Tico has had several problems with oxygen on some concerts of the European and American tour, remember that one of the shows ended prematurely because Tico was drowning.

Tico soon be retiring, no sense so long touring with concerts three hours, every 2 years.


They haven't 25 years old.

Last night I watched the 1996 Yokohama dvd and I kept wondering if the great camaraderie onstage was genuine or an act, and those thoughts spoiled my enjoyment of that great concert.

I am still, probably naively, optimistic that Richie will be back sometime in the future.

Could "What About Now" be the last band album, do we think Jon would pursue a new album down a road without Richie and possibly Tico ?

I initially said to myself, no they'd most likely call it a day but concerts are still selling and "What About Now" did reach number 1. It's hard to know.

He will return.

I think Tico would only be absent from future band projects if he would be seriously ill and I really hope that´s not the case.
Which makes we wonder if it is a good idea for him to to return to the remaining shows especially when you think that for the last shows there´s heavy travelling necessary. Plus he has the most physical job in the band.

I have no doubt that Jon would continue making records as "Bon Jovi" rather than "Jon Bon Jovi". He couldn´t fill stadiums outside (and inside?) the States as a solo act.

It would really be interesting to know if Jon´s aware that this year in particular pissed off many longtime Bon Jovi fans. Static setlists (altough I´m sure he doesn´t see it that way), handling Richie´s departure (be a man and just say what´s going on) and pushing the band into this WAN project that obviously only he wanted to happen - these are things that only Jon decides and that they are also part of the fact - next to Richie being a diva - that this is the worst year in their history.

Bon Jovi needs rest, long time. The problem is that Jon is a workaholic.

Not Running and Old Habits are solo songs. JBJ and King of Suburbian fill places in USA.

Jon can make a solo album, and shows in places with audience assured. But he does not take risks, does not want to be smaller than Bon Jovi.

When you finish this tour, there will be a mutual agreement, and they will return to revive the monster together.

About the 30th anniversary celebration, I hope a new Kick-Ass Box-Set of unreleased songs, they owe us.

DING DING DING -- Rolo, you're our grand prize winner!!!

Unlike Dave, who does Broadway shows, Tico, who paints and golfs, and Richie, who jams with fabric, Jon doesn't know how to exist when he's not attracting attention on a stage. Indeed, I think a big part of why his acting career failed is because he could never allow himself to take the artistic "risk" of even appearing to be something "smaller" than a phenomenally successful international rock star.

Bruce Springsteen can grab any nine people, call them "The E Street Band" and stay on the "A" list. But Bon Jovi is the offspring of FOUR people, with Jon PLUS Richie at its core. Jon had better hurry up and come to terms with that, or he's going to find himself begging to do USO tours and county fairs.

Found the interview in a Fresno CA newspaper:

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/10/02/...with-high.html

It describes Dave as being "Julliard-trained." His piano teacher of thirteen years was Julliard trained, and Dave was accepted by the school -- but he never attended it.

There are just as many fans that lay blame directly and solely on Richie for his departure and the handling of it and think he is the one that should put away the ladies panties and man up

Really? Jon's pissed the fans off? DOnt think so. He's kept the tour together despite a VERY challenging and spiraling bunch of circumstances. I think fans would be pissed off if the tour was pulled - with all hotel and travel arrangements having to be cancelled and money lost etc...

A guitarist in Phil X who has only been covering in Bon Jovi on and off for a couple of years - yeah. Given the circumstances Phil X has done a brilliant job. He's no Richie and has only got about 2% of the Bon Jovi back catalogue under his belt - with very little time to learn more do you blame Jon for playing it safe?

The band have the option to say NO. But they know full well an album + tour=$$$ muchos. Its called earning a living. Richie being a diva? Seriously? More like a ****ing joke. A total moron.

