Bon Jovi and Sambora…

[romanianreaper]

One other thing I want to add, especially because I forgot it is what irritates me the most. When you see them in concert, everyone is under this subdued lighting except for Jon. Some of those other guys have been there with him since the beginning and it is like they are just his backup band. It is total B.S. in my opinion. He thinks he is Bruce Springsteen now.

 

[Badronald]

I find it incredible people are talking about this band in 2017.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Gonna go out on the honesty limb and say this......

Fucking hated Bon Jovi in the 80s and 90s. I was an early thrash adopter,and was on the poser-hater train right away.

Started appreciating them around 2006 or so. Even the older stuff. Having heard Jon on the Stern show many times,I came to like the guy for all he does for charity and for his story of how he became a rock star. And Sambora is a great player with tasty feel and tone. Jon has alluded to both drugs/alcohol and money issues as to why Richie isn't around in several recent Stern interviews. Remember,Stern's interviews are long format and he doesn't let people NOT answer a question....Even if he is a friend to the person being interviewed.

And I just be getting old,because each time he comes on Stern and does a new song I always kinda like it. Yeah,it may be formulaic. But they always kinda speak to me in some way. I do agree with those who have said he now sounds like he wants to be Springsteen.

 

[Oblivion DC]

Gonna go out on the honesty limb and say this......

Fucking hated Bon Jovi in the 80s and 90s. I was an early thrash adopter,and was on the poser-hater train right away.

Started appreciating them around 2006 or so.

I was with you up to there...

 

[Chester Nimitz]

I remember when Alex/RockinChippy was ejaculating on himself because Bon Fagula used one of his amps [philX] as a prop in one of their videos.

I didn't get it then and i still don't.

They grow them strange in Jersey ...

Jovi sings an octive lower and sounds like an old man.

 

[supersonic]

I do agree with those who have said he now sounds like he wants to be Springsteen.

Springsteen is one of his biggest influences along with Phil Lynott!

 

[thenine]

his activism for Crooked Hilary has made it so I cant listen to them anymore

 

[romanianreaper]

I find it incredible people are talking about this band in 2017.

Who says you can't go home?

Sorry.

 

[romanianreaper]

I do agree with those who have said he now sounds like he wants to be Springsteen.

Springsteen is one of his biggest influences along with Phil Lynott!

I think it is great that he is his influence and that he has picked up his ability to motivate an arena. He definitely is not on the same level as him though.

I have always had a problem with any band that completely changes their look and music to where it barely resembles what they did in the past. I'm not talking about trying new things, etc. I think that is refreshing and keeps a band relevant. The problem with Bon Jovi is that, in my humble opinion, his new sound over the last few albums makes it seem like he never was even into hard rock. Like getting the hit on the charts was more important than the music.

People don't realize that there was a time Jon Bon Jovi played an electric guitar on stage, had distortion in the songs, and did shows with Motley Crue, etc. Now they are going to probably end up in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

 

[Rick Lee]

Like getting the hit on the charts was more important than the music.

Isn't that why BJ was formed in the first place? It's not like they were a hardscrabble gang of friends who'd worked their way up the club circuit to a record deal. IIRC, Jon had a record deal and then put the band together. They started at a point where tons of bands back then just wanted to someday get to.

 

[romanianreaper]

Like getting the hit on the charts was more important than the music.

Isn't that why BJ was formed in the first place? It's not like they were a hardscrabble gang of friends who'd worked their way up the club circuit to a record deal. IIRC, Jon had a record deal and then put the band together. They started at a point where tons of bands back then just wanted to someday get to.

Good point. "Runaway" was done with Jon and studio musicians.

At a certain point though, they became a unit. Maybe this was Jon's plan all along though.

 

[Chris O]

his activism for Crooked Hilary has made it so I cant listen to them anymore

Generally ANY band that becomes a political pawn - right or left/Nuge or Bon Jovi - loses my support. I just can't stomach it. Play music. I don't give a SHIT about your political leanings. Problem is that they get an audience, and all the sudden they forget they're entertainers. It's been going on for decades, but I still hate it. It's the quickest way to turn me off to even good music..which JBJ has long since abandoned.

