New Year, New Music...

Bon Jovi to release 14th album ‘This House Is Not For Sale’ 

Not only are Bon Jovi fans anxiously awaiting the band’s latest tunes, but for die-hard fans, a new Bon Jovi album usually means that a new worldwide tour will accompany the new album. For Bon Jovi  lovers who have never had the pleasure of attending a Bon Jovi live concert, you will not be disappointed. During your three-hour experience fans can look forward to being entertained by the band performing their all your old favorites, mixed with  new songs and a few added spontaneous surprises thrown in by Jon and the boys.

What Bon Jovi fans can expect

This Spring Bon Jovi fans can look forward to in the new album which Jon stated that the band  has recorded all together. “We were recording at different times and different rooms in the studio,” Bon Jovi explained about how the  past recording processes used to work.

“That’s not happening anymore. We went back to the place where we cut “Runaway” in 1982–where I used to sweep the floor and fetch coffee. And, we did “This House Is Not For Sale.” He joked that he was still pouring coffee for bandmates, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres.

Bon Jovi also discussed what the new record will entail. “This record is about our integrity,” he said. “Integrity matters and we’re at a stage of our career where we don’t have anything left to prove. Some songs have a little more of the ‘chip on my shoulder’ sound which is OK for us to have right now.”

“When I wrote ‘Runaway’ in 1982, my viewpoint wasn’t that big, but with every record and passing decade of our career, we evolve,” he began.

“We keep our eyes open, let information in and write about the world around us. We really  couldn’t write ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ now. It was great when I was 25 but not at 53.”

First Bon Jovi album minus Richie Sambora

This tidbit has to be mentioned, “This House Is Not For Sale” will be the first Bon Jovi album sans Jon Bon Jovi’s former right-hand man and lead guitarist Richie Sambora.

Opening an old wound for Jovi fans, Sambora quit the Bon Jovi tour mid-tour citing personal reasons back in 2013.  Over the years, many have remained confident that Richie would be returning to their beloved Bon Jovi, but as time has moved on that hope has become farther, and farther from reality.

Despite the bitterness of the Sambora incident of 2013 many lifelong on Jovi fans are predicting that this could be some of the band’s best work in years, with, or without Richie Bon Jovi is still a huge rock and roll force to be reckoned with in 2016 and for many years to come. What are your thoughts, are you anxious to hear the new Bon Jovi album “This House Is Not For Sale?”

Look for “This House Is Not For Sale” from Bon Jovi in March.

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All For One, One For All...

Everyone does their best for a great show, says Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres

They band is named after the lead singer, but stadium rockers Bon Jovi are no solo act.

Drummer Tico Torres and keyboardist David Bryan have been part of the group since its inception in 1983. They say they never felt overshadowed by their charismatic frontman.

“Bon Jovi has always felt like a band to me,” Torres says. “Jon is the frontman and he is absolutely great at doing that, but that never took away from the fact that it is a band.”

Bryan concurs, stating the live shows are the best illustration of the group’s dynamics.

“Once you see us on the stage then you will know what we are about,” he says. “It’s definitely a group effort and everybody does their best to deliver a great show for the fans.”

Torres says there is a definite sense of renewal within the band. Speaking before a recent show in Malaysia, he says Bon Jovi are enjoying their live return after a two-year break. “In a way it does feel like the first day of school,” he says with a laugh. “But this is where we are best, out there with the fans. It never gets old.” Bryan also credits the renewed vigour to new band member Phil X. After fellow original member and lead guitarist Richie Sambora left the group in 2014, X took over and made such an impression that he was enlisted as an official member last month.

However, that doesn’t mean the band doesn’t miss Sambora. Bryan credits the flamboyant axeman for taking the hard step of entering rehab to battle substance abuse.

“You know, drug addiction is a very tough thing,” he says. “All we can do is just wish him all the best.”

Torres says Bon Jovi plan to hit the studio immediately after this mini Asian and Middle East tour. While acknowledging the new album Burning Bridgesis a bit of a stopgap record in that it consists of previously unfinished songs, Torres says it served its purpose in getting the band back on the road.

“There is plenty more music to come,” he says. “But for now this is an album that we want to be for the fans. It gave us a chance to come and return to Abu Dhabi – it’s really for you guys.”

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Q Note:  I highlighted the once sentence that really bothered me in this article.  After one tour, they made Phil X an official member of the band?   To my knowledge they haven't made Huey an official member, have they?    

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Malaysians Rock...

Jon Bon Jovi: “Malaysians know how to rock!”



KUALA LUMPUR: More than a month ago, rock singer Jon Bon Jovi performed a cover of Teresa Teng's classic Mandarin hit Tian Mi Mi, and the video of his performance went viral on social media. 

Unfortunately, it isn't one of the songs the American legendary band would be performing at its upcoming concert here on Saturday at Stadium Merdeka. 

"Not a chance. That was one time. One line at a time," the singer said with an embarrassed smile when met at the concert's press conference at Shangri-La Hotel here yesterday. "I'm like a parrot. You can teach me, but you got to teach me slowly." 

