Transcript by donnanj


DD: We have a great show tonight, later on a lot of super bowl stuff. But, first up, my first guest has a passion for football and rock and roll. Jon Bon Jovi is a rock and roll legend. He’s been pumping out hits for more then 20 yrs and it seems everything he records goes platinum, including hit albums as SWW and New Jersey. Jon’s been nominated for a Grammy and Oscar and won a Golden Globe Award. Jon joins me tonight to talk in the house about his successful career and his passion for arena football.
He’s owner of the Philadelphia Soul one of the top teams in arena football, and I welcome the one and only Bon Jovi.
Hey, how you doin man?

JBJ: Thanks,

DD: Good to see you Jon

JBJ : Great

DD: Thanks for coming. I wanna start with a little personal account of when I met you that kinda of quickly showed me, A. your life and also what kind of guy you are. We were at a charity event and I was sitting next to you, and literally in the course of 45 minutes, I would say 100 people came over to the table as you’re putting soup in your mouth. Can I take a picture Jon, can I do this, can I do this? And I am sitting there watching this, going, I”m waiting for you to get up and strangle person number 140. You were just cool with the whole thing. How do you live your life?

JBJ: It’s , the persona, um, is exaggerated, You know if you’re in an environment that invites people to ask for an autograph, take a picture, they don’t want to harm you, they’ve been touched in some way by the music. And, its, its, memories for them, and so they feel they know you, and they’ve become part of a moment in time, where they get a picture or an autograph. And so, if I’m at a function like that, I invite it, I don’t shy away from it.

DD: But I guess that’s the whole irony of your life, you think a rock and roll star on the road, crazy and you are normal to a fault. You’re married to your high school swe, look at me I’m telling you, you married your high school sweetheart, four kids, live in New Jersey, almost the complete opposite of what people expect, how do you keep the normal stuff?

JBJ: You know that as well as anybody , That’s such a cliché to think that nobody is married, you know there’s Bono, Bruce, Tyler, they’re all married longer then me and have families the same as I do too, so I don’t know why I get the poster child of family.

DD: Well I think one of the reasons, you came here, I have people, nobody used to come without an entourage of 20 people you got one buddy drives you over here, you are one of the most high profile rock guys of the last 30 yrs and you are just this down to earth Jersey and it’s real, it’s not like a bit.

JBJ: You know, a lot of what that is to it’s I live here, I still live in New Jersey. Hollywood’s not for me. And, playing the game out there, which adds value to your ticket if you wanna sell your soul um, it’s short term though, and it never appealed to me, I saw through it as a kid and came back east, and uh, dating back to our 2nd record, it was 85 we weren’t as successful as other bands were becoming in 84 and 85 our first two records. And we thought we had to be something else, we had to chase that, hanging around with those kind of kids, L.A. and finding your sisters make-up and all that goofy stuff we used to do . This isn’t really where we’re from or what we do, but ok. We came home and wrote a record called SWW, and the album cover is a hefty garbage bag squirted with water and I took my fingers and wrote Slippery When Wet and that was one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Why? Because we came home. We did what we do naturally.

DD: And you stayed true to your brand. Goin back to the dinner, the other thing that fascinated me was sitting, I felt like I was talking to another guy in the marketing business talking to you, it was amazing, we talked music 30 seconds, great, next you say, I’m doing these commercials and my box set is on TV and what not, and I was astounded that you are a marketing guy and it’s not that you’re not an artist

JBJ: That’s not a derogatory statement

DD: No, well

JBJ: So is Madonna

DD: Ok, but I think some artists hear that, you say that to them, they go, I’m an artist and you unabashedly, when I said that to you, you said thanks man.

JBJ: I understand what you mean by that and anybody who would like to slight that, and there was a period , um, Neil Young wrote a song, “This Songs for You” and you know it was like the Budweiser commercial,

DD: Right

JBJ: When it was not cool to get endorsements and then it saves the Sting record with Jaguar. Let me tell you something in 2005 with what downloading is with what the big conglomerates of radio stations with the very fine eyed play lists are, if you don’t find another way to get your out to the people so they can hear them, you’re beating your head against the wall. We’re at a cusp now, having been at this for 20+ years and a hundred million albums, playing stadiums around the globe, but we’re in danger of becoming the Rolling Stones, and the E Street Band in that, you don’t sell as many records as you used too, you’re not on the radio as often, but the legacy is there. People are gonna come and see you live because they’re accustom to that kind of a show.

