|
 Anyone who has been wondering what the hell Phil Varone has been up to lately, can stop wondering, because he is back to talk with GlamMetal.com once again for the third time! And yes, it's true, the third time really is a charm!
Last time we talked with Phil it was early 2005, he had left the band that he loved, Skid Row, was just coming through some serious personal issues with drugs, and was getting ready to release his movie titled "Waking Up Dead," which was inspired from his crazy rock n' roll lifestyle on the road. We are very happy to report that Phil has made it through his ordeal, and is currently living a very happy and healthy life.
Phil Varone seems to always be busy doing something, and since leaving the rock n' roll life that he was literally balls deep in for over a decade, the rocker has found his calling in comedy. That's right, Phil Varone is now doing stand-up comedy! Anyone that has ever known Phil, or has even met him, know's that this doesn't come as a big surprise, because he has always been a very funny guy, and never holds anything back. Phil is to comedy, as he is to a drum set, a true professional.
We at GlamMetal.com are happy to have Phil Varone back. Phil and I talk about everything from comedy to tattoos, and much, much more. Phil also shares some of his thoughts on his old band Saigon Kick, which should answer some questions for all of you Saigon Kick fans out there. So, I hope you dig this kickass interview with the very talented and funny Phil Varone, he is always an entertaining interview for sure. Enjoy!
 |
Phil Varone, welcome back to GlamMetal for the third time man! The third time is supposed to be a charm right?
Thanks man, and yes...absolutely!
How are you dude?
I'm doing great! Absolutely great actually...living! (Laughs) That's a good thing, I'm breathing! (Laughs)
(Laughs) Since we last talked Phil, you've made yet another career change, you're actually doing comedy now. It doesn't surprise me that you are doing comedy, you've always been a funny guy anyways. When did you decide on comedy as a career choice, and how did you happen to get into doing stand-up comedy?
Once the McDonald's people wouldn't take me, I decided it was time to find a new career. (Laughs) All the ex-rockstars end up on fries at McDonald's...I think that's pretty much how it goes. (Laughs) Seriously though, I've always been the nutty guy in bands, you know? People would always be like, "Call Phil over, he'll make you laugh or tell you a joke," so it was always like everybody saying, "Dude, you should be a comedian!" But to me, that's like American Idol, you can sing in the shower, audition! There's a big difference from telling people a joke who know you and like you, and having them laugh, than getting on stage and having strangers laugh, you know? So...I basically had a couple of good friends of mine, Craig Gass, who's a comedian who was on Stern, and Mo Collins who is a talented, brilliant improv and character, kinda encourage me to get up there. I've been writing now for about two years, so I put together about five minutes, and I went on stage for the first time, and got some laughs, and went, "Oh Boy! ok, now I'm a stage whore!" (Laughs) Now I just get on stage all the time and have some fun.
Where was your first stand-up gig, and what was the experience like for you?
My first gig was at the HAHA Comedy Club in North Hollywood. It's a great little club, and it's a nice starter club, because everybody in there is really cool. They do a lot of open mic stuff, and they were gracious enough to let me go into the main show. I didn't have to go through the open mic process, so that was cool. Because sometimes there's like homeless people that go up on open mic night, it's pretty funny. Comedy and music parallel each other to a certain extent, it's nuts, and then comedy just goes apeshit! The first time was brutally scary! I've never been so scared in my life, really. I just love it man, I wish I would have started earlier, but my first show was two months ago, that's it.
So it's still brand new for ya then huh?
Oh, it's totally brand new, and I've really accomplished alot, and I'm really happy that everybody has taken me in, and has been very generous with time on stage and kinda giving me the respect of coming from the entertainment side as well, which is nice.
I understand that you're going to be performing in Pittsburgh, and you're also gonna be hosting a big Labor Day Weekend event at the Rhythm House Cafe out there as well. Mind telling us a little about that gig, and what people can expect at that event?
