The New Phillip Morris album!! Now on iTunes!!

Order the new Phillip Morris album!!

There's the link to buy the new album. Only $10.00 for 19 tracks. Click above to pay via PayPal or Credit Card. (Outside of the U.S. please send an additional $3.00 to phillipmorris420@yahoo.com and using PayPal to cover shipping costs. Also contact me at the same email and give me the heads up!!)

Track Listing:
1. The Process of Addiction Has its Costs
2. Behind Every Fortune There's a Sweatshop
3. May I?
4. Ain't What She Used to Be (featuring violinist Hanna Rae)
5. It Comes Right Back
6. The MILF Song
7. Death by Cubicle (featuring Maggie Kubley)
8. Suckaz Acapella - Live @ Beat Kitchen
9. Die For the Music Interlude (featuring Awdazcate)
10. Chillin Out Maxin' (featuring Number 2 & 4-ize)
11. The Program (version 2.0)
12. Political Science
13. Peace in the Puzzle
14. Don't Cry
15. A Real Patriot
16. When Animals Attack (featuring Number 2)
17. The Symphony

**BONUS TRACKS**
18. The Nightmare Before Christmas -Live @ Kinetic Playground
19. Peace in the Puzzle Remix (mixed by Mix Syndicate)

Thank you as always for the support. I know times are rough. But if you believe in what I am doing, and have it to spare....help a nerd. I promise the music isn't craptastic.

Peace,
Phillip Morris

The New Mister Morris Video!!

Greetings and Salutations folks.....just giving you the heads up! The new video for my song "Mister Morris" from the Instrumentality album is done!! There's a YouTube link on the right hand side if you wanna watch it. It's also on Myspace Video and Vimeo (if you wanna watch a High Definition version of it). This video was directed by Miggy Downs, and filmed in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, downtown Chicago, and Skokie (Chicago Suburb). Feel free to leave any feedback, and please spread the word!!

Wannabe Revolutionaries....

You're not a revolutionary just because you:

• Have a Che Guevara T-Shirt - You and everyone else. It stops being revolutionary when paying homage is due to a fad or fashion trend Do you even know who Che Guevara is? What he did? Does your research extend beyond watching "The Motorcycle Diaries"?
  


• Can regurgitate what you heard in a controversial documentary - Anyone can simply recite another persons thoughts. Have you done any research on the documentary you just watched? Have you studied up on the opposing point of view? Have you compared and contrasted them to see what makes more sense? Just because it's in the form of a movie doesn't mean it's right. And even left-wing individuals can be wrong.
  


• Say "Fuck Bush" in a song - Yeah, who doesn't hate him. And i see nothing wrong with hating him. I'll even say it myself. "Fuck Bush". See? But, Bush is just the dumbest of the many headed dragon that includes various media outlets, law enforcement agencies, bankers, banking organizations, lobbyists, etc.
  


• Have read up on your shit....but you don't do anything with that knowledge - So, yes. You know your shit. Back and forth. I am proud of you, and you mentally are at a point that many people may never reach. But being revolutionary doesn't mean sitting on your ass. Get up. Go to a protest. Go to lots of protests. Share the energy of the movement. Support revolutionary music. Join some type of organization that benefits the less fortunate. Pass out DVD's. Talk to people. Talk to many people. Plant a tree. Share your knowledge without bashing people over the head with it. Give a poor person money. Stop telling lies yourself if you're constantly talking about how the current Administration lies so much, and you're constantly seeking the truth.

Revolution doesn't necessarily mean going toe to toe with the cops, running up on the White House lawn with guns drawn, or starting a riot. It starts within yourself and changing your own way of living and attitude....before you can hope to instill that in the minds and hearts of others.

These Busy Weekends I swear....

So my CD burner doesn't like me....and somewhat led a solo revolution to try to overthrow my oppressive regime, but fuck that. I just found a couple other locations for the time being. Much thanks to Greenthumb and White Jesus for letting me burn discs at their humble abodes. But, i left my memory card over at Greenthumb's house with all my pictures, which is why i wasn't able to take pics this weekend! Sooooooon of a gun.

