You don't do that. That's like having a second wife in the wings waiting for the first one to get sick.

Phil X was on hold because Jon knew Richie would do one thing or the other. There must've been something happening between Jon & Richie we don't know about to make Jon nervous about Richie not finishing the tour. But I can guarantee you that Bon Jovi, or any other band for that matter, do not have a reserve of musicians to jump on the stage in case of an emergency. It just doesn't happen. If someone gets sick, the show gets cancelled or a drum or guitar technician gets to play, or something like that. It would cost an arm and a leg to keep professional musicians on stand by.

Ice

I'd be really interested in who he has on hold for the case that he can't perform :D

Of course you do that. It's business. Bon Jovi is a brand, they are pro.
Think of Rio 2013... What would happen if there wasn't the guy who filled for Tico? Bon Jovi would cancel Rio. And maybe next time they won't be accepted in Rio or other big festival. Jon (and his promo business) doesn't want that.

Of course Rio is different from the regular shows. As you can recall, they postpone some regular shows because of Tico.

And then we have Richie. From the beginning of the tour, he wasn't really there and willing to stay. Think like Jon now "if Richie go away, I would have to stop the tour, 100+ shows! No, this is catastrophe!"

So what's the solution to be always ready for such things? Have a bunch of musicians (except a singer of course, Jon is THE brand :P ) to be always ready!

It's not a love story, it's business.

....and hundreds of employees or crew members who must be paid

If you do not know about how the business works, you really shouldn't be saying anything about it.

No, it does NOT work like that. Bands, big or small, do NOT have backup people waiting to be called onto the stage. First of all, having people like Phil X on hold for whole tours would cost a LOT. And if you don't pay them, they won't be on hold. They're doing their own things.

There was nobody to fill in for Tico. They had to get someone once they knew Tico couldn't play. Rich Scanella wasn't on hold, he didn't even know the songs. The reason he played there was that Jon knew him and had played with him previously. If he couldn't have done it, someone else would've been chosen. They DO NOT have anyone standing by in case of an emergency. No band does.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2...pitalized.html

Yes, that's what usually happens when a band member gets sick. So, you see, they don't have any backup players anywhere waiting. Because no one does that!

Richie was a totally different, isolated thing. He'd gone into rehab before, and they had Phil X learn the set and play the few shows. Jon knew Richie was going to have problems sooner or later, so he played it safe. But still, Phil X wasn't on stand by, he wasn't paid to wait. If he couldn't have done the gig, someone else would have.

And again, and I can not stress this enough, there are no other musicians waiting to be called to play with Bon Jovi. Or any other band for that matter.

Yes, it's very much a business. Which is why you don't pay people to wait. Professional musicians aren't cheap labor. Even Bon Jovi don't have the money to spend for people just waiting. It just doesn't happen. Ask anyone who's ever been on tour if they had people as backups. Ask any manager, any tour manager, any band. It just doesn't happen. I know, you think you do.

Ice

Phil X @ Randy Rhoads Remembered NAMM Jam 2015 - The Observatory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tx4...421914688#t=23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-c...-ts=1421914688

That was awesome!!

Guitar - Yes!
Vocals - Damn, that's bad. Or well, no, horrific.

I wonder who Jon would hired to replace him? Obie?

Jon is lucky to have the KOS fill in for players if needed. There is a bass player, drummer, keyboardist who can play a standard amount of Jovi songs. Jon could also pull out an acoustic set or a partial one. Plus, there are professionals out there who could do a basic set by ear if Jon had to do a show in an emergency situation. Lastly, I'm sure they have tracks prerecorded to fill in some gaps as well.

The guy from the KOS who replaced Tico in Rio did an outstanding job. He was probably familiar with most of the songs from the KOS shows and for the other songs, he just played some basic beats by ear.

I think we all know that the best choise for every instrument is Mr. Santa Bandiera.