First and foremost, I'm gonna be doing some comedy on Friday night September 1st, which is obviously what I'm trying to do now, which is really cool. Sweet Lou has been fucking great trying to make it all happen, and depending on the system in there, we wanna show the "Waking Up Dead" movie as well, and Saturday and Sunday is gonna be a blast! I get to come out and say "Hey, I'm here, I'm alive!" (Laughs) I get to introduce all of the great bands playing as well, and all those guys are my friends, which is totally cool! I get to see some old friends like Jackyl and Quiet Riot, it's gonna be fun. Of coarse Daniel MacMaster is gonna be there as well as Ron Keel. It's gonna be a great fucking time!
Are you currently doing a comedy tour, or are you just doing a few dates here and there?
I'm just doing scattered dates and stuff right now. I'm doing a lot of stuff here in LA, and some other stuff I got asked to do in Atlanta. Little by little I'm taking gigs, I still need to work on stuff. I'm a newbie, and I really want to perfect everything before I take it out on the road. I have a show over here at The Improv that we're calling "Sex, Stand Up and Rock and Roll" that we're putting together, and I'd like to take that on the road in 2007. We'll have some bands on it, and some really cool comedians, and kinda do like what Tourgasim did... like Dane did, and film the whole thing, except we're gonna be more....obviously not as big, but on the Rockier side of things.
Cool, kinda like what Jim Breuer does in a way huh?
Yeah, exactly! It's so funny, because so many comedians wanna be rockstars, and I am. It's like now I wanna be a comedian, so I thought it would be kinda cool since I have already utilized the fact that I was in these cool bands, and had this really cool fanbase, and then throw in some great comedians, and me being a comedian now would be a nice mixture.
I think it would be awesome dude. Have you seen Jim Breuer's act?
I have, and he fucking cracks me up. Great stuff! I'm actually trying to get Brian Posehn who kills me, and another guy named Jay London, who was on Last Comic Standing, here for Improv. I'm trying to get those guys on my show, because they just crack me up.
What's your act like? Do you do kind of a rock n' roll thing?
If you've read my blogs on www.myspace.com/philvarone they call me the "Rotten Brain." (Laughs) It's kinda like my take on life, which I think is important, but also I will throw in tour stuff and just what my life really consisted of, and try to make it funny. I'm gonna touch on everything. But yeah...it's just life experiences that I try and make funny mostly. I get a little raunchy sometimes. I have a total raunch set, and a complete clean set because of different places.
Who is your all-time favorite comedian, and is there anyone in particular that you are working with currently?
My favorite comedians are Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Robin Williams. I love Chris Rock, I really dig Dane Cook alot as far as a new comic. One of my good friends is Jay Davis who was on the Tourgasim, and he's great. Lenny Bruce is kind of the pioneer of insanity, he would say like the craziest shit. I used to listen to Richard Pryor when I was like ten-years old, and cracking up. That guy is just insane. So...those guys are my favs as far as the old times, but I love so many comedians man. I really kinda stay open, and take everybody in.
I haven't heard much about "Waking Up Dead" lately. I know that it showed in a couple of select theaters, and the reviews have been great, but when will it be officially out for the world to see, either in theaters, or on DVD?
We just signed a deal with a company called Demolition, and they're based in Europe, although it would be distributed through Universal here in the states, and we literally just signed the deal, so we're looking at December in the U.S. Just in time to stuff your stockings! Nothing like a feel good movie for Christmas right there. (Laughs)
That's for sure! (Laughs) Your addictions and craziness on the road inspired the movie, "Waking Up Dead," and you mentioned that your doctor said that if you didn't quit, you'd die. That's pretty heavy man. I'm curious, how much blow were you actually doing on a daily basis dude?
It's also a whole lifestyle man. I'm talking about not only doing drugs, but it's unhealthy because your not eating. Everything is direct, it's not just the amount of blow you're doing, it's your whole lifestyle. You're on the road, you don't have a care in the world, you're doing tons of cocaine, you're not eating, you're drinking like a fish, and you're just pushing the envelope, so to continue that kind of lifestyle would have eventually killed me, but the cocaine intake definitely didn't help because of the strain on my heart. Luckily I came through it, and I'm fine, but there were some tense moments as far as heart things and stuff like that, so that's what it really meant.
