"The record company used to lie about my age," Such said. "I was 31 when I
 joined. I was a good 10 years older than the rest of the band. My sister
 eventually got really mad because the papers would describe her as my older
 sister when really she was younger."

The age difference has since caught up with Such and his former bandmates.
Such, now 48, said it was the main reason he left the band in 1994.

"When I was 43, I started to get burned out," he said. "It felt like work 
and I didn't want to work. The reason I got into a band to begin with is 
because I didn't want to work."

Jon Bon Jovi, on the other hand, seems compelled to work. In an interview
 with the Press in February, Bon Jovi talked about his band's new music,
 about an Internet project that let fans watch as the band recorded the album
 and about his movie career.

"I do have a lot going on and I've been like this in the past," Bon Jovi 
said. "I don't know if it's something I need to do or what. Last week, I was
in two different studios in L.A., while fitting in rehearsals for a new
 movie, and I caught the red-eye home and all I could think was 'Man, I can't
 wait to get a break.'"

After Such left the band, Bon Jovi compared the situation to Bill Wyman's 
departure from The Rolling Stones. "I look on it as being like the Bill
 Wyman thing," Bon Jovi told the Press in 1994. "They just grew in different
 directions. It's understandable ... just because I want to continue making
 records doesn't mean everyone else has to."

Bon Jovi then took a cue from The Rolling Stones and brought in Hugh
 McDonald as a hired gun, rather than as a bandmate. "There's no ill feeling 
on mine or the band's part," Bon Jovi told the Press at the time, "and as 
far as I'm concerned, Alec was the only bass player who was part of Bon
 Jovi."

There are signs of hurt feelings on Such's part. When asked about his 
bandmates' reactions to his retirement, Such said, "I think Jon didn't care
 because he didn't have to pay a percentage to the new guy. He does care
 about those things."

Not surprisingly, Such said he did not like the 1995 Bon Jovi album "These
 Days," which was the first one made without him. But he does not disparage
 McDonald. "Hughie's great," Such said. "We have no animosity. If anything, I 
feel sorry for him that he doesn't get recognition."

And time and distance have mellowed whatever friction existed between Such
 and Jon Bon Jovi. "I keep in touch with everyone but Jon," Such said. "We
 had a few little rifts between us, but when I heard this new record, I
 wanted to call him. I think it's really good."

After the auction, Such said he plans to start traveling. His first stops:
 Pensacola and Corpus Christi. But he does not plan to abandon New Jersey.
 He's keeping his second home in Waretown and he bought his mother a house in 
Brick, which will always draw him back.

"When you first make a lot of money, you spend a lot," he said. "Then you go
 through that 'Am I good enough to be making all this money?' and 'Do I
 deserve it?' phase."

"I think I'm past all the pitfalls," he said. "At one time, I needed to see 
those platinum records on the wall to prove my worth. I don't anymore."

The public auction of the estate of Bon Jovi bassist Alec John Such begin s
at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at 29 Laird Road, Colts Neck. Previews are 9 a.m. to
 5 p.m. today, noon to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday. For more 
information, call (732) 708-0948.

Published on May 14, 2000