Ricky Phillips still isn’t quite sure what was more surreal to him as he sat in a Reno, Nevada movie theater one summer afternoon in 1991: that the feature, Terminator 2, turned out to be a juggernaut sequel to a film he helped score, or that he was flanked in said theater by his two “bandmates” at the time—former Zeppelin fretman Jimmy Page and Whitesnake howler David Coverdale.
But he can vividly recall how it all ended.
“You know, I remember Jimmy just being so happy that we were able to take a break from recording, and he thought he had gotten away with just being a regular guy for a couple of hours,” Phillips explains. “But apparently, someone recognized him and told someone else, and as we opened the doors to exit the theater, we couldn’t [leave]. The entire hallway was blocked with a sea of people, cameras… autograph seekers, including rows of cinema employees in their red vests. I’ll never forget the look on Jimmy’s face or the thought that immediately entered my head: ‘Careful what you wish for.'”
In stark contrast, journeyman bassist/guitarist Phillips has been able not just to collaborate with a goodly number of the icons who created the music he used to strum tennis rackets to as a boy growing up in northern California, but also to perform chart-scoring music of his own with the likes of The Babys and Bad English and still enjoy relative anonymity.
For the past seven years, Phillips can most notably be found holding down the bottom for seminal ’70s-’80s rockers Styx—an opportunity which, he says, came via equal parts history and perfect timing.
“Tommy [Shaw, Styx singer/guitarist] and I first crossed paths back in 1979, when I was with The Babys,” he recalls. “Then again, when I was with Bad English, he was making the rounds with Damn Yankees. So we built a little kinship and would seek each other out at various L.A. functions. When they were ready to hit the road again and were in need of a bassist, I guess I made the short list. And when I got the call, I had been spending 12 hours a day in my studio for years and thought, ‘Hmmm… the road sounds kind of nice right about now.'”
On Thursday, Nov. 3, the road will take Phillips and crew to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium (lowellauditorium.com) for the only local stop on Styx’ current The Grand Illusions/Pieces Of Eight Tour—a trek that, in addition to greatest hits, will feature both iconic albums in their entirety.
“There’s a lot of stuff that has never been played before live, so you’ll probably see some of what I call the ‘lead boots’ syndrome,” Phillips notes with a laugh. “So many songs we know like the backs of our hands, but for some of these, you’ll probably see five guys pretty much standing still—extremely focused on the performance. So it’s not as much moving around, but the tradeoff is, there will be so much energy and adrenaline flowing for us.”
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Speaking of the mighty Zeppelin, Valley heavyweights Fancy Trash, The Fawns, the Alex Johnson Band and more will tackle both the Zeppelin catalogue and that of Black Sabbath at The Elevens this Saturday, Oct. 23 for a specially themed “battle of the best original metal bands.” Doors open at 9 p.m.
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Last but not least, the Spampinato Brothers—Joey and Johnny—celebrate the release of their first disc, Pie In The Sky, at the Iron Horse this Friday, Oct. 22. Although best known for their work with the genre-jumping group NRBQ, the Spampinatos also have credits ranging from studio sessions with Keith Richards to live performances with Eric Clapton and an appearance on The Simpsons, to name a choice few. Tix are $12.50 in advance, $15 day of show and available at iheg.com.
Catch the Nightcrawler every Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. on the Steve Cantara Radio Show, WRNX 100.9 FM. Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 0071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
