Source: The Daily News Journal

Bon Jovi is dead. (Not really.)

But that's what some media outlets reported more than a week ago when the band's private jet skidded off the runway at Canada's Hamilton Airport.

The band took the stage to play the first of four shows at the Air Canada Center in Toronto that night.

"It'll take more than a plane crash to stop me," the "Livin' on a Prayer" singer was quoted as saying.

And not to miss a beat, the band plans to take the same Boeing 707 into Nashville Tuesday for a Valentine's Day show at Gaylord Entertainment Center.

David Bryan, keyboard player of the group, called The Daily News Journal recently to chat about the plane crash that sparked rumors of the band's death, the impending show in Nashville, and the music and fans that motivate the group to keep going.

"I'm just in the car on the way to the airport right now," says Bryan from his cell phone. "We're going to St. Paul, Minn., where it won't be warm, and then to Milwaukee and Canada. It's true (the plane did crash), but we did all right, so thank God. We're working and the plane is working, so everything is a go. We're hitting it hard every day."

Bon Jovi formed in New Jersey in 1983 on the strength of the single "Runaway." But the band didn't hit it big until 1986 with the multi-platinum success of the album "Slippery When Wet" and have managed to sell out arenas for the last 20 years. While many of the bands that were on the radio in Bon Jovi's early days have faded into nostalgia, the quartet has managed to hold its own in the changing music scene.

Bryan says that is no accident.

"I think it's really about staying current in the music and not just sticking to the way it worked and refusing to move away from that," he says. "We always stayed true to our roots and we didn't copy what the fads were. I think that's why we're current. We record songs and videos that are contemporary."

That said, the band has incorporated seven songs from its latest release, "Have a Nice Day," into its 2 1/2-hour show.

"For us, the tour is all about playing songs from the new record and supporting the new record, so we play just about every track," says Bryan. "We still play songs you know and love. It's going over great."

"Have a Nice Day" contains signature Bon Jovi feel-good themes, but also packs a few surprises, such as the band's first duet with a country band. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland is featured on the track, "Who Says You Can't Go Home."

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