So you had no permanent damage then?
No, my organs are great! That's another thing to, you can have organ break down, and everything can go wrong, like your liver from drinking, and all that shit. When you deprive your organs from nutrients, eventually things will start failing on you, so I was fortunate enough to get out of there without doing that.
Well, we're happy that didn't happen and you're ok Phil.
Thanks, I'm feeling good. Everyday is great that I'm breathing man.
How are you doing personally and physically now Phil, and what are some highlights for you since coming off the drugs? Are you seeing the world in a whole different light now?
Oh Yeah, living is great. I enjoy waking up and getting the day started. I've done so many things artistically, like writing and stuff. My mind has really opened up, and getting on stage and doing stand-up is a dream come true for me. If I never did it again, it's still something I have accomplished, you know what I mean? I'm just enjoying living man, drama free, having a good time, and just staying positive and making it work, and really getting involved with people that are positive. There was always some sort of drama in everything, and doing stand-up alone is cool, it's just me and a microphone, and I don't have to worry about four other band members, or this and that. It's a really cool way to do it, and if I fail, I fail, and if I succeed, I succeed, and I think it's something I needed to do.
Drama sucks man!
I had so much drama. When you're around people that do drugs, you're just full of drama, and I don't have that anymore. I enjoy my life, and being drama free. And, you get way more shit done, you don't have to fucking deal with other people's shit. All the people I have surrounding me are just positive, fun people. How you feel during the day, effects everybody around you, and that's what I realized. If you're drunk and fucking drugged up, and a piece of shit, everyone's gonna be pissed, and hate you, and this and that, so that's the way it is, you're gonna effect other people, so...I learned that the hard way, but I still learned it, so that's cool.
I'd like to see you in a comedy film. Is that something you are thinking about as well?
Oh man, I'd love to do a comedy film! I actually wrote a series called "Washed Up," that I'm trying to pitch right now. It's very funny, it's basically me playing myself, but we're gonna kinda embellish obviously some stuff, but it's basically about a washed up 80's rockstar trying to figure out what I'm gonna do with my life now. It's actually very funny, and I just pitched that, so I'm really hoping that someone picks it up. I've written five or six episodes already. As far as movies are concerned, I'm still looking for an agent, and getting all of that stuff done, so once I get that happening, then it's like audition central.
Are you doing anything musically at all anymore, and if so, what?
I just did a record for an artist named Cody Marks who is a new artist over here, and she's fucking great. She's a good friend of mine and she called me and said "Hey, I've gotta do some song's for my new record, would you wanna come in and do it?" I haven't played drums in a long time, and I said, "Yeah, that would be cool." We did it at this place called The Village, and like "Rumours" was recorded there, and Nine Inch Nails, and all these great bands recorded there, so that was cool, and I had a blast! So anyways, I'm actually gonna be doing a live show with her on the 15th of September I believe. I don't wanna be a band member, or a rockstar, I just wanna be a drummer. That's why I was able to do this with her, just be a drummer, have some fun and just play.
 |
Last time we talked, you mentioned that you missed touring with Skid Row, and that it's your passion to play live. Do you still miss playing live, and what aspects of the Rock N' Roll life do you miss as well?
I do man. I went to see Journey two days ago with Def Leppard, and Deen Castronovo from Journey is a good friend of mine, and god, he's such a great drummer, and in fact before I talked with you, I just got off the phone with him. He's just one of the greatest fucking drummers, and a great person. The venue that they played at, was a place I had played with Kiss, so it was kinda like...just sitting there watching gets you a little crazy to play, you know? Like twenty thousand people, so yeah, I do miss that part of it a lot. Maybe someday, but I'll tell ya, I'm really digging this comedy thing right now.
So what aspects of the Rock life do you miss?
