{"id":23724,"date":"2025-08-07T01:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T01:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/?p=23724"},"modified":"2025-08-07T01:00:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T01:00:25","slug":"the-ego-is-quite-useless-in-a-writing-situation-i-just-ask-myself-what-does-this-song-want-deacon-blues-polymath-guitar-genius-gregor-philps-dissects-hi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/2025\/08\/07\/the-ego-is-quite-useless-in-a-writing-situation-i-just-ask-myself-what-does-this-song-want-deacon-blues-polymath-guitar-genius-gregor-philps-dissects-hi\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe ego is quite useless in a writing situation. I just ask myself, \u2018What does this song want?\u2019\u201d Deacon Blue\u2019s polymath guitar genius Gregor Philps dissects his six-string approach, and reveals his favorite Strat (clue: it isn\u2019t a Fender)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Like the weather in Scotland, the country\u2019s pop music often feels overcast with a chance of showers. \u201cThere\u2019s a slight doom and gloom element to Scottish music,\u201d guitarist Gregor Philp says with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s plaintive and yearning, but I think that\u2019s what gives it its emotional power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the past 17 years, Philp has played with venerable Glasgow band Deacon Blue, whose now-classic 1987 debut was called \u2013 appropriately \u2013 <em>Raintown<\/em>.<\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-base\" \/>\n<p>Nearly 40 years on, their 10th album, 2025\u2019s <em>The Great Western Road<\/em>, marked a return to the U.K. charts behind the single <em>Late \u201988<\/em>, which Philp co-wrote with singer Ricky Ross. Tucked in to the song\u2019s Philly soul-style grandeur, Philp\u2019s precise rhythmic attack propels the groove along.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-solid border-y border-neutral-300\"><span class=\"font-article-heading block pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333]\">You may like<\/span><\/aside>\n<p>Elsewhere on the new record, he displays kaleidoscopic tonal command, from the crisp, bluesy licks of \u201c<em>Underneath the Stars<\/em> to the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/pete-townshend\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/pete-townshend\">Pete Townshend<\/a>-esque acoustic rush of <em>Ashore<\/em> to the wah-wah strut of <em>Mid-Century Modern<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always aim to play what makes sense for the song,\u201d Philp says, \u201cand it hardly ever makes sense to do a lot of virtuoso stuff.\u201d Not that he can\u2019t do the virtuoso stuff.<\/p>\n<p>The son of musician parents, Philp started playing at age 10, inspired by everything from <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/beatles\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/beatles\">the Beatles<\/a> to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/genesis\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/genesis\">Genesis<\/a> to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/acdc\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/acdc\">AC\/DC<\/a>. By the time he was in bands in his twenties, he\u2019d expanded from guitar to drums, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/features\/best-bass-guitars-for-every-budget\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/features\/best-bass-guitars-for-every-budget\">bass<\/a> and keyboards. \u201cI had this sort of larger musical picture in my brain,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-video youtube-facade\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<div class=\"video-aspect-box\">\n<div class=\"watch-on-iframe-iewzh012viM\" data-yt-video-token=\"iewzh012viM\" title=\"Deacon Blue - The Great Western Road (Official Video) - YouTube\"><span class=\"youtube-video-title\">Deacon Blue &#8211; The Great Western Road (Official Video) &#8211; YouTube<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/iewzh012viM\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Deacon Blue - The Great Western Road (Official Video) - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"watch-on-youtube-iewzh012viM\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/iewzh012viM\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/iewzh012viM\" data-hl-processed=\"none\">Watch On <\/a><\/div>\n<p>That prepared him for years of working as a composer in film, TV and commercials. \u201cThe budgets were tight, and I had to learn to do everything from <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/jazz\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/tag\/jazz\">jazz<\/a> quartets to orchestral scores on my own,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p> {        window.reliablePageLoad.then(() =&gt; {            var componentContainer = document.querySelector(&#8220;#slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-BFDKNKvmJvhZ4Kg2Y5pF75&#8221;);            if (componentContainer) {                var data = {&#8220;layout&#8221;:&#8221;inbodyContent&#8221;,&#8221;header&#8221;:&#8221;Get The Pick Newsletter&#8221;,&#8221;tagline&#8221;:&#8221;All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!&#8221;,&#8221;formFooterText&#8221;:&#8221;By submitting your information you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/futureplc.com\/terms-conditions\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms &amp; Conditions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/futureplc.com\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and are aged 16 or over.&#8221;,&#8221;successMessage&#8221;:{&#8220;body&#8221;:&#8221;Thank you for signing up. 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I just ask myself, \u2018What does this song want?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Philp\u2019s preferred acoustics and electrics are made by Atkin Guitars (\u201cThe best <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/features\/best-stratocasters-top-fender-stratocasters-for-every-budget\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.guitarworld.com\/features\/best-stratocasters-top-fender-stratocasters-for-every-budget\">Strat<\/a> ever,\u201d he says), while his Fender Princeton \u201968 Reissue provides a \u201cperfect compromise between clean power and lower volume.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All will be part of his setup as Deacon Blue tour the U.K. this spring and fall. Philp says, \u201cWe make very orchestrated records, with parts that are done quite deliberately. In the studio, that\u2019s how I think. On stage, I get to improvise more and stretch out!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like the weather in Scotland, the country\u2019s pop music often feels overcast with a chance of showers. \u201cThere\u2019s a slight doom and gloom element to Scottish music,\u201d guitarist Gregor Philp says with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s plaintive and yearning, but I think that\u2019s what gives it its emotional power.\u201d For the past 17 years, Philp has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":23725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23724"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23726,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724\/revisions\/23726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}