It was his sister-in-law, Nina Yang Bongiovi, who suggested to make the cover. 

"I did my best. I was intimidated at first, because it's a language I don't speak. "I told her I would but only if she taught me how." 

At the concert, the band will be performing both old and new songs from its body of work that covers 32 years of its career. 

"Some of the songs were written way before some of you were even born. Others are current, like from our latest album Burning Bridges, which is like a fan record we put out for the series of concerts we're doing now," Jon said. 

The group last performed here 20 years ago in 1995, to a crowd who knew how to rock. Drummer Tico Torres said: "Like at every concert, we expect you to sing along with us, because we appreciate audience's participation." 

"Sorry it took us 20 years to come back, but we're here now. We appreciate all of your love and support. We look forward to a great night. "We're also glad that the rain came and cleared the skies. I heard that the air quality here wasn't very good," he added. 

He added that Bon Jovi has a catalogue of music that generations are familiar with. The band has held several concerts as part of this tour prior to coming to Malaysia. 

"So far the reception has been great, and things keep getting better every day," Jon said. 

Bon Jovi Live in Kuala Lumpur 2015 is organised by IMC Live.

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Hitting the Links with Tico Torres and Huey Lewis...

Musicians Lewis, Torres rock the golf course

Huey Lewis (L) and Tico Torres during the 2008 Dunhill Links Championship. (Getty Images)

Huey Lewis, 1980’s pop-rock star, describes himself as a small businessman, happily playing what are, by now, oldies at countless charity golf events, sing-alongs for aging boomers who know all the words to, “If This is It” and “I Want a New Drug.”

“I’m in show business,” Lewis, who is playing in this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, says with a laugh. “I’ll do anything for attention and money, usually in that order.

“Golf people are great people. Golf is a great game.”

Lewis loves golf as much as music. He’s not alone. Plenty of rock-‘n’-rollers tear it up at night, and then tee it up in the morning.

“In the old days a lot of things came with a night of rock ‘n’ roll,” says Tico Torres, the longtime drummer for Bon Jovi.  “But the older you get the more sensible you get. Golf’s probably the only reason I would get up early in the morning after I go to sleep at 3 (a.m.). You know, I would definitely get up at 7:30 to go play a round. It’s a special place that’s comfortable for us where there are no crowds. It’s just us.”

What happened? Rock ‘n’ roll used to be anti-establishment. Golf is ultimate establishment. When did it become “Hip to be Square”?

“We dropped back in after the ‘60s, because the ‘60s were too scary,” Lewis explained. “I love the game and I don’t care if it’s cool or not.”

One of the first rock legends to unabashedly declare his love for the sport was Alice Cooper. His drinking had gotten out of control. Golf provided a healthier release. He claims the game saved his life.

Nicko McBrain, the drummer for the English metal band Iron Maiden, plays regularly, as do Ed Roland from Collective Soul and Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains.

“I think it’s a musician’s friend,” says Torres. “It gives you a little bit of sanity.”

Torres is known as the Hit Man, with albums like “Crush,” “Bounce,” “Keep the Faith,” “Lost Highway,” and hit songs including “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Miracle” and “Never Say Die,” each one a perfect metaphor for golf.

He grew up in New York City, the son of Cuban immigrants. His introduction to golf came while having lunch at Willie Nelson’s house, to which I replied, “When I think of lunch with Willie Nelson, you’ll forgive me, but I think greens were on the menu.” Tico laughed. “Yeah, we had a few greens. I’ll tell you I’ve met more interesting people through golf than my career as a musician.”

A solid 12 handicap who once shot 72, Tico estimates that he’s played with tour pros 60 times, including with Ernie Els at the Dunhill Links, where he learned that Ernie’s capable of busting more than golf balls. “After 16 holes,” remembers Torres, “he turned to me and said, ‘You know, Tico, for a drummer you have the worst timing in the world.’”

King Curtis’ sax player, a cat by the name of Willie Bridges, once gave Tico some musical advice that he finally applied to his golf game. “You ain’t the most technical drummer in the world, but you got good feel; so don’t try, just play.”

And so he does, from the heart, by feel, like his favorite golfer ever, Seve Ballesteros. Tico’s also an artist who’s cast the hands of golfers in bronze and not surprisingly he says the best set of mitts he’s ever seen belonged to the Spaniard.

If Seve was a musician, what instrument would he have played? “Violin,” says Tico. “Without a doubt, he’s a virtuoso.”

As low as a 6 handicap at one time, Lewis is an inveterate golf junkie. He wrote an album called “Fore,” and he’s glued to Golf Channel.

“We’re on the road a lot on the bus,” he explains. “We get satellite television. Brandel’s great. Brandel (Chamblee) says what he thinks. Sometimes I want to come in there and argue with him. You guys just fill air with like, who’s going to win and we all know it’s golf and nobody knows who’s going to win. But you’re going to try and tell us.”

Good shot, Huey, who’s also played plenty with the pros. His first AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am came in the mid-’80s after he watched Jack Lemmon on television. “Lemm was playing 18 on Saturday,” recalls Lewis. “And they showed every shot, all 12 of them. And I thought to myself, I’m so glad that’s not me. I’m so glad I didn’t do it. And the very next year, there I was on 18 striping it into the gallery.”

