What is “Phil ‘n’ The Blanks”?

“Phil ‘n’ The Blanks” is a classic rock band based in North Ogden, Utah.  We are a nine member band made up of experienced musicians ranging in ages from 21 to 55 years of age, who collectively strive for the best sound and performance at an affordable price for our clients. We play your favorite “clean” swing, classic rock, and pop hits from the 1940’s to today. We offer a diverse repertoire of styles that include swing, rock, alternative, disco, and funk. Our singers and players bring to the band significant prior experience ranging from musical theater performance and local singing-group performance  to semi-professional performance. We are flexible, professional in conduct and appearance, and strive to adhere to the highest personal standards.  We encourage and will do our best to comply with all requests for specific music types, volume levels,  and atmosphere standards.

Click on the “the band” tab above for more information about the individual band members.

Why should you consider booking us for your next event?  

One of the most frequent comments made by our clients that best explains the distinction between us and most other cover bands  is that we have a great combination of both solid instrumental sound and vocal quality, not just one or the other.  We are lucky to have five multi- instrument talented musicians and four accomplished singers, one male vocalist and three women.  Several of the singers also play a variety of instruments.  This flexibilty allows us to play for many kinds of events, for any age group, and to cater to most musical tastes.  Some of our songs feature our terrific soloists,  some are duets, while many of the others feature all four voices in harmony.  We can arrange a song to copy the specific sound that is tied to a particular artist.

What kinds of events would you book us for?

We are accepting bookings for wedding receptions, anniversaries, birthday parties, church and school dances, retirement parties, community events, business functions, conventions, and private parties.  Just let us know what kind of event you are planning. We would love to enhance the event, whatever it may be!  We do play music from the 40’s to today, but can work up a special playlist that fits your specific event.

Standard Rate: $200/hour for small to medium sized venues. Large event rates may be higher.

Request a free individualized price quote for your event.  Click on the “Contact Us” tab above and fill out the Request For Quote form.  There are no strings attached.  Just provide basic information about your event, click on the submit button, and the request will be forwarded to us.  All quote information will be kept confidential and used for no other purpose other than to simply supply you with a free price quote. 

After submitting your information, you will  receive an email from us (usually within 24 hours) containing our quote.  Or, if you prefer to talk to us in person, you may call Phil at (801) 782-0357 or Brian at (801) 782-3371.  The rest is your decision and you don’t have to respond to the quote nor will we try to contact you.  It’s that easy!    All price quotes are guaranteed for six months, although you will not be put on our schedule until the quote is confirmed and a contract signed.

How far will we travel?

Our low prices include travel anywhere within a 50 mile radius of North Ogden, Utah.  Additional charges may apply if the distance is greater than 50 miles one way. In any event, all charges, including travel charges, if applicable, will be included in the price quote. We hate surprises, just as much as you do!

To book us:

• Provide us basic information about your event by one of the following methods:
  • email us at philntheblanksut@gmail.com
  • click on the “Contact Us“ tab above, filling out the “Request For Quote” form
  • contact us directly. Call Phil at (801) 782-0357 or Brian at (801) 782-3371
• After receiving our price quote, if you would like to book us, confirm with either an email to us or by phone.
• After we hear from you, we will email you a contract. 
  •  As a matter of good business practice and because all of us want to know what was agreed to, we require a simple contract signed by both parties and a deposit of $25 to book an event. 
  • The contract will lay out in simple terms the details of the agreement, including the event date, start time, duration, required setup time, price (including any additional travel fees, if applicable), the event standards and expectations, and any other special requests.
• After signing the contract, email or mail it back with a $25.00 deposit. We will then put you on our schedule.  A copy of the final signed contract will be sent to you.

Remember, you may receive a free price quote from us even if you don’t end up booking us. There are no strings attached!  So, give us a chance to give you a free quote.

So you need a band to play for your special event?  Who will best fit your needs?  How do you know if they are any good? 

Well, the best we could come up with is to record ourselves and let you hear what we do and let you decide!  We offer a diverse list of songs by many different artists and can play a wide range of musical styles.  The song list includes such hits as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Sentimental Journey” from the Big Band era; “Rock Around the Clock,” “Hound Dog” and the Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” from the 50’s and 60’s; “Listen to the Music” by the Doobie Brothers and disco greats like “Stayin Alive” and “Le Freak” from the 70’s; “Footloose” and Journey’s “Faithfully” from the 80’s; “UpTown Girl” by Billy Joel and Diamond Rio’s “Meet in the Middle”  from the 90’s; KT Tunstall’s alternative style hit “Black Horse And a Cherry Tree” from this decade; as well as songs by newer artists, such as Chris Daughtry’s “What About Now” and Taylor Swift’s “Forever And Always.” 

Click on the “Audio Samples” below to hear us playing some of our songs and click on the “song list” tab above to scroll through our list of songs.

If you want good clean Rock and Roll, we are your band!

Another feature that we offer is good clean music. If you are worried about what might be played at your event, you can rest more easily knowing that our songs have been carefully screened for words that may be inappropriate for your event.  In fact, all of our songs are what you could call “family friendly”.  We are not the only ones who have a say in the song choices for your event; we encourage our clients to tell us what songs they would like us to play or not to play.  We will tailor our playlist for your event.