DD: That’s the only way you’re generating revenue, tours.

JBJ: Yeah

DD: Same for those guys

JBJ: Yeah, well, it’s the it’s still a substantial amount of money you can make from the records, but, it’s not as much as bop bop bop, ya know. But, those little hot bands that are selling in the moment

DD: Yeah

JBJ: Probably play a room about this size.

DD: Speaking of the Stones, and I’ve talked about it, it’s amazing. I saw the Stones last year and I was more fascinated with the audience and it was kind of something sobering to me that on stage, you had these 60 yo guys running around with hair, and in the audience you had a bunch of 50 yo guys in khakis goin you know MICK MICK

JBJ: Laughs

DD: You know it was in a freeze frame from 30 yrs ago that our generation

JBJ: uh huh

DD: will not let our heroes die, so I would not be shocked if 15 yrs from now, if you wanted to be, as you’re approaching 60, you will be up on stage and I’m gonna be in that audience.

JBJ: We could be, we could be. At this point somebody had asked me a very logical question. They said, you’re past the point of breaking up, aren’t you? I said, that’s a very smart person, because the answer’s , yes. All the trials and tribulations of youth and money and success and having hit records then failures as records, we’re all through that. So when you didn’t mention the 2nd coming in our band, we did Crush. Unlike the Stones scenario, you’re seeing 50 yo guys, we found the 12 yos. I didn’t realize it, it was the most self indulgent song I had written in my life, It’s My Life, it’s now or never, like Frankie said, I did it my way, it nuts (laughing) here I am quoting something that I thought about because, um, I wanted to make movies, I wanted to own a football team, I wanted to do this, I encourage my band to go and do whatever they want, if they want to make solo records, do whatever, I encourage it, because you’re bringing more information back to the fold.

DD: So, you, I theoretically go to your house, and your 11 yo will be listening to your music, not because you’re “dad”, probably doesn’t, probably says, I don’t want to listen, but, along with your friends, this is an amazing thing also, that we live in a world today where a 44 yo and a 12 yo are jiving to the same music and I think you, you mentioned poster boy, you are the poster boy for that. I can’t think of an artist

JBJ: That’s true, that’s true, and it’s an incredible compliment to us . We were fortunate to write songs, that I want to sing at night mind you. We’re not pandering to an audience, I don’t have a rapper on stage. I don’t go and hang out with a clique of people that I’m not jiving with ya know. I admire from a distance, but I am not gonna jump on a bandwagon, one thing we never did.

DD: You stayed true to your brand.

JBJ: We did.

DD: And that’s it. Speaking of brands, when we come back I wanna talk about The Philadelphia Soul, the most successful arena football team, and talk to Jon Bon Jovi the artist, and the marketing expert. Keep it right here on the Big Idea, we got more comin up with Jon Bon Jovi.

Commercial

DD: We’re back, with musician, singer, songwriter and actor Jon Bon Jovi who has now yet another title to add to his resume, owner of the arena football league team the Philadelphia Soul. Take a look (shows a clip of rumble in the house part 2). There you are with Mr. Elway, who is also an owner of a team. Now you are the CEO, you basically put this team together from scratch. And I thought one of the most interesting things I read, is that you actually called Belechek to get some advice.

JBJ: Oh sure, and

DD: Well give me with 2 days away from the super bowl, what kind of headlines did Mr. Belechek give you?

JBJ: Well, the greatest thing that we don’t have is a staff of NFL people like, 10 of the 19 teams in our league are owned by Jerry Jones and Cronky and they’re owned by the Broncos and the Cowboys, and we don’t have an affiliation. So, I didn’t have a personnel department. I didn’t have a pair of staples, I didn’t have a shoulder pad. I had an idea, and I knew with a partner of mine my one and only partner, a guy named Craig Spencer, with his administrative background in real estate and my creative background, we could do something special here.
So, I had to ask Bill, how do I get shoulder pads, silly questions, it’d be like asking somebody where do you buy guitar strings, well you go to the store and you buy them. Um, you know the learning curve was quick, was dramatic. But, I saw an opportunity in the arena league that I think it’s a growing sport that, if I were to own the Giants

