Go vote at VH1 for Superman Tonight. If we get it to #1, Jon's promised an acoustic version of Superman courtesy of him and Richie -- from backstage!
I have to hope that means that they'll web-cast another show (or part of one) and start with the acoustic treat? Or maybe it'll just be posted on Facebook.
Either way, go vote. An acoustic treat is too good to pass up!
Bon Jovi fans listen up! CelebritiesForCharity.org is running a special raffle that gives you the opportunity to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience with the band and help charity at the same time.
The prize pack includes:
Winner and a guest will enjoy two floor level seats to Bon Jovi's “The Circle World Tour” at the new Meadowlands Stadium grand opening concert (7:00 pm Wednesday, May 26, 2010).
Winner and a guest will enjoy two tickets to “The VIP Experience” and attend a special backstage tour before the concert, including dinner with some of the actual crew.
Winner and a guest will enjoy 2 night hotel accommodations at the 5 star Plaza Hotel.
Winner and a guest will receive 2 round-trip business class Delta Airline tickets.
Winner and a guest will dine at two of New York’s most exclusive restaurants Nobu Fifty Seven and the Red Eye Grill.
Winner or guest will receive a haircut and styling from a senior stylist at Bumble and Bumble.
Tickets to the raffle – which runs until May 19 – are only $2. Proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Celebrities For Charity. Enter the raffle here
One is a collaboration among Tre, Jonny/Richie's Gina, and Bayaderra, called Love's The Only Rule He came, he Twittered, He found us and the craziness that follows.
The second is by WildFlower, called Something For the Pain This story is more about family than romance. Sydney Shepard's parents were killed and Richie is her new guardian. Its a story about their ups and downs as they become a family....
In case you were, oh, um, ASLEEP at around 9:30pm EST last night, Matty B tweeted something about looking for someone who lived in London who was interested in a temporary job.
Of course, I tweeted right back that I was willing to relocate, but he [apparently] did't find that as humorous as I did.
I didn't see any other details before I went off to bed, but it may be something you wanna poke around about.
On April 14, HomeAid Atlanta and Phoenix Pass dedicated a newly constructed apartment building and community center on the campus of Light House Village in Conyers. The complex will be operated by Phoenix Pass, a nonprofit organization, to provide long-term transitional housing for families, particularly women with children, who are experiencing temporary homelessness in the Conyers/Rockdale County community. Held at the site of the complex, the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony was a celebration of the completion of construction on the apartment building, which will provide the first transitional housing in Rockdale County.
The apartment building at Phoenix Pass is EarthCraft-certified, meeting the guidelines of the EarthCraft House green building program. Each single-family apartment unit features a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a private bathroom. The lighthouse community center, designed as a resource and opportunity development center for program participants, includes an activity room, meeting room, laundry room, storage area, four restrooms, two kitchenettes and a staff office. A second apartment building, which is also planned to be EarthCraft-certified, is scheduled to be constructed in a future phase.
The Phoenix Pass program is designed to serve the needs of families experiencing temporary homelessness by giving them an opportunity to reestablish self-sufficiency in a residential setting. The focus of the program is to empower these families with supportive services and the resources to recover and rebuild a productive, stable lifestyle for themselves and their family. The complex will provide families with housing for up to two years along with curriculum/community-based education in career advancement, financial planning and budgeting, and guidance in family care and management, to help these families get back on their feet. The complex will eventually accommodate up to 90 program participants at any given time.
And he's all sorts of sweaty....
And smirking....
And the dimple...
And the earring....
And the rosary beads.... (for which I'm going straight to Hell, I just know it)
Rock star Jon Bon Jovi traded thousands of cheering fans Wednesday night for a quiet circle with a few kids Thursday afternoon.
The singer visited the Oasis Center, Nashville’s only shelter for homeless teens, as part of his effort to understand what he calls “the new face of homelessness in America.”
“The Oasis Center is really a beacon to youth,” Bon Jovi said. “Having service providers at the same place that they can get a hot meal, a nap and a shower, it’s a very welcoming place.”
Bon Jovi spent about an hour with some of the Oasis kids. He sat in a circle with them, did yoga just as they do to start off a session, and then listened to kids talk about what made them homeless and what could help them escape their condition.
“He was so engaged. He wasn’t being a rock star,” said Liz Workman, the center’s educational coordinator. “He was just someone who is really, really passionate about this issue.”
Her kids felt very empowered by being asked for solutions, she said, and talked frankly about the abuse or family tragedies they’d fled, about how simply lacking a birth certificate made it impossible to get a job or aid.
“You could tell he was honestly shocked by some of these situations,” Workman said.
Afterward, Bon Jovi said the Oasis Center’s array of services was innovative.
Almost 2,000 kids in the past year have used the Oasis drop-in center, a small room with a couch, some chairs, and a couple of computer terminals. Some days it has four or five kids; some days it’s 15 or 16.
They can get a hot meal, talk to a counselor, make a telephone call or take a shower. “Some just need to sleep because they’ve been out on the streets,” said Oasis CEO Hal Cato.