Lewis has learned to take it easy on the course. “You have to swing smooth,” he says. “And the same thing with hitting high notes.”

It can be unnerving when they’re out of their element, but rockers and golfers relate. They both perform before crowds. Both are measured by numbers, a score on a card or album sales. 

“You know, it’s funny,” says Torres with a smile. “It’s like we want to be pro golfers when we play with them, but they want to be musicians. And it’s like, well, I’ll trade with you. They do pick your brains, stuff like how do you relax in front of 100,000 people?”

Even with the inevitable nerves that come with playing alongside the best in the world, Lewis will never get beaten in a game of who loves golf more, saying, “It’s a great game. It’s as competitive as you want it to be. It’s a great test of your character. It’s a sport of integrity. And it’s a great social sport. There are a million reasons to love golf.

“Golf absolutely fascinates me, because you have to surrender to the game.”


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Bon Jovi ALS Ice Bucket Challenge - UPDATED!!

Richie came thru!
As I noted in my previous post, he had been out of the country but he's back home now and he accepted the challenge...






As I am sure you all know by now, Jon Bon Jovi was challenged to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  He readily accepted the challenge and called out David Bryan, Tico Torres and Richie Sambora to do the same.





Tico also accepted the challenge.  He called out Tiger Woods, Alice Cooper and Ernie Els...




David, too, accepted the challenge.  He called out Richard Saker, Gavin DeGraw and Ryan Cabrera.





The only slacker right now is Richie.  Granted, he is out of the country, but still, they have ice, water  and buckets in Japan, don't they?


Come on Richie, where's your video?!


For more information about ALS and/or to donate, click here.

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Interview - Tico Torres in Musician's Friend Mag...

The Backbeat of Bon Jovi

Musician’s Friend: Do you remember the first gig you played? What were some of the lessons you learned that first night that are still valuable today?
Tico Torres: I guess the first paying gig was a nightclub with dancers in front of me, a Mexican bar. It was quite interesting. The key when you perform is if you mess up, not to let the audience know. If you make a mistake, do it twice, that way it becomes a part. That’s a little trick to keep it going. The whole key is not to let the audience know. I’ve taken that with me all my life. Showmanship is key.

MF: How has the live experience changed for you as your career has progressed and the band had more and more success?
TT: Whenever a musician plays live, it’s a one-time experience, whether you’re in a nightclub or an arena. Although today everyone can record it, when I started out it was what you heard, and you walked away with that. Playing live is the payoff for musicians…to have an audience, at any stage and any level. Of course it’s changed for us; we play for larger audiences, and to be able to translate a more intimate feel to a bigger venue takes a little doing, but there are ways to do it to make the venue feel smaller.

MF: How did you adjust sonically to larger and larger venues as the band’s following grew?
TT: The monitor systems became more massive. On a bigger stage, you really don’t get to hear the other instruments like you would in a club. You’re a little more removed, so you rely on your monitors. They always seem to get louder. [laughs] A great invention was the in-ear monitors. When they first came out, they were a little detached from what the drums actually sounded like. Then they perfected them, so it’s a wonderful stereo sound now. You get to hear everyone’s instruments, perfectly controlled, volume as well as tone. And at the end of the day, you’re not going deaf. One of the problems with some of the big speakers is that it’s so loud, your ears really suffer. If you want to get away from it, you have to turn your head. For your hearing health, the in-ear monitors have been a great innovation in music.

MF: It’s been written that the non-stop touring between Slippery When Wet and New Jersey almost destroyed the band. How did the group recover from that and find a tour schedule that works for everyone?
TT: That was a roller-coaster era that lasted a couple years straight. It did take its toll. At the end we each got on different planes and probably didn’t talk for about a year. It was the burnout factor. We were younger, the band was at its peak worldwide for the first time, and so we wanted to play as many places around the world. It all looked good on paper, but when you actually get out there it takes its toll. We did learn from that to be able to control it a little bit.

MF: You played and recorded with a number of artists prior to joining Bon Jovi in ’83. What were some of the changes you had to make once you became Bon Jovi’s drummer?
TT: In the very beginning all the guys, minus myself, lived at home with their parents. I had a house and was married. [laughs] So it was a financial adjustment, for one. The first couple of records, as much as we worked, there was really no money compared to what I was making before. So I had to do a lot of session work in and pick up gigs wherever I could just to play the bills. It was a sacrifice, but I had a good feeling about the band, so there was a reason for doing it.

MF: When it comes to live performance, what drummers have influenced you the most over the years?
TT: Wow, there are so many. Elvin Jones was my mentor for many years. I got to know him, and I worked with him and studied with him. I used to sit next to him and see how bombastic yet light and smooth he played. He said, “Now that you have chops, see what I’m playing with [pianist] McCoy Tyner, what I’m trading off with him.” That was a very important lesson for me, to see and hear how he played and complemented the other instruments in the group. That there’s more than just the technical aspect to being a drummer; it’s about feeling the part and playing the right part for the song. That was always a big influence.

