Theofilos Xenidis (born March 10, 1966),[Bryan Reesman. Bon Jovi: The Story. Page 185. Sterling Press, NY. 2016.] better known as Phil X, is a Canadian musician. Since 2013, he has played lead guitar with Bon Jovi and officially replaced former lead guitarist Richie Sambora in 2016.
Career
Early bands and session work (1982–2010)
In 1982, Xenidis formed the hard rock-heavy metal band Sidinex (naming it after himself, the moniker being his last name spelled backwards) with singer Todd Farhood, bassist Kevin Gingrinch and drummer Scott Masterson. The band released only one EP in 1985,
Forever Young, before changing name to Flip City in 1987 and disbanding soon after.
An opportunity in Xenidis' career came when he was asked in 1990 to tour with Randy Coven, whom he met through
Aldo Nova; in 1991, he toured the US with Aldo Nova.
From 1992 to 1993 he played with Triumph, recording
Edge of Excess and touring with them.
In 1994, Xenidis collaborated with Doug Varty, Terry Brown, Geoffrey Dahl, Randall Coryell, Rob Kennedy, Brian Doerner and others to form a short lived band, The Bushdoctors, in Mississauga, Ontario. They recorded one album, a self-titled debut, now out of print.
Bon Jovi (2011–present)
In 2011, Phil X substituted for
Bon Jovi's lead guitarist
Richie Sambora,
who missed 13 dates after entering rehab,
and later filled in for Sambora on the US and Europe leg of the 2013 tour after Sambora left the band suddenly for personal reasons. It was a mutual friend between Phil X and Jon Bon Jovi, Arman Ghasemi, who recommended to Jon Bon Jovi to use Phil X as a substitute.
In mid-2013 he filled in for Sambora during a number of dates of the Because We Can tour, including their only Italian date in Milan,
In 2016, he appeared in the documentary Hired Gun, a film about .
Personal life
Phil X was born to Greek-Canadian parents and grew up in
Mississauga,
Ontario,
raised in the Erindale subdivision.
Phil was previously married to Ninette Terhart. In 2013, Phil married Lindy Green and has two children with her.
Equipment
Guitars
Phil X has used many guitars during his session and live work. He prefers bridge pickups and often removes the neck pickup from his personal guitars for added vibration, clarity and harmonics. For humorous effect, he will usually place an action figure and fan grille in the pickup cavity.
[Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: ] He also favors P-90 pickups due to their tonal flexibility; their tone can be cleaned up on an overdriven amp by simply lowering the volume on the guitar.
His most notable guitar is his ESP Guitars,
In 2012, Phil X received a signature guitar from Yamaha,
In 2019, Phil X became a Gibson artist.
Amplification
Phil X also uses Friedman amplification. He has his own signature amplifier, the Friedman X.
[url=http://friedmanamplification.com/heads/phil-x-signature-head ]
Pickups
Phil X has four custom pickups which he designed in conjunction with pickup manufacturer Arcane, Inc. They are available for sale on his official website:
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PX-90: A P-90 pickup wound to Phil X's specs. It is his preferred pickup and is used in a majority of his guitars.
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PX-100: The same pickup as the PX-90, but made in a humbucker case as a drop-in replacement for humbucker equipped guitars.
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PX-8: A humbucker wound to vintage specs, but uses Alnico 8 magnets for extra output.
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PX-SUPER 8: Also uses Alnico 8 magnets, but is wound hotter for high-gain use.
Discography
Phil X is a prolific
Session musician, having played on albums by
Chris Cornell,
Tommy Lee, Methods of Mayhem,
Avril Lavigne,
Kelly Clarkson,
Orianthi,
Rob Zombie,
Chris Daughtry,
Alice Cooper, Thousand Foot Krutch and many others. He wrote the song "Tired" and also played guitar on Tommy Lee's
album. He has appeared with Tommy Lee and Bon Jovi on Ellen
and The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno. Phil X was featured in the "making of" bonus features for the movie
Josie and the Pussycats. He acted as a music coach for the film and taught the young actresses to appear as if they were actually playing their instruments.
The following is a list of Phil X's discography as a band member, apart from his session work.
with Triumph
with The Bushdoctors
with Powder
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Sonic Machine (2002)
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Powder (2005)
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Nothing (2008)
with Phil X & The Drills
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Kick Your Ass in 17 Minutes. (2009)
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We Bring the Rock N Roll (2011)
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We Play Instruments N Sh!t (2012)
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Stupid Good Lookings Vol.1 (2019)
with Bon Jovi
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This House Is Not for Sale (2016)
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2020 (2020)
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Forever (2024)
Session work
The following is a complete official list of the rest of Phil X's work.
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Nice Place to Visit (1988) by Frozen Ghost
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(1991)
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Shake Your Spirit (1992) by Frozen Ghost
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Naveed (1994) by Our Lady Peace
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Methods of Mayhem (1999) by Methods of Mayhem
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Brutal Planet (2000) by Alice Cooper
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Movement in Still Life (1999) by BT
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(2000)
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I Get Wet (2001) by Andrew W.K.
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The Sinister Urge (2001) by Rob Zombie
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Never a Dull Moment (2002) by Tommy Lee
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Emotional Technology (2003) by BT
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House of 1000 Corpses - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2003)
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(2003)
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Under My Skin (2004) by Avril Lavigne
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Day of Fire (2004) by Day of Fire
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Breakaway (2004) by Kelly Clarkson
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The Art of Breaking (2005) by Thousand Foot Krutch
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(2005) by Tommy Lee
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Daughtry (2006) by Daughtry
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The Day Has Come (2006) by Cheyenne Kimball
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Devils & Angels (2007) by Mêlée
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The Flame in All of Us (2007) by Thousand Foot Krutch
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Worlds Collide (2007) by Apocalyptica
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The Stewart Copeland Anthology (2007) by Stewart Copeland
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Gavin DeGraw (2008) by Gavin DeGraw
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Scars & Souvenirs (2008) by Theory of a Deadman
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Patience (2008) by Nick Lachey
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Halestorm (2009) by Halestorm
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Believe (2009) by Orianthi
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Last Train Home (2009) by Ryan Star
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Leave This Town (2009) by Daughtry
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Scream (2009) by Chris Cornell
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All I Ever Wanted (2009) by Kelly Clarkson
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Just Like You (2009) by Allison Iraheta
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For Your Entertainment (2009) by Adam Lambert
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Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2 (2010) by Hikaru Utada
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Five (2011) by Ayumi Hamasaki
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Sunday Love (2012) by Fefe Dobson
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The Strange Case Of... (2012) by Halestorm
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EvoLucie (2018) by Lucie (band)
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"Work Hard, Rock Hard" (2021) by Kurt Deimer
External links
