24 January 2008
Bon Jovi Keyboardist Still Loves Stardom
The gloss of being a rock star never wears off for Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan.
The day after playing a packed show in Sydney's Acer Arena, Bryan was still pumped up.
And, he says, playing live is almost as good as sex.
"It's the f***ing best time you can have with your clothes on, I always say," Bryan laughs.
Even after more than two decades of performing, releasing 10 albums and taking home a trove of Grammy awards, Bon Jovi still get overwhelmed playing to an audience of thousands.
"It's still amazing and you're looking around and people are way the f*** up there and everyone is just going mad and having a good time," he says.
Bryan, a founding member of the rock group, says live shows are a great way to escape from the real world.
"I always said I can't wait to get on the stage so I can get some peace and quiet.
"The whole world just stops for a minute."
"That was a quote I stole from (Rolling Stones') Ron Wood. He said, `I can't wait to walk on stage so I can get some peace and quiet.'
"And that made so much sense because the whole world and your problems and your life are just waiting for two and half hours."
Bon Jovi are touring following the release of their tenth studio album Lost Highway.
The album debuted at number five on the Australian pop charts in June. It held the top spot on the country charts for three weeks after its release, and stayed in the country top ten for over two months.
The band also won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for their song Who Says You Can't Go Home, from their 2005 album Have a Nice Day.
Bryan says venturing into the country music scene was an interesting journey for Bon Jovi, who usually dominate the pop charts.
"When we started out on this record, like every other record you want to expand and try new things like a little experiment," he says.
"Nothing wrong with expanding your audience.
"We didn't leave behind Bon Jovi fans but we gained new fans and it was interesting."
The rocker says attracting new Bon Jovi fans with every album and tour is thrilling.
"It's always amazing that (the fans) get younger and we don't lose who we have," he says.
"It's good to see that ten records in and 24 years later we're still current, we're still doing new things, we're still getting kids (to the shows)."
Bon Jovi are also passionate about helping fellow musicians, and on this tour they launched a radio competition to find an up-and-coming band to play at their Melbourne show.
Melbourne band Front Counter won the competition.
Bryan says he was happy to be able to give young people the opportunity to get noticed.
"It's pretty neat to see kids that play in front of maybe a couple of hundred people and now in front of thousands.
"Just the look in their eyes - they're shitting in their pants because they didn't work their way up. It's like, bang, you're put into this situation."
Bryan, a classically trained pianist, says he never aspired to be in one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
"I was just trying to get some chicks, be in a band."
Source: National Nine News
01-25-2008, 02:12 AM
