Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi's David Bryan still riding high with smash musical 'Memphis'

I cannot wait to see the touring version of Memphis in February.

Bon Jovi's David Bryan still riding high with smash musical 'Memphis'

By Andrea Baillie, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - As a kid growing up in Jersey, about the only piece of musical theatre Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan remembers seeing is "Fiddler on the Roof."

"I'm a good Jewish boy from Edison, New Jersey so I went and saw 'Fiddler on the Roof' because you have to, that's part of your bar mitzvah experience," Bryan said in a recent telephone interview from New York City.

"I just didn't see that many shows, it was more about the rock concerts."

Even though Bryan now has three Tony Awards to his name for composing the hit show "Memphis" — which opens in Toronto next week — he still isn't a big musical theatre buff.

"Some I want to see just for curiosity," he said. "But no, I don't really rush out to see a bunch of musicals."

The success of "Memphis" — an interracial love story set to the beats of the 1950s — is somewhat unusual amid the current crop of jukebox musicals and theatrical shows based on TV programs or comic books.

Because audiences often don't know much about "Memphis" ahead of time, they are almost always pleasantly surprised by it, Bryan said.

"I think the greatest thing about our show, really, is it always exceeds people's expectations," said the 49-year-old classically-trained musician.

"They walk in and either they know a little bit about it or they don't know anything and they walk out and say: 'Wow!'"

Bryan, a founding member of Bon Jovi, came aboard "Memphis" over a decade ago. Eager to embark on a career as a songwriter, he had written a batch of songs but was frustrated that no one would cover them.

When he was told that a musical would mean 20 of his songs could be covered eight times a week, he was interested. Even more so when he saw Joe DiPietro's script for "Memphis."

"To me it wasn't entertainment for entertainment's sake, it was entertainment with a story that mattered," said Bryan.

"It's a story that celebrates people coming together and what brings us together rather than what separates us. And I loved that subject matter, and bang — there you go.

"It shows what hate looks like and how wrong it is.... ('Memphis') is an interracial love story, and you rock and you have a good time but underneath it all, you're trying to be better people."

He has since gone on to co-write "The Toxic Avenger" with DiPietro and the two are also working on an upcoming show.

He suspects the playwright was interested in him in for "Memphis" in the first place because of his status as a musical theatre outsider.

"Most theatre people and composers are like research hounds," noted Bryan.

"I think that's what Joe DiPietro was looking for, somebody outside of that realm. He's like, 'It's a rock score, I need a real rock guy!'"

The genre was not such a stretch either, he added, since Bon Jovi spent many early years playing '50s songs.

"My ... research was making seven bucks a night for a couple of years in bars," said Bryan, adding that his time with Bon Jovi has also taught him how to connect with an audience as a composer.

"I know how to get that emotion out of the crowd, if you will, and how to whip them up in a frenzy, bring them high and bring them low and make an emotional journey with the music."

Bryan is clearly proud of the success of "Memphis," and said his composing career away from Bon Jovi gave him a unique brand of satisfaction.

"A musical is really one of the most complicated beasts. It's a play, and there's music ... and there's dancing ... it's unbelievably satisfying to get something up out of your brain, onto a piece of paper ... and start the process and then see it on the stage," he said.

"And then to have three Tonys on my mantelpiece I can say it's very rewarding. I'm a happy guy."

Dancap's presentation of "Memphis" runs at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts from Dec. 6 to 24.

Bon Jovi: Interview with David about Memphis

And it's not just written words it's audio files and this HUGE picture of David as well (look the Joker is peeking out).

Bon Jovi to Broadway - Our interview with David Bryan

As the resident Bon Jovi fan on the inMusic.ca team, I was tasked with interviewing co-founding member and longtime keyboardist David Bryan about his upcoming play 'Memphis' coming to the Toronto stage in December. This is the second theatrical production that David has written the music and lyrics. Memphis has received much critical acclaim on Broadway winning several Tony Awards and launching a multi-city tour. For more information on tickets, you can visit www.dancaptickets/memphis.

Recently, David called in to chat with us - here's how it went down.

Why did you get involved with 'Memphis'?

How do you find writing music for a particular era?

How do you balance touring & songwriting for plays?

Did you skip a Bon Jovi show for the Tony Awards?

Will you be taking 'Memphis' to a movie format similar to 'Rock of Ages'?

What does writing for plays give you that Bon Jovi doesn't?

Would you ever consider combining both loves and turning a Bon Jovi album into a musical similar to Green Day?

Whose appreciation means most to you in life?

What has been the single best thing that money and fame has given you?

What is the biggest misconception about you?

Bon Jovi: David promoting the "Memphis!" national tour

Memphis! starts it's national tour in Memphis, TN on 10/14 - 10/23

Here's a little video promoting it.

I love it, very funny.

Bon Jovi: Interview with David

Google searching for something else completely and came across this recent interview from Swiss International Airlines.  Nothing Earth shattering.

Rock The Sky

The US – Rockband Bon Jovi, founded in the early 80ies, is a legend! The four rockstars have compiled an exclusive music channel for SWISS. The keyboarder David Bryan told us a bit more about himself and Bon Jovi.

