Aloha !
Bon Jovi are pleased to announce the return of lead guitarist Richie Sambora for the band’s European Tour. Sambora has been absent from Bon Jovi’s current North American Tour as a result of a stay in a rehab facility to return him to his previous celebrated form after years of alcohol abuse.
“You know, I needed some time off to get it together,” the guitarist says. “I've been on the road for 2 years now, and with this tour you never know where you are the next day. It's easy to fall back in old habits but I've got a good support team around me right now. It's hard to admit you've got a problem when you don't know anyone around you real well apart from your bandmates. There's no family on tour with me.”
Sambora has been ably replaced in the dates he absented by Phil X, a renowned session player. He says that the two guitar players have a mutual admiration and he felt that his temporary replacement was more than capable.
“Me and Jon decided that it'd be better to keep the tour going without me. Apart from drinking I've also had a few other things that needed to be dealt with, and I couldn't face my daughter anymore knowing I wasn't the daddy I was supposed to be. So we got an excellent guitarist and I've taught Phil X all my moves so he'd be able to replace me in America. In the time Phil was playing, I was recovering. It was a tough decision but when look at it from a bigger perspective it was obvious that it was either going to be missing the European tour or the American tour. Considering we play for 80.000 to 100.000 people there, and only 20.000 people here, I'd much rather play in Europe.”
Furthermore, Sambora apologizes on behalf of the band for disappointing any fans who purchased tickets to the concerts he could not attend.
“Really it was a matter of who I had to let down by missing the gigs, and I’m deeply sorry for any fans for whom I did diminish the fun to be had at the gigs, but I’m sure Jon and the guys did a great job and there was a whole lotta great music without me. Again, I feel sorry for American fans who know me, but we've got a surprise for you coming up in the last weeks of this year. Sorry, I can't say much about it, it's a secret so I’m not sure I’m even allowed to let the cat out of the bag yet!”
The band are about to begin rehearsals for their imminent European tour, and believe it may be their best yet.
“We will rehearse for a few days before the tour starts, and then we'll be back on the road to treat our fans in Europe for the best rock ‘n’ roll show they've ever seen. I can't wait to play our classics of course, but Jon and I have been talking about digging out some stuff we haven’t done in years. We want to be a jukebox you know.”
But can Sambora reveal what those songs will be?
“Man, a lot of great stuff! As ever I get a kick outta playing our new stuff – I’ve missed playing What Do You Got, for instance. But hey, I had my guitar out the other day and a bunch of our records. I looked over the tracklists and wondered if I remembered some of the stuff. You know, the first songs of our albums released in the nineties were great fun to play again. Apparently some of our fans are missing those old songs, who knew?”
Source
Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan
05-22-2011, 08:56 PM
Bon Jovi Guitarist marks return in Europe.
