I've read both interviews being posted and I don't see him being a douche. He has said in the past (i.e. on the Circle Tour) that Bon Jovi is a huge machine--a juggernaut that kept on rolling along. He just stated it as a fact, not as a criticism. He felt he needed to step out of the machine which left him open to a lot of criticism from his fans. (And against the opinions of the initial naysayers, the machine kept rolling along without him.)

So now in interviews he is distinguishing what he is doing by saying that his solo shows are not a machine. This means looser shows, no scripted banter, more spontaneity--things that diehards have been wanting at Bon Jovi shows. There is an upside to that and an obvious downside.

As I have said before, if he and the fans at the show are happy, then opinions on Jovitalk that overanalyze every note and syllable are to be taken in that perspective. I know Thierry and Supersonic didn't enjoy the show but they are 2 out of a few hundred. Both are excellent reviewers but it reminds me of when I was taking college courses on the history of movies--it was hard for me to enjoy a movie for a long time afterwards because I was analyzing angles, lighting, screen setups, voice intonations, etc.

I am just curious how this tour is being funded given he isn't promoting a new release (Aftermath is history now) and has no record company behind him. It isn't cheap to travel with a band.

http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyl...px?RSSName=New

He sounds like a drunk idiot.

At Richie's concert in Munich yesterday when he was introducing the band and talking about Luke Ebbin, he mentioned how they were both caged in Bon Jovi togeter for some time. I may have missheard but it was a totally unnecessary dig at the band.

There's obviously some strong resentment on Richie's side, probably stemming from back in 2011 when he realized the Bon Jovi machine doesn't stop, if he's not there.

It reminds me of the first thing he says here:
"We made Bounce. Bounce wasn't so much fun to make but we still shoved it up everyone's ass and made a lot of money" which is so strange. I don't know why he's victimizing himself so big.

Well, Jon has always spoken bad of the first two albums, especially 7800º Fahrenheit. He say uses it as a coaster, that bothered me. I like 7800º, and the real coasters are the albums of this last decade.

Yeah, this is a little different. I would have no problem with Richie saying he hates an album. However, he is making it seem like he didn't even want to be there and was in someway forced to be. If the latest comment is true, he is also making it sound that a producer plucked from virtual obscurity to make two albums for one of the biggest rock bands in history didn't want to be there either, or was forced to be there.

I got the feeling with the Bounce record comment that he was including Jon in that. Perhaps he meant the band didn't like it but enjoyed ramming it down throats, considering Jon hardly touches the record live it would make sense. He may also not even be saying he doesn't like Bounce, but is instead saying it wasn't fun because of the general tone behind the album. Either way, i didnt take the Bounce comment as a dig, but this new comment (again if true) is strange.

Personally I took it like Bounce was a very very very calculated album to make. Not a single song on Crush sounded like It's My Life other than It's My Life and once it hit big it felt like there was an over thinking desire for Bounce to sound like it too. It's a collection of 4 very different styles of Bon Jovi and is incredibly in-cohesive. Richie has always been the type to follow in the trends so I really don't see the idea of him fitting the stylistic choices of that record, all anyone in the band talked about during promos was how it's a Richie guitar album and the guitars are all over the place.

Too good to be true. Bullshit.

In regards to what?

The only thing I hear Jon saying about Fahrenheit is that he doesn't like the album but it's the best he could have been at that point in time so he's not ashamed of it.

wrong post, sorry.

When Richie is interviewed away from the band, he sound like a pretentious buffoon.

Jon at least can be professional in the way he presents his thoughts.

http://www.google.com/translate?hl=e...lhttp%3A%2F%2F

http://www.google.com/translate?hl=e...html&sandbox=1

It wasn't fun, yet he's been playing The Distance the past few solo shows. Okay Rich. :rolleyes:

What I recall with regard to the Bounce album is that Jon once said that he would have thought from start to finish that Bounce would have been a massive hit and was surprised that it wasn't. That adds credence to the theory that it was a very calculated album.

Richie's comments on Bounce were extremely disrespectful to the people who bought the album and supported the tour. Richie really needs to spend more time rehearsing and less time yapping.