How did you get into making music and why especially rock music?

I started classical piano lessons at the age of seven playing in bands since I was thirteen years old. I then joined Jon Bon Jovi’s former band “Atlantic City Expressway”. At the age of seventeen, I fell in love with Rock’n’Roll when I first heard it… Elvis, then the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and many more.

You are currently on world tour. Do you like to travel?

I love to travel and travel the world!

Which ones are your favourite destinations?

That is so hard to say!! I love the entire planet!

Are there places where you like performing the most?

I like performing everywhere actually. But it’s always extra special playing in the Giants Stadium at home in New Jersey.

For SWISS, you have put together an exclusive music channel with your biggest hits. Have you ever had an inspiration for a song on an airplane?

I really do like listen to music on airplanes. And yes, I’ve had some great idea’s during my time in the skies!

Do you already have plans after your world tour?

Yes, a follow-up to my Tony Award winning Broadway Musical “Memphis”, which is tentatively called “Chasing The Song”, about the beginning of the 60ies and the impact of song writers.

Bon Jovi: Memphis! in London!?

It could happen next year, but those pesky Olympics are getting in the way.

Rock star fears Olympics will hit bid to bring musical to London

Alistair Foster, Showbusiness Correspondent

8 Jul 2011

Memphis, the Broadway smash hit co-written by Bon Jovi keyboard player David Bryan, could be on its way to the West End next year.

The star, 49, is seeking a theatre to house his rock '*' roll show, which last year won four Tony awards, including best musical.

After taking £50million at the box office in Broadway, it is set to begin a tour of the US and Bryan would like the production to move to one of London's larger venues.

But his efforts are being affected by next summer's Olympics, which he fears could overshadow any new production that opens then.

He said: "The next logical step for us is the West End, which would be an honour for us. But the Olympics are making it tricky, as ideally we'd like to open in the summer.

"We're touring the US for most of the next year and then we'd like to come over, but it seems that would be pretty bad timing. We're considering what we can do."

Memphis, set in 1962, tells of a white radio DJ who starts playing black music before falling for a young black

Bon Jovi: David on the Radio

Radio Waves: Fri.,Oct. 22

Friday, October 22, 2010

By RAY EDEL

RECORD COLUMNIST

WFUV-FM (90.7) will continue its public service campaign, "Strike a Chord," this fall with a series about music education in schools.

Through Nov. 15, the station will spotlight a range of non-profit organizations that work to strengthen and restore music education in schools throughout the metropolitan region.

As part of its mission with the series, WFUV is partnering with the Broadway musical "Memphis" to showcase the best music being performed in high schools.

The station is inviting high school vocal and instrumental groups to send short videos of themselves performing a song reflecting the musical heritage of Memphis, with the winning group receiving a block of tickets to see the play. Contest rules can be found at wfuv.org/memphis/ rules.

A special edition of "Cityscape," the station's public affairs program, on Oct. 30 will include interviews with two advocates for arts programs in schools: actress Carol Channing and Bon Jovi keyboard player David Bryan, who co-wrote the music for "Memphis."

WFUV News Director George Bodarky is also planning a news series focusing on music education beginning Monday.

Organizations wishing to have their work spotlighted in a public service announcement can apply at wfuv.org/strikeachord

You can listen Live Here *EDIT* It airs Saturday Mornings at 7:30 Eastern (New York City) Time. (-5 GMT)

Bon Jovi: Dave & Richie post a message on Facebook

Richie & Dave posted a message on Facebook. Just in case you can't see it on Facebook:

Bon Jovi: What do You Got live in Mexico

Finally good video surfaces of this new Bon Jovi hit being played in a stadium. The PC Richards version is nice but in reality so many more people will be exposed to this song in a stadium or arena setting. Also the acoustics are better at the PC Richards Theater than they are in a stadium.

Bon Jovi: Few people have come to expect to Bon Jovi

From our Bon Jovi loving friends in Costa Rica.

Since No Hablo Espanol, the translation is courtesy of the all powerful and multi-lingual Google Translate.

The first story has a video of the band's plane landing.

Group performs tonight at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa

17 years later, Bon Jovi returned

Arrival rockers arrived the country yesterday and were immediately taken to the hotel where they met several fans

Gerardo González V. gegonzalez@nacion.com 25/09/2010 08:45 PM

A small and enthusiastic group of lucky fans received yesterday, shouting at the band Bon Jovi on arrival at your hotel.

The private flight brought the singer Jon Bon Jovi and his companions landed at Juan Santamaría International Airport, when the clock struck 5:10 pm

Immigration officials were responsible for registering the income of the country rockers.

A production team was waiting at the foot of the stairs to transfer them immediately to their hotel, a caravan of vehicles.

The band and their entourage were taken to a luxurious hotel in the capital, whose name we can not disclose at the request of the production. There, a warning fans could see how the singer Jon Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, drummer Tico Torres and keyboardist David Bryan entered as a bullet to the hotel, amid the security personnel.

Only one young man could steal a kiss on the cheek, the singer and the young Salvadoran Quiteño René Torres got him to sign his album Slippery When Wet.

