Bon Jovi Shows his Greek Colours
- Written by jo.daril
Translation By Lisa Darilis
Bon Joviʼs concerts have acquired Greek colors, as the famous band intensifies their dynamic with Greek-Canadian guitarist Phil Xenidis, otherwise known as Phil-X.
"My inspiration was Manolis Hiotis" says Xenidis, whoʼs playing for the second time in his career with the well known band. (Manolis Hiotis was a famous bouzouki player in Greece who became famous during the era following the German occupation of Greeceup until his death in 1970.)
Phil Xenidis had worked before with Bon Jovi in 2011, when their 30 year run with guitarist Richie Sambora came to a halt when he was admitted to rehab. During that time Xenidis replaced him and played 13 live concerts, having a successful run with Bon Jovi and the rest of the band. It looks like he he will get the position as guitarist permanently, as Sambora seems like a ghost of the distant past, especially after a period of negative clashes with them.
A source from U.S. weekly told us last August that there were so may problems between Sambora and the band, that his departure was the best decision." This is when Phil-Xʼs name began to become popular.
Phil Xenidis was born in Toronto, Canada in 1966. In 1982 he created the hard rock band Sidinex, which is his name written backwards, along with lead singer Todd Farhood, bassist Kevin Gingrich, and drummer Scott Masterson. They became well known with their song "Forever Young."
Although they were changed their name to Flip City in 1987, they dissolved a little later. In the 1990s, Xenidis began working with some big names in the music industry, like Alice Cooper, Kelly Clarkson, and Chris Doughtry.
Phil X is very proud of his Greek heritage, as he even shows himself playing a bouzouki in one of his videos. He commonly attributes his inspiration to bouzouki player Manolis Hiotis.