Studio A Audio Recording & Production

By Coral Andrews

Guitarist’s-guitarist Phil Xenidis a.k.a. “Phil X” has rocked the world’s stadium stages from North America and the U.K. to South Africa and Australia playing for thousands as Bon Jovi’s electrifying axe player. But he “really cut his teeth” in Kitchener.

“Friends from Bluevale Collegiate would have house parties just so we could play,” says Xenidis, who then lived in Toronto. His pal, drummer Scott Masterson, moved to Kitchener.

“Scott’s whole family was on board. His mom and dad would let us rehearse in their basement and I think his brother built us a lighting board,” he says. “Kevin Gingrich (Full-Length Mirror) was also a huge part of my early artistic development. He switched from guitar to bass. We would create crazy parts to play in originals plus he had a van so that came in handy for gigs,” adds Xenidis with a laugh.

Every weekend, Sidinex (Xenidis spelt backwards) would play house parties and high schools showcasing heavy metal music of the day from Judas Priest to Black Sabbath and Van Halen.

They met singer Todd Farhood through a basement jam as the band began opening at local shows for acts like Lee Aaron and Nazareth. They released 1985 EP “Forever Young,” changed their name to Flip City, and then disbanded.

But it was only the beginning for guitar-slinger Xenidis, soon asked to play with other Canadian bands from Frozen Ghost to Triumph, as his musical career began to soar. He became the go-to session guitarist working many artists from Avril Lavigne and Daughtry to Alice Cooper, Tommy Lee, Rob Zombie, and Bon Jovi.

Xenidis, who is Greek-Canadian, says he got into music because of his late father, Peter, who played a Greek instrument called the bouzouki.

“He was the proverbial life of the party so I don’t know if he just wanted accompaniment or to pass the torch, as they say. I just remember him being the proudest father around as I excelled on the guitar,” says Xenidis. “My first guitar was a copy of a Vox hollow-body teardrop-shaped electric. I could barely hold it as I was five years old. But that investment was a testament to my dad’s enthusiasm towards me playing music. Guitar was always my main thing but I got into bouzouki to really get my hands more in sync. It was a more difficult instrument to master but when I went back to guitar, my picking and articulation was insane!” he notes, citing childhood rock heroes as Ted Nugent and Black Sabbath, plus Eddie Van Halen for his “inventiveness, recklessness and incredible timing.”

Rather than formal vocal training, Xenedis concentrated on his unique Vox strengths. Chalk up that now-signature Phil X scream to a natural rock and roll osmosis, which came in very handy on You Tube.

Bon Jovi producer John Shanks (Melissa Etheridge, Fleetwood Mac, Take That) watched a few of Xenidis’ music videos. He was in search of a substitute player for Bon Jovi lead guitarist Richie Sambora.

“Shanks called JBJ, recommending me as “the guy” who could “play and sing anything.” It was all managers and lawyers for some time while I “speed learned” a two-and-a-half-hour show. Then on April 14, 2011, Jon Bon Jovi called. I’ve joked with fans about it being like answering the Bat-phone,” he notes.

Xenidis (“always a huge fan”) remembers seeing Bon Jovi in Toronto at the CNE Grandstand.

He says “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive” are some of the best rock songs ever written.

“At this point I’ve done over 100 shows and I still get goose bumps when I kick in with the talk box for “Prayer.” It’s surreal,” he notes, adding he played on four songs for upcoming Bon Jovi release (“This House is Not for Sale”) and will likely tour again.

In addition to rock-and-roll star status, Xenidis has become a savvy social media cyber guru thanks to director/cameraman Dustin Jack, and Fretted Americana store owner David Brass. You Tube video series “Phil X Friday” (filmed in the store) features Xenidis performing for millions on many rare and vintage guitars.

His own rock band The Drills features “left wing and the glue” Daniel Spree on bass and current drummer Matt Starr. He says they are “Spinal Tap in the drum department” and featured 10 musical pals/drummers including Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) and Glen Sobel, (Alice Cooper) for an upcoming documentary.

At one point, Xenidis offered guitar lessons through Skype. And for “Those About To Rock” or YouTube sensation wannabes, “Don’t believe in shortcuts. Practise. Practise. Practise. Before you can kick anyone’s ass, you have to kick your own,” he said.

He’s super excited about The Rhapsody show, literally coming home, thanks pal drummer Paul Hoffman who will join him with (Drills) bassist Daniel Spriewald. Xenidis likes to riff out with his old KW pal Hoffman whenever he can. Expect some of their fave covers, Drills tunes, and a few more surprises.

“We have a lot of fun,” he says. “I hope faces from the house parties all those years ago show up. It’s going to be a blast! Except now we’re all old!”

Phil X

Rhapsody Barrel Bar

179 King St. W., Kitchener

Saturday, July 23

8 p.m.

