Philip Stobo
Philip Stobo on the Pink Panther stage (Akaitcho Hall) with the Garnett Rebel PA column in the background. Yellowknife, NT 1972. (photo courtesy Philip Stobo)
Musicians of the Midnight Sun is pleased to welcome Philip Stobo to the fold of artists who defined the golden era of musicians and bands nurtured at the Akaitcho Hall Hostel in Yellowknife in the early 1970s.
Philip lived the first 15 years of his life in Glascow, Scotland and through family circumstances, immigrated to the remote village of Fort Simpson, NWT in 1969. Unlikely as it seems, he experienced his musical awakening at his first Tea dance in Fort Simpson. Shortly after, he ordered an acoustic guitar from Simpsons Sears and started learning how to play with others in the community.
In 1971, Philip decided to finish high school, moved to Yellowknife, attended Sir John Franklin High School and lived in Akaitcho Hall. There he was inspired by hostel bands such as “The Mystic Monks” and “The Universal Music Machine” (UM²). Philip soon stepped into a band with other young players from the hostel and started to play with ‘Mother, Flag and Country”. The band was made up of young musicians who reflected the cosmopolitan population of Yellowknife at that time, with players from the Filipino, Inuit, French Canadian and Scottish communities.
Though Philip’s tenure at Akaitcho Hall with “Mother, Flag and Country” lasted only a couple of years, that time was the genesis of the early Yellowknife music scene. Philip’s insights and his experiences bring what could be described as one of the final pieces of the puzzle to fill out the dynamic tapestry of Akaitcho Hall bands dating back to the early 1960s.
Philip Stobo trying out his stage clothes for the Talent Contest. Fort Simpson, NT 1970. (photo courtesy Philip Stobo)
Mother, Flag and Country: L-R: Joe Otokiak, Lakandula Baban, Philip Stobo, Alan Hyatt and Gerard Menard. Sir John Franklin High School, Yellowknife, NT, 1972. (photo courtesy Philip Stobo)
More about Philip Stobo & “Mother, Flag and Country”