DD: If you had 800 -900 million dollars

JBJ: right, what could I do differently? You couldn’t market it, you couldn’t change the uniforms you couldn’t bring , it is what it is. A check.
The thing about the AFL, if you look at it with a new generation of kids, my 9 yo plays Pop Warner , when those players are in that proximity it reminds them of a video game. It’s fast, it’s exciting, it cheap. You can take a family of 4, you don’t have to sweat handing tickets down generation to generation

DD: You could argue that if you were constructing a league today, built for the universe today and the marketing, this would be a more relevant league. It’s faster, it’s a mcnugget league. Points come faster, it’s easy to digest, it’s more cost efficient It’s

JBJ: Something that we could take worldwide. Considering that the NFL Europe, in all honesty is a bust. It doesn’t work

DD: Shhh. Don’t tell Taggot that. ( laughs)

JBJ: He’s holding onto to..Sorry Mr. Commissioner, he’s incredible to me. But, the truth is that 15 or 20 thousand people that sit in that stadium and make it look like a sound check, put them into an arena, they’re junkies, they wanna see football, they live for football, put this game in there. Take it to Asia, same kind of thing.

DD: Now I’m going back to Jon Bon Jovi the marketer, you yourself for instance went out and got Samsung as one of the Soul sponsors. You yourself go in and make that deal. Take me into the boardroom, you’re sitting there with the Samsung guys, I wanna be in that meeting with Jon Bon Jovi and the chief marketing officer of Samsung.

JBJ: Let me take you back to when I went to the league, and you’re sitting amongst these rather conservative high brow guys, who are wondering the long hair is here. They first thing I have to tell them is don’t judge a book by it’s cover, because you guys think inside the box. Let me tell you what you’re doin wrong, well not wrong, but what we can do better. And for example, I didn’t want to know about Wilson, Nike, Adidias for a uniform deal. I went to Russell Simmons. I said this is the hippest thing we can do. The league, it didn’t work out, so I went to Mitchell and Ness, who make the great throw back vintage Jerseys that every pop star in the world and athletes wear, I went to them and said how would you like to make your first original uniform in an original color that’s never been used before. The name is sold, I don’t care if you’re a Bon Jovi fan, or a football fan, everybody thinks they got soul. Everybody bought into that. When I went to Samsung, I said consider my persona, consider what this game is, consider that your brand is a lifestyle brand, phones, TV’s, everything, it’s a lifestyle. How can you do something in the community that I can put the face too. And our community iniatives are second to none, maybe not even the Eagles. And we’re about to launch something I can’t divulge just yet, but that I think is gonna be really big and important, and again, I get nothing for it, even O’Rielly couldn’t beat up on it,

DD: O’Rielly, he’s a thug and I challenged him to a fist fight on this show, and he won’t come on

JBJ: Laughing

DD: Hes a scaredy

JBJ: So, trying to do things for the communities are so important and you know I’m gonna make this work.

DD: You have a no thug policy on your team and basically take me through the kinda underpinnings of the policy

JBJ: Well, it’s quite simple. I , you know, I look at these guys and I want a winner on the filed mind you, but more importantly off the field, because if we didn’t make our presence known in the community really endear ourselves to those people , I’d be going to an Eagle game, end of story. Just, I root for the Eagles, why do I need to know about this. But, if these guys go out and represent themselves in a way that is gonna endear them to that community I think we can be difference makers. So, if a guy wants to play, you know, thug and jump into the stands and start a fight, you might as well keep going up the stairs, because you’re gone. And I did what I said I would do, and I got rid of some of our premiere players

DD: If you were David Stern and Art Test did that, would you through him out of the league forever, I would’ve

JBJ: I did, I would have. Yeah, I would have. I just don’t think it represents role models for kids.

DD: How bout a guy like TO. I mean who obviously didn’t do something like that, but, the sharpie stuff and clearly the guy, and I talked a lot about it on the show, the guys today, are the big heroes , pulling their pants down, and so,

JBJ: Jerry Rice would not have done that, and that’s my answer to those things.

DD: I had Michael Irving on the show yesterday, and he basically said, Barry Sanders, greatest guy in the world hands the ball off to the ref, nobody talks about it,

JBJ: End of story

DD: Why is that?