Some of the great live drummers…there’s a million of ‘em. Even the worst drummer has something to offer me. I was a big fan of Buddy Rich. There’s Jon Hiseman, Mitch Mitchell. They were jazz guys but would go back and forth with their rhythms. Keith Moon, I could never relate to. I never understood it. He was just difficult for me to follow as a drummer. I looked more to the Garibaldis, the guys who were technical but in the pocket. I loved Ginger Baker because he was very rhythmic. Most of these guys came from jazz roots, and they had that technique of being able to go in and out of the music in different ways. I always looked for a drummer that plays well with the music and didn’t get in the way of it. Aynsley Dunbar, Tony Williams, Art Blakely. All these guys I used to watch, and it was a treat to see them play. But again, I get in awe of anyone who performs. Whether they’re good or bad, there’s always something you can learn from them. The key to being a good musician is to keep your ears open.

MF: You’ve played stages large and small all over the world. Are there any particular venues that still give you that nervous energy before you play?
TT: I think I get that nervous energy before every show. But you know what, Giants Stadium has an incredible glow to it. Hyde Park, when you’ve got 90,000 people there, it’s pretty cool. Of course, sometimes you barely get to the stage because you’re late, your plane didn’t get in. That will make you nervous. We run up on stage, literally in our street clothes and start playing because you have to.

MF: As a native New Yorker, what was it like to play Madison Square Garden for the first time?
TT: Pretty cool. The Garden is a special place in the world. It has a great sound and a great vibe. It’s not that big, so it’s pretty intimate. Everything from sports to music has a magic about it. You can’t help but smile when you play there.

MF: What are some of your favorite pieces of gear in your collection?
TT: I have a 1938 Slingerland snare drum. I had the original kit; it burned in a fire, but I still have the snare. I played it so much that the brass rim was wearing down. It’s a great sounding drum that I used on a lot of records until I retired it. It just couldn’t take it anymore. I also have percussion that I’ve collected over the last 40 years that are very dear to me. They’re handmade. I use them in the studio quite often when we record a record.

MF: What are some essential differences between your live and studio setups?
TT: I carry four snare drums with me on the road, but in the studio I have an array of different snare drums, old and new. One of the advantages is finding what fits the song best. Same with cymbals. Sometimes you want a thinner sound so you go for a thinner cymbal. Or a harder sound or a darker sound. So you have that flexibility, as well as with drumheads. You have different thicknesses because each one speaks differently. In the studio you have complete control and the flexibility to use anything you want. That’s fun, experimenting to find what fits the song. On a live kit, you pretty much go with what you have that works with everything.

MF: From your perspective, how have drums gotten better for touring drummers over the years you’ve been playing?
TT: Technology with drums has improved, so things are more roadworthy. When you’re on tour, you’re playing outdoors, you’re playing in different temperatures. It could be raining or snowing, and the humidity changes. Your equipment has to bend with that, and the older stuff couldn’t hold up as well. The equipment now is much more conducive to how we play.

MF: Do you have a pre-show regimen?
TT: This is the first time in my whole career that I have a little electronic kit in the back. Pearl makes this kit that looks like a regular drum set [the E-Pro], and it sounds great. It’s nice to loosen up and get in the groove with that. You want to get the muscles stretched in your back and your legs. Our shows are 2-1/2 hours or more, and I usually don’t get off the stool the whole time. So one ritual is to go to the bathroom before you start. [laughs]

MF: How much does the band rehearse before going out on the road?
TT: This tour, we rehearsed for four days. We have a lot of catalog that we pick from, maybe 90 songs. There are more than that, but that’s what we usually play. Tonight we’re doing a show, and we’ll probably add in five songs that we haven’t done. So I’ll listen to them for a little while and we’ll bang it out.

MF: Do you have a master set list that you work off of?
TT: Jon writes the set list every day, and it changes. There are certain songs you have to do for production, but the majority is pretty loose. We have a list of audibles at the bottom that Jonny might feel like doing too. People get to know your stuff, so you want to change things up. Although sometimes, because we do it all the time, we don’t realize that some people do want to hear the same show again, because it went by quick. [laughs] But we mix it up. We always try to include the standard hits. There are certain songs you should do for your fans.

MF: What’s typically your favorite song in a Bon Jovi set to play and why?
TT: It’s always been “Wanted Dead or Alive.” That’s a big song. The history of that one was we tried a couple of takes in Vancouver, and it wasn’t coming out. So we went out and I think we had sushi and a bunch of drinks. [laughs] We went back to the studio at 12 o’clock at night and did it in one take. It was magical. I love songs that fall together that way, that have a clear feeling. Where the random abandonment works. It has a special place in my heart.

MF: Tell us about the new Bon Jovi album, What About Now.
TT: Every album is different. When you release an album, you do the best you can to tell your story, and people take it and it becomes their story. It’s like having a baby; you don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl. This is the first time we’ve done a tour and a record at the same time. Usually the album comes first. So we’re testing these songs out live, and it’s nice to see their reaction and how they work with it and how they listen. It’s a different animal to go in there and play songs they’ve never heard. It’s very interesting; we’ve never done that before.