Captain's Log - Stardate 7.11.08

You may have heard Number 2 on "When Animals Attack" or "The New Order of Ages". Pretty dope emcee, yes? Well, his birthday was earlier this week, and we had a celebration/show that Friday at an Armenian restaurant in downtown Chicago called Sayat Nova. On the lineup was Phillip Morris, Number 2 & J. Fee, 4-Ize, and one or two other acts. The spot was packed, i met plently of cool folks, and smoked copious amounts of herbage....but...the sound fucking sucked?!!?! DJ's do not always make good sound men, let me tell you. Do you not hear that clipping noise buddy? Nope? okay....must be my hypersensitive ears. Anywho...the night still kicked ass. Unfortunately....someone ended up taking off with a purse which belonged to the mother of Number 2 and 4-Ize (they're brothers). How shady is that?


Captain's Log - Stardate 7.12.08

Woke up a lot later than i should have....considering i needed to be downtown (AGAIN) by 10:30 in the AM for an antiwar rally. This event was organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence. The rally was held in Federal Plaza, next to the large Flamingo. This event was the first stop on the organizations march from Chicago to St. Paul, Minneapolis!! 450 miles!! I kicked off the event with 4 songs which the crowd thoroughly enjoyed. Yay!! I got to meet quite a few awesome people, including two older individuals Brad Lyttle and Kathy Kelly. Great folks trying their hardest to bring about change.

After that, i headed home and got some sleep, considering i was running off of 1 and a half hours of sleep from the previous night (morning, to be honest). When i woke up, i got ready and headed out to A's Bar in Niles, Illinois. I was invited to perform by Main Street Minority, who will be on the upcoming Vans Warped Tour. They rocked out majorly....and i did my song "The Process of Addiction Has its Costs" on the outdoor stage....and the equipment got moved inside the bar and i finished up my set inside. Not a whole bunch of people in attendance....but the ones who were there had a great time. I was followed up by a racially charged comedy set from Big Daddy. Thanks to Jeff for being a kick ass sound guy. I was resounding off the walls....nice and crisp. Passed out drunk on John Strand's couch after watching the Darjeeling Limited.


Captain's Log - Stardate 7.13.08

My morning started with a hangover, wake and bake, iced coffee, and a trip to the south side of Chicago for a Q&A session for the upcoming documentary I am going to be in called: Roof Top Hip Hop. I didn't really have a lot to say, considering that usually before i got to respond, another of the emcees spoke up saying pretty much the same exact thing i was thinking....so i did a lot of head nodding as to not be redundant.

There were a couple of parts that i was able to provide my opinion on, such as balancing fatherhood and emceeing, and also if a "true" emcee necessarily needs to be able to freestyle.

After the Q & A session, we proceeded to bust into freestyle cypher (sounds courtesy of DJ White Owl) and let me tell you....we snapped off!! Stay tuned for the documentary that is going to be out in early 2009 folks!

Phillip Morris to be featured on upcoming American Drug War Soundtrack!

....if you haven't already heard of the documentary American Drug War, then you should follow that link and check it out. It's a very concise documentary made by Kevin Booth of Sacred Cow Productions, that delves into the government's involvement in drug trafficking, the many advantages of the decriminilization of drug usage, and the business behind the prison industrial complex.

So....the good news....relating to this is...i ended up having the honor of being able to record a song which will be featured on the upcoming soundtrack for this film! The song is called "A Dysfunctional Family Affair" (produced by Nick Knock). You can check this song out on my Myspace Page.

Much thanks to Ryan (of "Conspiracy Theorist Clothing" fame) for putting in the good word for me.

Squalorback,
Phillip Mo

Phil-Harmonic

Hi dee ho folks.

Last week was stellar. I had this show see....with the Minneapolis Henrys and Tomorrow Music Orchestra....and.....we kicked some hiney. Oh yes.