The musicians ignored the presence of the press. Tico Torres only waved to the cameras.

Meanwhile, the camera flashes and some threw away their screaming begging for a little souvenir of the reunion.

Wanting more. The swift passage of the musicians left with a distaste for those who were waiting anxiously in the hotel.

Melissa Ponce, a resident of Santa Ana, was one that could see up close rockers.

"It was too fast, I could only say hello. I thought they would have more contact with the public, "he told the young man of 29 years.

For his part, Abraham Madrigal Puriscal, described as a dream come true seeing their idols in person.

Not everyone was so smiling after the entry of the musicians.

"We came from Quepos and not at all" was the comment that said the boy Samuel Alvarado, age 7, visibly disappointed at the fleeting passage of rockers.

He, along with her mother and brother Lineth Solano, Efren 10 years, came to San Jose just for the concert today.

The band will perform tonight at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in his tour Tibás The Circle and after an absence of 17 years when they first came and played before a sold out show at the Palacio de los Deportes.

Today, the band returned with a show they have promised will be huge, full of innovative technology and, above all, with their biggest hits.

Yes, I expect them to stand outside of a hotel in Costa Rica and sign autographs, just like I expect them to do the same thing here in the states.  *Rolls Eyes*

Story numero dos.

Few people have come to expect to Bon Jovi

Caterina L. Elizondo celizondo@nacion.com 26/09/2010 36 minutes ago

At about 11 am, the atmosphere at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa was not yet very hot, waiting for the concert of the band Bon Jovi.

However, the 'fans' most loyal in the group were there even queuing since Thursday.

Parents and children, coworkers, friends and even acquaintances through social networks began to fill the lineup, although the income is scheduled for 4 pm

According to Paul Fonseca, manager of corporate security Isaseca, three days of monitoring the area and so far there has been no major incidents.

"At the moment production (Evenpro) has not done reporting on items that can not enter, but we know that professional cameras are banned," said Fonseca.

Sales are also strong, along the block of the stadium there are several food stalls and sales of items such as shirts, scarves and memorabilia from the band. . There is no shortage of ticket resellers, who prowl through the rows looking for who they sell and buy tickets.

At this time it rains in Tibás, and as mentioned some concert-goers have been covered with coats and umbrellas, because outside the stadium there are no tents or camping allowed.

In a few hours will bring more information about the environment before the concert of Bon Jovi, after 17 years of no-show in the country, www.nacion.com .

Bon Jovi: Screen Caps from What do you Got?

Here are some screen captures from the What Do You Got video.

I love Youtube 1080 HD it's like being there.  On several of these photos I wanted to lick my screen but then I thought, that would be bad because I would electrocute myself.

Oh my God. This one makes me I just can't describe it in words. I think he's looking at Richie and that sure as hell ain't the "Stink eye"

Bon Jovi: Bon voyage Jersey band’s long journey leads to stadium mega-shows

Image via Wikipedia

Bon voyage

Jersey band’s long journey leads to stadium mega-shows

By Jim Sullivan | Friday, July 23, 2010 |

There’s arena rock and then there’s Bon Jovi.

Bon Jovi doesn’t play arenas anymore. It plays football stadiums - including Gillette Stadium Saturday night.

Which, when things go well, is where you end up after 28 years and 3,500 shows..

“Or some crazy amount like that,” guitarist Richie Sambora, 51, said before Bon Jovi’s show at Toronto’s 55,000-capacity Rogers Centre earlier this week. “I don’t know if anybody has comprehensively toured as much as we have.”

But the band, led by singer Jon Bon Jovi, hasn’t forgotten its New Jersey club roots. “After all these years, we know how to make a stadium an intimate place,” Sambora said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad show.

Bon Jovi - which also includes keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres and, since 1994, bassist Hugh McDonald - has sold 120 million albums. The band had a No. 1 country hit in 2006 with “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” a duet with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles. Their 11th studio album, “The Circle,” debuted at No. 1 last year. And they’re now deep into a 150-show tour.

“When I walk onstage and I look down and see my shadow,” Sambora said, “I say to myself, ‘Well, it’s pretty good to be me.’ I look up and there’s 55,000 people staring at me enjoying my songs. I do this all over the whole world. I’ve got the best partner and frontman in the business.

“Besides having one of the biggest bands on the planet, Jon and I were just in the gym and we’re looking at each other going, ‘Man, we’re still having fun. Everything’s really cool.’ ”

Herald: The concert business is in dire straits and big acts are scrapping tours, canceling arena gigs, but not you.

Sambora: We’re adding shows all over the world. We’re on cloud nine, man. The way the climate is in the touring business now, it’s amazing. We work as hard as we can every day, all the time. We still don’t take a bit of this for granted.

What’s your take on the continued success?

It’s the people. Not only that, it’s our own challenge to ourselves. Honestly when you get to do what we do at this level - to do what you love to do and make money - it’s extraordinary. There’s an internal challenge that we all bring to the party. It’s about bringing your heart and soul and leaving everything up there on the stage every night. You’re here. Let’s bring it. That’s been our attitude.