Catch Bon Jovi on tour now and be sure to pick up their new album, What About Now, wherever great music is sold.

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Interview with Richie, David and Tico

Bon Jovi's big twist

Rock veterans Richie Sambora, Tico Torres and David Bryan weigh in on a touring approach that's a first for them

By Mark Brown
Special to MSN Music
 
Bon Jovi are doing it backward. You’re supposed to put out the album, then tour to spur sales. But they’re going out starting Feb. 9 and playing the new songs, and the album, "What About Now," comes out March 26. Deal with it. Of course, as band members note, they’ve done some live broadcasts already, including a London show, so any fan who is intrepid enough to search the Internet will be able to hear the new songs right now. Recently, band members Richie Sambora, Tico Torres and David Bryan (the latter riding high on his “Memphis” musical success) sat with reporters for an hour and talked about what’s going on. Here are the highlights of that talk, condensed, edited, scrambled and served.


About 10 years ago, Jon was saying, "We’ve got to slow down. This pace is too hard." And between band shows, the “Memphis” musical, solo projects, band albums and the touring, you guys don’t seem to have slowed at all.

Richie Sambora: Yes, he was basically lying to you, I think. Liars. We’re liars, I’m telling you.

David Bryan: How do we keep it up? Because that’s what we do; we’re musicians and we love to play and make music. And with every album we get better and with every tour we get better, and it’s fun, and we just keep going. I guess now really the Rolling Stones are the gate, so I guess we’ve got till 70-something, so we’ve got another couple years there.

Richie Sambora: To prepare for a tour that looks like a year and a half or something like that, you have to physically prepare for it. But once you get out there, you get in a groove, man, and like Dave said, this is what we love to do. Fortunately, it’s an anomaly that we still all get along together and have a great time playing together and we’re still making good music that people want to hear. And obviously by the result of our last tour, that people want to come see us play, and that’s a big magnet also.

How did the new album come about?

Richie Sambora: The record has a lot of themes that we’re, kind of what was happening in the world kind of pushed this record out. So the record was kind of birthed about what, you know, guys like us, we travel around the world. Our last tour was about 52 countries and the different economic situations that were happening all over the world, and how people were, more importantly, reacting to them personally. We started feeling, I think, those undercurrents all the way back then. In our particular fashion, just having a very optimistic outlook in the songs is always very important. Even a song like the first single, “Because We Can,” is a song of inclusion, and also if you can help somebody, you should try to do it because you can. And sometimes it takes a village and that’s because we can.

Are they all new songs?

Richie Sambora: Every album is borne out of that specific time period, a moment in time. We never were one of those bands that actually carried songs over from something that was written five or six years ago and brought that into a whole new situation. You know? Maybe it happened a few times, but not that much. So I think that every album is borne out of what’s happening in the world and borne out of what’s happening in our own emotional feelings. … Traveling around the world and just getting done with the tour months before, we had really seen what was happening to a lot of different countries: Spain, Italy, Greece. Especially overseas and stuff like that. And then, you know, what was happening in our country, in America. So I think we were just picking up a lot on that.



What’s the goal for this year?

David Bryan: The goal is to have fun with the upcoming year. The show’s going around the world. It’s an honor and a privilege to walk onstage, and after this many years and still be at the top of our game and have new records and new songs on the radio. And so for me, it’s an honor and a pleasure, and be prepared as much as you can for that goal. And in our job, there’s no days off. You walk onstage no matter what happens in your life and you give it your all. So that is the goal, and we will achieve it.

Tico Torres: As far as preparations, you try to keep yourself a little healthier, only because you’re on the road. And when you have to sing and perform, getting sick is not an option. And so, really, you’re more attune to staying in shape for that reason.

To what do you attribute the band’s longevity?

Richie Sambora: It starts with our dedication to touring and, you know, we’ve always had that adage that we would play everywhere we could in the world and take our music to every place we could. And I think that we’ve been very, very loyal to our fans and consequently our fans have been very loyal to us. And I think that we just write songs that people can relate to, and it becomes a part of the soundtrack of their lives. That’s a privilege in itself. It’s a, you know, a complex situation and a complex question, so I think there’s a lot of reasons for it.

Can you get a little more specifically on the album, talk about it sonically: What does it sound like, and what, if anything, is on there that’s different than what you’ve done before?

Richie Sambora: You know, like I said, basically for me, you know, I mean, obviously I have to put a lot of different guitar textures on every track and I’m just trying to make the lyrics speak. So, what it really sounds like is us, I think, at the end of the day. I mean, a band like us that’s been around for almost 30 years now, we’re not going chasing anything down but ourselves. You know what I mean? And chasing down the song and making sure that that works. And I think at the end of the day, that’s the way it really ends up.

David Bryan: You put the four of us in a room, it’s going to sound like us because it’s us … you try to do your homework there and get the new stuff and get the cool stuff and try to make it sonically up to date, if you will, and there you have it.

What about the look of the tour?

David Bryan: With every tour we also try to up our game as well with that, without making it such a production that you lose the fact that there’s a band there. So for us it enhances what we do and we really got some really cool tricks up our sleeve. It’s really looking cool.

