Biography
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Founded In
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States
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Members
- Brian Burwell
- Daniel Spree
- Phil X
THE DRILLS are a Los Angeles based trio who are phil, j-bo and dan.
phil the drill (guitar and throat)
writes the songs which are inspired by cool things
that isky and scott say at work and bounces them off of…
j-bo drill a.k.a. the dangler (drums) who offers
arrangement ideas along with the odd chord change.
lieutenant dan drill plays (bass) because he kicks ass
and can sing.
At a time where nothing is seemingly original in music, THE DRILLS
emerge as a refreshing change to the cluster of bubblegum punk,
rap rock and i'm-so-depressed-i-can-hardly-spend-my-money
bands.
THE DRILLS sound may not be groundbreaking, but damn,
it sure is a lot of fun to RAAWWkKK!!!
While the songs are hooky & strong enough to be performed
acoustically, THE DRILLS prefer an approach that you can
smash balls to: loud, live, abrasive, in-your-face rock n' roll!!
In 2003, THE DRILLS started to cause a stir in Hollywood, with their brand of punk mixed with classic and modern rock with guitar virtuosic undertones. Phil X was at the helm as the lead vocalist and guitar player. Daniel Spree on bass and backing vocals and Jeremy Spencer (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH) completed the power trio. They remained quite underground and released their first EP, "Kick Your Ass In 17 Minutes", in 2009. Jeremy had left to start FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH by this time, so the constant rotation of drummers began.
Also in that time period, Phil was becoming a groundbreaking YouTube sensation on a video channel called Fretted Americana, where he demoed vintage guitars. Actual 1959 Gibson Les Pauls (worth in the range of $250,000),1954 Fender Stratocasters and hundreds of other guitars were put through their paces in Phil's hands. Before he knew it, Fretted Americana was sitting on millions of collective views and from a marketing standpoint, it made sense to take THE DRILLS to another level as PHIL X & THE DRILLS.
"We Bring The Rock'n'Roll" was the follow-up to "KYAI17M". With even more classic rock flavors stirred into the mix, this was the first endeavor to feature famed drummers that Phil had worked with on other artists' records, including Chris Cornell, DAUGHTRY, Kelly Clarkson and Gavin DeGraw, to name a few. Drummers like Josh Freese (Sting, FOO FIGHTERS),Abe Laboriel Jr. (Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton),and fellow Canadian Randy Cooke (SMASH MOUTH, FIVE FOR FIGHTING) were all featured on this record.
Following two successful tours in the U.K., the band released "We Play Instruments 'N Sh!t". Musically showing vast growth in writing and production, the band was excited to unleash this heightened evolvement to their new fan base. The fan base started to grow exponentially, due to Phil filling in for Richie Sambora in BON JOVI for thirteen shows in 2011. Phil went on to replace Sambora in 2016 and has been juggling both bands along with becoming a father since.
Multiple tours and recordings with BON JOVI inevitably took the front seat in Phil's career but every time he got a break, he was writing and setting up recording sessions with drummers like Tommy Lee, Tico Torres, Ray Luzier and many more.
The first of these sessions were mixed by Chris Lord Alge and released on "Stupid Good Lookings Vol 1". Taylor Hawkins, Glen Sobel, Brent Fitz, Matt Chamberlain, Abe Laboriel Jr. and Randy Cooke all participated on this drum extravaganza with more sessions in the vault.
2024 marked an exciting new landmark for the band when they opened for MÖTLEY CRÜE at Summerfest in Springfield, Illinois. Phil X, Daniel Spree and Brent Fitz took the stage and left the 10,000 attendees, event coordinators, promoters, and agents (not to mention the headliner) all thrilled.
Theofilos Xenidis, better known as Phil X, prolific studio guitarist, songwriter and renowned guitarist for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees BON JOVI, and his band THE DRILLS are back and ready to blow minds with their electrifying new album "POW! Right In The Kisser", set for release on March 28 via Frontiers Music Srl. Known for their unique fusion of punk, classic, and modern rock infused with guitar virtuosity, PHIL X & THE DRILLS have carved out a distinctive spot in the rock world — and they're kicking it into high gear with this upcoming release.
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