I just miss the live stuff, I don't miss touring, I don't miss the nonsense that goes into it. I just miss playing. That forty-five minutes we got on stage was what we lived for, that's what we sacrificed everything for, so I definitely do miss that part of it.
Have you seen any of the Skid guys at all, and how supportive have they been with your sobriety, and career choices since leaving the band a couple of years ago?
I see Snake all the time, he's here in LA with me. All the other guys are scattered, but I get email's from them all the time and stuff, so it's cool. They're playing and giging around, but I haven't had the chance to see them. Snake is actually coming out tonight to see me perform, he comes out to all the shows, it's great, and we have a good time. You know, with Skid Row, there was never any animosity, it wasn't a bad break or anything, I just needed to get healthy. It's all good with those guys. I'm hoping that Dave might slip on something and bust a knee or shit, so I can get up there and play a couple of shows with them. (Laughs) You never know, so...they're all good guys, and Dave is a good guy as well, so it's cool. It's good to see them out there playing.
I know how you and Matt Kramer feel about Saigon Kick, and I understand there's been a lot of bad blood with certain band members, etc... but I just want to mention that I think Saigon Kick is fucking amazing, and is and always will be an important part of this genre of music. As you recall, I caught a couple of your reunion shows back in 2000 when you guys had Jeff Blando out playing guitar, and the shows were fucking awesome to say the least. I'm curious Phil, what would it take for you and Matt to actually even consider doing a Saigon Kick tour again?
First of all, I don't want to tour in any band, but to play some shows would be fun. I have no problems with Jason anymore, I'm thirty-eight years old now, life is to short, maybe I had an epiphany when I got sober, but the point is, I just don't have the animosity anymore, so I would do a Saigon thing and have some fun, maybe on like a Rock Never Stops type of thing would be great to do. I think there are a lot of Saigon Kick fans out there that would really appreciate the original guy's getting back together and having some fun. I don't see it happening on Matt's end, him and Jason have some deep shit that would need to be taken care of. I personally have a great life, I'm doing quite well, and nobody really has any significance on my life in that respect, like with Jason, we had our time, we were childhood friends, we went through it, the band could have been great, and we can blame and point fingers all over the place, but ultimately the band could have been great, it coulda shoulda woulda, it's not, who cares, we move on. Playing in Saigon Kick made me good enough to do other great things, like play with Skid Row, Vince Neil, and have a pretty decent music career, so I don't really give a shit either way. I do love playing Saigon Kick song's, to me that's my passion, that was the band we all started together, and that's what my roots are, but you know... things just run deep, it's just like saying, "Well why can't Sebastian come back?" Because things run deep, who the hell know's, only the people that are involved in it, you know? I don't think Jason is as bad as Matt would be, I think Jason could be talked into it. As much as Jason is this, that, and the other thing, he's still a guy that you can talk to and say, "Listen dude, this this and this." Matt on the other hand is a little more closed minded in this situation, because it runs deep, and I'm not blaming him, or saying he's right or wrong, I'm just saying that in this situation, that's what we would have a problem with.
What about Tom DeFile?
Tom? It's like I feel sorry for the guy. I wouldn't do a reunion with Tom, he's just not a good player. I'm not trying to dis him or anything, but in all honesty, he's not a rockstar, he's not a bass player, he just kinda got lucky. If we were to do a tour, we'd have Chris McLernon in the band anyhow, because he's a great player, and he did the rest of the tours and all of the records afterwards anyhow. Tom is really not my favorite person, nor is he a good player. I think that Jason is an amazing guitar player, Matt is an amazing vocalist, and the band needs to have an amazing bass player, and Chris was. So, in that respect, I have done way to much in this career to have some shit bass player get on stage and drag me down, you know what I'm saying? PersonallyI never really got along with Tom, nobody did, he's a strange cat.
I have personally gotten emails from people asking about Saigon Kick, and where are they, and will they tour again, etc... What are your thoughts on the fact that there is still interest in Saigon Kick? It seems that there is still a huge fan base out there.
