Onyolla Phillips, popularly known as Stitchie Vibes Machine or Stitchie –The One Man Band, holds the title of jack of all trades in music. Stitchie has spent the last 28 years in the entertainment industry performing mainly covers of hit songs but has taken things to another level for 2021 by releasing his first three singles.
According to the singer/songwriter, the release of the songs is certainly an accomplishment for him. Stitchie has several known originals including “Rucatux”, “Keep Meh Name Out Yuh Mouth”, “Sprinkle and Dash”, and “Obeah Man”, which he has never recorded, but which fans always requested whenever he performed.
Last year, the performer collaborated on a song called “Tribute” with popular Soca artiste Jumo ‘Rubber Waist’ Primo. The song was a tribute to the longstanding Yoruba Singers Band.
His new releases are “Spanish Thing”, which is a Latin/Soca fusion in genre; “Big Girls”, which is a slow Soca; and “Boat Cruise”, a Soca/Dancehall mix. They are part of a 12-track album the singer is working on. The three songs were recorded at C Fanatic Rekords, situated at ‘C’ Field Sophia, Georgetown.
Back in the 1990s when the singer entered the local music arena, he did mainly Dancehall covers, many of which were Beenie Man songs.
Stitchie grew up in church where his father played the guitar, and his mother sang. He later began singing in church also. When he was young, he and his brother had a ball of time every time they found a tin which they quickly turned into drums. His brother, he said, had a passion for drumming and learnt to play the drums while he took up playing the keyboard, an instrument he can play remarkably well today.
Surrounded by a musical family, it is no wonder Stitchie was able to create his own one man band. Stitchie, the Vibes Machine plays the keyboard, sings, DJs and operates an amplifier and equalizer during his performances, engaging his audiences and making them ask for more. Sometimes his performances last a couple of hours or more. In addition to all that, he also builds his own musical tracks.
“I didn’t grow up with a lot, and music has helped me financially and helped me achieve certain things in life, my talents and material things also. Music is life to me,” he said.
Before his one man band act, Stitchie was a member of a number of bands including the GDF Frontline, Mischievous guys, Sheriff’s Deputies, Chosen Few, and the Undertakers Band through which he became an established entertainer. All of these bands, he shared, contributed to honing his many talents. But Stitchie believes he works better on his own and he is continually working towards learning all the Ps and Qs of the music business.
The artiste shared that what he has learnt more than anything else from his years in the music industry, is knowing what his fans like. “My kind of music is like the 80s, 90s music because I realize that is the music that still mashing up the place. You have to make clean music also,” he said.
For the singer, nothing good has come from the pandemic as it messed up his plans for last year. In fact, the pandemic, he said, threw him off track and prevented him from making an income as per usual. “My job is music and that’s all I do. I never do anything else,” he said. Prior to the pandemic, he performed at numerous concerts overseas including in England, the United States, Canada, French Guiana, Suriname, the British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, and Antigua. COVID-19 brought a halt to his performing and travelling, the two things he loves most. Stitchie explained that his tours overseas to perform did not come through arrangements with any organization or government ministries. Instead, he was invited because of the popularity of his earlier songs, the ones that were never recorded. To date, the biggest stage he has performed on was Carnival 2019, in Miami, Florida. Stitchie shared this stage with big name singers like Kes and Iwer George. “It really was an experience being on the same stage with these men,” he shared.
The pandemic, he further noted, has left many in the entertainment industry on the breadline. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Tourism, Stitchie said, should have had some system in place to cater for those people. In addition, he said, he is not looking for a handout from the ministry but would like the copyright law here to be reviewed. He believes that singers and those within the music industry should be taxed so that in difficult times like these, they can receive stipends.
Aside from the pandemic, 2020 was far from good for Stitchie as he lost two siblings five months apart.
Asked where he sees himself in the near future, Stitchie, who is now 49 years old, said he intends to keep on going. He could not quite say, he added, as he does not live for the future and only lives for the present. He asks only one thing for this new year, and that is life. Once he has that, he said, he will make a way.
The artiste posited that the songs of local singers are not being promoted as they should, adding that for artistes to be acknowledged locally or internationally, they need to have contacts. Stitchie noted that he does not “kill” himself trying to get known. Remaining humble, he said, is the key. He performs for his fans and once they love it, he is happy enough. It was through playing for the Guyanese public that his music was noticed which led to him being invited to perform at numerous concerts, he stressed.
Just recently, he learnt that one of his nieces has an incredible voice. She has become one of his new projects as he intends to help her polish her voice, while he promotes her talent. “She has this Jazzy/Soul voice. I never knew she could sing like that. I took her to the studio and now I’m helping her to produce her own album,” enthused the singer.
Stitchie’s three new releases are available at online music platforms while some of his other popular songs that were never recorded can be found on his Facebook page at Onyolla Phillips. Entertainment sessions by the singer can also be viewed on YouTube.