JBJ: Well that’s the thing. There’s a lot of magazine covers I am not on, because you don’t hear that side of the story. But, I’m still here!

DD: Right

JBJ: They’re not. Jerry Rice, Michael Jordan, Phil Simms, Elway. Those are the names that are in the Hall of Fame. Now mind I will give this great accolade deservedly to TO. Post his injury, he then did become the cheerleader for the team

DD: Oh yeah sure, no question he is a team guy. That’s the thing, he can be outrageous and do inappropriate things and

JBJ: he went in that locker room and said I’m just a “part” of this, this is about us. Which is what I’ve been preaching all along. It’s the power of we.

DD; You talked about, you’re not on magazine covers. You have been on magazine covers, (shows INC mag) . You are, to me, to me a poster boy of a guy in his early 40’s who are no longer kids, yet you stand for a generation that is basically we are holding on to our youth. I mean, look at your hair, your lifestyle, you’re cooler then any 20 yo guy that , I’d like to have 1 % of that. What do you feel as a guy today vs a guy who’s 18, just about your life, about sex about love. Do you feel better as a man, do you feel weaker as a man, do you feel stronger

JBJ: 40 for me was a great birthday. You know, I just had a sense of accomplishment, that all the goals I had set forth, I achieved and the ones I didn’t achieve, I was ok with, I was comfortable with that. Um, I feel better about todays generation, then I did about the generation 10 yrs ago because I think that there is a renewed sense of optimism

DD: You mean about the kids

JBJ: Yeah the kids, 18 yos today vs 18yos 10 yrs ago

DD: But, now I wanna stay on you, as a 40 yo, because you said it was your happiest birthday. I actually think men become who they are gonna be at 40. I think women become who they are gonna be at 30. And it’s interesting even in our discussions about what you said, yeah, this is where I am in my life, I know my bands not breaking up, and I think it’s such a great time for men and I, men in their 40’s . I’m seeing across, are at their best.

JBJ: and it’s proven in business and sports ownership and I think it’s a fabulous time.

DD: Ever though feel, that I do see guys struggling with is obviously you don’t have 100 yrs in front of you, obviously there may not be that next great love, you know, you have the love of your life, but there’s not gonna be great new sexual partners, there may not be that new business to concur. You’re in a luxurious situation and can explore thing, I can explore things. I find though that guys very desperately, as they get towards 50, going whoa, is this over? What’s next, and it’s a real conundrum

JBJ: That’s too bad, cuz you’re only limited by your limitations mentally. You know, anything that you can imagine, you can have. I set my sights on a silly idea that , and all my advisores said, why do you want this football team, makes no sense economically. I says, here’s the X-factor, blah blah. Why do you want to get into movies at a time when I wanted to get into movies, they weren’t accepting the pop-star. And it’s STILL the most difficult road that I’ve ever challenged myself to try to succeed on. UM, now with the record thing, I just feel like, look, I’m not playing anyone else’s game. My advise to those kind of guys is, don’t stop dreaming, I don’t care if your 40 , ya know theres, tell Redstone he’s getting old, he’s just not stopping.

DD: I actually have a book coming out, Multiple Mountain Theory. That whenever you can create new mountains for yourself to scale you can . The difference of the energy you get can from, you sold 100 million albums, ok you can sell 120 million yeah, but the juice you get from starting a football team

JBJ: Absolutely

DD; Vs that next 20 million is not the same

JBJ: Absolutely

DD: Same thing I am feeling with this TV show. People say, you’re crazy, what , it’s the challenge of this vs building an ad agency, just the next level

JBJ: Absolutely true, I mean, the idea of touring, I’ve done it, been there done that. Yeah, now it’s the team, it’s movies, it entrepreneurism , it’s community.

DD: Ok Stick around, I got more with Bon Jovi don’t go anywhere.

Commercial

DD: Later will we talk more on the super bowl with Eagles Freddy Mitchell and we’ll show you some of this years Super Bowl ads, first back to my friend, Mr Bon Jovi.
Jon, we do a thing on the show, kinda celebrity riffs where we throw out things in pop culture, we’d love to get your feelings on them. Just a back and forth.

JBJ: Ok, I’ll do the best I can

DD: Uh, you ever sit in bed and watch Desperate Housewives with your wife?