I think Saigon Kick is a great band. Like I was talking about Deen Castronovo earlier, this guy came up to me at the NAMM show and goes, "Man, I love the first Saigon Kick record." So here is one of my drumming hero's going, "Dude I love your drumming on the record," and I go, "What!?" So yeah, I think that Saigon Kick is a great fucking band, and always has been. The greatness of the band has never been the issue, the issue has been our personalities clashing.
 Since you haven't been touring or playing out, do you get a lot of bands trying to recruit you, or get you to tour with them and stuff?
Not really, I'm not really out there. I'm not available. I'll get some local bands that go, "Dude, what are ya doing?" Ah..."Not playing with a local band." (Laughs) I just don't have the desire, if I wanted to put myself out there I would, I know the people to call. Steve Augeri isn't on the Journey tour any longer due to throat problems, so they have Jeff Scott Soto singing now, and Jeff Scott Soto sang on the first Saigon Kick record, he's a good friend of mine, and he's an amazing singer, you know? When I recently saw Journey, Deen Castronovo sings from his drum set, and he sounds amazing, he sounds just like Perry. He sings "Faithfully," "Open Arms," and one other, and I told Deen, "If you ever do sing, and need a drummer, you better call me!" (Laughs) That's the gig I would do man, Journey. He said, "Dude, you would kill this gig, you'd be my first call if that were to ever happen." I was like, "Perfect!" So...that would be the only thing that I would do.
Hopefully you get a call someday dude.
Let me tell ya something, if I got the call for Journey, I'd be gone in a second! I would love to play with those guys, are you kidding me?
What's a couple of your favorite Glam-Metal bands from back in the day?
Oh dude, Motley, I love the Poison guy's, all those bands from back then. I love Quiet Riot, Ratt! I was an 80's metal-head!
It was a great time back then wasn't it?
It was a fucking great time man! Sex, drugs and Rock N' Roll man! I don't want to say drugs in the sense that I'm promoting it, but that was the whole vibe back then, chicks, partying, just fucking great shit man. That's what was so cool about touring with Poison, it still had that party vibe. We had such a great fucking time on that tour! So...I'm just a metal-head, and have always been.
Like myself, you really take your tattoos serious. Do you have a favorite artist, or a certain place where you get your work done, or do you like a variety of different artists?
My artist lives in Germany, and his name is Dee Whitcomb, and he's been doing my stuff for like ten years now, so I've kinda stuck with him. I did do an episode of Miami Ink, where my son wrote his name on me, and they just tattood it. But as far as the big pieces go, Dee Whitcomb is the guy that I've been going with.
Is Miami Ink a place that you visited often when you lived in Florida, or was it your first time there?
Yeah, actually a friend of mine called me who's in casting for that, and said, "Hey, they've got this show, you might want to do it, it's kinda cool," so I said "Sure, that's cool."
How was that experience for you, and have you been back since?
No, I just went for that one thing.
Do you plan on getting anymore ink in the future, and if so, what will your next piece be?
I'm pretty much done with the tattoo's, I don't know how much more that I would want. I'm just chillin from all that right now.
Have you ever heard of Venom Ink out of Sanford, Maine? If you're ever in that area on a comedy tour, or whatever Phil, and if you'd like to get something done, I totally recommend stopping by and talking with the artist there. His name is Chad Chase, and he does some incredible work, and takes his shit quite serious. I guarantee you'll really dig his work, and he's got a kick ass shop as well.
Cool. I'm pretty much done, I've covered every spot that I needed to do. I'm covered man. (Laughs) But hey, if I'm in the area, I'll definitely stop in man. Thanks.
Ok...we've talked about comedy, rock n' roll, movie's, and ink so far, let's talk about fucking politics now! (Laughs) You've always had some strong opinions Phil, and we welcome that bro! There is so much shit to worry about in this country at the moment, terrorism, wars, fuel prices, our borders, etc... What do you think needs to be immediately addressed in this country?
