Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

"I'm Halfway Through a Three-Month Chemotherapy Program"

"I'm halfway through a three-month chemotherapy program. It sucks all the energy out of you." To make ends meet, Phil Cole, 45, has had to liquidate.

"I have a mobile recording studio. I've had to sell a lot of studio stuff. I sold my motorcycles. I'm just trying to keep my head above water."

In the early 1990s Cole played bass in the cover band Bombay and in the all-original Jonny Quest. Most recently he has been a sound tech for Dr. Feelgood and the Interns of Love, Hot Chili, NRG, Rockola, the Soul Persuaders, and other oldies-based show bands who play the "casual" circuit, which is mostly corporate and convention gigs.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"He has cancer and it is spreading," said Kimmy Terrell of Polyester Express, who has worked with Cole for years. "He is having to sell everything he owns just to pay his mortgage."

Mitch Grant owns Special Event Audio Services and frequently hired Cole as an independent contractor.

"Because of the cost of workers' comp, I can't afford to take him or anyone else on as a salaried employee. That's just the way it is in the music business. If I took everyone as an employee, I would price myself out of business. He's like all the rest of us musicians with no health care. But we are one big family who help each other. That's what this is all about."

Grant is not optimistic about his buddy's future.

"He was misdiagnosed with kidney stones. It turned out to be transitional cell kidney cancer. It's pretty bad. It spread to his lungs and his lymph nodes. The chemotherapy is really kicking his ass.... I've done everything I can financially to support him.... I don't want to get political, but [lack of health care] is one of the biggest screwed-up things about our country."

The fundraiser for Phil Cole is this Sunday at Humphrey's Special Events Tent, with Rockola's Beatles Christmas salute at 3 p.m. followed by Eve Selis at 7 p.m. Admission is $15, $5 for kids. All proceeds go to Cole's health care.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

When Rafael Payare met with Irwin Jacobs

The new Music Center is a heavenly hall
Next Article

Jacobs Music Center Grand Opening

The concert did what it was designed to do

"I'm halfway through a three-month chemotherapy program. It sucks all the energy out of you." To make ends meet, Phil Cole, 45, has had to liquidate.

"I have a mobile recording studio. I've had to sell a lot of studio stuff. I sold my motorcycles. I'm just trying to keep my head above water."

In the early 1990s Cole played bass in the cover band Bombay and in the all-original Jonny Quest. Most recently he has been a sound tech for Dr. Feelgood and the Interns of Love, Hot Chili, NRG, Rockola, the Soul Persuaders, and other oldies-based show bands who play the "casual" circuit, which is mostly corporate and convention gigs.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"He has cancer and it is spreading," said Kimmy Terrell of Polyester Express, who has worked with Cole for years. "He is having to sell everything he owns just to pay his mortgage."

Mitch Grant owns Special Event Audio Services and frequently hired Cole as an independent contractor.

"Because of the cost of workers' comp, I can't afford to take him or anyone else on as a salaried employee. That's just the way it is in the music business. If I took everyone as an employee, I would price myself out of business. He's like all the rest of us musicians with no health care. But we are one big family who help each other. That's what this is all about."

Grant is not optimistic about his buddy's future.

"He was misdiagnosed with kidney stones. It turned out to be transitional cell kidney cancer. It's pretty bad. It spread to his lungs and his lymph nodes. The chemotherapy is really kicking his ass.... I've done everything I can financially to support him.... I don't want to get political, but [lack of health care] is one of the biggest screwed-up things about our country."

The fundraiser for Phil Cole is this Sunday at Humphrey's Special Events Tent, with Rockola's Beatles Christmas salute at 3 p.m. followed by Eve Selis at 7 p.m. Admission is $15, $5 for kids. All proceeds go to Cole's health care.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big bugs early in the season – Wahoo bonanza off Mag Bay

Bluefin at the Coronados
Next Article

Ian Anderson’s apogees

The best eating of ten-ish years
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader