*********NEWS ALERT*******
This
was at
VH1.com, asking various artists their favorite memories and other questions.
Here's JBJ' s response:
JON BON JOVI
Q: What are your fondest memories of 2002?
A: The best part of the year was obviously the birth of my son, Jacob. He's
a great reason to keep on keeping on.
Q: How has having a family changed you as a rock star? Are you more aware of
what kids listen to these days?
A: I hear what I hear on VH1 and MTV. I can't relate to some.. and love
others. Eminem is really great. Avril Levigne is cool for little kids. Pink
is really wonderful, as is John Mayer, Norah Jones... of course Matchbox 20,
The Wallflowers, etc. But the Nelly, Ja Rule, J-Lo isn't me...
Q: If you could relive any moment in 2002, what would it be?
A: Professionally, I guess it would be playing in NYC's Times Square to
500,000 people, then choppering to Giants Stadium to play half-time. I
caught a few hours sleep, then hit the Concorde to London for a satellite
club broadcast across Europe from a small club. Not a bad day.
http://theaquarian.com
Richie Sambora
Fire At Will
by Adrian Gregory Glover Bon Jovi is a Jersey institution at this point.
Their
music has become part of the fabric that is synonymous with a state that
takes great pride in its loyalty, values and collection of artists, famous
and not, who count themselves amongst the finest songwriters in the world.
With a new record out called Bounce, the band has returned full swing with
one of the most interesting albums that they ever could have thought about
putting out. Very heavy in some parts, thought provoking and still full of
the shit that radio programmers fiend for, the album captures the
songwriting
team of singer Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora in moments of
strength, reflection and, yeah, a good time or two. The quartet which also
includes keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres served it all up
once again on home turf when they took over East Rutherford's Continental
Airlines Arena for a two-night run that (Feb. 10 and 11, 2003). So kick
back,
relax and soak in what Sambora had to offer on these and other topics when
we
spoke a couple of days after the band performed at the execution of the
Oakland Raiders at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
AW: I know you guys have done a lot of big homecoming shows before but what
it is it in your mind that will make this round special?
RS: Well, I think that every time that you come home itıs special, you know?
It just is. I mean, we can even come and play in New York City even and
thatıs one thing you know with all of the media and the glitz but then when
you get over to New Jersey, you got all of your friends and family and
people
that you havenıt seen for awhile. Itıs always a great homecoming for us and
on this tour man, Adrian, we have the biggest production that we have EVER
taken out; I mean ever. We just got done with our Australian tour and then
our Japanese tour and the band is playing really well, man. We sold out
every
dome that Japan has to offer and everything has been working out well. Plus,
playing on this stage is just fabulous.
AW: You looking forward to playing the hits or the new tracks from Bounce
the
most?
RS: I think the new songs are the most fun, for me at least. We have been
playing seven or eight of those songs a night. Well, it depends on how long
we play too. We played this one show in Japan that went on for three hours
and 40 minutes. Hell, thatıs when you know you are having a good time up
there. And when the band is having a good time then the crowd is having a
good time. But it hasnıt been that long between the Crush album and tour and
this one so we are like a well-oiled machine.
AW: I saw you guys a couple of days ago on TV doing the Super bowl. What was
it like to play basically in front of everyone in the world who owned a TV?
RS: It was a great honor. The NFL has been so nice and gracious and
supportive of us and that has been a very big part of our relationship with
them. We opened the season, played a couple of half-time shows and then we
were the last band to play at The Super bowl so we kinda book ended the
whole
year for them. It was quite an honor and we are all huge football fans so it
was a blast.
AW: Knowing that you were going to do the show it must have sucked seeing
the
Giants tossed out of the play-offs when they had so much momentum.
RS: Yeah, but what are you gonna do? That game was a real backbreaker. We
were on our way to Japan on that day (the game was played) and just as we
got
on the plane the score was like 38-14. We got on the plane thinking we were
home free and got off to a real heartbreaker.