Did you have arena-sized ambitions from the get-go?

When we were young, we had a plan that we were going to be able to play everywhere. Of course you have the big ambitions, but nobody could have dreamed this big, or for this long. Frankly though, when we were making “Slippery When Wet,” we knew we had a couple of hits. When Jon and I wrote “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name,” we looked at each other and said, “Yeah, we can work this.”

You’ve sold millions of records, but have never been a critic’s darling.

Ah, we’re an American rock ’n’ roll band. We just are who we are. We’ve never been a critic’s band, but “The Circle” got amazing reviews and the live shows are getting amazing reviews. So everything comes around.

It seems with “The Circle” there’s a bit more grit and reflection. Any thoughts?

It really constitutes a lot of different things. It constitutes growing up. It’s always relying on your influences and rediscovering what your roots are. We’re on a constant quest for evolution. There’s a populist, working-class ethic to it. Jon and I have probably written close to 500 songs, and you draw a lot from what’s happening in the culture and what’s happening in the world. “The Circle” couldn’t have been written at a different time. Those songs were written about how people were feeling about the economic crunch. It’s not a political album per se, but it’s an album about how people were reacting to what was happening in the world. It was right at the time of the election and a lot of people had a lot of hope that Obama was gonna get elected. There’s a string of hope that goes through those songs and there was a string of doubt, a lot of different emotions.

What’s your writing process?

Jon and I write very simply. We start out with a conversation about what we’re feeling. It’s spontaneous combustion. It’s always in the moment and we’re always in the same room with a couple of guitars or a piano. If you can sell it with a guitar and voice, that’s the way we base it.

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Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi plays through the pain

Image via Wikipedia

The set list is wrong but still Toronto got a good first night, I'm sure tonight will have one or 2 surprises thrown in, maybe.

Bon Jovi plays through the pain

JANE STEVENSON, Toronto Sun

The Circle remained unbroken on Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre.

New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi played the first of two back-to-back shows of their so-called Circle Tour in front of 42,000 fans at the stadium, despite frontman Jon Bon Jovi's torn calf muscle injury sustained during a July 9 concert in his home state. He has played a handful of shows, mostly in Canada, since he was injured.

And while it was lead guitarist Richie Sambora who first appeared under the spotlight during the intro to the opening song, Blood On Blood, from the band's huge late ‘80s album, New Jersey, it was the entrance of Bon Jovi that really got the crowd going.

"It's a long way from the El Mocambo to Rogers Centre, I'll tell you that," said Bon Jovi, staring the at the huge audience.

"Don't mind me, I'm just taking it all in," he added later as the show wound down.

Give the 48-year-old performer credit as there was a lot of ground to cover - literally.

Joined by keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres and two other touring musicians, the group played on an enormous stage, dominated by a semi-circular video screen and catwalk, and two rectangular video screens on either side.

Not that Bon Jovi, who was spelled at one point by Sambora who took over on lead vocals during Lay Your Hands On Me, did much walking for much of the two-and-a-half hour show.

The second song was We Weren't Born To Follow, the first single from their 2010 album, The Circle. But it was the older hit, You Give Love A Bad Name, that struck a major chord with the fans, who happily sang along.

"This ain't television baby, get up out of your seats!" screamed Bon Jovi as the song began. "Show me what you got!"

Among the standouts from the group's 27-year back catalogue were the anthemic Bad Medicine, Have A Nice Day, Who Says You Can't Go Home, Keep The Faith, Wanted Dead Or Alive, Livin' On A Prayer (which included fan generated videos to the song), a cover of Bob Seger's Old Time Rock N' Roll (featuring opener Kid Rock) and the ballad Always.

"If you can't have fun doing this, you're a dead man," said Bon Jovi before he broke into the Seger cover.

But there were far too many misses, such as during I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, We Got It Goin' On, Something For The Pain and In These Arms.

When Sambora later joined Bon Jovi at the front of the catwalk for I'll Be There For You and Bryan and Torres completed the lineup for Something For The Pain and Someday I'll Be Saturday Night, it was all pretty snoozy.

If I were them, I'd edit out some of the ballads from the set list and leave the crowd wanting more.

Otherwise, Kid Rock's hour-long opening set gave Bon Jovi a real run for their money. He kicked it off strongly with the trio of Rock N Roll Jesus, You Never Met A Motherf----- Quite Like Me, and All Summer Long.

"All the music you're hearing on stage tonight is live," said the the 39-year-old Detroit country-blues-hip-hop-southern-influenced rocker. "This ain't no Britney Spears b------- and all that. This is not some American Idol b-------. This is some American badass s---."

Helping out was his 10-piece Twisted Brown Trucker Band as Rock's never-ending tour in support of his last studio album, 2007's Rock N Roll Jesus, shows no sign of ending. (His next record, Born Free, produced by Rick Rubin, is expected soon).

Rock owned Bon Jovi's massive stage, walking along the circular catwalk and hi-fiving fans like he was the headliner, and even took to the piano to belt out Sly and The Family Stone's Everyday People.