Others use the overnight shelters, one for emergencies and one for long-term stays. The two bedrooms for emergency overnight stays are full every night, said counselor Jenny Gray. One boy had spent two nights wnadering the streets after trying to stay in an adult mission where he was beaten up and robbed.
Nashville has about 300 homeless youths at any time, Cato said. “They fly below the radar screen,” he said.
Bon Jovi said: “The face of homelessness has changed dramatically. It’s a lot of kids, a lot of single moms. It’s a lot of hardworking Americans coast to coast that have been displaced these past couple of years. They don’t need a handout — they need a hand up.”
The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a Philadelphia-based charity, builds affordable housing, 250 units over the past six years. But affordable housing is the top rung on the ladder, Bon Jovi said, for those who can make it out. He wants to change the culture that causes homelessness.
“It’s going to take money and effort and getting the word out,” he said.
“Over the years, I’ve had the ear of government officials. I hope that by being on the streets, and out of the Beltway, that I can provide information and have an impact, on the HUD secretary and even the president,” Bon Jovi said.
Say what you like about Jon -- how he doesn't keep his promises to the fans, or only does it grudgingly -- but when it's stuff that really makes a difference in the world... well he comes through and sticks with it.
For those of you who can't get to FB from wherever you are right now, here's the transcript:
hey everybody
thank you so much for helping ‘Superman’ get to where it is on the vh1 charts, which is currently at #4! of course we want you to help us get it all the way to #1 and keep the single going as we wind down on this leg of the tour.
but I will make a bet with you and a deal: if you can get it to #1 on the vh1 top 20 charts richie and I will do a special acoustic version of ‘Superman’ in our dressing room just for you guys.
get it to #1 and force us to sing you a song.
thanks a lot for your help – jbj
So I gotta know. Will he invite us ALL into the dressing room?
Seriously, though, an acoustic ANYTHING is so totally getting under my defenses. So yeah, I voted.
Bon Jovi's "The Circle" World Tour is coming to the New Meadowland Stadium in just a few weeks! Q104.3 and Sanson Automall has your ticket in! Join Q104.3 at Sansone Automall Saturday, May 1st. We'll be giving away free Bon Jovi tickets! Bon Jovi tribute band "Bad Medicine featuring Steve Sage" will perform "live"! Plus, enjoy free food & drinks from Premio Sausage and Vitamin Water! The fun starts at 12 noon Saturday, May 1st, at Sansone Auto, Route One in Woodbridge, NJ with Q104.3!
SO -- there ya go. Anyone planning to go? While you're there, take a stroll down Richie Sambora way...
The Royal Beach Concert in Scheveningen on 5 June featuring Bon Jovi is facing problems. The Council has still not issued the necessary permit, as both access and safety are "seriously under par".
The organisers have been told to come up with better plans this week, or the concert will be cancelled, according to a spokesman for the Mayor of The Hague, Jozias van Aartsen.
The concert was also due to star the Hague bands Kane and Di-rect. Some 30,000 tickets have already been sold. Last year’s Royal Beach Concert was also cancelled. The organisers said that they had not had enough time to prepare everything.
If you're reading this and you're alive, you have had a day where you really REALLY wish you had taken that "left toin at Albuquerque". (If you're dead and reading this, please: keep quiet and do not freak out my devotees. I love them dearly.)
Today was that day for me.
Started out not to shabby at oh-dark-fifteen and a little voice whispering, "Momma? I had a scary dream, can I sleep with you?" No matter how zonked I am, no matter how far I have gone into the land of Nod, my child's voice is the best alarm clock ever. It gets me up in an instant (note to self, record that, and play it as my alarm; maybe then I won't be late for work). I was out of bed before I even all the way awake. Within three seconds, Hathlet was burrowed in the warm spot I had just vacated.
Hathlet weighs a solid 90 pounds. That's 90 pounds of dead weight on a foam mattress. He wasn't moving easily. I finally got him shoved mostly over into the middle of the bed, climbed back in, and TRIED to grab another hour or so of sleep. Apparently, Hathlet was a soccer star in a former life, and I now sport the shin bruises to prove it. Finally, after finding that I could no longer perch precariously on the edge of my MemoryFoam bed, and seeing that it was close to time for my BEEP-BEEP-BEEP alarm to go off, I got up and trudged down to the shower. (Of course, Mr. Hath slept through the whole episode. This morning he emails me "Why was [Hathlet] in our bed?". King of the observant, my DH...If there's ever a house fire, you-know-who will be the crispy critter at the bottom of the rubble.)
Fast forward to when I was TRYING to get to the train station only to be behind every Grandma-on-a-cell-phone in three towns. Now don't get me wrong. I totally adore Grandmas. Even driving Grandmas. My 90-year old Grandma still drives. Quite well actually. But she's smart enough to NOT use the cell phone while doing it.
The train was an adventure today, having to stop, back up, switch tracks, hook up to a broken down train, and push said doorstop all the way to Boston. Good thing I was on an early train for FUN and not because I actually have to be to work at 7am...
It went downhill from there with a steady stream of interruptions drop-ins whom I felt compelled to help because [a] it's part of my job description, and [b] I'd get in trouble for saying "I don't know, I don't care, go away".
