Jasper is a fitting stop for Shane Philip, known for playing in ski towns and mountain communities, although it is one he has never made before.

Coming off a series of huge Olympic shows, the one-man band is promising Jasperites a show for those who love to move.

“It’s going to be upbeat, percussive –  full on dance,” he says of the upcoming show at the Jasper Legion.

Philip’s prowess at juggling enough instruments for a five-piece band has led him from teaching high school history and social studies to over half a decade of dancing crowds and sold out shows across the country with his guitar grooves, djembe drum beats and echoing deep didgeridoo.

The musician, based out of Quadra Island, BC began making music and drumming on any kind of household items he could find as a child before growing up into a teacher. He and other teachers would put the Grade 9 and 10 curriculum to punk rock and reggae music, writing the music and songs to teach his students.

Before long, Philip was playing for other schools; dressing up and doing skits for the kids, all the while enjoying performing live in front of people.

“I remember one teacher told me ‘What are you doing teaching school, you should be out playing music?’ and I really took that to heart, and I just went for it. I thought, ‘Yeah, I can make a living doing this.’ I’m a good five years into it now, five-six years, and yeah, I haven’t looked back, its just been exploding,” says Philip.

It has been exploding particularly since he played at the Olympics, where he received much publicity from Much Music and CTV, as well as getting hired to play for official Olympic celebrations and in bars in Whistler and Surrey.

“It was a happy crowd too, because Canadians did so well at the Olympics … it’s funny, there’s nothing like playing to a crowd that’s celebrating a victory,” he says.

For those who are familiar with Philip’s music, the musician has been working on a lot of new songs which he says he needs to take time off from touring to record.

He never plays one song the same way. They might recognize the song, he says, but it will be completely different, which can be a good thing, or it can be frustrating, he says.

“It’s a good thing for me because it keeps me fresh,” he says, adding that the drum and didgeridoo jams he simply makes up on the fly.

Philip claims there are no real ‘self-taught’ musicians, and that he just listens to other people who he admires and watches what they do, thinking, ‘I want to try that,’ which is how he learned the guitar and didgeridoo.

“So I guess in that way it is self-taught. I didn’t pay a hundred dollars a week for music lessons,” he says.

The Legion show will be Philip’s first gig in Jasper, but he is not unfamiliar with the area. He recently played a sold out show in Hinton and once played the Friday night closing show at the Robson Valley Music Festival. He says there is a possibility that he could be joined by some friends and members of local area band Mamaguroove.

Shane Philip will play at the Jasper Legion on Saturday, March 20.