But it was his own Cowboy, which saw him put on a cowboy hat and strut the catwalk again that really ignited the audience, along with the country-fuelled ballad, Picture, which saw his female backup singer Shannon Curfman take over Sheryl Crow's part of the duet as Rock inserted the lyric, "Wish I had a Toronto woman to miss me."

He also played the turntables while smoking a cigar and drinking a shot of liquor, strapped on an electric guitar, and took over on drums for a cover of Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever.

"Whoooooo! You know what that is right? It's the redneck mating call," he joked, before stripping off his shirt, amid fire bursts and fireworks during his final two songs, So Hott and Batwitdaba.

- - -

Bon Jovi set list

Blood on Blood

We Weren't Born to Follow

You Give Love a Bad Name

Born to Be My Baby

Lost Highway

Runaway

It's My Life

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

We Got It Goin' On

Bad Medicine/ Old Time Rock n' Roll featuring Kid Rock/Shout

Love's The Only Rule

Lay Your Hands on Me

Bed of Roses

I'll Be There For You

Something For The Pain

Someday I'll Be Saturday Night

In These Arms

Work for the Working Man

Have a Nice Day

Who Says You Can't Go Home

Encore

Always

Wanted Dead or Alive

Livin' on a Prayer

According to Sources the actual set list looked more like this:
Blood On Blood
We Weren't Born To Follow
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Runaway
It's My Life
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine/Old time rock 'n roll w/ Kid Rock
Love's The Only Rule
Lay Your Hands On Me (Richie On Vocs)
Bed Of Roses
I'll Be There For You (Jon/Richie)
Something For The Pain
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
In These Arms
Work For The Working Man
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep The Faith

Encore:
Always
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Living On A Prayer

Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi's bad medicine good for Edmonton

Another day, another Bon Jovi concert review.  But at least the reviewer isn't snarky and mean and wishing he or she was at some Hipster band's concert.

Bon Jovi's bad medicine good for Edmonton

BY ELIZABETH WITHEY, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM JULY 16, 2010

 

Bon Jovi performs at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton July 15, 2010

Photograph by: Larry Wong/Edmonton Journal, edmontonjournal.com

EDMONTON — As soon as I heard the chorus of Bed of Roses, I was back at the school dance in Grade 10, a hormonal, desperate dreamer singing along while watching the cool kids slow-dance, ever hopeful some hunk might someday be willing to sleep on a bed of nails in my honour.

Yup. Bon Jovi can still pound a Prairie girl’s heart into mawkish mush.

Twas the perfect night for an outdoor trip down rock memory lane at Commonwealth Stadium: clear skies, just a sliver of moon, no coat required.

The epic rock band came on as the sun set and wouldn’t stop playing until after Cinderella’s bedtime, giving the sold-out crowd of more than 40,000 a serious hit of bad medicine.

“I’m just gettin’ warmed up,” frontman Jon Bon Jovi shouted after 40 minutes. The set, well over two hours, was everything fans could hope for: all the classics (and there are a LOT of classics), video bling and plenty of close-ups of the lead singer. He’s still got it, that Jonny: the voice, the hair, that sweaty V-neck sex appeal that makes an otherwise sensible woman want to pounce and paw. Not bad for a 48-year-old father of four who’s currently suffering from a torn calf muscle. Jon injured himself at a show last Friday in New Jersey; his stage movement was noticeably limited but he grooved as best he could, punching the air and doing one-legged hops while tossing self-deprecating comments to the audience.

“You got another leg?” he asked the band. “I could use one.”

Jutting out from the stage was a raised walkway making a half-circle into the crowd, with some lucky ticket holders tucked in the middle. Jon couldn’t prowl back and forth on the walkway but he sneakily hobbled out to the front of it while guitarist Richie Sambora sang Lay Your Hands on Me.

“I like the view out here,” Jon said. “Not easy to get here but it was worth the trip.”

Support act Kid Rock got the rowdy crowd riled and gave them plenty of time to tank up on beer with an hour-long set. Fans sang along with All Summer Long and I Put Your Picture Away as the rockin’-rappin’ renegade monkeyed around on stage, standing above a turntable and playing it through his legs while smoking a cigar.

“Woooooh!” he shouted. “That’s the redneck mating call.” The gel-nailed, handlebar-mustachioed masses hollered back.

But it was Bon Jovi they’d come for. Like kittens at a bowl of milk, they lapped up Jon’s bad-boy grin and husky sound as he belted out one anthemic hit after another: You Give Love a Bad Name, Dead or Alive, Livin’ on a Prayer. And I couldn’t help but appreciate his passion performing I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead — clearly, he means what he sings.

The Bon Jovi posse may be jowlier and wrinklier but their energy Thursday was unfaltering — Sambora was unstoppable, burning up yet chilled out, chewing gum the entire show while singing backup vocals, and drummer Tico Torres bashed out beats in a perspiration-soaked frenzy. Keyboardist David Bryan’s frizzy mop is so dated yet I’m not sure I’d want it any other way. The collective wildness quelled my cynicism about vintage bands touring for the money.

