This is the kind of party that can only happen in a few places on the planet Earth. Los Angeles being one of them.
(Stole this pic from Dan’s FB page)
About three months earlier, I get a party invite from Phil’s girlfriend Lindy. Awesome women, by the way. She was planning a surprise party for Phil. Of course, everyone who knows the guy accepted. So, about 150 people filled the hidden studio near Van Nuys airport called, Dance Revolution. It was filled with the perfect amount of celebs and behind-the-scene masterminds. Soon as we walked in, BIlly Sheehan, Ross Hogarth, Dave Friedman, Mike Longworth, Jeff Barry! Google the man, he’s a super-tall, 74 year-old legend. I was joking about him giving me life changing advice in under 30 seconds. He said, “Tell the truth, and people will respond.” We were talking about song writing, but I suppose that can apply to everything. In addition to the legends, I ran into a TON of very dear friends. It was a damn good night.
Lindy walked Phil in Blindfolded. and we proceeded to scare the shit out of him, by yelling “Surprise!”. We was in shock, trying to process what the heck was going on. By the time Phil got there, Tommy Lee pops out of no where. Not even sure how he snuck in without everyone smothering the guy. It took me a super long time before saying ‘hi’. I got to go to Tommy’s 40th birthday party, and that was another amazing night, that I could probably write a chapter in a novel about. Anyway, back to Phil. Not only was he completely surprised, he was actual confused. Having already had his birthday pass, he was completely caught off guard. Always fun doing that to people. 🙂
I regret not taking more pictures. I was too busy having fun.
From Left to right: Scotty Kalb, Phil X, Ross Hogarth
Lindy had a friend put together a movie of Phil’s life and projected it on a large screen. This thing was totally ‘movie documentary’ quality. Everyone got teary eyed at times, laughing our asses off at other times, and constantly cheering for the awesome rockness that we witnessed.
She also planned ahead and had a full back-line set up with a PA and tons of cool gear for jamming. Phil warmed up with a few Drills songs. They sounded awesome from the first power chord. The rest of the night was filled with friends jamming random classic rock goodies. “Superstitious”, “Somebody Get Me A Doctor”, “Highway Star”, a few different Zep songs. Here’s the part that kills me. A friend needed a ride home and I was sober enough to sneak away for a few minutes. Of course when I was gone, they were calling me up to jam. Missed opportunity. Oh well. 🙂
There was a back-line of Friedman Amps! Dirty Shirley 100 on one side, Brown Eye on the other. They both sounded killer! Just before the rocking, Dave Friedman and Mark Day were making sure their amps were set up and ready to roar. Very cool guys. I followed them around like they were the world’s biggest rockstars. I’m pretty certain they found me totally annoying.
I don’t know what I liked better, the awesome amps or the beautiful girls! Not a bad life, right?! 🙂
My new Facebook profile pic. Using my friends girlfriend’s to make me look cooler! From left to right, Buffy, Myself, Kellie.
Totally great night. Definitely blog-worthy material. Looking forward to many more Birthdays with Phil!
Rock on!
rePtile like Me 