Do you feel in any way you’re putting the cart before the horse: touring before the album comes out? Ideally, would you like the album out before the first tour date?

Richie Sambora: No, we kind of planned it all. This was our planning. So, no, this was part of our master plan.


Tell us about your participation in the Hurricane Sandy relief concert.

David Bryan: As far as the band, we did the 12/12/12 concert, $50 million, which we’re really proud and glad about. And I personally am involved in a bunch of charities, because I have a beach house in Bay Head, and Bay Head/Mantoloking really got crushed; my town got crushed. So the entire -- there were so many houses that got crushed and people displaced and full-time residents that aren’t there and schools that aren’t there and fire trucks and police cars. So we’re doing everything we can to help out our town.

Have you been approached by the NFL about the Super Bowl at the Meadowlands next year, and if not, do you have interest in doing it?

Richie Sambora: Wow, man, we’d love to play for the Super Bowl. You know, I’m not, I’m not sure if we’ve been contacted yet or not, but I think anytime they would ask us, we would make time for that.
 
You’ve had hits in three different decades now. How do you adjust your production style through the years to always stay relevant and ahead of the curve?

David Bryan: We have a special magic cube that says how to produce stuff in every decade.

Richie Sambora: We ask the Ouija board.

David Bryan: Yes, we have the Rock ‘n Roll Ouija board. ... We’ve had our own voice for many years and it’s the next level for us. So I think the lyrics encompass what’s happening when it’s written, like a snapshot of that time, and the sounds are stuff that we just keep trying to push forward in new ways.

Why didn’t you brand this your 30th anniversary tour?

Richie Sambora: We never thought of it.

David Bryan: Yeah, it’s really true. It just kind of fell on that particular portion of our existence as a band. I don’t think anybody’s thinking that this is some kind of finite beginning or end at that point.

How will you introduce songs the fans have never heard before?

Richie Sambora: You know, it’s the first time we’ve ever done this. In the band's existence, it’s the first time we’ve ever actually toured before we put a record out, so I guess we’re going to find out, aren’t we? … We’re here in the U.K. and we’re doing BBC and we’re doing about seven new songs, so it’s an introduction to the U.K. as well and way ahead of time. So I guess, you know, I guess it’s -- I think people will hear it by the time we get there.”

Has there ever been a thing where you see a set list and you go, “Oh my God, not this song again. Why can’t we do something else, different?”

Richie Sambora: How many shows have we done together, something like 3,500? You know, so I mean, it’s like, every once in a while there’s a set list that comes up that may not work as well as the one from the night before, but it’s not a stressful kind of situation really for us at this point. You know what I mean? It’s fun for us to try to the new equation out – and when I say equation, I mean the new set list – and how all that kind of rolls and what it feels like, the ebb and flow and what that comes to.

David, did your “Memphis” Broadway success change your stature in the band?

David Bryan: Yes, now they have to call me Mister.

Richie Sambora: Of course. Are you kidding me, man?

Tico Torres: How many people get four Tonys? How many people get one Tony? How many people can get a play on Broadway, for that matter? Geez, man.


A lot of U.S. artists draw bigger crowds in Europe these days than in the states. Why is that?

Richie Sambora: I think that they’re just more open to those big events. You know what I mean? … It’s like almost like, you know, a tailgate party at a football game. They make it a weekend and they’re ready to go and it becomes an event in that kind of a situation for them. And I think that they just got more open to it quicker or something.

Do you care that you’re not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Is it political?

Tico Torres: What’s always been important to us is what the people enjoy and the People’s Choice Awards. We’ve always gotten something that people … enjoy the band. Hall of Fame, you know, it’s nice to be in the company of so many great groups. There’s a long list of great bands that need to go in there, and there’s only a few that can go in every year, so, I mean, it’s an ongoing thing, but you don’t lose sleep over it to get something that, you know, even just being nominated is an honor. It’s nice to be in that company. But geez, there’s such a long list of great, great musicians in the past and some that are still alive that are eligible as well, so I think it’s a wonderful venue.

Richie Sambora: I’d like to hope that we’re in there before we’re dead.

David Bryan: That’d be nice.

Richie Sambora: Before we’re in the grave, you know what I mean? That would be nice. But I don’t think anybody’s dwelling on it, you know?


source

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On this Day in Music...

From Gibson:

1983, Jon Bon Jovi formed the band Bon Jovi. See This Day in Music Spotlight .


Born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on March 2, 1962, Jon Bon Jovi’s parents were both retired Marines. After the military, his father, John Francis, settled into work as a barber, while his mother, Carol Sharkey, became a florist. John, Sr. was of Sicilian and Slovak descent, while Carol came from German and Russian stock (it’s been claimed by Jon himself that Frank Sinatra’s blood runs through his). Jon attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey during his freshman and sophomore years, but transferred to Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey.

