Bon Jovi and Sambora…

[crwnedblasphemy]

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.

It's true. I work in the industry, and country shows are packed full of all ages and young hot chicks...the hair band shows like Dokken/Sebastian Bach/etc are over 50 no young people. Why do you think Darius Rucker went country? He is making way more now than attempting anything Hootie related.

 

[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"

The Funny Part is My Mom in Law Loves Jazz, so she has all these amazing Jazz Albums on Vinyl.

 

[romanianreaper]

Sure Def Lep had a huge success with Hysteria (and pyro), but they crashed and burned in the States after that.

Oh god, don't even get me started with Def Leppard. They are my other target of frustration. Another band riding the catchy chorus train and slamming it into the side of a mountain. Vivian Campbell proved he is being held back from really shredding in that band when "Last in Line" released their album.

 

[paulyc]

Oh you hit the nail on the head there with Vivian in Def Lep...what a complete waste of his talent that shit is. To play second fiddle to Phil's Colon ???

 

[Rick Lee]

Oh you hit the nail on the head there with Vivian in Def Lep...what a complete waste of his talent that shit is. To play second fiddle to Phil's Colon ???

I concur. But Vivian is getting paaaaiid.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

Oh you hit the nail on the head there with Vivian in Def Lep...what a complete waste of his talent that shit is. To play second fiddle to Phil's Colon ???

I concur. But Vivian is getting paaaaiid.

That he is. But man it hurts my ears to listen to anything that Phil Collen plays. As far as overrated guitarists go, he's at the top of my list. Viv can smoke him on guitar any day with one hand up his scrotum.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

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.

But thing is, Steven Tyler still can sing the old Aerosmith classics and when Aerosmith tours, I bet you they ain't playing any of Steven's country tunes.

JBJ can't sing anymore. And I don't give a shit about Bon Jovi releasing new songs. If I were to pay to go see Bon Jovi, I'm paying to see them play their classic hits!

 

[skoora]

Anyone lost me at "I used to love them" or "I dug them back when"...

...but I do have Runaway in my phone...

 

[Red_Label]

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.

Sports is the same. People wrap themselves in sports as a DIVERSION from their humdrum lives. They don't tune into sportscasts or sporting events to get political dogma. ESPN (may that network shrivel and die) just doesn't understand why their ratings are dropping like an aging rocker's scrotum. It's because they've been sprinkling their "journalist" propaganda into their programming and people are SICK and tired of it. We're also sick of spoiled sports celebutards making political statements or just plain not delivering the goods. Or giant corporations (*** cough *** NFL) who seem to think that inundating us regular blokes with nonstop TV ads discouraging domestic abuse will actually have ANY effect on the neanderthals who do such vile deeds.


Dear celebutards of the silver screen, lighted stage, and astroturf... we watch you ONLY because we want to be entertained by your very limited set of talents. If we wanted your opinion on political matters or world events (we don't)... we would have tuned-in to a different station to see that. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Or get the #$&% out. We don't need you as much as you've convinced your insecure selves that we need you. And frankly, we'd be better off if we just tuned you out and focused on spending quality time with our loved ones and developing our own talents.

 

[Red_Label]

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.

He is B.S. (literally). They're both a couple of "working class" (in their own minds) blowhards from New Jersey who can't sing any more and think that we care what they have to say.


Did anyone else catch Springstein's performance a few years ago when he filled in for Bono with U2 (who'd had a cycling accident in Central Park)? They were opening for a Monday Night Football game I believe and Bruce was hacking-up hair balls... or trying to sing U2 classics (I honestly couldn't tell which). It was just so BAAAAAAAAD. Like Lou Reed "singing" Metallica bad.

 

[Red_Label]

Oh you hit the nail on the head there with Vivian in Def Lep...what a complete waste of his talent that shit is. To play second fiddle to Phil's Colon ???

I don't blame Viv for wanting a decent paycheck considering where he came from. But yeah... every time I see him mailing it in on the stage with Lep, it just makes me sad for him. He was such a monster in his Dio days.

I love Leppard, but "High & Dry" and "Pyromania" era Leppard and not jukebox Leppard. Steve was to Leppard what DeGarmo was to Queensryche. They're just not even the same entities without those guys. They were the heart and soul of those iconic bands.

 

[longfxukxnhair]

I am a product of the 80's and I am trying to figure out when Bon Jovi was considered hard rock Bon Jovi was considered bubble gum rock at best. Sombora and Jon knew how to write hits back in the day. Probably one of the best writing duos in recent rock history as far as hits. But when you have a career that spans as long as theirs did, you eventually run out of fresh ideas. I was never a big fan of the band but I thought Sambora was under rated as a player. Maybe Jon can go back to doing DISH commercials

 

[Red_Label]

I am a product of the 80's and I am trying to figure out when Bon Jovi was considered hard rock Bon Jovi was considered bubble gum rock at best. Sombora and Jon knew how to write hits back in the day. Probably one of the best writing duos in recent rock history as far as hits. But when you have a career that spans as long as theirs did, you eventually run out of fresh ideas. I was never a big fan of the band but I thought Sambora was under rated as a player. Maybe Jon can go back to doing DISH commercials

Agreed. Sambora was always very tasteful and played perfectly for that band. A bigger part of their success than narcissistic JBJ would care to admit I'm sure.

I still have his first solo album (cassette) kicking around somewhere. Always wanted to cover "Church of Desire". Great bluesy tune!