Richie Sambora!!!

There is absolutely no way the band doesn't rehearse, no matter what Jon says.

Anyone else find it weird that David was asked to sign a 3 year contract while the band was supposedly not on speaking terms after the NJ tour and their future was unknown? Doc wasn't fired until mid to late 91 and they didn't meet with Lou Cox to hash it all out until after that, so a 3 year contract effective Jan 1991 seems very strange.

Of course he had a contract. You think they just shook hands on what Richie's cut would be? Richie even said he and the band were Jon's employees on one of the band DVD's. Maybe WWWB?

And I definitely never heard an interview with Jon saying Richie had no contract. There was an interview where he did say something like "none of it is his" or "he doesn't own any of it" when saying it's fine that Richie left and that being in a band is not a life sentence. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

Yes and No... I think by January of 1991 they had an idea of what the future held... Don't forget that they played some spot gig's aka Japan '91 so maybe that was the agreement to play those gig's... (I always that that mini run was so random)

But 3 years is probably the standard to write, record, promote, and world tour an album...

I'm sure they started KTF in late 1991. But yes, Richie was still doing Stranger in '91 so it does seem a little shifted, by like 6 to 9 months... Jon was originally supposed to produce Stranger so I don't think the band was as angry at that point.

My only guess is, contracts might only be effective at the start of each year so if they did three years (or even 2 years) at the start of 1992, they wouldn't have had enough time to get the album out by the record company contracted date... and Jon needed the guys at his request to lay down demos etc.

Jon was Superman back then so he might not have needed them but the contract was necessary in case he did...



Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

But that was the year of Jon's grey summer. The timing is weird to me.

I'm not sure why...Business contracts aren't based on Jon's grey summer. And Summer is in June/July and the contract was signed by January which is 6 months prior... Maybe Jon knowing the machine was stating back up again was the reason for the grey summer...

If Blaze Of Glory the album didn't flop, things could have been much different and Jon might have carried on with a solo career... I'm sure Jon's contract was much more extended and he needed to get an album out by the end of 1992.

In January of 1991, the band did a small Japan run... Jon finished with Aldo Nova, Toured with South Side Johnny, and started writing by himself while Richie did Stranger... The band got back together in October of 1991 to start the KTF process... I don't think anything is weird.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

I'm 100 % with you. On that level it is impossible and would be absolutely nonprofessional. So I never believed Jon.
And even 2013 he said they never rehearse but started doing it for this tour.
Althoug he already admitted rehearsing for the Have A Nice Day tour back in 2005 when they went on a military base for doing so and even played a small show for the soldiers at the end of it...

Well, the contract from Yovana's link says effective as of the first day of January 1991..
The real date of the contract is left open, so it is possible it was negotiated and signed any time early or late 1991.
I don't know about contract rules in the music business but maybe it is common to backdate those kind of contracts to the beginning of the year although it was signed later.
Bottom line: We don't know the date of negotiation and signment.

No, I thought it was absurd when I heard it. I'm not quite as naive as you seem to think I am. That's why it's been bugging me. Maybe I am thinking about the interview you mentioned. Do you have a link? It might jog my memory.


But that still wouldn't explain the NY Mag reporter saying "except for Sambora, the other musicians are actually, technically, his employees". That seems awfully random for something that he just pulled out of thin air.

Not that it matters, now, anyway. I'm just curious.

Just to barge in on that question regarding the Japanese tour dates in 1991. Doc McGhee had set them up at the time the band was still touring New Jersey and effectively would have wanted for them to tour up to that point. Richie's quote on WWWB: "People came to us and asked 'can you do another 70 shows?' and we went 'we gotta stop, man!' because everybody was just a mess."

Connected to the New Year's Eve show (which was similar to the '88/'89 one), he had then added a few more dates in Japan because, unlike Europe, the band had not gone back there yet for a second time on the NJ tour. I read some quote that the band didn't find out about those dates until after what they thought had been their final shows in Mexico and were (probably) contractually obliged to play these shows, so they did.