Jon spent a great deal of his youth pursuing music. He played in local bands with friends and his cousin, Tony Bongiovi, who owned a fairly renowned recording studio in New York called The Power Station. During that time, he played in a number of bands, and while his grades suffered because of a general lack of interest school, his passion for music knew no bounds. By 16, he was steadily gigging in various local clubs and musical hot spots, and it was in one of these early bands, an outfit called Atlantic City Expressway, where he met keyboardist and future Bon Jovi bandmate, David Bryan.

Like his future superstar bandmate, Richard Stephen “Richie” Sambora was also born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, though a few years earlier on July 11, 1959. Richie’s father, Adam, was a factory foreman, while his mother, Joan, worked as a secretary. Raised Catholic, Richie grew up in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where he started playing guitar at the age of 12, shortly after the untimely passing of one of his musical heroes, Jimi Hendrix. Raised on ’60s rock and blues, he was a big fan of the guitar gods of the day, including Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Johnny Winter and, later, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Joe Perry. Richie was also a big fan of Spanish classical guitar, elements of which would inspire some of his future work.

Jon and Richie’s musical destinies were on a collision course.

When Jon was seventeen, his cousin Tony gave him a job sweeping the floors at his recording studio. A year later, in 1980, Tony recommended that Jon sing on a song producer/musician Meco [Domenico Monard] was recording for his album, Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album. Jon’s first-ever professional recording credit (under the name John Bongiovi) was for singing “R2-D2 We Wish You a Very Merry Christmas.”

In 1983, Jon recorded “Runaway,” a song he’d written during his days sweeping the floors at The Power Station studio. He enlisted the help of studio musicians for the session, including guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, bassist Hugh McDonald and drummer Frankie LaRocka.

After the song was mixed and ready for consumption, Jon shopped it around to various record companies, including Atlantic and Mercury, but he was given the cold shoulder. Undaunted, he continued networking and eventually heard back from promotion director John Lassman at radio station WAPP-FM (103.5 “The Apple”) out of New York City. Lassman told John he’d wanted to include “Runaway” on a compilation album they were putting together that featured local talent. Jon was reluctant at first, but he eventually agreed.

After the album’s release, “Runaway” quickly became a local hit, and Mercury Records took notice, giving Jon his first major record contract. To help promote “Runaway,” Jon called up Richie Sambora, who’d been playing steadily and establishing his name as one of the best young gunslingers on the East Coast (he’d even auditioned, unsuccessfully, to fill the vacant guitar role in KISS). Richie was familiar with Jon and agreed to join him. Jon also contacted his old bandmate, keyboardist David Bryan, who at the time was studying music at Julliard; Bryan quickly dropped out to join Jon and Richie. Experienced local drummer Tico Torres and bassist Alec John Such also got the call – and on this day in 1983, Bon Jovi, the biggest-selling American band in history, was formed. 

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For the Tico Lovers...

He such a cutie...

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Rock Star Baby in the US!

 Drummer to Designer: Bon Jovi’s Tico Torres Dishes on His Kids Collection

For the children of rock stars, pink and blue just doesn’t cut it.

So when Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres and his pals started having babies a few years back, he decided to make a line of gear just for them, aptly called rockstarbaby.

“It was all just pink and blue, and I thought, ‘I can’t relate to this!’ ” Torres recalls.

“So I decided to do something with clean white and black — it’s sharper, with more of a hip attitude. I figure parents dress themselves up, so why not have children look that way as well?”

The rocker opened a store in New York City’s trendy NoHo neighborhood in 2000, and shuttered it not too long after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He then began selling the line exclusively in Europe, and now, has triumphantly returned to the United States via a web store at rockstarbaby.com.

Torres designs all the looks himself, then sends them off to London, where his production team works their magic, turning his sketches into sleek, high-end goods.

While designing baby gear might seem like a funny side job for a rock star, for Torres, it’s just natural.
“I grew up with a family of seamstresses,” he tells PEOPLE Moms & Babies. “I’d cut patterns with my grandma, she’d design them and sew them up. My stage costumes from the 1960s to 1990s were handmade.”

Torres is passing that eye for design down to his son, Hector, 6½, too. “He’s worn all the stuff, and he thinks it’s cool. It gives him a little attitude — good attitude,” the drummer says. “I always listen to what he says. I think that the comfort is the first thing, so it’s worth finding the best cottons.”

Torres is also careful of seam placement — “It’s babies, you want to be sure they’re not irritated!” — and uses safe dyes. “At the end of the day you can keep washing them, especially the blacks and dark colors, and know they’re not going to fade after three washes.”

Aside from onesies, hats, T-shirts and shoes, Torres sells pacifiers, bottles, cups, plates and other gift-like items, too. “There’s a little black duck that’s so cute, it has a skull and crossbones on the tail,” he says. The edgy pattern is seen throughout much of the line, which covers ages 0 to 6 years and runs from about $10 to $100.

“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here,” Torres says, laughing. “But you design for what your lifestyle is about. And right now, I think parents are hipper than they’ve ever been. And that should be reflected in their kids’ clothes.”








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Way Back Wednesday...

Let's see, where did the DeLorean stop today?

Looks like, 1993, KTF era...

Don't forget to click on the pictures... they grow!!!

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Happy Birthday Hitman!