I didn't remember that comment. He is totally deluded if he believes that his record is so much different from BJ post 2000 crapfest that are some of the records.

Still, bashing Bounce? What a douche. "I don't like to rehearse." he says just afterwards. Give the man 2 minutes and he destroys any good image anybody could've had of him.

You know it's a sad day when you think better of Jon than of Richie. :(

I agree. I've always preferred Richie in the past because he seemed more chilled and nicer than the serious dictator Jon.

Nowadays Richie comes across disrespectful and sometimes plain stupid.

My question is, if Richie's been so unhappy since Bounce, why did he stick around for the next decade? Is he so greedy and artistically corrupt that he will make music he doesn't like (since he's the creative mastermind, afterall) just to bring home the dollars?

He's coming across as more and more of a douchebag every time he opens his mouth. I hope Jon, Tico, and Dave move on without his arrogant, ignorant ass.

Tough times to be a fan of Richie :-/
He's destroyed his image totally...

richie is the best
http://portalpark.net/10204/28/g.png

New interview http://lflmagazine.nl/interviews/ric...juiste-geweest

Another one:

Bon Jovi gave me ultimatum - Sambora

Estranged Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora says he was given a stark ultimatum when he decided he needed some time off – he could tour with the band or leave.

He disappeared from the lineup at short notice last year, giving rise to rumours of a feud between him and mainman Jon Bon Jovi, which seemed to have some credence after both hinted at unhappiness with the other in interviews.

But Sambora, who's currently touring Europe with his solo outfit, says he has no anger left – and believes it's still possible he could rejoin the band he helped build.

He tells Lust For Life: "It's hurt me that more and more untrue things have come out in the media. I just wanted to do something for myself. We had just finished a tour, I had just quit a band habit, and I was enjoying time with my daughter.

"I saw a year of other priorities ahead of me; I wanted to make my own music and I preferred doing a few shows with my own band. I said I wanted a break."

But he reports that his request "was just not accepted," adding: "The Bon Jovi machine had to go on. I could choose – join or leave. That's hard when you share joys and sorrows for 30 years."

Sambora believes he made the correct decision, however. "It's fantastic," he says of his current situation. "We enjoy every night. I've done a lot of wrong things in my life and I've regularly made bad decisions. But I think this step was the right one at last."

He continues: "There's no bad blood with me any more. I love Jon, and I still see the possibility of a return. There are just a few steps I want to – need to – take."

And if a reunion doesn't happen, Sambora will continue in his own direction. "We're going to record an album; I'd to do a tour after that," he says. "Not a tour of 14 months in more than 50 countries. Just a nice tour, playing music then being home for a while."

Sambora returns to Britain for the Calling Festival on June 28 and three solo shows:

Jun 30: Dublin Olympia

Jul 01: Belfast Ulster Hall

Jul 03: Glasgow O2 ABC

Yeah, whatever. That interview is pure bullshit.

You know what I think the problem with Sambora is?

He's an adult child, broken down mentally by his fathers passing and surrounded by people that only care about money and fill his head with praises.
He's a depressive addict, living in denial since there is NO CHANCE IN HELL he believes he's singing/playing/composing great music.
He can't settle down in a stable and healthy relationship, nailing everybody he works with in stupid unprofessional affairs.

His life is a mess, and the reflection of that is seen in the shows. They are a mess.

Also I believe that being on TV with Craig helped him because it forced him to take a little bit of care of himself, at least his image.

That's a bit dramatic. Anyway, I agree with about the general point about him being on TV. Richie comes across more and more like a guy who needs something or someone to kick him up the ass for him to be at his best. Jon obvioulsy did that, and ultimately did it too much.

I think the last interview is among his most honest. He reveals he didn't want the process but was given an ultimatum. I can fully beleive that he would be torn enough to join the band of 30 years and then change his mind. I really think that him leaving the band was two things/people pulling in different directions, his timing sucked though.

Aside from that, he is talking utter bullshit yes. His music is no better than the Bon Jovi machine over the last decade, and his playing and singing is worse.

To be honest, I don't really see it so dramatic. It's a gathering of common things that I've mentioned that happen to a lot of people. Also just a thought, maybe I'm wrong but I could very well be right too.