$20

www.rhapsodybarrelbar.com

www.philxfanclub.com

http://www.therecord.com/whatson-story/6762400-encore-records-celebrates-defying-the-odds/

By Coral Andrews

It’s Monday, early afternoon. Today, owner Mark Logan is excited about a new order that’s just arrived, including more copies of The Monkees latest album “Good Times” which had sold out.

“People are really responding to it and it has done way better than anybody thought it would,” says Logan adding the band was smart to release singles in advance and then “push the hell out of it.”

People want the record because of “She Makes Me Laugh” written by Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and “You Bring The Summer” written by XTC’s Andy Partridge.

“Those were the first two singles,” says Logan, opening the box. “They are good songs. I don’t know that it necessarily sounds like the Monkees specifically but it’s a really good pop record.”

It’s this sort of insight into the business that customers like, and likely the reason Encore Records with Logan (and venerable staff members Chris Boyne, and Al King) continues to cater to audiophiles of all ages year after year.

Like the sign says — Not a Dog Disc in the Dump since 1981.

There’s no doubt that vinyl has made an astounding comeback. Logan says younger people buy vinyl — they appreciate the difference in sound quality.

“But it also got them back buying CDs. That is one thing that nobody talks about. It was a popular perception that CDs were going to end. But we sell more CDs than we do records,” he adds.

That makes sense, with today’s reissued 180-gram vinyl costing $40 to $50, compared to a CD at $10 to $15.

Whatever listening format they prefer, Logan is appreciative.

“I think we have been lucky that this area has been really supportive. And they seem to really be into music,” he notes. “If you look at all of the stores that have come and gone over the years, there are a lot of bigger and better stores than us that aren’t here anymore,” he says. “We are still here by the grace of the people who shop here. I am happy that they still want to come in.”

He says the idea behind a 35th anniversary bash (with cover charge proceeds going to the local food bank) is to celebrate the fact that Encore still exists.

“We are still here. That is the surprise of it,” he exclaims. “Each year I am always wondering if we get to do it another year. Then we did 30 years and, it’s well, we should have a party because it’s not going to be 35. And then 35. There’s definitely not going to be a 40. But who knows?”

“In this industry it is something a bit unusual. We also wanted to have a party to say thanks to everyone who has supported us for all these years. It’s the only reason we’ve been able to survive everything that’s happened both with the record industry and things like the LRT construction, which was pretty devastating, After 30 years, we celebrated honestly because I couldn’t envision a 35, but here we are!”

Encore’s party playbill includes local singer/songwriter Christina Miter with Busted Flat musician Lynn Jackson (in a debut duo) plus other Busted Flat artists including Ginger. St. James and The Grinders, Lucas Stagg, and Mike Elliott and The Audio Kings.

Plus Nathan Coles. Coles was part of the highly successful Nathan Coles Outfit (with bassist Chris Hierlihy, guitarist Jordan Howard, and drummer Vish Khanna) performing at Hillside, and sharing stages with the who’s who of the Canadian indie music — from Jim Guthrie, and Cuff the Duke to The Constantines, playing venues across the country. In 2003 he released his solo EP “Bird.” His 2005 followup was the equally-acclaimed “Twelve Upheavals that Brought the Redwoods to Flight.”

Coles is known for his stirring melodies and unusual yet thought-provoking lyrics with a vocal cadence à la Neil Young, Martin Tielli, or Hayden.

He has a son called Lochlan. And now after “a fatherly hiatus,” Coles is ready to get back into the music scene with new acoustic/electric band Hellion Ton, and a “mountain of unreleased songs” which he often tests out on the “sketch book” of Jimmy Jazz’s open stage.

Coles is now in his 17th year running the Sunday night jam, “making the inexperienced sound audible.”

“Everyone has a different touch with delivery. It is a sonic curiosity to achieve the ideal sound for that individual so it’s like school every night,” he notes.

He says Sunday night jams sometimes have had 12 people on stage at once, including guests Hawksley Workman, Owen Pallett, and Andy Maize, plus late “Monday night jam neighbour” Paul MacLeod.

He’s excited to play the Encore bash with his new band “The Trio-esque Nathan Coles” which is sometimes two, three, or four hence the “esque.”

“I used to play out so often, all around the Toronto tri-city area and the whole circuit — Ottawa, the east coast, and a lot of Canada, and Germany, in Europe. But I fell off the scene for a while. And now I am trying to get back out there.”

Encore Record’s 35th Anniversary Bash

The Boathouse

Victoria Park, Kitchener

Saturday, July 16

8 p.m.

$10

www.kwboathouse.ca

http://www.therecord.com/whatson-story/6760860-grateful-drummer-spreads-around-the-honour-for-the-mel-brown-award/

By Terry Pender

KITCHENER — The drummer Jimmy Boudreau will receive the Mel Brown Award during the 2016 Kitchener Blues Festival next month.

“It’s awesome, I am so flattered that the blues festival has recognized me with this award, more so that Mel’s name is on it,” Boudreau says. “I was closer to Mel in some ways than with my own father.”

