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Phil Harmonic

Bass and Vocal

image_philharmonic Phil Harmonic (Phil Kerr to his Mum) was home in bed one day in 1970, feeling unwell. Out of boredom he picked up his brother’s guitar and a beginner’s lesson book, formed his fingers into the C and G7 chord shapes, and set off on the yellow brick road to fame and fortune … Well, not really. But he’s had a lot fun along the way. After serving time as a roadie for Brisbane band BlackWater, in 1974 Phil joined rock trio Trafalgar as bass guitarist, playing heavy hits and classic rock’n’roll at pubs and dances in Brisbane and around south-east Queensland. Highlights included a Christmas residency at the Mooloolaba Hotel and an in-store promotion on Brisbane’s busiest city street corner with Australia’s King of Rock‘n’Roll, Johnny O’Keefe.

In 1976 Phil and vocalist Kevin ‘Master Blaster’ Williams formed Switch, honing their repertoire with a weekly spot at the Waterloo Bay Hotel in Manly (Brisbane). Drummer Harvey ‘Wallbanger’ Wright came aboard the following year.

With a passing parade of lead guitarists, culminating in Wally ‘Hammer’ Young —and, for much of the time, Perry Swanborough’s swelling organ—they stuck together through seven years of mostly good luck, playing pubs, clubs, weddings, parties, anything. Fondly-remembered regular venues include Sally’s Coffee Lounge in Woolloongabba and the Across The Waves sports club in Bundaberg.

In 1979, Switch tied for first place in the amateur section of the 4IP Search For A Band competition. In 1983, Phil, Kevin and Harvey embarked on a side project, the 1960s-themed Psychotic Reaction.

Parental duties took Phil out of play from the mid 1980s to the mid 2000s—apart from reunion gigs on his 40th birthday, Harvey’s 50th birthday, and the Millennium Eve. Just to show that they could still do it. And they could!

The first song Phil played in the new millennium—at a minute past midnight on 1 January 2000—was ‘Keep On Running’. And that’s what he’s done. In 2005 he joined Harvey and, later, Switch lead guitar alumnus Philip Wright, in Not Dead Yet, playing an eclectic selection of Sixties and Seventies classics at outdoor events and parties.

In 2009 Phil and Harvey joined up with Kevin and Wally, and newcomer Matt Lafferty, to form SwitchBack.

Phil’s early influences include Jack Bruce of Cream, and Paul McCartney of ... well, you know which band played for. After four decades, he poses no threat at all to those consummate bassists, but they have served as aspirational role models. Songwriting bass guitarists such as Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Skyhooks’ Greg Macainsh have also been influential.

Phil plays an Epiphone Embassy five-string bass, a Stagg acoustic-electric bass, and a well-travelled 1970s Fender Musicmaster short-scale bass. When the planets are all in line, he has also been know to whip out a harmonica and blow some blues harp.

Trafalga Trio 1974