JBJ: I have not seen it.

DD: OK. The theory, we’re talking about guys in their 40’s. All of a sudden the worlds woken up, guess what, women over 40 can be hot, duh

JBJ: Yeah

DD: Why is this suddenly happening in 2005?

JBJ: Women are taking pretty good care of themselves

DD: But, they were taking care of themselves, 2, 3, 4 yrs ago

JBJ: Maybe I wasn’t looking at the school moms, like I do now

DD: laughs

JBJ: laughs

DD: You’re wife could be watching this on TV

JBJ: Eva Langnar (sp) is the exception to the rule (laughing) come to my school they’re not Eva.

DD: laughs
Yeah,I haven’t seen them running around Long Island

JBJ: yeah, they got the yuppie bob and the wide hip tight jeans that come up above the belly button, no man (laughing), let’s be honest here, that’s Hollywood.

DD: Well, a little, a little bit they’re starting to climb in

JBJ: I hear what you are saying, there are great beautiful actresses that

DD: But, their still not on the soccer fields yet, in reality

JBJ: Nah,

DD: Not in Jersey

JBJ: not out in the burbs, buddy

DD: laughing

JBJ: laughing

DD: Ok, um you were active in the Kerry campaign

JBJ: yeah

DD: Monday morning quarterbacking a few months later. Why’d the guy lose?

JBJ: I think that um, Carl Rove is brilliant, as I sat there around the, in the plane, having done this 4 yrs ago with Al and seeing the holes at that time, in the campaign, this time I realized when they couldn’t win Hollywood, they demonized it, when they couldn’t win on Vietnam they demonized it, and those are big issues. Then you put the gay rights amendment in 11 states, go talk to somebody in the Midwest about that. I asked a guy, do you know anybody who’s gay, do you even know anybody, no, but I don’t want him in my schools, I don’t want him in my,

DD: Sure

JBJ: What are they gonna do to ya, let, anybody who finds love in their life, give em a break for goodness sakes

DD: You and I are both creative guys. If all of a sudden Howard Dean takes over the DNC and he calls you and I and says I’ve lost mind, but Jon, Donny, you guys sit down, give me in 3 sentences the new democratic brand. What do we do with this thing?

JBJ: I’m afraid we are gonna become so centrist that it’s gonna be indistinguishable who are candidate is.

DD: But if that’s what you have to do, if Clinton was brilliant in that realizing well that’s the only way you can be elected, if that’s what you have to do, isn’t that the right strategic thing, I mean there’s no other play. We, you can sit on your soapbox and say guess what, I’m not goin there if you have to be centrist to get elected, if that’s the game

JBJ: I, I , then it’s like anything else then, it’s a game. It’s heartbreaking because, that’s why I got involved and built a medical clinic in my, down where I live, because health care is crazy. Why don’t we get into politics? Because we know what a game it is. It’s better to be an entrepreneur and do something because it breaks your heart knowing that 50 % of the people hate you as soon as you walk out the door.

DD: Speaking of breaking my heart, explain to me, because you’ve played in Hollywood, explain to me the concept of because I’m not the smartest guy in the world, Arnold Swartzenager, whose been in office 100 days or whatever , we all know his background, very successful

JBJ: Brilliant

DD: A very, very successful actor and a very smart businessman how he is even being mentioned, obviously there’s and amendment thing to the constitution

JBJ: I’d vote for him right now

DD: Would you, How

JBJ: I would vote for him right now

DD: ok, help me out

JBJ: I’ve known him a long time

DD: ok

JBJ: I think he’s brilliant man on and off the camera and he’s the hardest working man, the most focused guy I’ve ever seen

DD: But, tell me why he is qualified to be President of the United States, that being sai

JBJ: He knows more about our country having come to this country as an Austrian, then a lot of people who’ve never been to our Statue of Liberty and had to do

DD: I’m not talking about

JBJ: Now forget the history concept, he understands what it is to come from nothing and he knows very well what it is to have everything! Not just a blue blood from a place that’s out of touch. He came and worked as a construction worker in this country and you know, in Santa Monica. I think he has a very well rounded background.