I think that IF Richie does come back for another record/tour, whatever contract he signs with JBJ Management would include severe penalties for not showing up due to "personal issues" or rehab. And rightfully so. When you are a performer (or really anyone employed), you have obligations about doing your job barring family crises or medical emergencies or any illnesses that would endanger your health or others'. Any problem you have with the job shouldn't prevent you from working while dealing with the issue.

As much as the communist approach is appealing, I dont think that's legal.

You do recall that they were still pulling off pretty varied set lists with Phil X as recently as this tour, right? What were getting now has nothing to do with what you're talking about.

If you think the average fan doesn't hold Jon and Richie in comparable scorn right now, you're lost. Which is, of course, what you are.

Not exactly sure what you are talking about , but i think i agree .

So keeping Richie in a cage only let out for performances and even then chained to the white microphone stand is out?

You´re right about Phil X. At least in Europe there was some change, this has gone to the point of laziness, although I wouldn´t know how much Tico missing would mess with the setlists.

I think you´re wrong about the second part. I would agree the average Bon Jovi die hard is pissed with Jon, but I doubt the average fan who just buys a few records, a greatest hits, and attends one or two shows even gives a flying ****. Does the average Bon Jovi fan even know who Tico and Richie are?

Ok, where in my post did I write that Jon pissed the fans off? I said that many things were going wrong this year. Not everything was under Jon´s control but some things are just handled poorly.

Oh please, the setlists are almost the same as last tour - which was also the case at the beginning of this tour WITH Richie. Phil (and I agree that he does a great job) is with the band since April and I think that he would be capable to learn a few more songs, if Jon wanted to shake the setlist up a little bit.

As far as I know Tico said no at the beginning. And altough I don´t know it any better, I´m pretty sure that also Richie and David were not that thrilled. But as you said, album+tour means cash. And the biggest piece of the cake belongs to Jon.

I don´t defend Richie at all here. The whole mess started with his departure but it needs two to Tango. Only Richie can say why he left the tour but only Jon can say what Richie´s status in this band is (that´s what I meant in my post).
It´s been six months since this whole thing started and there´s still nothing official. And since three months not even the standard "We love Richie very much and he is still a member of the band"

That's not true. Jon phoned Tico to get him to come to the studio in 2011 and Tico said no so Jon worked away on his own. That's one of the most misquoted and misunderstood quotes Jon gave in this sorry mess and it has been misused as a stick to beat Jon with for months.

As for saying that David wasn't thrilled...has there been any evidence to suggest that?

There is a lot of stuff that you could beat Jon up about without making stuff up or misinterpreting stuff (either deliberately or otherwise).

Still the same problem. Jon has no respect for the band, they deserve a time of freedom.

About David, not know if he was happy or not with this Album-Tour, but in the documentary "When We Were Beautiful", he not seen very passionate when it comes to Bon Jovi working.

This band does not feel right, it is a reality. Richie's flight is still a mystery. I think Richie is tired of Jon's decisions. Or maybe Jon has hurt the pride of Richie deeply, and therefore have not yet been fixed things up. Jon is very arrogant and thinks only of himself. If Richie have the wounded pride and is awaiting Jon's apologies, we can say Richie is not coming back, because Jon is not going to lift a finger to make it happen.

Christ on a bike Rolo...

If Jon was as bad as people made out, he'd have marched round to Tico's, dragged him to the studio by the neck and chained him to his drumkit. He didn't, Tico said no and Jon respected that but carried on on his own. Sounds fair enough to me.

David seems unhappy with his role in the writing process but he's happy to pick up his pay cheque and I've not heard of him being especially unhappy about this album/tour cycle. Personally, I think he's criminally underused but that's between him and Jon and if he's happy to carry on, which we have no reason to think he's not, then who are we to assume otherwise?

Your final paragraph is more supposition based on very little. We don't know what happened. You may be right but if I say that Richie was a prick to Jon and is just an unprofessional drunk addicted to pain killers who should be kicked out of the band then I'm equally right (or wrong).

Your pictures are far more entertaining then your words.