 

[Red_Label]

I used to like them back in the 80's and 90's. They've put out a lot of great music but I just can't stand Jon Bon Jovi anymore! I turn the station whenever their songs come on the radio. JBJ just comes across as a pompous, liberal elitist.

Sambora...used to be a pretty good guitar player and musician but is now a sloppy, arrogant, has been that's resting on his success from 20 years ago.

...both of them should just go away!

This. JBJ is lame anymore. Ritchie was a good player, but not anymore. I too can't change the station fast enough when they come on. They are just a sell-out, boring shadow of their former selves. My wife likes them. Her favorite artist is Jimmy Buffett. Pretty much says it all.

 

[Red_Label]

his activism for Crooked Hilary has made it so I cant listen to them anymore

Agreed.

In over three decades playing on stage, I have yet to utter a political remark on the mic.

Here's an idea for entertainers... DANCE MONKEYS DANCE!!! That's what you're being paid for. Not your political analysis. Dunno why so many celebutards get to thinking that their political opinion actually matters to people. Guess it's part of the whole schtick where you start believing your own hype. So many of them go down in flames, completely obvlivious as to why people are turned off. Looking in the mirror (at what's REALLY inside) isn't something many seem to be interested in.

 

[Rick Lee]

Anyone remember when John Cougar Mellencamp got booed for plugging John Edwards at a concert during the 2008 campaign? And that was before all the real dirt on Edwards had come out. Ha.

You really can't win by playing politics at your shows. You're bound to piss off half your audience, even if they're all of your political leanings. I just don't want to hear it when I go to a show. I want zero reminder of anything political when I'm wrapped up in music. None.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Ah Edwards. Banging younger Dirt when your wife has cancer...Nice.

As for Con Jovi, Cons us thinking he's rock. I liked "she don't know me" and "in and outta love," some of their older stuff. Also don't look at the camera as if you wrote some magic jingle for our ears to savor on the Direct TV commercials. It was lame.

I think I agreed with almost everyone's post on here...even laughed out loud at some of them. Problem is he is switching target audiences pretty late in the game. Kid Rock can do it cuz he's younger and looks kinda country rock scumbag. Everyone knows JBJ is doing it to make coin. I agree his voice is nasally shit now, and I don't get how they gross ticket sales the way they do?

 

[stanbog]

when you say "Bon Jovi", this is what i prefer to think about:

I loved them, but lost interest after NJ.

 

[DET1973]

I think JBJ Has jumped the shark & is simply writing for his new core audience which is Soccer moms in Mini Vans that can't handle any kind of Distortion. You know the ones i'm talking about, we've all seen them at stops lights thinking they are rocking out to a BJ Ballad but would change the channel if any of the tracks from the first or 2nd album came on. My mother in law would be a prime example....She has not ever listened to ANY music with any type of distortion in it....she calls it "Loud Music"

 

[shredhead7]

I'll weigh in. Bon Jovi (Jon) specifically, is the highest grossing hair band out of all of them. Sure Def Lep had a huge success with Hysteria (and pyro), but they crashed and burned in the States after that. Bon Jovi never stopped having hits and their tours have always been huge. I haven't been a fan since 7800 and Slippery, but I can respect the guy for knowing how to stay relevant. He is similar to Gene Simmons in that he knows this is a business first at their level. He is maintaining his going concern for his enterprise and that is it.

Would it be nice to hear them play some hard rock again? Maybe, but bands like Warrant, Skid Row, Def Lep, et al, all continue to put out new music and no one is buying it, except a few die hard fans. The trend has passed and pop country is the demo for 35+ year olds and that is where he has to go to keep making money. Hell, Steven Tyler took it a step further and actually released a pop country record last year.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

I think JBJ Has jumped the shark & is simply writing for his new core audience which is Soccer moms in Mini Vans that can't handle any kind of Distortion. You know the ones i'm talking about, we've all seen them at stops lights thinking they are rocking out to a BJ Ballad but would change the channel if any of the tracks from the first or 2nd album came on. My mother in law would be a prime example....She has not ever listened to ANY music with any type of distortion in it....she calls it "Loud Music"