October 7, 1953, the world was graced with the presence of Hector "Tico" Samuel Torres... if you see the hitman today, wish him  ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! ...

Have a fabulous day!!

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Wayback Wednesday...

I'm feeling a little restless at work today.  It's been slow here lately and that has given me time to review my posts.  In going thru said posts, I realized that I haven't done a Wayback Wednesday in a very looooooong time.  So, without further ado and as it is Wednesday after all, let's hop in the DeLorean and see where we land...

Hmmm, looks like the early 80s today...

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Tico Torres - Cigar Aficionado

Rock Steady

Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres is known for pounding the skins with fervor, but at home he relaxes with fine art, golf and great cigars



When he performs around the world as the drummer for the mega-rock band Bon Jovi, Tico Torres gets screams of adulation�but when he drives his Denali into the Admiral's Cove golf club near his home in Jupiter, Florida, the girl at the gate waves him through with a smile and a "Hi, Mr. Torres!"

He gets the same treatment from the staff as he walks through the club's main building and into the dining room. Compact and muscular, with neatly sculpted (and graying) sideburns and soul patch, dressed all in black ("because I'm a musician, and from hanging out with Gary Player"), Torres slides into a seat near a window, offering smiles and "How are ya's?" to other members, who seem to take a certain protective pride in having a celebrity as a fellow regular at the club.

Torres orders an omelet with ham and onions, bacon on the side. "My son (six-year-old Hector) came to me the other day and said, 'Dad, you're famous,'" he says. "When I asked where he'd heard that, it turned out the neighbor's kids had told him. He had no idea. It's a little strange when your son notices."

He's a member of one of the rock world's bigger acts. Bon Jovi has sold 120 million albums and 34 million concert tickets in its 27 years, but Torres enjoys relative anonymity.

"I don't mind being in the background," he says. "As the drummer, I get to watch the show and perform. I don't mind walking into a room where nobody knows who I am. There's a beauty to that. I started playing for the sheer joy and creativity of it."

The meal finished, he warms up at the course's driving range, then lights an Avo cigar as he heads for the first tee.

He cranks his drive down the middle of the fairway, then lofts a 3-iron to within a club's length of the par-4 hole, putting to claim a birdie. "I started with a handicap of around 20 and brought it down to about a nine," he says. "But when I haven't played for a while, it's more like a 15."

Like many golfers, Torres has found that cigars and golf go hand in hand. He typically favors recent vintage smokes, but one year while playing in the Dunhill Pro-Am at Leopard Creek Country Club in South Africa, the club's founder, Johann Rupert, offered him a cigar from the 1950s. "That was such a treat," Torres says. "Supposedly, after two years, a cigar loses some of its life. Generally, I prefer a cigar from my era. But those cigars tasted really good."

Golf is Torres's outlet for relaxation as well as his exercise when Bon Jovi is on the road. While the other members of the band head for the gym on tour, 56-year-old Torres uses his days off to hit the local links.

"I've met a lot more interesting people through golf than through my career," says Torres. "Willie Nelson got me into golf. I love the integrity of the game. You meet people and spend the day doing things together. You might be from two totally different walks of life but you have that time together."

He's befriended several professional golfers and played rounds with many of the greats, including Tiger Woods. Asked if it was humbling to go tee-to-green with Woods, Torres doesn't miss a beat: "But he can't play drums."

Woods is one of the golfers Torres wants to include in a collection he's been working on since 1996: bronze casts of the golf grip of many of the sport's greats.

"I thought, you see 3-D views of a lot of parts of golf, but never of the hands," says Torres, an accomplished painter and sculptor. "So I started doing casts of major winners' hands. I did Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ernie Els, Gary Player�a bunch of them. I donated them to the St. Andrews Museum, with the provision that people could touch them. That was my gift to golf."

As he played a relaxed 18 holes, Torres was a couple weeks away from returning to the road with Bon Jovi. The Circle Tour, named after the group's latest release, kicked off in Hawaii on February 11 and will eventually span the world before ending in summer 2011. That schedule would take its toll on any performer, but drummers take a particularly hard pounding, moving arms and legs almost nonstop for an entire show, which lasts two-and-a-half to three hours. To prepare for the physical rigors, Torres begins working out several weeks ahead of time, exercising on a Stairmaster and strengthening his core.

"It's about getting your heart and your lungs ready," he says. "Mainly, it's about getting my wind up. Doing a show is like boxing�your heart rate goes up and down. It takes a couple of weeks to feel like I'm in command physically."

On stage, Torres attacks his drums with ferocity from start to finish. One particularly noteworthy fan, Queen Elizabeth II, spoke up after Bon Jovi played in Liverpool. "Your arms must be so tired," she said with admiration, then quizzed Torres on his stamina and workout regimen. "That was special to me," Torres says.

"There's no one better behind the kit," says Jon Bon Jovi, via an e-mail interview. "He does things, without the use of technology, that would take a drummer and a percussionist to pull off live. And there's no one more loyal and loving than Tico."

you can read the rest of the article here.

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Tuesday Treats...

Some screen caps of the boys performing Superman Tonight on Wetten Das last week.

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