The past few years have presented some life altering challenges for Simon Phillips.  In late 2017, fires that ravaged Southern California destroyed his home and his recording studio.  Two years later, the COVID-19 pandemic took Simon off the road from a busy touring schedule leaving him with questions about the immediate future.  Yet, Simon’s resiliency persevered. The pandemic afforded him new opportunities, along with plenty of time to explore his own creativity.  He forged ahead with a new plan for recording his projects, including the newly released Protocol V album that features bandmates Ernest Tibbs and Otmaro Ruiz, along with two new additions: Jacob Scesney on sax and Alex Sill on guitars.  The Protocol band has emerged as a quintet and sounds better than ever.  Here to chat with us about this incredible new album is Simon Phillips.