I realize that.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pq_1iIKvo8...istonabike.jpg

This is the biggest misconception about this band, David and Jon's relationship. They are fine, they are friends, David wants to be there. You are quoting a documentary from 2008/09? Close to 5 years old?

Two members are currently not on tour. Wouldn't this be the chance for David to say, no I'm not going on. Two members are down. Don't use the cookie cutter answer of: Pay Check. There is more to it.

Tico when he is well, he wants to continue touring, he wants to be back. If he didn't want to tour, isn't this the best excuse for him to use? Personally, I can't see him being back but the fact that he is working on it, tells us something. Not one member jumped ship and followed Richie. Only Richie is gone, the other two are still there.

Sure, they want to be there. Richie also but can not seem to.

The friendship of 30 years should resolve a disagreement or error committed, as Sambora leave the tour due to "personal issues" or "artistic differences".

Five years later David has Tony Awards, a play heading to London, same play being adapted for film and a couple other plays in process. I am sure his plate is quite full now. I am sure he would collaborate if asked but I think he has an outlet that works.

Speaking of the documentary I just think back when Jon told the guy Richie will run when pressed which is why he interviewed him on the boat. Maybe this is the same ole same ole...Richie got pissed and ran.

Haha pure quality. I take my hat off. This could be a good game though.

Britney Spears in lesbian scandal with Megan Fox...

I know I am seen as being firmly in RS's camp and I also know that until SOMEONE connected with this band tells the fans what's going on, we're just going to keep guessing...

BUT... I fancied a brain-dump because there's some really good theories bouncing around!

I think there's a dollop of truth in much of the recent posts. First... the 'Jon rushed this album' stuff...

1) I DO think Jon rushed this album, I think that's evident to anyone without blinkers, just in the content. At best, some songs were average for me when I heard them but even those have become stale and forgettable since. Don't know about everyone else but I used to be more invested in an album once I'd seen the band live but over the last few tours, the songs JON chooses to play regularly aren't the tunes of substance that I can get hold of and either bounce around to or connect with emotionally. WAN as a song is just awful for me, WATER is ruined because it will always be the WORST opening track ever due to a serious lack of impact (should be the new Blood on Blood - which, again, sucked as an opener IMO). There are several people on here who could write a better song than WAN - Jon's back-handed criticism of 'it's not like replacing The Edge' - well perhaps Jon, Shanks, Falcon and indeed Richie need to start writing songs that are complex and layered again; maybe Phil wouldn't be able to learn them in two minutes and they wouldn't be SO uninspiring that this album has become uncharacteristically disposable.

Having said ALL of this, I think that the rest of the band could have told him to take a hike when he requested their presence and he'd have released most of it as a solo album; which is basically what it sounds like. I think the whole lot of 'em have a sucky attitude to producing quality music for the band and it's showing in what we get as fans - there's just no craftsmanship in it anymore, they all have other things to focus on.

RS's comment on his press pack last year for AOTL about how different the writing process was compared to writing for Bon Jovi was insulting; basically the entire band feel like they can churn out any old 'live your life, where do we go from here? Can I vote Obama Now?' bollocks and we're going to eat it up. Then, when they DO take a risk, with something like Pictures Of You, they seem to take it only so far, then leave it. If you read the interview by Steffan Chirazi following the recording of These Days, the effort they put in to recording Something For The Pain, love it or hate it, was epic. Pictures is crying out for that kind of care - a couple of tweaks here and there and it could have been a set-closer - but I digress. Basically this is on all of Bon Jovi - Jon may be the quarterback but the rest of them turned up on the field and played half-arsed.

2) This is the guess work part - I know how Richie says he keeps Jon happy but I do wonder how much Jon reciprocates that. Richie is a delicate flower, a gentle soul... balls. I think he's temperamental and maybe things didn't go his way in the writing process, maybe his tour and his album bombed and maybe Jon was sick of him being a naysayer and and miserable git. There is only so much arse-wiping you can do in a band when you have everything else to do as well and maybe Jon got sick and tired of it, said some things that rung a bit too true and this ultimatum is 'until you're behind this record and this band... f**k off.' Which is why they went from happy to not-speaking in in two seconds flat.

