Wormfarm Institute

Phil’s life is emblematic of the lives of those who many of us know and care about, or who we see regularly and nod to and toss coins and dollars into buckets or music cases on the streets when their talents touch our souls. Those who cannot live in the conventional constructs of our society, but contribute to our world in profound ways.

Phil was under- or unemployed for most of his adult life, but he never stopped creating. A lifelong Chicagoan, in early the 2000’s in his mid 50’s, Phil moved to southern California. With few resources, he was homeless, living on the streets and beaches of Santa Monica for years. During this time he made hundreds of hand-drawn postcards that he mailed to Deb Cole his long-time friend back in Chicago. They had been romantic and creative partners and Deb supported Phil however she could including helping him secure housing and much-needed medical care.


The postcards, drawn in colored pencil, depicted a range of subject matter including childhood memories of northern WI, greyscale drawings of Chicago architecture, depictions of himself in a yellow raincoat, wandering through the SoCal beach scene as well as lots of sexually charged imagery- some explicit and some abstractly suggestive.


When Phil was injured in the accident, the hospital was able to locate Deb who flew out there and made the difficult decision to take Phil off life support after he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Deb once again took on the responsibility for preserving Phil’s artwork after having saved hundreds of larger format drawings from a dumpster where he put them prior to his departure for the west coast.


A couple years ago, Deb, along with Jay Salinas and Donna Neuwirth of Wormfarm Institute,  who knew Phil for 25 years, decided to celebrate his memory and honor his art by commissioning a body of music inspired by Phil’s life & work. We reached out to the band Holy Sheboygan- a six piece collective of conservatory-trained musicians, session players and accomplished songwriters. The HoShes have come together in several intensive week-long sessions to write and record music based on Phil’s art, his life, and influences shared by Deb and others.

In 2018 we learned that Deb had cancer and while her initial prognosis was positive, she eventually succumbed shortly after the first of this year. Though she had only a few living blood relatives, Deb was part of a tight, extended tribe that will ensure her enthusiasms and her memory will be kept alive. An important part of that is helping to bring the Phil Project to life. 

“How do you immortalize an artist? How do you remember a person you’ve never met? How do you translate a prolific lifetime of visual work into lyric and melody? Whose story are you really telling?

These are the questions we have danced, wrestled, celebrated and struggled with from the beginning of this project. This process with Phil and his work has been a paradox of almost uncomfortable intimacy at a birds-eye view. Collecting, studying, questioning and then creating in response has opened up a world of creative inspiration for us as a band and as humans who make stuff that we will someday leave behind. We are so humbled and honored by that charge.”

   -Rachel Graber of Holy Sheboygan


Listen and see more here. 

What we need

At the end of May, Holy Sheboygan  came together for the long-planned session to complete Phase One of the Phil Project. Seven songs have been written and professionally recorded. We need to raise $7000 to cover studio time, travel expenses, mixing and pressing the album, and outreach. Your contribution represents a commitment to the musicians, the project, and Phil’s legacy which Deb worked so hard to fulfill.

Holy Sheboygan recording at Honeytone Studio. Photo: Patrick Boland

This professional recording is the first step toward  creating a multi-media event to honor Phil - and now Deb, and their long collaboration- the extent of which has only been realized with the posthumous revelation of her meticulously kept archive. This deeply personal story embodies the elements of all lasting art and we intend to cultivate its development to its full expression. 


Holy Sheboygan, Photo: Patrick Boland

We at Wormfarm have been generating, supporting, and hosting ambitious creative projects for over twenty years. We recognize the power, beauty, and profound truths revealed in Phil and Deb’s story, and we are honored to usher it into its next phase alongside Pam Holt and members of Deb’s chosen family. We invite you to join us by contributing today.