Hence Phillips began to play music in earnest at the age of 13 after a trip to see Cat Stevens with his siblings. Soon after that they took him to see the Eagles and his mind was set. "I saw how much fun those guys were having onstage and knew that was what I wanted to do", says Phillips. Through years of honing his songwriting craft in solitude and polishing performance skills in venues ranging from prison yards to bars to churches to festivals and concert halls, he has been the leader of his own groups as well as a sideman for numerous bands in Santa Barbara County.
After moving to Sacramento, California in 1997, he played bass for a popular local band called Xenophilia helping that group to create its debut CD entitled "Cafe Of Love", and winning Sacramento Area Music Awards several times for Best Folk Group. In May of 2002 he joined the Jackie Greene Band and spent the summer in the studio helping Jackie record his second album."Gone Wanderin'" was released in November 2002 on the DIG Music label. That record, which features Hence on electric slide guitar, dobro, bass, and background vocals, was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of their Critics' Top 10 Albums of The Year and won a California Music Award for Best Roots/Blues Album. Hence also played bass on the Jackie Greene DVD, "Broken Hearts & Dusty Roads" and the Bob Dylan tribute record with Jackie and Sal Valentino entitled "Positively 12th & K" recorded live at Marilyn's in Sacramento. In addition, Hence had the distinct honor of being a part of the San Francisco radio station KFOG's annual fund-raiser for the Bay Area Food Bank, Live From The Archives, Volume 11.This double CD includes songs from such stellar artists as Peter Gabriel, Mark Knopfler, Steve Miller, Sarah McLachlin, and The Allman Brothers.
Since fall 2002 Hence has toured the country with Jackie Greene sharing stages with artists such as Bo Diddley, Pinetop Perkins, Dave Mason, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Dave Alvin, Susan Tedeschi, The Doobie Brothers, George Thorogood, The Derek Trucks Band, John Hiatt, Jonny Lang, Solomon Burke, Sonny Landreth, Huey Lewis, Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys, and many other national acts. In January 2005 Hence left the Jackie Greene Band and began to play his own music again. Hence's first CD, "Highway Of Forgiveness" features 2006 Blues Award (formerly W.C. Handy Award) nominee Mitch Kashmar on harp and Mychal Lomas of the Mary Wilson Band (Supremes) on bass.
If you ask Hence what kind of music he plays he will say,"Good, hopefully."
"But if I boast, may I boast in the Lord who has given me everything I have."
