He and Richie have been friends since SWW; but Norm's business is vintage guitars, so he's good friends with a lot of professional guitarists.

If you look on YT, you can find a ton of videos where guitarists drop in play, chat, etc.; but here's the Readers Digest version:
https://youtu.be/xoC5oWUqofE

(BTW, check out the credits in the description. Norm wrote the song and co-produced it with Tim Pierce, who played guitar and bass, as well.)

Here's another "Who Shops at Norm's":
https://youtu.be/bmmLOSqETUM


We should be so lucky! :)
I've always loved LH. Couldn't believe all the negative comments when I first started lurking here. I still say a lot of people were just thrown by the whole "Nashville influence" marketing schtick, and expected it to be "cuntry"; so they were set up to dislike it to start with. Glad to see, when it was revisited years later, that a lot of them had changed their minds. I'd be more than happy with another Lost Highway.

Thanks for the overview on Norm. I'll take your word on it all. Not overly interested to click any additional links pertaining to him. But I do appreciate it.

Here is my long take on Lost Highway along with the possibilities of this new album being country:

The mainstream rock scene doesn't exist anymore in the States. It's now morphed into today's country. I always said Lost Highway was a little ahead of its time. Not only with trying to hit the mark a little early but with Bon Jovi, being nothing more than a rock band at that time, crossing over as well.

Lost Highway isn't a country album. It's "Nashville Influenced" which is a mistake Jon said he made for not referring to it as that since inception. Memory is not a country song. Any Other Day is not a country song.

The reason why I'm not a fan of Lost Highway has nothing to do with "Country". Although not my first choice, I don't dislike country. I've probably listened to Chicken Fried more times than anything off of WAN. I'm just not a fan of the songs on Lost Highway. Beside Memory and maybe one other, it's all just overproduced Post 2K Bon Jovi. Songs like Everybody's Broken and Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore put me to sleep.

However fast forward to 2019, factors are different now. We need something outside this current formula. Anything! Jon's voice, Richie's absence, the current music scene in the states. One thing about Country Songs are, you don't need a big voice to pull them off. They are not rock songs so production and vocals don't play a major role. Acoustic guitar, lyrics, and a story. Something as such could be a good place for a current day JBJ.

The band wrote and recorded numerous songs in Nashville pre LH, especially in the 90s so I'd pump the breaks before the "Another LH is coming" train starts. Travelling to write and record means a change from the usual system so I'm all for it. I don't want a country album but a rootsy sounding album with organic sounding drums and well thought out lyrics YES PLEASE.

But yeah Norm's been around forever, especially on Youtube for the past few years.

I think at this point I'd prefer them to try something and fail instead of just reproducing what they've done in the last decade or so

1. Nashville always been JBJ’s exercise town for many reasons... one of them because co-writers, other of course the studio, etc... Who knows about it this time.
2. Make A Memory is a gorgeous ballad with an acoustic guitar, but of course I would like some rock songs, as well.
3. Norm has good guitars and Shanks didn’t play anything nice???

it would be great if we got sth a little bit different, darker, less polished...
i really like all the songs jon wrote with billy falcon, nashville based song writer..
unfortunately jon songwrites in a certain way, so poor vocal performance will always affects his songs..making them a bit poor imo.
i have faith in jon as songwriter but the chemistry with Rich and the harmonies is what made it magic for me.
always looking forward for new material from the band though...

ps. i really want to go to Wembley, it would be like a full circle for me, with all the history involved with this building but nowdays i m leaning towards the idea of not going.. . seeing them without richie leaves a bittersweet taste

Not another LH please!
Mam is best ballad since Always after any ballad after.
Really like Any other day but that’s about it.

I wouldn't read too much into them going to Nashville. Jon has retired his Sanctuary II home studio for good, so they need someplace to go.
And major parts of the Crossroad and These Days material was recorded in Nashville as well.

Yeah, i forgot about that…..major parts of the Crossroad and These Days material was recorded in Nashville.

Anyway if the new album will be a rock album with Nashville influences i'm happy because Lost Highway is a good album,however i'd like something that reminds Bounce or HAND stile but nowdays and without Richie i don't think that could be possible… but the hope is the last to die :)

If we talk about studios only; JBJ has said before that unfortunately there are only a few Studios left in NYC because all the other big quality-studios had to close because many artists record their records at home. And when he talks about studios now... he basically thinks in Los Angeles, Nashville or New York.