His father died around 2005 (right?) and his steady decline kinda started around that time from what I can remember.

He IS a drunk drug addict. He may be a recovering one but he will always be an addict. Also a happy independent and centered person does not bash your former friend/employer every chance he gets.

I don't even want to begin about his daughter, having to read and see all that shit he says and him ****ing every blonde that worked with him.

The saddest part would be if he believed everything he says.

This reminds me of John Lennon and Paul McCartney when the Beatles broke up.

:D:D:D:D

Are you going to compare Orianthi to Yoko Ono?

Matt on twitter once said that Lund was Yoko Ono. It will be the architect of all this? :D

I think the problems with Richie start with women.

The problem is himself. He doesn't look like someone who has his life in order and is doing what he loves.

Its sure. But I doubt make a new album and a tour with bon jovi during 11 months is right. There is some truth in Richie. In these last years there is an excess of Jovi album and tour. He has lost his social life. He lost the way, things he loved.

And you know this because...?

I think he does.

I once thought him the greatest but he thinks that enough without me any more. He's listening with the wrong head and it obviously has no ears.

I don't know it, I just extrapolate from every other bullshit contradictory interview he ever did.

God, how I detest people making this type of judgements about other people's lives just because they live in the 'what is expected', 'normal' etc. You have no idea what is going on in the man's life or head, yet you come up with stuff like 'he's an adult child' because - what? People in their 50s should be settled down, play with grandchildren, and not have a blast of a time showing up with a 30 year old blonde who happens to be the most exciting female guitarist on the planet.

Yes, Sambora is sloppy as hell, and sure, what he does off stage affects what he does on stage. Yet who the hell are you to say what a 'stable and healthy' relationship is? And what makes you think that you're imaginary perception of a 19th century catholic family is what would improve Richie's playing? Most great music was done when people were off their socks. Sambora trying to be someone he's not is what led to this. But that's just a different angle to the story. While I may think that, who the hell am I to pass such judgement?!?

Is it really? Is it a problem for a company to pursue more income? Since it's pretty clear (and implied in the documentary) that Bon Jovi is a money factory, I see no problem AND NO SURPRISE that was the case. Of course if they are making huge tour money the machine would continue.

Also, I'm not one of those people that blame Richie for leaving mid-tour. I think that you can quit your job anytime you want and you don't owe any explanations to the fans. I know it's a grey area since one could argue that fans bought tickets hoping for something and getting a little less than that. The tour continued anyway. I think we talked much about that already.

Also, did he lose his social life? Nobody can tell, since we don't know what was/is his social life. About the things he loved, I don't really know what does he love, he just seems really sad to me.

Just chill. It's a theory, based in the little I see or hear of him.

Also, I don't really see him having a "blast of a time". Yeah sure, he says that, but I don't see it.

Ohh well...if YOU don't see it, then...well....then he should probably go back to his suburban home, marry a soccer mom wife who can take care of Ava, and finally, live the dream life that will probably magically bring back his guitar skills and his creativity.

It's a bullshit theory based on some preconceptions on what is and what isn't normal. And let's leave it at that. Neither of us knows what is actually happening with Richie and surely, it's not his purpose in life to make some loser fans happy. If that's what rocks his boat, so be it. Doesn't mean we can't criticise his playing, singing and gigs. Which are shit!

Yeah that sounds boring. How about I keep on judging away and you keep on criticizing his playing?

This is a discussion forum. Passing judgement based on actions is what a forum is all about. It's a court of public opinion, not a court of law. Relax.

I agree with Lea that he's acting like an adult child. His digs at Jon and the band at his shows is a perfect example (my songs/his songs, famous face, etc). He's said a few times recently how he encourages the band to improvise to show their creativity which implies that's exactly what Jon would not allow him to do at Bon Jovi shows. Not a bad thing at all but the result has been a sloppy bar-band level of playing. If his goal is to just have fun, fine, but he seems to be trying very hard to be the exact opposite type of leader Jon is just to prove something. He should also keep his mouth shut about the band that ultimately enabled him to sell solo tickets today. I used to think he was the cool, laid back one of the group but lately he's been coming across as a complete douche with an ax to grind.