How do you avoid a band that gets “too rowdy” or “too loud” and won’t work with you?

Hire us!  It’s that simple.  Our goal is to please our clients with great sounding music, volume, dress, and conduct that is appropriate to the audience and the desired atmosphere for the event. Volume is usually a non-issue since we take great care during setup before the event to balance our sound and get our volume just right!  You will, of course, have a say in the volume level during setup as well!  We are easy to work with and are willing to adjust volume levels anytime during the performance upon request. As for worries about a “rowdy” band?  Well, we play some pretty great old and new foot stompin’ rock and roll, but “rowdy” is just not our style.

Audio Samples

Down On The Corner

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

• July 24, Pinewood Estates Annual Barbeque, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 12:30 – 2:30 pm
• July 31, North Ogden Arts Festival, North Ogden City Park, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
• Aug 10, Wedding Reception, North Ogden

 Phil on the drums.

Phil (the Phil in Phil ‘n’ The Blanks) is the band leader and co-originator of the group along with Brian. Phil picked up his first pair of drum sticks at age 5 and the guitar at age 8 and has never put them down.  He played in several rock and jazz bands in Idaho Falls, Idaho in the 70s, has played in dozens of musical theater productions, taught drums and guitar, and still periodically performs at the Heritage Theatre in Perry, Utah where wife, Cara, is a member of the board of directors.  His inspiration on the drums came from listening to his favorite drummer Buddy Rich and artists including the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Grand Funk Railroad, Chicago, and Bachman Turner Overdrive.  Phil works for ATK as an engineering manager and builds custom handmade acoustic guitars on the side. Check out his website at www.secristguitars.com.

Brian is an engineer and works as a manufacturing center director at ATK.  He is also a multi-talented musician.  He plays the electric guitar but also plays stand-up bass on several songs. Brian is the band’s business manager.  Brian’s musical influences were the great bands of the 60’s and 70’s, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and others.  Brian is hard to miss standing 6′ 3″. Brian has performed on both the guitar and the bass in the musical theater productions of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Forever Plaid”.

Tony is a computer and information systems specialist and works in SLC.  He is the cofounder of a number of computer related businesses.  Tony is our keyboard player extraordinare!  But that is not all he does.  He doubles on the keyboard bass on many of the songs and sings vocals.  Tony is a musical product of the 80’s and 90’s.  He has performed in several musical theater production orchestras and combos as well as singing on stage.

Shawnee is a 6th grade elementary school teacher who also studied music in college. She is a very talented soprano, as you will be able to tell when she sings “Sentimental Journey”, “Valentine”,  and “You Are The One That I Want”. She has sung locally with the singing group Aria 3 and has performed in several musical theater productions. These include the narrator in “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”.   Shawnee sings both lead and backup vocals in the band.

LeeAnn is the wife of our guitarist, Brian. She has sung in local singing groups for many years, including the singing group Aria 3 and has performed in numerous theater musical  productions. A couple of her favorite parts are the narrator in “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and Golda in “Fiddler on the Roof”.  LeeAnn sings both lead and backup vocals and is the world’s greatest cowbell player!  More cowbell LeeAnn!  LeeAnn’s alto voice  is well suited for love songs such as “The Look of Love” and “I Only Have Eyes For You”.  If you loved the Karen Carpenter sound, you will love LeeAnn’s voice.

Doug works in physical therapy management.  He is a former member of the Brigham Young University Young Ambassadors. He not only sings lead and background vocals but he also performs on the guitar, drums, bongos, and trumpet.  Doug is the band’s “front man” and emcee.  He is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet!  His Steve Perry-like voice (the lead singer of Journey) brings a professionalism to the performances.  Doug has also performed as “Joseph” in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, as “The Pirate King” in the “Pirates of Penzance”, and as “Sparky” in “Forever Plaid”.

Angela is Phil and Cara’s daughter.  She is a Junior at Weber State University studying Heath Promotions.  Angela started singing when she was 3 and it was very apparent then that she had a beautiful voice.  She continued to develop her singing talent and brings a touch of youthful sparkle to the band. She is a very versitile singer with a wide vocal range. She sings lead and background vocals as well as plays the acoustic guitar and bongos on several songs.  Angela loves musical theater and is most currently acting in the role of “Peppermint Patty” in “Snoopy!”, The Musical.

Cara is Phil’s wife and is the ultimate roadie!  In addition to singing she plays an assortment of percussion instruments including tamborine, maracas, and bongos. She is an expert at setting up the equipment and cleaning up the house after practices!  She is on the Board of Directors for Heritage Theatre and serves as a resident director. Cara loves directing musical theater.  Her most recent shows were “Little Women” and “Forever Plaid”.  Cara owns her own business making missionary a wall hanging called a “Mission Tracker”. Check out her website at www.ldsmissiontracker.com.

Bryce Petersen

Bryce is Shawnee’s son and our soundman. Bryce is a Senior at Weber High School.  He is also a musician and has the very important job of running our sound mixer.  He does a great job in making us sound our best!