Wonderful story!

It's Christmas time! And everybody gets sensitive, even me... -_-

So, exactly what I said, then:

"Has any band ever become as outwardly corporate as Bon Jovi? Jeez he even talks about it like it's simply a business thing. And yeah, I am not naive enough to think most mega successful bands are ultimately organizations, but at least most of them hide it."

After that interview, JBJ can truly go f*ck himself. What a miserable old SOB he's turned into.

There's no reason for him to continue saying "there was no fight, there's no bad blood, etc." when the next minute he's talking shit like this. Not to mention Richie was cut off close to all the old band pics shown on screen before every show on the last EU tour - I don't think there's any doubt about the person behind that decision...

[QUOTE=BJFan99;1260400]After that interview, JBJ can truly go f*ck himself. What a miserable old SOB he's turned into.

I’ve been reading this forum for a while, without actually creating an account. But what a shitty way to talk about anybody. What was the context? Maybe the departure of Richie in 2013? We should go on with the band because of the songs and because I’m the one without this band can’t. The band is dependent on JBJ to continue. Can we argue with that? Let me know where he said he’s the only reason why the band is this big, please. He would prefer Richie in, as do we. I think none of them are saints in this situation, so lets just respect them.;)

[quote=BJe08;1260401]

Are you a spy of the organization? If so, send a message to Jon, "wake up!!! create a bridge of friendship with Richie so that in the next cycle/album (after 2020) he is on board". And get rid of John Shanks, you're stuck in a circle of monotony.

Respect is a curious word - I am not overtly invested into the whole "Jon vs Richie" thing, but for JBJ to say that "unlike with U2, the band is just about the singer" is more due to Jon's ego than due to Richie's (lack) of ability or contribution. There is a U2 single with The Edge singing lead. We know Richie can sing lead, we know he writes quite a bit. There is no way BJ would have ever done that. Which is why JBJ feels (!) that Richie is easier to replace.

To downplay Richie's contribution is quite disrespectful in a way, too. Because of course you can notice the difference.

I have a question. Maybe some of you can help me see Jon's comment as anything other than a deliberate insult to Richie or an attempt to diminish his contributions to the band's success.

I've never followed U2 or Van Halen, so it may be ignorance on my part; but what makes either of those bands more "dependent on a lead guitarist" than Bon Jovi, or any other rock band? The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of VH is "Jump", which seems more focused on keyboards than guitar, and the few songs I've heard from U2 don't have especially defining guitar work. I mean no disrespect towards EVH or The Edge; I just can't see where their guitars contributed any more to the "sound" of those bands than Richie's did to Bon Jovi.

In addition, even if Bon Jovi wasn't dependent on the lead guitar, their sound must have been somewhat dependent on the lead guitarist, even from Jon's perspective, since he acknowledges (not for the first time) that his and Richie's voices were "the magic." If I'm not mistaken, prior to Richie leaving he had said that their voices together were magic and that blend created "the sound" of Bon Jovi; but I'd have to see if I could find the video to be sure.

I see where he's coming from with that statement (About U2 and VH being reliant on their guitar players). The Edge's shimmering, echo-y guitar parts are a giant part of what gives them their sound. Van Halen was one of the earlier users of guitar tapping and techniques not really in the mainstream at that time. Jump for sure took them in a snyth-heavy direction but his style of playing is what makes that band what it is.

If you took either of those two out of the equation, they'd sound completely different. It's like hearing The Edge play without any of his effects, it's very....underwhelming.

Aloha !

I don't.

There's plenty of guitarists who can replicate The Edge or Eddie Van Halen's playing style like Phil X replicates Richie's playing. Still, much like those who copy The Edge or Van Halen and don't quite nail it, Phil X doesn't sound like Richie either. It's a bullshit argument to dismiss Richie as a really average, fairly unoriginal player.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan