Bon Jovi: A couple of articles on Phil X

Here are a few background articles on Richie's "understudy" Phil X.

Meet Phil X, Richie Sambora’s Replacement in Bon Jovi

Michael Leonard | 05.04.2011

Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora’s temporary replacment is Phil X, an Ontario-born session guitarist. The tour kicked off at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (on April 30) with Jon Bon Jovi announcing at the encore of “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “We’d like to send this out to our brother Richie.”

Phil X was born in 1966 as Philip Xenidis. He’s of Greek descent and the co-founder of the L.A. band Powder. He also has a second band, The Drills. He is used to standing-in: he replaced Rik Emmett in Canadian rockers Triumph for their Edge of Excess album (1993) and tour.

He’s also played guitar for Tommy Lee, Rob Zombie, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Chris Cornell, Adam Lambert and many more.

At Viva Cantina, a Mexican restaurant in Burbank, he’s played with country music collective the Cody Bryant Experience. According to MusicIndustryNewswire, “Phil X drops by to add his powerful guitar to honky-tonk numbers that turn into raging barn-burners that totally kick ass.”

For now, Phil X is the new Richie Sambora. Bon Jovi’s current tour ends in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 31.

Ugh Replacement makes it sound so permanent.  

Local guitarist joins Bon Jovi

Katharine Sealey

May 4, 2011

Rock on. Phil X, seen here headlining The Guitar World's annual
Rock 'n' Roll Party in Meadowvale in 2009, is filling in for
Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora on their current world tour. File photo

It's never easy being a temp, but this gig might make up for it.

Mississauga musician Phil Xenidis, better known as Phil X, is the new temporary guitarist for rockers Bon Jovi.

Xenidis, 45, joined the band onstage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 30 as a fill-in for their regular guitarist Richie Sambora, who is reportedly in rehab. Bon Jovi's current tour is scheduled to end in Portugal on July 31. The Circle Tour was last year's top selling circuit, earning $201 million.

Previously, Xenidis was best known as the replacement for Rik Emmett in the band Triumph in the early-'90s. Now based in Los Angeles, Xenidis is a popular studio musician, having played on albums for Rob Zombie, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Alice Cooper and Chris Daughtry.

I bet Phil X hates being called a replacement. Also this article makes it seem like they plucked him from the "mean" streets of Mississauga, he lives in LA.