Today we interviewed Philip Shouse – guitarist of Accept and bassist of Ace Frehley band.
Photo credit: Joe Schaeffer
Shannon Wilk – I wanted to start by asking, how did you get your start in music?
Philip Shouse – “Being a fan goes back to when I was probably 3 or 4 years old with my brother’s record collection. The first instrument I played was his drum set, then I went to saxophone, then I picked up guitar and then bass out of necessity. I think I was about 12 when I started playing guitar. As far as professionally, I started playing in bands and I was trying to do things in a lot of places but when I got to Nashville is when things started happening.”
Shannon – You are the bassist for Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley. What is the most memorable moment you have from touring with them?
Philip Shouse – “Aw man, probably the first show we did with Gene Simmons when Ace came and played a few songs with us. That was fun. It was in the fall of 2018 in a big baseball stadium. The Australia and Japan shows with Gene were really great too.”
Shannon – Before we get into talking about your new EP, I wanted to ask what your goal was when you started Thee Rock N’ Roll Residency?
Philip Shouse – “We didn’t have one, actually. It’s funny that it went on for so long. We had originally planned for one month – April of 2014. That was all it was supposed to be. Jeremy (Asbrock) asked if I had time in April to do the shows and I said yes. People kept coming to the shows and it started getting some press. So we thought it wasn’t the best idea to stop it right when it started getting some traction. Our only goal was to do a month of shows playing songs we love with our friends.”
Shannon – As I mentioned, you have released a brand new EP with Thee Rock N’ Roll Residency. What about that EP are you most proud of?
Philip Shouse – “That’s it’s out laughs. We finished it about 3 years ago. So I’m just glad it’s out and no longer sitting in my Dropbox folder. It was done in pieces and now it’s finally published.”
Shannon – Are you happy with the reception from fans?
Philip Shouse – “Yeah! Everybody who’s heard it seems to like it. I think it will be added to streaming platforms very soon.”
Shannon – What made you guys decide to open the album with an instrumental track?
Philip Shouse – “It just seemed like an us thing to do. It was also our first single. I made a lyric video for it too which is funny because it’s an instrumental song. We knew we weren’t going to make a million dollars, we probably aren’t going to make $100 on it. So we weren’t thinking about what was going to make the most money. Because it’s Jeremy and I, we’re not known for being lead singers, we’re known for being guitar players so we thought it would make sense if we released the instrumental song first.”
Shannon – I like that. It’s a bold choice.
Philip Shouse – “Thanks. It didn’t seem like something everyone would do so we did it.”
Shannon – You and the other members of Thee Rock N’ Roll Residency have done a couple livestream concerts over the past few months. Do you think that is what the future of the music industry will look like?
Philip Shouse – “It seems like for the near future, yes. But I do think we will get back to playing shows again. I do think everything will go back closer to normal. I’m not sure how close to normal it will be but I like to be optimistic and think that it won’t be like this forever. However I do think it will be like this for the rest of 2020.”
Shannon – At the end of last year, you were asked to fill in for Uwe Lulis of Accept for a few dates while he recovered from surgery. After those shows, you were asked to be an official member of the band. What was that like for you?
Philip Shouse – “It was like ‘wow, okay.’ I actually wanted to do more work with them because I enjoyed what I had done when I filled in for a few shows. Then when they asked me to officially join I was like ‘of course, I’d love to’.”
Shannon – What do you most look forward to in the future with Accept?
Philip Shouse – “I’m really looking forward to the new record coming out because I play a few solos on it. I’m not sure when they plan to release it but it should be this year. I believe it is being mixed right now. It’s a great, great record. It’s very heavy and true to Accept.”
Shannon – Is there anything else you’d like to include?
Philip Shouse – “Right now Thee Rock N’ Roll Residency EP is available on Bandcamp and the Accept album is coming and Ace Frehley ‘Origins Vol. 2’ is coming. Jeremy Asbrock, Ryan Cook, and I are on a song on that record too. That’s coming out in September.”