Mysterytrain |
04-24-2013 09:39 PM |
Have any of you read the book "Life on Planet Rock" by Lonn Friend (former editor of RIP Magazine)? I haven't, but someone on Topix posted excerpts from the chapter entitled "The Ballad of Jon and Richie". I found it interesting in light of the current situation, simply because I wonder how much of what is described here might be going on now, in terms of them being at odds. Opposite personalities can be magnetic and the chemistry off-the-charts in a positive way, but I would think they could be opposing forces just as easily. Anyway, here's some food for thought:
Page 243:
"Things were falling apart at the seems in Bon Jovi land. Richie wanted to go home from the New Jersey tour early. Jon vetoed it. The last date of the campaign was originally slated to be a headline performance at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in August - the rock extravaganza organized by Doc McGhee, as a plea bargain for his pot bust, that was also featuring Mötley Crüe, Scorpians, Skid Row (all managed by Doc), and Ozzy Osbourne - but New Jersey continued to climb the charts like a chimpanzee. The album spawned five top-ten hits, eclipsing its multiplatinum predecessor, Slippery When Wet. So the tour was expanded. When the band hit Europe in December 1989, a five-date run quickly swelled to thirty. An extended Christmas break went out the window, and the tour continued. Richie spoke up for the rest of the guys, who were complaining of exhaustion, but Jon wasn't listening to anything but the roar of the fans and the sound of his wallet stretching."
Page 245:
"The offstage friction, however, was undermining the strength of the performance. The ride to Yokohama -the next date on the Japan excursion- was long and, for the most part, painful. Jon and Richie weren't talking. I didn't engage in substantive banter either, because I sensed no one was really wanted to talk shop. Richie and I were both reverent fans of Peter Gabriel, and we started singing his songs. "Dreaming of Mercy Street, wear your insides out." Our harmonizing seemed to make Jon uncomfortable. He gazed out the van window, watching the gorgeous, emerald-green mural unfold, and acknowledged nothing but what was clanging around his own noggin. He'd never tell me what was up, so I just played along, getting most of my story from Richie. On the record for a feature or off the record to let off steam, that was the case for years to come as Richie and I remained great friends. When it came to coughing up the truth, Jon was a sound bite. Richie was a conversation."
Page 246:
"Band manager Doc McGhee parted ways with Bon Jovi in late '91. Jon and Doc no longer saw eye to eye on where the leader of his band was going. Richie, however, still felt close to Doc and trusted him for career guidance. He fought for a brief while to keep him on as his private personal manager, but Jon nixed the idea, feeling it was important that the band remain on the same path, in unison, as they cleaned house and started anew in the spring of '92."
Page 252:
"I found out that evening that the relationship between Jon and Richie had scaled some serious hurdles in recent years."
Comment from the OP:
'The whole chapter is very interesting as it gives an interesting picture of each of their personalities (Lonn also talks about Jon's terrible idea of going on QVC to sell the Bounce DVD and album.).'
Anway as a reader you get the idea there was friction between Richie and Jon throughout their time together.
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