What I'm doing right now with Politics, is what NASCAR does. You know when they wreck a car, and they go to bring it to the garage, and they're like forty laps down, but they just get in enough that they get out there and just drive for points? That's what I'm doing with Politics now, waiting for 2008 at this point, there's not much more you can do. Even in that case, if the American people think they have any power what so ever on what happens, they're kidding themselves. You know what, I don't complain, I did my part, I voted, I watch, and I keep up, but ultimately we have people making some interesting decisions there in this government, all politcs suck. This administration is making a mockery out of the Presidency as far as I'm concerned. To think that the government even had the nerve to even think about an impeachement of Bill Clinton because of a blow job in the office, is absolutely ridiculous! Oh, he lied they say, you wanna talk about lying!? Geez! What needs to be addressed is we are in a war that shouldn't have happened, and we all know this. Saddam Hussein is a fucking scumbag, and we know this, and in that case, why aren't we over in Cuba? Give me a fucking break, we need to worry about North Korea! That's the guy that's insane, he's got one finger on the button, and the other one a banana peel. This guy wants to blow up the world. Ok, let's go back in history, when Japan bombed us at Pearl Harbor and stuff, what ended the war is that we wiped out the country. With that, there is loss of innocent lives, but on the same token, everything stopped immediately! I think we need to wipe out a couple of countries, and go, "You know what, fuck you, we're back on the hill, and if you do come over here and even fucking threaten us, we're gonna level you!" The reason why people are annoying everyday, is because there's no consequence, so if there was a consequence, then they wouldn't be annoying. For instance, if somebody came up to you and they were gonna do some stupid dance, and fuck with you, and it was legal to hit em' with a baseball bat, they wouldn't do it. They'd go wait a minute, if I do go over and act like a douchebag in front of this guy, I might get hit by a baseball bat, and it's legal, so maybe I won't do that. (Laughs)
Good fucking point dude!
With terrorists, what's their consequence? There is no consequence, they wanna kill themselves man! You can't win when people don't care about dying.
Where would you like to see yourself five-years from now?
I would love to be strong into comedy, and hopefully be in some movie's as well. Not starring of course, but writing some shows and stuff. Professionally, I'd like to see all this stuff happen for me, and I think it is, I'm very confident about things. I believe it's my time to make shit happen, so..we'll see.
What are your thoughts on the whole myspace craze these days?
I think it's great man! It's a great way to get to people and communicate, and promote stuff. I use it all the time. There are gonna be crazy people on there, there's crazy people everywhere, but you weed through them, you know?
Like the prick that stole your blog?
Oh yeah, what a douchebag! Here's the thing, I called upon my great readers, and they fucking destroyed the guy! (Laughs) I think it's great, it worked. If the guy would have just said hey dude, I love your blog, and asked if he could repost it, I would have said absolutely! Honestly, if you loved the blog, and said this was written ny Phil Varone, and wanted to repost it, go ahead, take it. I've got no problems with that. The bottom line is, you don't steal shit, fuck that.
In closing, what would you like to say to all of your fans and friends out there Phil?
Like I've always said, I just appreciate all the support. I've gotten great emails from people that are so supportive, and giving me best wishes when I went through my bad time, and of coarse now, they are still there, and come to my shows, and they write and say hello and everything, and I totally appreciate it. I've always appreciated that, and hope that it continues, and to keep an eye out for me, because I'm back with a vengeance. Thanks!
 |
It's been a pleasure talking with you again Phil. Thanks for your time, and good luck with your new comedy Career! I'll see you in Pittsburgh bro!
Thanks so much man, I appreciate it, and yeah, we'll have fun in Pittsburgh!
There you have it folks! Phil Varone has spoken once again, and for a great laugh, be sure to check out his act! Also, keep in mind that he'll be performing at the Rhythm House Cafe in Bridgeville, PA on Friday September 1st, and hosting the entire weekend with Quiet Riot and Jackyl! You can purchase tickets for this great event at www.ticketalternative.com
For more info on Phil Varone, go to www.myspace.com/philvarone AND for info on his movie, you can go to www.wakingupdeadmovie.com
|
|