These guys still love what they do.

ewithey@thejournal.canwest.com

Kid Rock is like not the best looking man in Rock N Roll, he's not the worst either, of course the ugliest man in Rock in Chad Kroger from Nickleback.  When God handed out Rock Star Pretty of course Jon was at the front of the line and by the time Chad got there (hell, even if he had been second in line) God let him know, 'Oops, sorry all out..." (I'm not insulting Nickleback as a band like some people do, I like their music, but Chad to me is U-G-L-Y).

Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi Two decades of full stadiums

I love articles where they get facts wrong, aka go to the Obie O'Brien school of Bon Jovi history.  Read the article below and let me know if you found the error.  It's so obvious.  LOL

Bon Jovi

Two decades of full stadiums

BY ERIN HARDE, FOR THE LEADER-POSTJUNE 19, 2010 4:02 AM

- - -

When rockers Bon Jovi play to 35,000 screaming fans of all ages on July 28 at Mosaic Stadium, it may be hard for some to reconcile the now middle-aged clean-cut frontman and founder Jon Bon Jovi with the '80s glam metal icon.

But his roots, quite literally, are the reason Bon Jovi and his band can still fill stadiums more than two decades later. The New Jersey group found fame as part of the hair band movement -- that is, for those too young to remember, hard rock and metal bands whose long scraggly locks, bandanas, ripped denim and tattoos defined their image and music.

Anybody who loved Bon Jovi in the '80s likely also had cassette tapes of Ratt, Poison, Slaughter and Cinderella. While those bands are still active, Bon Jovi prevailed, weathering industry changes, and persevering through the creative dry spells. Madonna may be a musical chameleon and the Rolling Stones are as indestructible as cockroaches, but hard-working Bon Jovi has held his own, and is still beloved by millions today.

So how has he remained so popular? Maybe it's because when glam metal gave way to grunge in the early '90s, he began shifting into the pop genre, attracting a brand new demographic of fans. Maybe, as any female fan will attest, it's because of his rugged good looks, with or without his famous hair. Or it could be that he's just a decent, hard working nice guy. Like fellow New Jersey legend Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi has kept his nose clean over the years.

He married his high school sweetheart Dorothea in 1987, has four children with her, and they're still married, practically unheard of in the industry. Just ask his womanizing guitarist, Richie Sambora, who found himself in plenty of mischief over the years from rehab to a high profile divorce from Heather Locklear. Bon Jovi's biggest scandal? He cut off his famous mane in the early '90s, which made headlines on CNN.

Not that the band members didn't squabble, but rather than resolving it the usual way with drunken fighting, they once retreated to the Caribbean specifically to work out their issues and discuss the future. Ultimately, the group went on hiatus a few times in the '90s, but all four members -- Bon Jovi, Sambora, drummer Tico Torres, and keyboardist David Bryan -- kept busy with solo projects, including television and movie stints in Bon Jovi's case. Even in many of those roles, like his kind contractor Victor on the Fox sitcom Ally McBeal, he was a nice guy.

In the last decade, Bon Jovi has enjoyed a huge resurgence with Crush, which featured "It's My Life," Bounce, a nod to the band's ability to bounce back into the limelight, Have a Nice Day, Lost Highway, and their latest The Circle.

Make a Bon Jovi playlist that pulls singles from each era, and it's easy to see how much the band has experimented with its sound. Classics from Slippery When Wet, like "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive," wildly vary from newest single, "We Weren't Born to Follow."

Yet, he lost few fans along the way. Regina couple Blaine and Chera Miller have been devoted to Bon Jovi since 1987.

"I was 12 years old, and had the Slippery When Wet tape," says Chera, a Grade 3 teacher at Henry Janzen School.

" 'You Give Love A Bad Name' was their No. 1 hit, and that was pretty much when I really fell in love with Bon Jovi."

Her husband picked up on Bon Jovi when sophomore album 7800° Fahrenheit was released.

"I got into that glam rock era. My friends were all into it, Motley Crue, Cinderella, the hair bands," says Blaine, a maintenance worker with the Regina Public School Board.

For the Millers, Bon Jovi isn't just a band, it's a way of life. Between them, the Millers have seen Bon Jovi nine times. Blaine first saw the group on its New Jersey tour in 1989 while Chera camped overnight at the Agridome to be the first to buy tickets for the band's 1997 performance in Saskatoon. She laughs at herself now, acknowledging that kind of dedication wasn't necessary as Bon Jovi wasn't at its peak then.

When the couple married, their first dance was to "Thank You for Loving Me," and when their second child was born, they named him Jovi, showing just how dedicated they are. Already, the one-year-old pays tribute to his namesake when he wears his Bon Jovi onesie.

"We saw him in 2006, and after watching that concert and falling in love with him all over again, I said to Blaine, 'Our next child, boy or girl, we're naming him or her Jovi.' "

Friends and family weren't surprised by the choice of name. When people think of Blaine and Chera, they think of Bon Jovi.

Like Bon Jovi and his wife, the Millers are also high school sweethearts, finding each other at F.W. Johnson Collegiate and discovering their common passion soon after dating. As members of the Bon Jovi fan club, the pair landed fourth-row seats to the Regina performance, and hope to hear tunes from their favourite Bon Jovi eras.

