Phil Hurley is an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known for being a founding member of

Gigolo Aunts Gigolo Aunts are an American power pop band, who formed in 1981. Biography Early history The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley, and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, United States, orig ...

Stonehoney Stonehoney is an American rock band from Austin, Texas. Stonehoney consists of Shawn Davis on vocals and electric guitar, Phil Hurley on vocals and lead electric guitar, Dave Phenicie on vocals and bass guitar, and Nick Randolph (Brother of actor ...

, and South Austin Moonlighters. He toured extensively as the lead guitarist for

Tracy Bonham Tracy Kristin Bonham (born March 16, 1967) is an American alternative rock musician. Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, she is a classically trained violinist and pianist, and a self-taught guitarist. After building up a local following, Bonham ...

Jimmy LaFave Jimmy LaFave (July 12, 1955 – May 21, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. After moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, LaFave became a supporter of Woody Guthrie. He later became an Advisory Board member and regular performer ...

, and

Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young (drummer), Brian Young. They released six album ...

, among others. Hurley co-wrote the theme songs for

Lucky Louie ''Lucky Louie'' is an American television sitcom created by Louis C.K., which aired on HBO for one season in 2006. As the show's creator, writer and executive producer, C.K. also starred as the eponymous central character, a part-time mechanic a ...

and

The Greg Behrendt Show ''The Greg Behrendt Show'' is a daytime talk show that premiered in syndication on September 12, 2006. The show was distributed by Sony Pictures Television and was taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. In addition to airing in syndicati ...

, as well as having many of his songs used in films and TV shows. Hurley released a solo acoustic album, ''Nowhere Left to Run'', in 2019.

Music career

Singing in rock bands with his brother Steve from the age of eight, Hurley was playing music in upstate New York professionally by the age of fourteen on bass, drums, guitar and vocals. Hurley toured extensively with recording artist,

, then stepped away to participate in the fertile Seattle music scene, where he recorded with groups such as Tycoons, Hulabees, Shuggie, Alex Woodard, Miles Hunt (of The Wonder Stuff), Lisa Loeb, and Fountains of Wayne, among others. He then spent a year in the Netherlands before moving to Los Angeles, CA and in February 2009, relocated to Austin, Texas, where he toured and played with his country-rock group Stonehoney. *Gigolo Aunts Hurley formed the band, Gigolo Aunts, while still in high school with his brother Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, and Paul Brouwer. After quickly outgrowing Potsdam, the group relocated to Boston, where they caught the ear of the indie label, ''Coyote Records'', which released the Aunts' first record, ''Everybody Happy'', in 1988. Later the band was signed to a major label deal with RCA, touring extensively in the US and Europe with groups such as,

The Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...

, and

The Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an indep ...

. Their songs have been featured in TV shows and films,

That Thing You Do! ''That Thing You Do!'' is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. Set in 1960s rock and roll culture, it chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional one-hit won ...

The River Wild ''The River Wild'' is a 1994 American thriller film starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, and David Strathairn. It was directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Denis O'Neill. It follows a young family whose white-water rafting holiday is endange ...

Swimming With Sharks ''Swimming with Sharks'' (also known as ''The Boss'' and ''Buddy Factor'') is a 1994 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by George Huang and starring Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley and Michelle Forbes. Plot Buddy Ackerman, ...

The Buddy System The buddy system is a procedure in which two individuals, the "buddies", operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other. As per Merriam-Webster, the first known use of the phrase "buddy system" goes back t ...

, and the title track to

Dumb and Dumber ''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and ...

, ''Where I Find My Heaven''. The band, at one point in their career, was signed to (Counting Crows) Adam Duritz' record label, ''E Pluribus Unum'', and toured extensively with

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immergl� ...

. Their biggest commercial success was the single, ''Where I Find My Heaven'', which was featured in the soundtrack to the film

, and as the opening music to the British sitcom, ''Game On''. The single release of, ''Where I Find My Heaven'', broke into the Top 30 in the UK Singles Chart early in 1995. *

In 2006, Hurley created the country-rock group, ''StoneHoney'' with fellow Los Angeles singer-songwriters Shawn Davis, Nick Randolph, and Dave Phenecie. StoneHoney toured extensively across the US, and found their musical home when they relocated to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

in 2009, signing to Jimmy LaFave's, ''Music Road Records''. * The South Austin Moonlighters Hurley was a founding member of Austin super group, ''South Austin Moonlighters'', playing lead guitar and contributing some of their most requested original songs. The group has released three albums: ''Live at the Saxon Pub'', ''Burn & Shine'', and ''Ghost of a Small Town'', garnering regional radio and touring success.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Phil 1969 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) Singer-songwriters from California Guitarists from California Guitarists from Washington (state) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians