Canucks’ Phil Nevile

M!: When did you become a musician?
Phil Nevile: I learned to play the piano when I was five years old, at my mother’s command. I didn’t appreciate it till I was around 16. My first gig was at my high school sock hop, in Manitoba. We were just kids, 16 years old, and we were paid $10 each. I’ve lost count as to how many bands I’ve been in since - there’s been hundreds! I’ve always been the singer in the group, but I’ve played the guitar, and for a while the keyboard. I’m currently learning the dobro, a slide guitar blues instrument.

In mid-March, when Phil met with a group of about 30 friends and regulars to tell them it wasn’t feasible for him to continue running Canucks, he thought the show might finally, really, be over. But out of that meeting came a volunteer Steering Committee determined to find a way to keep the popular club in operation. With Lou Raskin as chair/spokesperson, they came up with a restructuring plan.