For Blaine, it's "Wanted Dead Or Alive," and "Blood on Blood," while Chera loves Lost Highway the best and wants to hear "(You Want To) Make a Memory" and her wedding song.

Despite their long-standing devotion to the band, the Millers have yet to meet Bon Jovi, but Chera hopes a letter she wrote to the fan club about how much Bon Jovi has impacted their lives will one day lead to a photo opportunity with her son and the band.

"I've never met him in person yet, but I'd love to."

Rosie Blais also hopes to meet him in July. Blais is lead singer of Enjoy Your Pumas, the Winnipeg act that landed the opening slot at Mosaic Stadium before Kid Rock takes the stage. The 19-year-old figures she could learn a lot from the rock veteran.

"I think I would ask him how to stay relevant, and stay real," she says.

"You gotta think about this. Bon Jovi is an enormous act, the biggest tour in the world, and he's asking local acts to open for him. He doesn't have to do that, it's so nice he does give this opportunity to people."

With ticket prices as low as $25, Bon Jovi is giving fans the chance to see a huge rock show for next to nothing. Neil Donnelly, vice-president, events and entertainment, at Evraz Place, promises the show will have all the spectacle of the Rolling Stones and AC/DC concerts.

"The lighting, the staging, the video, the audio will be just as big as what we saw at AC/DC. It will be a full-on rock show."

Rather than a catwalk through the middle of the crowd, Bon Jovi's setup will have a semi-circle jutting out from each corner of the stage. Those willing to pay more than $500 a ticket will enjoy the show from inside 'the circle,' as dubbed by the band.

Whether fans are teenagers or 30-something parents, love Slippery When Wet or Crush, once worshipped hair bands or just like to sing along to the band on the radio, they're sure to agree on one thing -- Regina is in for "one wild night."

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TOP SONGS

Selected by Tim Harrison, Jack FM.

5. "Blaze of Glory"

I know it wasn't a band song, but it just seemed perfect as the theme for the Young Guns II movie complimenting the "young dudes" cast of Kiefer Sutherland and Emilio Estevez. Plus it hit No. 1!

4. "Wanted Dead or Alive"

So fitting a song for the time period. It was the third release from Slippery When Wet, they were the biggest band in the world, jetting all over the globe on the "Steel Horse" they rode. And people clammered to see them "Dead or Alive." The video just showed the exhaustion, yet they had to bring it every night.

3. "Bad Medicine"

So, it had been two years since Slippery When Wet overtook the world, they had toured extensively and now they had a new album. How good could it be? Could it rise to the heights of Slippery? The first single answered that question. That nasty hook in the intro of the song grabbed everybody -- and the ride was on again.

2. "You Give Love a Bad Name"

Up until this point, they were another flashy young band with long hair and some catchy hooks. But when they released this song to radio, I remember getting goose-bumps playing it. The cold intro -- "Shot through the heart and you're to blame" They had no idea what this song was going to do to them for the next five years.

1. "Livin' on a Prayer"

What do you say? It's their signature song. I remember seeing them in Calgary back in the early '90s and I wasn't sure which song I most wanted to hear until half the show was over and I said to myself, "They have to do 'Livin' on a Prayer.' Everybody around kept screaming 'Livin' on a Prayer,' 'Livin' on a Prayer.' " That's when I knew this was their biggest song. Oh, and it was their final encore of the night. It may be that way July 28th at Mosaic Stadium!!!

Bon Jovi: "Jon's like the quarter-back and he'll be pulling songs out of his butt!"

In all the news about Memphis winning the big prize last night.  (Congratulations! to Dave Bryan and Co. for all the awards) I found this little bit.

Ok, Contact Music isn't the greatest source, but sometimes they have these entertaining little stories, with these obscure sources (I'm still looking for the magazine they quoted saying Jon quit smoking because of the Life Insurance costs). And the picture they use of Richie isn't the most flattering. (see Below)

Non-Stop Songwriter Jon Bon Jovi

Richie Sambora believes bandmate Jon Bon Jovi is so talented he can make music out of anything.

Jon Bon Jovi can pull songs "out of his butt".

Bon Jovi's frontman - who was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 2009 - can produce hit tracks from seemingly nowhere, according to his bandmate Richie Sambora.

The guitarist told BANG Showbiz: "Jon's like the quarter-back and he'll be pulling songs out of his butt!"

Despite having such a huge back catalogue, Bon Jovi have not stopped writing new material.

Richie explained: "About three weeks ago Jon calls me up and says, `Let's write a couple more songs'. So we wrote a couple more songs and they turned out really good. We called the band and got them back in the studio and now we're cutting them."

The group are currently mid-way through a 12-night residency at London's O2 Arena - which kicked off last Monday (07.06.10) - and have promised fans can expect something different every night.

Richie said: "In this place you're going to see a change every night because there's repeat clientele and it makes it different for us.

"Sometimes we'll just pick an obscure song we haven't done in 25 years. We've got 12 studio albums and a box set of like 50 songs that were previously unreleased.

