Should the world end on Dec. 21, the Penticton Art Gallery wants to take you out in style.
To help celebrate the conclusion of The End Of The World As We Know It exhibit, Shane Philip, a West Coast multi-instrumentalist known worldwide for his dynamic didgeridoo-infused music will be performing. His intoxicating sounds are powerful enough to bring people to their feet to dance and soulful enough to quiet a packed house.
Philip said he is fairly certain the world isn’t going to end on Dec. 21, and not just because he wants to play the gig he has booked for Saturday. He said either way he wants to make sure those at the Penticton Art Gallery have a blast.
“People are going to want to dance, because it is the end of the world and that is what I would want to do so I will be playing more upbeat stuff mixed in with other stuff,” said Philip. “I’ll play lots of my new songs. It will be a lot of fun.”
Using his feet to wildly work his drum kit while he plays the guitar, the aslatua, the djembe and his didgeridoos — Philip is a one-man force on stage. From early childhood drumming on kitchen tables and car dashboards to his current range of instruments, Philip’s musical stylings have been self-taught.
“It was more just fun for me to play at home. Then I decided to make a career out of it and people started really liking it and I got extremely positive responses. I developed that and started to develop more intricate stuff while playing the guitars, while playing the didgeridoo and the drums and so on,” said Philip.
Two years ago he released his fourth studio album, Life. Love. Music., a record rich with vocals and featuring his unique sound. In April, Philip won Best Live Act at the Vancouver Island Music Awards and he is currently working on a new release expected out next year. New songs from that album can be found on Soundcloud or by visiting his website www.ShanePhilip.com.
“I am very much inspired to write these days. The album is going to be a little more folk-roots and with instruments I can play without electricity,” said Philip. “The themes I write about are almost all Mother Nature or human nature and things that affect my life.”
On Saturday, the community is welcome to celebrate the birth of a new humanity and to be part of the change you wish to see in the world at the workshop portion of the exhibit at the art gallery. Birth 2012 is a global event that envisions people celebrating a global grassroots movement focused on linking people across the world through song, prayer, meditation and dance.
The workshops start at 1 p.m. with a blessing from a local indigenous representative and a reading of the Peace Proclamation with Bill Phillips. At 1:20 p.m. there is Crystal Bowl Meditation with Sunnaira, 2 p.m. music with Rob Robertson, 2:20 p.m. the Bahiti Belly Dancers, 2:50 p.m. hip hop/spoken word artist Warren Hooley, 3:30 p.m. music with Richard Knox, 4 p.m. drum circle with Bobby Bovenzi and the event will close with a traditional hand drum song. Other events held throughout the day include a presentation a the Wheel of Co-Creation with Wendy Binggeli. In the South Gallery Dru Yoga in the South Gallery with Cindi Tomochko and Birthing Yoga with Laurel Burnham and Heart Centering with Suzie Anderson. In the Team Room a paint in will be held with the theme of: “what the new earth would look or feel like to me.”
The End of the World gala will be held this Friday from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets are $25 for non-members, $20 for gallery members/students, $10 for ages 13 to 18 and children 12 and under are free. This will be a licensed event.
