Meet the Artist: Phil Stendek, Ultimate One-man Band

Name: Philip Stendek

Residence: St. Louis

Genre: Reggae and funk.

Street cred: 2010 Boss Loop Station US champion.

History: "I’ve been playing in bands since I was 16 or so," Stendek said. "Then about 10 years ago I got sick of not going anywhere, being in these bands that weren’t going anywhere, so I just started playing solo."

Stendek said he started off playing acoustic guitar in coffee shops and other venues but then began experimenting with looping.

"It started with me and an acoustic guitar and pedal and turned it into this big huge stage show where I’ve got seven guitars and keyboards, drums. You name it, I got it," Stendek said.

Difficulty: "Looping isn’t that hard to do in the sense of figuring it out," he said. "It’s just over the years I developed a technique for it. It definitely took time to figure out; it’s a learning process. You never master it. There’s always some new thing you learn."

Catch him live: Stendek will be playing at 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 3, for the Webster Groves Community Days celebration. Otherwise, he plays five nights a week at various places in Missouri, including regular shows in the Ozarks and Columbia.

See him sooner: He has videos both on his website and youtube channel.