz sits down with a local singer and songwriter as he shares how he balances his craft with his career. My guest is Spencer Phillips, singer-songwriter who pretty much connects with Howell in Monmouth County and Metasquat, and you teach in Freehold. Yeah, I teach, uh, I substitute teach in the Freehold Regional District. Tell me about that. Do you enjoy it? I do enjoy it, yeah, um, I'd say when I first took the job I was worried about about how the kids would be, um, because everything. With the internet, it has taken such a prominent role in children's lives and everyone's lives, but it more so has uh an effect on people who are not yet grown and so I was worried about the way they would be just because of the things that I see online. Uh, but they're no different than I was, or maybe you were in high school. They're everyone's, they're a person, they're teenagers, you know, exactly, you said that who have hormones they're dealing with. What grades do you teach? Oh, all high school, all high school. OK, nice. You also are a musician. When did you discover that you had this passion, this gift? I, I actually Wrote songs as early as being in the 1st grade, um, but I couldn't play any instruments at the time it was just the lyric and the melody and there maybe 2 or 3 at that time and then. Much later I picked up the guitar when I was 15 years old, so that's 10 years ago now I picked up the guitar and uh just got. Just got to playing and learning songs that I loved and then writing songs myself was a natural progression from that I I just can't stop it's something that's a part of me I see that a part of you right there. Tell me about this guitar, this guitar I actually got this guitar, uh, on Long Island. Um, when I was going to see the Elvis movie, yeah, so I was going to see the Elvis movie and we were an hour early by mistake, so I just walked around town and. Uh, there was this shop where they kind of sell a little bit of everything like they had. Goldfish and snacks and then some more like maybe frozen foods, uh, water guns and toys and things they just had everything there eclectic, a very eclectic shop and uh they had some guitars and I just, you know, let me check this out and this one I was sort of drawn to and. It's actually broken, um, the neck. Is is very messed up but uh I had it sort of repaired by my buddy Ryan Thompson in Belmar uh who takes who takes care of a lot of people's guitars and is a very incredible bassist um and luthier.

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This weekend we are putting the spotlight on Spencer Phillip, singer-songwriter from Monmouth County. You were telling me about that guitar in the last segment. Tell me more. So this guitar, uh, I had never seen this. I don't know if they'll be able to see inside the guitar, but it says, uh, Jean Baptiste. Oh no, seriously, you know what that is? Wow, I'm thinking of the name of the performer. I don't know the performer, but I looked up, uh. About this guitar and it turns out that there was a luthier from France that has been a prominent luthier since the 1500s and the generations of the family eventually somebody moved to New York and that's where this guitar is from this is a. Descendant of a prominent French Luthor from the 1500s, so it has a it has a cool history and you could tell that whoever had this guitar before me really played it, um, with, with some big myths because I, I have a feeling that a very jazzy player had this guitar before me. You could see, see all the, the gunk that's sweat, you know, that's dirt. Oh yeah, how do you play it? I wanna see what you do with it. That is beautiful. something. Did you just come up with that? No, this is something I've been playing on this specific guitar for a while. Does it have a name, a working title? What you just played, uh, I guess the working title would be I don't wanna make it alone, um. Sort of a, a love song or like a a lack of love song it's uh something like something I I. Head up in a flurry now I'm climbing up to you. Where you greet me at the door, heaven knows I know it for. I know it's true. That is the time. I I know Just something like that. I haven't worked it out it's been years I've been playing that still haven't worked it out because you can't ever force it, you know, you just gotta let it the right thing come to you, the right words.

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Spencer, tell me all about these pictures. What are we looking at? Well, on the left there, that is the cover of my first single, uh, and the one on the right is my upcoming single. This is me playing with the Michael Weber show last summer. uh, that's me. I watched the sunrise over Mount Fuji. I took a trip to Japan that's me in New York. Um, that's me when I was in college and Syracuse was playing in a band I used to be in. Same band, same, same city. Tell me about some of these places where you do perform because you mentioned Japan, go ahead, uh, so I, after I finished my college education, uh, my undergrad. Uh, a while later, maybe like a year later, I ended up taking myself on a little trip to Japan around Thanksgiving time. Yeah, I wanted to go, um, and just see what it was like, and I played 3 gigs when I was there. And I had a great time. uh, I had this very reassuring moment when I was playing an original song there where, you know, like any other bar if you're playing a gig at a bar, people are gonna be talking over you, but I played one song where my vocals sort of like took over the room. And everybody stopped talking and they all tuned in with me and then I had them for the rest of the night, you know, are those the audiences that you enjoy being with a little audience? Yeah, I love an audience that's there to listen to the music and uh. To to get a picture of the artists and see what they're all about that's what I like to go enjoy as well and and that's who I am as an audience member, you know I I'm there for the music, not all the the frills surrounding the music. It's a one on one. You have a song bury me alive that I saw the description for it says an upbeat breakup with depression. Explain. Well, the song, the title is bury me alive, which sounds kind of morbid. Uh, but the lyric is actually I don't wanna stay believing in the things that buried me alive, uh, so it's just sort of about. Sayonara to. What gets you down, you know, um, and when things in life no longer. Serve you or no good for you, you know, it's totally OK to move on.

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So Spencer Phillips, singer songwriter with Knocking on your door. Beautiful song. Tell people what that's about. That song is almost like a prayer, um. Uh, so for the longest time I had, like I said before, sometimes I'll play the same thing for years without finishing it, so I had, here I am I'm knocking on your door. You told me you were at a crossroads when it comes to your music. Why is that? Because it's so gorgeous. Oh thank you. Uh, I mean plenty of people have incredible music. It's just breaking through is the hard part, um. It's unfortunately I feel like we live in a time where it's not about how good you are how meaningful the the thing you write is it's it's about if you're making enough noise uh or being controversial enough to break through the algorithm. Yeah, but I love music that touches my heart, my soul this is your passion, right? And if it's your passion, I wanna feel it, and that comes through in your music. Thank you. So what do you want to do with it? What would you like to see and where would you like to go with your music? I mean, ideally I would love to perform. I love performing. Um, but I, I don't think. I would deal well being somebody in the public eye, uh, so best case scenario for me is to have a a small audience that I can perform. You know, nationwide or maybe in a few countries too, uh, and otherwise write songs for other people would be great. So you wanna be an artist versus a star? Yeah, no need to be a star. uh I just wanna play music and if I could make a living doing it, that'd be wonderful. I, I'll play music regardless, but if I can make a living doing it, that's a cherry on top, you know.

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So if you're going to go and pray. Keep A in the things that you say. And if you need me, I'll be there, I'll be everywhere. And I won't disappear. And if you need to Get away. I'll be standing beside with my. Yeah Get away but you can't. Always. On me You can always Please count on me to stay. When On When you feel in what's lost. So if you need me, I'll be there, I'll be everywhere. And I won't disappear. And if you need to Get away. I'll be standing. On with my Get away You Always. To stay You can. Oh No way You Always count on me to stay.

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Spencer Philip joined News 12’s Della Crews to discuss his work and the inspiration behind it.

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