DD: I’m not saying he’s not a brilliant man. I’m not saying he’s not a rags to riches story. I’m not sayin. All that stuff is the reason he is worth 7 million dollars

JBJ: And, he’s an actor

DD: Well, I guess that’s my point.
He has those skills, but just as far as leading a country and sitting down with foreign diplomats

JBJ: I’ve been in a room with him and boy, talk about people that light up a room. When he walks in

DD: I know, he has the charisma, I guess it’s my point, is

JBJ: World leaders are gonna come to see him the same way, it’s an outlandish statement to make, but consider the world we live in.

DD: We’re gonna have Putan going you know what, I don’t really want to necessarily think about sitting down with those US guys, but, I really like Swartzenager in Terminator , so maybe I’ll go

JBJ: That is not the most outlandish statement ever said Don. Consider it

DD: Ok, so

JBJ: Bush, the President, W,

DD: Sad as that is

JBJ: I won’t ever knock the office of President, I have respect for the office of President, and um the point is, there is notoriety, you knew the name before he walked out onto the podium. I think Al Gore is one of the smartest men I have ever met,

DD: Right, but no charisma. That being said. Michael Moore, who I don’t necessarily argree with, but he said one brilliant thing, he says, why don’t we run Tom Hanks for the democrats, because who wouldn’t vote for Tom Hanks. There ya go, there’s once again, smart guy, comes from nothing. Likeable , once again, what world leader is not gonna want to sit down with Tom Hanks. Is there where we’re headed then?

JBJ: It’s not the most outlandish thing you’ve ever heard. Ronald Reagan got elected. Ya know, so, Arnold being elected is not an outlandish statement.

DD: Laughing. I thought you were gonna, I was hanging up the hanging curve . I thought you were gonna jump all over it ( Jon shaking his head no). So, it’s interesting

JBJ: No, no consider the situations we live in. Reality TV, is the crux of our entertainment at night. I mean radio is giving you 20 songs to listen too. The world is changing dramatically, it is becoming more narrow minded everyday. And somebody like that who has star power and knowledge and experience, formidable foe.

DD: Ok you and I are drafting the democratic platform, we’re choosing a candidate right now today, who’s the democratic candidate you chose for 08?

JBJ: I don’t have one. I mean, Hillary is fallible, as much as I adore her. Al I would love to see take a 2nd chance, I would support it in a minute. But, Rocco Balm is obviously the young kid whose coming up and playing to the minorities. He’s very well spoken, he’s gonna have a story to tell.

DD: But, it’s interesting, as your drifting through and then out there, republicans have been brilliant. They have rock stars. They have Giuliani, they have Swartzenager, they have these guys and I guess the democrats have got to understand once and for all, this is the game we’re in now, and uh,

JBJ: President Clinton is our Rock Star

DD: He is our Rock Star. But, last time I looked, I don’t think he can run again, can he?

JBJ: Yeah I know, it is unfortunate .

DD: Ok stick around, we got one more segment with Jon Bon Jovi. Keep it right here.

Commercial

DD: Last segment I wanna talk to you about, Jon Bon Jovi the dad. You have 4 kids, you have a daughter who is about to go into adolescence and we talk a lot on the show about this new thing with young women today of Paris Hilton, being the ideal and the slutty look being in and you watch MTV and it’s just, I don’t think it’s we’re getting older. There is this new level of just , I don’t mean doing things, and what not. I , how do you, as a dad, kinda get your arms around that?

JBJ: Well, every days a lesson, my children didn’t come with a manual. We’re learning as we go. But, I think my wife said the best thing, pick your fights. Because a simple thing like some clothes now is not the fight I really want to pick. She’s only 11, almost 12

DD: so she walkin out in a

JBJ: Let’s wait til she’s 18 and then I might have a valued opinion.

DD: I have feeling you might jump in at 14, just a wild guess.

JBJ: I used to jokingly say, I pity the fool that comes in my driveway cuz of me, now I pity them coz of her

DD: laughing hard

JBJ: She’s gonna be tough. But, that said, honestly I hope that uh, if you have a relationship as my wife especially, does with her , cuz my wife is very zen like, um she’ll be able to talk to them. Ya know, that’s the goal. That’s certainly the goal. I hope we achieve it. Every parent it fallible.

DD: It’s a tough road for your daughter. Really, any daughter with a powerful or famous father, who takes up a lot of space. Whatever guy is gonna walk into your daughters life when she gets older, is like stepping into your shoes. Those are big shoe.