Boudreau was the time keeper in Mel Brown and the Homewreckers from 1993 until Mel passed in 2009.

During that time, he played on no fewer than 10 recordings for the Toronto blues label Electro-Fi Records. Those recordings won one Blues Music Award (formerly W.C. Handy Awards), two Blues Music nominations and two Juno nominations. Boudreau’s drums are heard on the final recordings of Mel Brown, Snooky Pryor and Sam Meyers.

The Kitchener Blues Festival is billed as the largest free blues festival in Canada. The festival’s inspiration was Mel Brown, the soul-funk-jazz-blues-fusion guitarist from Jackson, Miss., who lived in Kitchener for the last 20 years of his life before passing in 2009. His musical spirit pervades the annual celebration of the blues.

His group, Mel Brown and Homewreckers, were the house band at Pop the Gator from 1989 to 1994. Boudreau joined the Homewreckers not long before the Gator closed its doors. But the band never stopped playing and recording.

“When somebody gives you an award, I am not used to it drawing attention to me,” Boudreau says. “I really want to share it.”

The humble, soft-spoken musician then names the people he wants to share the award with, musicians who played and jammed with Brown during his years in Kitchener — Mervin Campbell (drums), Scott Urquhart (guitar), Shawn Kellerman (guitar), Randall Coryell (drums), Leo Valvassori (bass), John Lee (keyboard), Al Richardson (bass) and Dave Wiffen (tenor sax).

“Everybody forgets about Wiffen, but he was the only sax player Mel would hire in Canada,” Boudreau says.

Boudreau was born and raised in Sudbury, the son of an Inco welder, growing up in the Minnow Lake neighbourhood near First Avenue and Bancroft Drive. From the time he was 10, Boudreau played in a drum corps called the Blue Saints. He won national awards for his snare playing and attended LaSalle Secondary School because it had the best music program in Sudbury.

“I knew I wanted to be a musician,” Boudreau says.

Boudreau learned to play jazz at LaSalle Secondary. Then he moved south to study jazz drumming at Toronto’s Humber College from 1983 to 1986. Soon after graduating from Humber, Boudreau was hired as the drummer for The Kats, one of the house bands at Lulu’s Roadhouse.

“That was a great gig, right out of school,” Boudreau says. “I really grew a lot there.”

The Kats backed headliners who came to town without their own bands. So Boudreau found himself playing with the likes of Chuck Berry, the Mamas and the Papas and The Drifters.

“That’s where I cut my teeth on playing pop music,” Boudreau says.

Mel Brown and the Homewreckers came together during the winter of 1989-90. It was the house band at Pop the Gator on Queen Street South, a legendary venue that closed in 1994.

Boudreau would sub for the band’s regular drummer, Randall Coryell, who would go on the road with Alannah Myles. Boudreau was highly recommended by the Homewrecker’s bass player, Leo Valvassori.

When Coryell gave up the drummer’s stool for good, Boudreau took over and never left.

In addition to gigging and recording with the Homewreckers, Boudreau played with the country outfit Little Rock. That experience led him to one of his current gigs, keeping time for The Western Swing Authority.

Boudreau also plays around North America with a nostalgia act out of Hamilton that plays James Taylor, Carole King, Harry Chapin, Billy Joel and the like, often backed by orchestras.

With a wide green, Boudreau likes to say, “This town owes me nothing.” From the time he finished studying at Humber College to this day, he played the drums for a living in Kitchener. And while undergoing cancer treatment, Boudreau developed a deeper appreciation for the city’s music scene.

“People I didn’t know were coming up to me and offering support, because they knew me through Mel,” Boudreau says. “They would follow me on Facebook just to make sure I was OK.”

Cancer-free for five years now, Boudreau marvels at how the music fans in this region make it possible for people like him to live and work here as professional musicians.

“This is all I have ever done since I left Humber and started with The Kats band at Lulu’s, and it’s never stopped,” Boudreau says.

Boudreau’s constant emotional partner is his wife, Ginette.

“It just seems to me that a lot of really great, important things have happened to me, business and not business, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they have happened since she came into my life,” Boudreau says.

They married in 2008, about a year before Mel passed.

“We buried Mel on our first anniversary in 2009,” Boudreau says. “As soon as I played the funeral, we got in the car and drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake. We had plans to celebrate our anniversary there.”

tpender@therecord.com

Terry Pender covers business and can be reached via Twitter @PenderRecord

Previous winners of the Mel Brown Award:

* 2003 — Mel Brown

* 2004 — Glenn Smith

* 2005 — Jackie Washington

* 2006 — Cheryl Lescom

* 2007 — Shawn Kellerman

* 2008 — Andrew Galloway

* 2009 — Steve Strongman

* 2010 — Bruce Iglauer

* 2011 — Jimmie Vaughan

* 2012 — John McKinley

* 2013 — Bobby Blue Bland

* 2014 — Buddy Guy

* 2015 — Charity Brown