Media Reviews

Gold Coast Newspaper - Entertainment Section

"By far the freshest and most enjoyable duo to appear on the coast for years."

Busy Schedule For Coast Duo

Quality is always an each-way bet when people get together for a party sing-along.
Fortunately, the combination of a violin-playing opera singer and a 12-string guitarist and singer was so good that the next step was obvious – form a duo.

Phoenix Calling, namely former Sydney-siders Ian Hoffman and Anthony Phipps, have been performing professionally for the past six months and have a busy schedule coming up.
“Anthony and I have known each other for about 5 years but had taken different musical paths, “says Hoffman.

“He was an opera singer and I was playing solo gigs around the Coast.
“Then, earlier this year, Anthony was singing at a mate’s wedding and I joined him for a couple of songs.
“From there came the offer to do a professional gig together.”
“In fact, we had a gig before we had to repertoire and so had to work pretty hard to put one together in time.”
A former New Zealand Gold guitar winner for songwriting, Ian Hoffman moved to the Gold Coast in 1993 and has been a regular on the music scene.
Furthermore, he won last year’s Legends of Laughter competition at the Gold Coast Arts Centre’s Comedy Clubhouse.

Anthony Phipps, meanwhile, is a music teacher whose voice is classically trained. An eisteddfod winner, he has also sung solo at the Sydney Opera House.

While Phoenix Calling rely on familiar songs from the likes of MatchBox 20 , Train The Whittlam’s, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison, INXS, The Eagles and many more, the blend of Violin, guitar and two very different voices makes for distinctive renditions.

There are also plans to expand the duo to a five-piece band in order to record and perform a burgeoning collection of original songs.

Photo Caption: Anthony Phipps and Ian Hoffman are in demand for Coast gigs.

Sunday Session

Dynamic Duo Phoenix Calling play an afternoon of music at Fisherman’s Warf on Sunday before welcoming the New Year with a December 31st show at the British Arms.

With their striking combination of violin and 12-string guitar, Ian Hoffman and Anthony Phipps are two of the Gold Coast’s hottest and most popular performers.
Both originally from Sydney, Hoffman moved to the Gold Coast in 1993 but not before he picked up a Gold Guitar in New Zealand for his song writing. He also won last year’s ‘Legends of Laughter’ competition at the Gold Coast Arts Centre Comedy Clubhouse.

Phipps, meanwhile, is a music teacher whose classically trained voice has won him eisteddfods and led him to singing solo at the Sydney Opera House.

Combining their talents , they bring to Phoenix Calling a broad range of music, from MatchBox 20 , Train, The Whittlam’s, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison, INXS and The Eagles.
Country , pop and rock are all covered by the duo’s extensive set-list.