AW: The new record is easily the most diverse and, in some spots, heaviest
record that Bon Jovi have done to date. What was the deal that set that up?
Why now?
RS: Well, we wanted a real optimistic and positive feel good, I guess,
nature
to the album, Jon and I. I think we accomplished that. 9/11 really de-
railed
us as well as everybody else right in the beginning. Jon and I wrote 42
songs
in the be-ginning for this record like we always do and then we just picked
the 10 or 12 good ones. And by the time we got there we were really
conscious
about 9/11 because we wrote so much about it. We just wrote and wrote and
wrote about it to get it out of our system. And the one song that was really
our... boom, here it is, this is how we feel about it song was Undivided.
That was the one where we felt that we could and should be really direct and
to the point. Everyday is kind of driven by that but Undivided, man, that is
the one. The rest of the record I feel really good about as well. I love
this
album, especially as a guitar player. When you are facing situations that
are
lyrically gritty and dirty it gives you the opportunity to really get in
there and lay on the meat, which is exactly what I did. We had a great time
writing this record, Jon and I, and we are very proud of it.
AW: During this writing process did you ever feel weird and tempted to back
off from the subject of the tragedy just because it was such a sensitive
issue that it would have to be done just right to land on its feet?
RS: You nailed it right on the head, man. That was exactly our question and
we had a bunch of songs that were just...the lyrics were just really sad and
we knew the record was going to come out over a year later and...we stuck
with what we thought would be the best way to approach it. I think Bruce
(Springsteenıs) record (The Rising) said it best as a record and it was an
amazing statement and a work of art. He said it so eloquently that we
decided
not to go that route. By trimming the fat you may have ended up making a
larger statement anyway. I think you are totally right. Probably more than
you know.
AW: Now you guys were among the first artists to really get involved with
the
support of the relief efforts. Looking back, do you feel a sense of pride in
relation to what you helped accomplish ?
RS: Oh, absolutely, proud and honored that were even asked to be on the
first
telethon that was broadcast over every station. We were in the company of
Paul McCartney , Paul Simon, Willie Nelson and Tom Petty and for us to be
associated with that was simply amazing. And we saw what a song Living On A
Prayerı is. That song was written back in 1987 about preserving the American
way of life and it took on a new life when we played it differently with a
new meaning when it became about restoring the American way of life. The day
after 9/11 I was over at Jonıs house because I couldnıt get to my house in
New York and VH1 came over and taped some PSA's on the steps in front of
Jonıs
house. Then we were asked to do what became The Concerts For New York and we
were the first ones to say yes. As a matter of fact, we said right there on
the spot, absolutely. It was obviously a very huge thing to be a part of and
we try to do as much philanthropy as we can, especially Jon, he is involved
in it on some very big levels, so there you go.
AW: So back to Living On A Prayer.ı Was it at that moment when you played
the
track at the telethon that you knew you had your version of a timeless song?
RS: Yeah, and it feels good. Songs are funny like that. You never know what
will stick and what wonıt. Songwriting is very strange like that. Some songs
are just songs that are big songs and others are songs that manage to stay
relevant. It can be very rewarding.
AW: Cool, so pretty much every other band from your generation has become a
joke. Whatıs the secret?
RS: If you could bottle it I bet you would sell a lot of it, huh? I think
there are a lot of ingredients at work here. I think to pin down a couple of
them one of them would have to be good songs. We write songs that people can
relate to and I think people can see that we are really normal guys at any
part of the globe. I think that itıs easy to take our songs and grab them
and
make them your own. Our fans have been really loyal to us and we have been
really loyal to them. You canıt put a price on that. We work our tails off,
you know. We abandon our families to go all over the world to deliver and
that counts for something. We have to do it in a way that we all agree with
but we do it all the same. You know, we just work hard at getting better.
Better as songwriters, as a band, just better, and I think it shows. If you
put your all into anything the light gets through.
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