Phil Varone to Receive IES 'Rock Hard' Award

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Rocker-turned-pornographer Phil Varone receives the "Rock Hard" award at the Indie Entertainment Summit's Rock Honors ceremony August 4 from noon to 7 pm at The Federal Bar (5303 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hollywood 91601), in recognition of his work with the bands Skid Row and Saigon Kick, and now as a performer/director for Vivid Entertainment. Other recipients of IES Rock Honors recognition this year include Guns N' Roses, Black Sabbath, Jane's Addiction, the Rolling Stones, Sublime, AC/DC, Rage Against the Machine, Jimi Hendrix, Megadeth, Alice in Chains and Pink Floyd. "Congratulations to Phil! He is a hard working guy who loves and is extremely passionate about his work. There is no question that he will be as successful in the adult world as he's been in rock 'n roll," said Steven Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Vivid, which distributed Varone's first adult movie, Phil Varone's Secret Sex Stash, and its followup, Swinging American Style: Texas Fuck 'Em, under the Vivid Celeb imprint. IES co-executive director Jay Warsinske added, "Phil personifies the freedom of a rocker's life, and his crossover into porn is a natural step for him. We applaud his move and believe that he is very deserving of the Rock Hard Award—in more ways than one." "Cultural Ambassador to the Sunset Strip" Willie Basse (Buddy Miles/Black Sheep) will present the award to Varone, who began playing in various local bands while still in high school in Fort Lauderdale. In 1988, he helped form Saigon Kick, which signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records and earned a Gold Record for the album The Lizard, as well as a Billboard top 10 single for the song "Love Is on the Way." After the band dissolved, Varone joined multi-platinum recording artists Skid Row, and in 2003, Varone played drums for Vince Neil of Motley Crue on his solo tour. Varone was reported to have had sex with more than 3,000 women during his rock career. The Indie Entertainment Summit is an invitation-only, five-day music and entertainment conference and festival focused on music, movies, television and modeling. It features over 80 workshops and seminars led by top industry pros designed to help musical artists, bands, managers, models, DJs, filmmakers and independent labels/entertainment companies. Among the speakers are legendary artists, producers, managers and execs who have worked with the world's biggest musical artists. Each evening will feature concerts, performances, film premieres and showcases by attending talent and name performers in a variety of top venues from Hollywood to Universal Studios to the NoHo arts district in North Hollywood.