Sounds to me like he auditioned for the 2015 Asia dates.

That 100 percent sounds closer to the truth but he made it sound like he was replacing Phil based on his verbiage of them deciding to stick with Phil. If that were the case they would have replaced Phil and Bobby at the same time, I don't think Matt was involved at that point or else he very well could have been the lead guitarist and they were looking to replace Bobby on Rhythm?

I dont think we'll ever know but guessing at this stuff has been the most excited I've gotten talking about the band in months.

I remember David saying that they needed a guitar player for the 2015 Asia and he thought in his friend Matt O'Ree because his singing and playing, then they went to JBJ's house and Matt O'Ree auditioned, JBJ saw he could sing and play and JBJ finally only wanted to make sure he wasn't bat crazy.


So in case this Damon Johnson was talking about 2015 Asia, then why he said what he said: "what they ended up doing was they kept working with Phil X... and they also added my old friend John Shanks... and so they simply added John as a second guitar player. And they're carrying on."

Unless he has no idea that the 2015 Asia happened with the guitarist who supposedly played and sang better than him.

Damon Johnson is a great singer and guitarist and he has much more of a bluesy style compared to Phil and Shanks, I think he would have been a great fit actually. And he actually shows some respect to Sambora...

true...from his words looks like bj were looking for an alternative...dont forget phil x was quite reluctant in the begining and i think both jon and dave,tico realise phil is not the perfect match for them...they sure appreciate him but he doesnt really match. .
Saw the interview of phil and unfortunately i ll repeat myself...the way phil says he preferz drills from bj in a kind way hurts me...good for phil to be honest and loyal to his "baby" but i think jon if he respected the essense of bjs legacy would not continue without richie and call the band bj...
Richie left...we ll never know what happened exactly...kudos for managing to complete that tour...afterwards its obvious the guys decided they dont really want richie back, at least til he sobers up and pulls himself together...but having all these replacements up there telling they are the new rejuvenated bj when its obvious they dont even appreciate the magic that this band once had...
i ve read and saw many many interviews both from shanks and phil x and its obvious they were never fans...and dont get me wrong, i m not meaning they should hire some fan just to worship them but they should hire someone who would appreciate what they once were and in the same time he would push them forward..(bob rock once said, that bj in 93 they probably were the best band live in the whole world...this guy didnt have only nice things to say about bj but shows some real respect in comparison to shanks who takes some of the originality and the ttitude away each time...)

Phil X: "Rock and roll and everybody does reunion tours?
That's the biggest paycheck, man, reunion tours."

Phil X talking about BJ and Richie of course!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x780...outu.be&t=1842

and in case you're deaf lol, here is the transcription:
https://www.deathwishcoffee.com/page...ath-cas-phil-x

Phil X about Richie in Hall of Fame:
https://twitter.com/TheRealPhilX/sta...91051972112384

Let's be fair, it was Richie the person inductee so of course he deserved to be the focus of attention; if it was weird for Phil or not to be honest nobody cares lol; that night belonged to BON JOVI (inductees).

Well, we've discussed the interview with Phil here and came to conclusion he wasn't entirely happy about stuff, so he sorta complained, right? I understand his response on twt, though. What else could he say anyway? The truth is: there should have been ONLY original members on stage. They didn't play their newest stuff but their classic songs and it just didn't look right. Still, it was a night to remember *sigh*

Hugh definitely should have been there. He was being inducted too and has been in the band far longer than Alec was.

I agree. Hugh has been in the band since the beginning *haha, even before the band came to existence lol*