I think Jon and Richie deal with rejection and failure in different ways and this is why I hope they argue for at least another year or two because Jon likes to get back on the horse, prove a point and turn around a bad situation. Richie runs and sulks, it seems.

If they make up too quickly, I think they'll start writing and we'll end up with another album too soon!! So keep ruckin' for another year, chaps, then write some stuff this time next year, get in the studio and churn out a classic...

I think you make a lot of sense in here.

sadly the tour goes on and nothing changes...we ll probably never learn the whole truth, its just sad that a brotherhood broke up like that, i hope in the futere they ll come around but their name is deeply hurt with all thse egos,comments and behaviors..
personally i cant enjoy bj these days...without richie and now with tico missing as well...it sounds different in a bad way...like a cover band...i ve watched a bono interview recently where he stated that the next u2 album will take more time because they feel its not great...u2's no line on the horizon was a success for todays standards but still they realised it wasnt their best work and that they have to put out sth great...on the other hand jon releases pop songs every 2 years with no substance at all and doesnt realise he hurts his legacy...

Nothing on here I can disagree with. I still like listening to What About Now but other than Water and I'm With You there's nothing I'm listening to regularly anymore.

Just listened to When You Were Beautiful and love it or hate it, it has more complexity than a lot of the What About Now tracks.

However I hold Richie firmly to blame for this trainwreck of a tour - if he was there I'm sure the shows would have gotten infinitely better and the setlists too. I don't really care if Jon pissed in his wheaties or what, but every single thing Sambora has done since seems to be petulant and childish.

That being said, I want my band back together. All of them. And with what will likely only ever be one or two albums left in them if they can get their shit together. I want it to be good.

Put WAN on yesterday for the first time in ages and I don't hate it. I'm just indifferent to it. Disposable and passable pop rock. It sounds rushed and it sounds like it was written in 20 minutes. It's not what I expect or want from Bon Jovi.

I think Beaky has posted a lot of sense but frankly, I've long since given up on Jon and Richie. If we ever learn the truth, there will be blame on both sides. That's the nature of arguments. But I'm not losing sleep over two middle aged multi-millionaires having a spat especially when they've not churned out an album that's worth listenting to in 15-20 years. If they never make it up, I really don't care.

Britney Spears?! Really?!

I'd step over my own mother...

Raising my hand as I love WWWB! I think we all are saying the same thing. Jon is a workaholic the other guys were all doing their things and Jon pretty much created an album that should have been a solo.

I still think Richie is at fault for running away to jam with fabric BUT I am sure the dynamics of something put it in motion. Jon may be talented but part of the whole cluster is he is CEO and no one tells HIM what to do - this whole *ask Richie* is wearing thin, almost as thin as the crappy clothes he is selling.

If they put out another album for the first time ever (I am old and fell for them during Runaway) I will not buy it unless there is something that shows me they are not just churning crap out so they can tour. Really disgusted.

I understand "they" want it to be about the fashion but this just continues to get to me. I miss the music/guitar man.

"**Interviews must be conducted with both Nikki and Richie simultaneously; separate interviews will not be granted."

Guess since they can only do interviews together Nikki is afraid she won't be able to control what Richie says. Maybe she's afraid he will be asked about leaving BonJovi and she won't be able to control the whole situation and Richie may actually be able to answer for himself instead of what she wants the answer to be.

the fact that NIKKI wants/has to control what Richie has to say about Bon Jovi makes me so ****ing angry you have no idea....

Wait really? Where does it say that?

Here is the link to the entire PR with the part I quoted right in the middle.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11191562.htm

Let's all take a short break and appreciate again the awesomeness of These Days by Richie...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...LVe2XJU#t=5364

Sometimes, I forget what this man had performed...