Phil X Wiki: Everything To Know About 'Bon Jovi' Lead Guitarist

Phil Theofilos Xenidis was born on March 10th, 1966. He was raised in Missisauga. The musician par excellence is popularly known as Phil X. He has a Greek-Canadian ancestry. Phil X is a talented musician and a songwriter. He joined the American rock band Bon Jovi in 2013 and has since then been playing live with them after having replaced their original lead guitarist Richie Sambora. Phil X along with bassist, Hugh Mcdonald were the unofficial members of the band who got officially inducted in the band in 2016. Phil X performed as the lead guitarist of the band Bon Jovi during their thirteenth studio album, 'This House Is Not for Sale' composition. The album, 'This House Is Not for Sale' contains hit singles like the title track, 'Living with the Ghost', 'Knockout', and others. The album is of Arena rock genre and was released by Island Records. Some of their hit singles like 'When We Were Us' were performed live in concerts in London. 'When We Were Us' is included in the album, 'Live from London'. Phil X was initially married to Ninette Xenidis from 1994 to 2010. Ninette has formed the Turbo pop band, Powder. The band Powder had reached its peak in LA in 2001 when it nearly exploded in every music scene. The couple divorced in 2010 and he then moved on to marry his second wife, Lindy Green in 2013. The couple has been together since then. Phil X has experimented and performed with a diverse range of guitars during his musical recording sessions and live performances. He gives a lot of regard to his ESP LTD Viper guitar which he fondly calls as the 'sticker guitar'. In 2012, Phil X was gifted a signature guitar from the Yamaha guitar manufacturers. In 2015, a signature XG model was released by the company Framus. Phil X later invented the 'Flip Stick' which was a replacement for the usual whammy bar on Floyd-Rose-equipped guitars. Phil X is the brand ambassador for the Cleartone Treated Guitar Strings and also for the EVerly Star Picks. He uploads a few videos on his YouTube channel and one such video in which he demonstrates his rare and vintage guitars has garnered more than 30 million views.

Phil X was the founder of the hard rock and heavy metal band Sidinex in 1982. Interestingly, the name of the band is actually his first name spelled backwards. He formed the band with singer Todd Farhood, bassist Kevin Gingrinch and drummer Scott Masterson. The band could not come up with any notable work and the only EP released by them in 1985 was, Forever Young. Soon later, they changed their name to 'Flip City' but that did not change the fate of the band and soon after they disbanded. While still looking for greener pastures in his musical career, an opportunity came knocking on Phil X's door when he was asked to tour with Randy Coven. He had met him through Aldo Nova. Later in 1991, Phil X toured around the US with Aldo Nova. Later, in 1992 for a year, Phil X played with the band Triumph and recorded 'Edge of Excess' with them while touring with Triumph. His career was slowly upscaling when in 1994, Phil X joined hands with Terry Brown, Rob Kennedy, Doug Varty and others to form a band, 'The Bushdoctors', in his home place Mississauga, Ontario. This band too had a very short future and they only recorded one album which is now out of print. Phil X is a very talent guitarist who has played on albums by Tommy Lee, Methods of Mayhem, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Orianthi, Rob Zombie, Chris Daughtry, Alice Cooper, Thousand Foot Krutch and many others. As a song-writer, he wrote the song "Tired" and also played guitar on Tommy Lee's 'Tommyland: The Ride album'. Phil X has made an appearance with Tommy Lee and Bon Jovi on 'Ellen' and 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'. Phil X was also featured in the "making of" bonus credits for the movie 'Josie and the Pussycats'. He acted as a music coach for this film and taught the young actresses to appear on camera as if they were actually playing their instruments. 'Kick Your Ass in 17 Minutes' was the debut album by Los Angeles rock band 'The Drills'. Phil X has penned the lyrics of the album, 'Kick Your Ass in 17 Minutes'. Phil X's collaboration with Bon Jovi in 2011 was the peak of his career. He substituted their lead guitarist, Richie Sambora. Richie Sambora had to leave because he kept on missing dates after entering rehab. Phil X was later even asked by the band to fill in for their US and Europe tours in 2013. At that time, Sambora quit the band suddenly citing personal reasons. In mid-2013 he replaced Sambora for a number of dates of the 'Because We Can tour', including their tour in Milan, the entire British leg of the tour including the Isle of Wight Festival and also the Hyde Park BST dates, the South African leg, the South American leg, and the Australian leg of the tour. After touring with the band in the whole world in 2013, the band asked him to join them officially in 2016. In 2016, Phil was promoted as an official member in the band along with bass guitarist Hugh McDonald.

The net worth is currently under review.