Tomorrow Music Orchestra were the first ones to grace the stage.....with approximately 16 or 17 members in attendance. If you've never heard of these talented individuals, you should check them out. Ranging from jazz to abstractish to funk to hip hop and everything in between, they know how to rock. Halfway through their set, they called me onstage to freestyle with them over a funktastic jam they threw down, that sounded like we had spontaneously traveled back to 1970. Flippin sweet.

Next was myself. I did a variety of tunes, and 4 collaborations with Lilianna Zofia, my lovely friend and partner in crime who happens to be a cellist. And that's pronounced "CH-ellist" not "S-ellist".....for those who aren't hookt on fonicks. (Sorry for the inside joke....you would've had to have been there.) Anywho, we kicked ass!! Considering that the soundman Tom knew what he was doing, and the Beat Kitchen has stellar sound....i didn't have to strain my voice at all. The only problem was the connection to the microphone kept getting loose and falling off.....but that problem was quickly remedied by Josh from Q4, with a large roll of clear packing tape. See how we roll? My peoples got my back.

Speaking of Q4......the crew was out in full force! (Thanks for the support folks!!)

Finally....the night ended with the Minneapolis Henrys. This show was put together by the Henrys to celebrate the release of their new single "Ice Storms" off their album "The Way of the Albatross". The Henrys had a very dynamic set, with the crowd singing and dancing through the entire length of the set. I even grabbed one of the lovely ladies, hooked our arms together, and began square dancing!!

At the culmination of the event.....Tomorrow Music Orchestra joined the MPLS Henrys onstage....along with myself!! And we did an extended remix of the Henrys song "Tusk Wounds Rockets" with a nice little 16 bar niche carved out for me to spit the verse i wrote specifically for the song. The energy was so incredibly high at this point, and the Q4 crowd was front and center.

Lovely night all in all (not to mention I got paid. And sold CD's too.) Everyone had a very good reaction to the show, especially the cross pollenation collaborative efforts between groups. Like a big musical orgy with Phillip Morris right in the middle......oooooooh......sticky.

Peace 'em out....

i've got a bone to pick like archaeologists....

There's a lot of problems with doing shows these days.

Oh Yes.

I stopped organizing shows a while ago, and recently had to hop onboard and help organize an event. I already had a feeling there would be a certain level of bullshiznizzle that i would have to deal with as a result of this. And sure enough there was. Which led me to want to share with you, what I perceive to be, the main problems with organizing and participating in events. Which also goes hand in hand with the reasons that shows aren't more successful....and enjoyable for everyone.

1. Wait a minute....what time is this kicking off again? - Events never start on time. True, sometimes it pays to wait a little bit for the crowd to thicken out. But i always wondered if the tendency for shows to run late is the cause of people getting to events late? We all know that "Show starts at 10pm" usually means an actual start time of 11pm. The problem ensues when the show is pushed back, but is still operating with the same time schedule as if it had started ontime. By the end of the night, once the organizer realizes that there's only 30 minutes left, and 4 more acts....well, as you can imagine....someone's getting cut.

2. I'll be there in 10 minutes... - Artists, organizers, and the crowd alike all need to step their game up when it comes to getting to their events on time. This sets up the night to run much more smoothly. I feel that this is one of the key problems that we face....how to get the crowd to the show on time? Ladies free before 11pm? Promises of a midget striptease to the first 25 people? Free weed at the door? Starting shows on time regardless, so that people realize they will miss out if they drag their feet? (I'm betting my money on the free weed)

3. Nobody likes a Diva - I don't even need to expand on this one. And seriously, if you are going to make up excuses for cancelling a show 2 hours before it starts....don't use the same excuses that you give your boss when you call off from work. That's lame.

4. What do you mean? I thought YOU were bringing the power cord? - Disorganization. One word that sends chills straight up the vertebrae. When people aren't on the same page, things rarely go right. Emails should go out to all people that are a part of the show, and the "Reply to All" command should be frequently used. Whenever i perform, i always call a day or two before the show for updates, but really it's the responsibility of the organizers to keep artists posted of any changes/updates/etc. The performer should never have to play Sherlock Holmes. That's just lame. Oh yeah....and TELL THE ARTISTS IF THE SHOW GETS CANCELLED. Not mentioning any names...