"I think our master set list is somewhere around 90 songs."

2010 Tony Awards: Bon Jovi's David Bryan nominated for multiple Tonys

Good Luck tonight David all of us are pulling for you!!  BTW I think it's the first show he's going to miss in 27 years, but what are 4 years right? 

2010 Tony Awards: Bon Jovi's David Bryan nominated for multiple Tonys

Tris McCall/The Star-Ledger Tris McCall/The Star-Ledger

Jersey native David Bryan, best known as Bon Jovi's pianist, has found a second career on Broadway.

David Bryan is missing his first Bon Jovi concert in 23 years.

He’s got a good excuse: The rocker has important business to attend to at Radio City Music Hall tonight.

This founding member of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet is on the verge of also taking home Broadway’s highest honor.

“Memphis,” the show he wrote with stage veteran Joe DiPietro, has been nominated for eight Tony Awards, including best musical, best original score and best orchestration.

Bryan, whose dramatic piano, organ and synthesizer arrangements have always set Bon Jovi apart from its hard-rocking peers, is delighted by the unexpected success of his second career

“I’m not a guy who grew up in theater,” says Bryan, 48, who was raised in Edison and attended J.P. Stevens High School. “I’ve always played in rock bands. After my bar mitzvah in 1975, I went to see ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ and for years, that was it. Musicals weren’t on my radar.”

They certainly are now. “Memphis,” which tells the story of a white radio disc jockey audacious enough to air black music in the early ’50s, has connected with the Broadway audience.

“We’re more than chugging along,” says Bryan, “making money every week.”

“Toxic Avenger,” a second collaboration with DiPietro based on the cult Troma film about a radioactive Jersey superhero, won the 2009 Outer Critics Circle Award for best off-Broadway musical. And the pair are hard at work on yet another production: “Chasing the Song,” which seeks to do for early-’60s Brill Building pop what “Memphis” did for the dawn of rock ’n’ roll.

As purposeful as it all seems now, Bryan admits that his introduction to Broadway songwriting was anything but. Frustrated by his inability to sell his original solo compositions to cover artists, Bryan told his publisher he wouldn’t write another until he’d had a song placed with a performer.

“My publisher asked, ‘How about musicals?’ ” Bryan recalls, “and I answered ‘What are they?’ He said, ‘What if I told you I could get 20 of your songs covered eight times a week?’ ”

“I said, ‘Sold.’ ”

While the rock ’n’ roll subject matter of “Memphis” appealed to the Bon Jovi pianist — as did the chance to tell the story of a forbidden interracial romance — it was DiPietro’s script that really caught Bryan’s attention.

“I read it through,” says Bryan, “and I immediately imagined what you see and hear onstage right now. The words were all in the right patterns for songwriting. I heard every one of the songs in my head.”

Excited, Bryan contacted DiPietro. The Oradell native, who’d written the lyrics to the long-running hit “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” asked the rocker to send him a demo version of one of the “Memphis” songs. Bryan chose “Music of My Soul” (“the heart of the story,” he says, “and the heart of the main character”), and got to work.

“I went right down to the studio,” says Bryan, who, despite his long résumé, had no reservations about auditioning for his new role. “I played piano, organ and bass, mixed it all together and FedExed it to him. I talked to him at noon, I put it all together, and got it to Joe by 5:30.”

“He said, ‘If you’re not crazy, you’ve got the gig.’ ”

While nothing in “Memphis” sounds like Bon Jovi, Bryan’s long experience in rock bands helped him conceptualize the rest of the score.

“I thought of the show as a set-list,” says Bryan. “I knew we needed hit choruses. I knew where I wanted to put the emotional rides, and I knew the value of a big singalong anthem. Before I was in Bon Jovi, I played in a horn band with Jon, so when it came time to orchestrate ‘Memphis’, I definitely knew what I wanted to hear.”

At first, the immediacy of Bryan’s writing bewildered some of his collaborators. Broadway musicals are notoriously talky, and not everybody who worked on “Memphis” shared the pianist’s insistence that each song have a memorable hook.

“I’d be asked, ‘Why do you keep repeating that one part?’” says Bryan. “I’d remind them that some of the great Broadway songs have refrains, and if people are singing the chorus on the way out of the show, you know you’ve got a hit.”

The cast and crew of “Memphis” quickly came to respect Bryan’s dedication. And Bryan, who has toured stadiums all over the world with Bon Jovi — no minor undertaking — was astonished by the intricacy and scale of the Broadway enterprise.

“It’s the most complicated beast I’ve ever seen,” says the pianist. “It’s hard enough to write the music and the lyrics. Then you’ve got to orchestrate, you’ve got to do the sets, the choreography. We’re talking about 15-hour days, and then at night, you take notes and rewrite. The emotions are boiling.”

Once unaware of Broadway, Bryan is now hooked on the intensity of the stage. In between Bon Jovi tours, while his bandmates are resting, he’ll get to work on another play — and he doesn’t plan to slow down any time soon.

“I’m a lucky guy. I’m in an amazing band, and I found this new door, and opened it up.”

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