Yeah, I believe he can still pull off some smaller venues and even do a little tour once a new record is out. I'm wondering why he takes so long to make it but I guess it's not a priority for him anymore. He's not musically starved like it was with Aftermath, has nothing to prove like it was with RSO project. He finally looks like he's in a happy place and this is a great thing in itself.
And dunno about others, but I really enjoyed the older gigs, it's totally my jam.

Slash is iconic. Unfortuinately Richie isn't so much. Slash also got himself a great singer who also had a following of his own which didn't hurt either. But you're right about the others they don't have the star power, but neither does Richie nowadays, and the general public just think it's gonna be an album of guitar solos are are not interested.

I think if Richie put together a supergroup of some sorts it might be a bit different...

Allthose guys had the opportunity put years and years into building a solo career, and Richie could never do that because he always had so many Bon Jovi commitments and he just didn't get the time. Once he left Bon Jovi he was clearly dealing with other stuff, and was getting older, so maybe in some ways it was a little too late.

I presume we are talking about Europe here? In the states Aerosmith and Def Leppard were huge concert draws and just as popular as Jovi in their day. One of the problems with Bon Jovi is the band name. A certain amount of people always thought it was just Jon and nowadays it pretty much is.

Why is Rich always compared to the f*ckin' Slash? Slash is an iconic guitarist but this is it! RS has never ever been 'only' a guitarist and I've never perceived him as such. I love his solo work, his songwriting, his voice. I've actually done some research and some vocal coaches praise his vocal abilities, he's got a pretty impressive range too *at least he used to*

He's not Jon's type stadium commander but then I can't imagine him booty shaking, lifting his shirt to expose his stomach or kissing random women while dancing with them to "Church of Desire" or whatever fits that *yucky* part, either :rolleyes: He's best when he's doing those intimate shows and man, he does it well. I guess years of living in Jon's shadow made him want to sort of copy his shtick, but that doesn't work simply because it's not his style! Once he stays true to himself, he shines on his own.

And I'm sure he still has his following, many guitarists actually recognise his chops as a musician, too. I don't care about the 'Best X' lists with the same 10 names on it. I'm not a Slash fan even if he's the freaking icon.

Aloha !

I agree very much with your statement in regards to Slash being iconic, but like you said, Slash has always done a lot of side projects. It's been 7 years since he's left Bon Jovi and he's not done much in regards to that. I don't think he was asked as much as Slash was but when he left Bon Jovi the general consensus among hard rock fans was "the only good thing in Bon Jovi left". He could've easily tapped into that and do loads and loads of guest performances in lots of relatively unknown bands. For whatever reason, Richie hasn't.

Yeah, hence me saying he ought to figure out what he is instead of trying to pretend he's a front man. He just isn't. He's capable of leading a band but he's no front man. Like you said, if he'd have teamed up with another big name he'd have been able to sell tickets. Joe Perry did the same with Hollywood Vampires and its worked wonders for him.

I was talking about Europe yeah, but unlike what a lot of people seem to think Aerosmith have never been as big in America as Bon Jovi have been. Especially the last 20 or so years they've mostly been playing the same kind of venues Bon Jovi did in the mid-nineties due to a lack of new material, cancelled shows and fights in the band. It's no wonder really why people won't pay attention to Joe Perry. They don't really like it when he sings in Aerosmith shows, let alone doing solo gigs.

But yeah, the band name hasn't helped much. Also, Richie not showing up for promo work anymore due to disinterest in the material ultimately put him off the radar as well. Until 2003 he showed up for close to everything whereas after Have A Nice Day it's been mostly Jon. There's a lot of factors why his career won't take off, but mostly it's the lack of material and not willing to invest in his career. By now he's cancelled more shows in America than he's played there and unless he's going to visit these radio stations to do promo for his material that's just not going to change.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

What you're saying applies to us, the fanbase, though. How Richie is perceived by us and how the general pubic views Richie is worlds apart compared to Slash who is generally well respected by the critics and fans. Richie was never on the same lists as Slash was.

As far as pop culture goes "RS has never ever been 'only' a guitarist" that's exactly what he's known for. If we're talking America none of the albums sold much, self financed tours, little success with radio. I agree with Seb, the time to strike and re-discover what you're capable of was 2014 after enough dust had settled from leaving the band. Go out, tour, build a fanbase, pay homage to the old one by doing the songs the band stopped doing. The dude waited too long. He almost had it when he brought back The Distance but it was sloppy as hell.

RSO felt very calculated but took too long. I want to see him on stage at his best, writing songs from the heart and it's going to take work.

So he basically missed his chance because... Orianthi? I don't want to look for scapegoats here but mixing business and pleasure rarely ends well.

Who's to say. On paper it felt like they were swinging for the fences and wanted a pop/rock duo that showcased all their sides. But delay after delay after delay I think slowed down momentum. Almost like Aftermath leaking early, when they put on two EPs with most of the songs on it it took all public desire out of the proper album.

We'll never know what happened behind the scenes or why almost five year passed before he out anything but I'm rooting for the guy to try again and actually try with the public this time. It'll be expensive and time consuming.

More power to him if he's happy where he is and feels like he doesn't have anything to prove but if he doesn't give enough of a damn about his projects to promote them it's tough for us to as well.

Yeah, things need as much exposure as possible these days, good promotion is the key to success! Doing little promo and cancelling shows won't help with the sales :/

His silence can mean anything really :rolleyes: I sometimes wish he was as prolific as Jon but then I don't want to get crap albums every year or two, either :D

I'd love something in the middle. We waited years for something that got no actual tour, no promo on the album and a lukewarm reception in general. Hoping the new album has bluesier elements and some emotion. Forever All The Way is prime Richie.

I love this song! I like the raw honesty in Take Me too, although it took some time to grow on me. Richie still has it. I just hope he still wants to share it with us.