Those are the 4 problems that jumped to the forefront of my mind when thinking about this issue. But there's lots more. I'll write a part 2 whenever i feel motivated.

Do your part....no matter what role you play.....as best you can. The music scene needs your diligence in order to thrive.

A Busy Couple Weeks....

Okay, so i've been slow at getting this off the ground. Probably because i know that i don't have adequate time to actually maintain a blog right now...but oh well. I like to stretch myself thin anyways.

The reason i don't have adequate time is because I'm always doing these dang-gon shows. The past couple weeks were quite busy....

Captain's Log: stardate 05.01.08
First off, was Quennect4 on Thursday, May 1st. This lovely little spot has an art gallery on the 1st floor, and a performance space in the lower level. The biweekly Thursday night event is called 20hz/20khz, and you see a wide variety of Chicago poets, emcees, singers, bands, beatboxers, noise artists, etc. it's cool shit. you get to perform 2 songs. I rocked it, but the cops came halfway thru my song, so they had to drastically decrease the volume. Womp woooomp. Here's some of the other performers from that night.

Lower Class Odyssey

The Dirty Diamonds

Agents of Change

AWDAZCATE

The crowd....

Captain's Log: stardate 05.02.08

After that was Looptopia....Friday, May 2nd. An event where music and art lovers converge on the Chicago Loop to enjoy the sights and sounds. Last year claimed to have drawn out over 200,000 people. Anywho, i peformed in the Pianoforte studio on the 8th floor of the Fine Arts building. This event was organized (not so well) by Around the Coyote. Besides all the mess that surrounded Looptopia with the writsbands and shit, it turned out to be a really good performance. Number 2 and White Jesus did a couple of collabs with me onstage.

They made the mistake of giving me a mic with a cord long enough to reach into the crowd....so you know i was acting like a buffoon. The crowd of approximately 65 - 70 people enjoyed themselves, and even though it wasn't my "usual" crowd (whatever that means), they were on point with the call and response, laughed at my banter, and bought my album.

I felt loved.

Captain's Log: stardate 05.03.08

Next stop. Saturday May 3rd. Awdazcate and I took a nice little road trip to Geneva to perform with Dubasaurus Flex @ The Flagstone Pub. This spot got PACKED!! Dubasaurus brought the house down as they always do, and i did a couple of songs with them, plus a 3 song set during the intermission. Not everyone was paying attention, but the people who did definitely got a good performance. Max Gold tripped and fell over an amp. Good times. I got paid.

Captain's Log: Man fuck that, it's 05.04.08
After that came Say What! Sundays, which is an open mic that we host 2 sundays out of the month @ Star Lounge (2521 W. Chicago). The open mic runs from 5pm - 10pm, and anybody is welcome to come and rock out. Here's some of the pictures from that lovely soiree.

Plus i battled a Landshark. It ended up being a tie.

friday, 05.09.08
I had a little break after that, and then i did another show (i got paid again!!) at a house party in Pilsen on Friday, May 9th. It was called the Color US 6th semi-annual ta-da show!! (that's a mouthful). Basically, a bunch of cool artists, with a bunch of their art on the walls in black and white....a huge box of crayons, and people coloring all over the place. Then everyone came downstairs to watch me perform. The crowd took a little bit of time to warm up, but once they did....it was madness i tell you. I got a girl (Lindsay I believe) to voluntarily touch my nipple....i felt loved. Here's the last of the pics.

That cool guy in the hat was the first person to buy my CD.

Funny how people sometimes get nervous to look at you with a mic in your hands....

All in all, May has gotten off to a great start folks. Stay tuned for more upcoming info, events, and recaps of the trials and tribulations of Phillip Morris.

Greetings and Salutations

So, welcome to Second Hand Blogging. Let's see how long i can consistently keep this blog up before i get either too busy or too stoned/lazy to continue maintaining it. Word.