Bon Jovi: rockin' on

An excerpt from an article with Jon on Independent.ie:

"We're on the longest tour we've done since the mid-90s -- about 130 shows in. Last night I did three hours and 10 minutes. And there ain't no drum solos at a Bon Jovi concert. That's me singing for three hours. The point is, we are smart and old enough now to pace a tour properly."

By 'pacing' he means foregoing the traditional rockstar perks of drugs, four-in-a-bed romps and champagne-filled hot-tubs.

Post-concert, Bon Jovi whizzed back to his hotel room and tried to switch on the TV. When he couldn't get the remote control working, he figured it was time to call it a night. He brushed his teeth, read a few pages of a book and killed the lights. The picture he paints is of a travelling salesman knocking off early after a successful but basically run-of-the-mill day (it comes as no surprise to learn Bon Jovi's pastimes include wine collecting and cooking). We're not exactly talking Ozzy Osbourne snorting powdered virgin blood out of a groupie's armpit.

"One minute you're in front of 75,000 people in a stadium that's as big as that one we played in Ireland, what was it called? Croke Park.

"You come back, you're sitting in your room by yourself and your ears are ringing. I couldn't figure out how to get the TV or the internet to work. So I said, 'oh well, time to go to bed'.

There is also a small blurb about Richie's time in rehab:

There were fears Sambora, a big-hearted dude with a weakness for the arena-hero lifestyle, might be out of commission for the rest of the year, a huge setback given that his backing vocals and guitar parts are integral to the Bon Jovi sound.

However, he has returned to the fold and remains on the wagon. Bon Jovi's publicists have insisted the subject is off limits, so it's somewhat surprising that the singer brings it up himself. "Richie has fought the good fight," he says. "He's back on his feet again and he's swinging with everything he's got, every time he has the chance to do it."

~ Hath