JBJ: Sure

DD: I don’t care if your a wealthy guy, that’s , because, no matter how he slices it, they big part of his identity , unless he is a rock star in his own right, is wow, he married Jon Bon Jovi’s daughter! That’s gonna be tough, that’s tough for your daughter also.

JBJ: Sure. It’s gonna be, it was tough on my brothers being brothers. My youngest brother is 13 yrs younger . He looked at me almost like a dad figure. Even though we were very close with my dad. My middle brother, was 4 yrs difference almost 5, he had his jaw broken once in high school, just for being my brother, he got sucker punched. So, living in that family shadow, if your name is Dillon or Springsteen, or Bono or Bon Jovi, it’s not always the easiest thing in the world, and I’m not complaining mind you, but it is what it is.

DD: Right. How bout your wife,

I know since I am doing this little TV show, people come up and say hey Donny, love your show. And my wife who is really grounded, has a good head on her shoulders, she’s looking at me like, don’t even think that your important or whatnot. So, and I think, that she thinks it’s her job to make sure my head doesn’t get this big. So, you magnify it with you 1,000 x and does your wife laugh when people go, oh man Jon Bon Jovi, and she knows your this guy whose got toe nails, and

JBJ: Forget about it. Ya know, she’s , she always says she’s the one who tolerates women crawling over her to get to where the band is, and she is and “friend” in the picture captions. Um, that’ll be a discussion amongst a lot of wives, you know that I know they’ll go somewhere without the spouses and go I just got completely dissed in the room because he isn’t here tonight, and you know what (laughing). You know, you hear those stories when you go home. And you go, oh yeah I know what you’re talking about. But, fortunately because she is 4th degree black belt, has a karate, school, a dojo, she is very zen like, she’s

DD: Wait, 4th degree black belt, well, you just explained it then

JBJ: No, no no, it’s not even that, not physical thing. She’s really just been very spiritual, very zen like, and this whole thing, because she was there from the beginning, now , ups and downs and ups again, that makes for a balanced relationship. I didn’t marry into some corporate endeavor.

DD: What’s it, you’ve been married 20 + years?

JBJ: 15, we’ve been together 25 yrs.

DD: To our Big Idea viewers out there, who are thinking about getting married or who are married 15 yrs. What’s the secret to keeping it together 15 yrs.

JBJ: Lots of nannies (laughing)

DD: Laughing

JBJ: Ya gotta have time. You gotta have time alone, hey, it’s hard man, you must know this. You’re a married guy, it’s very difficult to find time for each other, you know. Every once in a while you gotta put your foot down and say, yo what about me, cuz I’m lower then the dog in my house, 4 kids and the dog are above me.

DD: In my house I got two dogs, I’m not in even in the same breath with them basically. And that’s an issue for a lot of guys. That’s what breaks up most marriages, because all of a sudden, wait a sec, you’re a guest in your own house.

JBJ: Yeah, and that’s not easy.

DD: On the other hand, you want your wife to be the mother of your kids, is the main thing. So there’s this, kind of craziness

JBJ: I could never do that job

DD: much harder job

JBJ: oh yes

DD: In my company the executives are women, and they’re great moms also, coming to work for them, they say is

JBJ: A vacation

DD: Easier working corporation vs

JBJ: That’s why your company is so successful, you have women running it. No question in my mind.

DD: I say that all the time, I say give me and man and a woman, of the same talent and I will take the woman. Tell me why. I’ve given speeches about this

JBJ: From my mother, to my assistant, to my wife and too my daughter. Everyone of them is always more logical in their decision making then any guy I’ve ever been around.

DD: They’re more collaborative.

JBJ: supportive

DD: Watch a sat morning show, you see girls sitting in a circle, they play together nice. The boys are over there going , I won!
That is literally one of the keys to my personal success, I surround myself with brilliant women.

JBJ: I’ve known that my whole life.

DD: I knew you and I had a lot in common see both musicians (laughing)
Jon Bon Jovi, thanks for being here,

JBJ: Nice being here

and by the way I want to tell the audience, this guy is sick as a dog. Flu, kids got him sick, and he still came out to the studio. That’s all you need to know about this guy.