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At 37 years old, the last 18 spent in the music business, Phil Varone retired, if only temporarily. Probably best known as the drummer of Saigon Kick and Skid Row, Phil has many other talents including, but not limited to,

a songwriter and music producer.

   

After an eye-opening discussion in 2004 with Emmy Award winning Fabio Jafet, one time news cameraman who spent 4 yrs following and documenting Phil spiral out of control, he decided to kick his drug addiction. Varone and Jafet then spent over a year trying to piece together footage (over 150 hrs worth) of Phil's "trainwreck" rockstar lifestyle giving birth to a 90 minute film. Aptly titled Waking Up Dead, and opening with a great quote from 1891 by Oscar Wilde "the only way to get rid of temptation, is to yield to it", Phil realized that telling one's life story is not an easy task. With Jafet's help, Varone started to learn alot about himself as well as what others truly thought of him. For Phil, that was the hardest part, but yet an amazing process. The film, went on to be one of  106 picked out of over 1700 worldwide for the Chicago International Documentary Festival in April of 2005.

 

Much like the more recent and more popular biography of rockstar drug abuse, The Heroin Diaries written by Nikki Sixx, Phil's goal was to help others realize the scary truth to drug addiction and the importance of soberity, as well help him maintain his own sense positive energy. Also like fellow former drug abuser, Sixx, Phil gives alot of himself towards charity work..including Rockworks and the Clear View Treatment Center. However, unlike his fellow rockers, Phil's drug abuse didn't begin until he was already established as a drummer. After 32 yrs of declining offers to try every possible type of drug, he finally gave in to temptation, for no real reason other than "it will be fun". Or so he thought..he once said in an interview about his addiction, he was hooked right away and dove in head first, loving it way too much. He allowed it to take over his life, ruining a lot of relationships, like most drug users.

The film is very graphic and gives you a first handed look at Phil backstage, on and offstage, touring, as well as life in general. Nothing gets sugar coated, which makes for a dark and compelling look into what most see as the glamourous life of a musician, who has once had Top Ten hit. It is a very personal candid look into Phil's life that often, it is almost uncomfortable to watch.  It was made available in June 2006 on dvd and can be purchased from various online sites including Amazon.

Phil has since changed career paths and now enjoys making a dream come true in stand up comedy. He is succeeding with a show every Saturday night in the Los Angeles area...(the) "Sex, Stand Up and Rock and Roll Show". Like Varone, the show is very unquie providing the audience with a night full of entertainment of just what the title conjurges up. In fact there are raffles with a chance to win 1 of 4 gift bags chock full of products from the sponsors of his show. (Sextoy.com, I Love Vagina.com, Rudechix.Com, Junker clothing, hustler video, etc).  A Rockstar, Porn Stars, Comedians and gift bags.... what more could you possibly need for a night that promises fun? Still clean, he has also had a few acting jobs and his scorecard includes: CBS' Numbers, NBC's Indentity, Showtime's Californication, as well as TLC's Miami Ink.

Phil, not turning his back on fans of his drumming days, has said there is also talk of a reunion Saigon Kick show scheduled for August 2009 in Clear Lake, IA. As a fan, myself, I look forward to the possiblity of there being more then just the one reunion show, prehaps even a tour? For now, however, it will have to do.

~ jeniPHer

  

 

 

 

 

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*** photo (c) of Phil Varone @ Improv courtesy and permission from YVETTEMARIE.COM ***

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