Endless conference calls, scores of emails answered (not including the 140+ emails exchanged with the Fictionistas today -- the literal high point of my morning) random drop-ins, an exploding green pen.... And that was all just this morning
Lunchtime rolled around (note I didn't say "lunch".... I don't think I've had lunch at work in the last 3 years) and the first of six afternoon meetings. Oh joy.
I'm on a break in these meetings for the moment, but have one in another 5 minutes, so I'd better type faster.
I get to go home (on the train again, which BETTER be on time) to a cranky Mr. Hath (oh joy), a mountain of laundry, and an unfinished work to-do list that will keep me up late tonight.
SO, yeah, it's been one of those days.
One of those days when I wish I had made a different turn at the end of the driveway.
Or at the end of the block.
Or that I had passed my exit by, and headed down to Nashville...Darlin' would have made it. She wouldn't have let me down.
But none of that happened. I played the part of "Responsible Adult #1", and pfft! It isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Needless to say, I needed me a little something to perk me up. Now I know, I posted all those shirtless-Jon photos today, and you're saying that should have done it.
Nope.
I needed me some Richie.
And I found some. One of my favorite songs, and one of my favorite performances of said song.
Remember the snit the Jovi machine got in over the mijovi energy drink? Well, the lawyers will have something else to chew on for a while. The HTC Jovi. No, that isn't the official name, but it's in the running as the name for HTC's new smartphone.
HTC is asking folks to vote for what they think the name of the new phone should be.
The choices? The HTC Jovi, Wildfire, Zeal or Festi. Go to Facebook to cast your vote.
The boys are in Nashville tonight, at the Bridgestone Arena. Dave gave a few words to The Tennessean about the album, Prayer, and the possibility of a collab with a Nashville Notable...
Their 2007 album Lost Highway flirted with Nashville sounds, but Bon Jovi — who play Bridgestone Arena tonight — decided to return to the anthemic hard rock of hits such as "Livin' on a Prayer" on their new album.
Still, keyboardist David Bryan doesn't see The Circle as a throwback, but a brand-new chapter.
"The circle, for us, it's not coming back to anywhere," he says. "It keeps going on and on. It's the endless road of getting better at your craft, doing as well as you can and having fun with it. For us it's more of a continuum."
As Bryan points out, the band's still finding new frontiers as they enter their 27th year. In addition to cracking the country music world, they performed at the Grammys for the first time this year, performing "Who Says You Can't Go Home" and "Livin' On a Prayer" with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles.
Bryan says playing "Prayer" is still a thrill. "You know what? I love it. I love starting that song, and everybody goes crazy. You never get tired of it."
As for the possibility of a Music City star joining the band on stage tonight, Bryan says that hasn't been confirmed. "One never knows about the surprises. We don't know yet, but potentially."
As always, check out the Bon Jovi Circle Tour blog in the days following the show to catch videos, MP3 downloads, pictures, reviews, and more!
You can now purchase new official photographs of Bon Jovi both performing live and intimate backstage shots. These high quality images can be purchased in a variety of sizes and expose new sides of the band--these are a definite must-have for your collection. Check them out at Bonjovi.tourphotographer.com and also the new Gigapans from Atlanta (GA), Tampa(FL), and Sunrise (FL) at Bonjovi.com/gigapan.
According to this article, Jon Bon Jovi is on the guest list again this year.
Seventeen Washington, D.C. students will receive $132,000 in college scholarships from the White House Correspondents' Association to pursue careers in journalism.
The winners will be introduced at the association's May 1 fundraising dinner, where entertainer Jay Leno will be a featured speaker.
And for the first time in its 96-year history, the association is taking action to reduce the carbon impact of its annual black-tie gala; these actions include using as much as possible renewable energy for the event, paper products, supplies and services that reduce the threat of global warming, deforestation, toxic wastes, hazardous chemicals and species extinction.
"This will be the most eco-friendly dinner ever hosted by the association,'' said Edwin Chen, the group's president and a Bloomberg News White House correspondent.
"And we encourage our members and guests to join in that effort, such as by car-pooling, using hybrid vehicles and, for long-distance travelers to Washington, buying carbon-offsets,'' Chen said.
The association also will announce at the dinner, to be held at the Washington Hilton Hotel, this year's winners of the Edgar A. Poe, the Merriman Smith and the Aldo Beckman awards, three of journalism's most prestigious prizes.
So far, there are no tour conflicts with that date, so who knows? I do know that there are quite a few people who would LOVE to see him in a tux again :)
~ Hath
Update: If you want to watch last year's arrivals, JonBon makes an appearance around 4:17.
You know by know that Jon Bon Jovi is a fan of helping the homeless. He’s also, apparantly, a fan of high school girls lacrosse. The rock star, in town for a sold out, two-night stint at the American Airlines Center, made an unexpected appearance at last night’s showdown between ESD and Highland Park at Highlander Stadium.
“I don’t know why he was there, but I’m not complaining,” says Highland Park coach Amanda Walker.
But in case you’re wondering what the venerable rocker is doing stopping by random high school sporting events, word is that he was there with guitarist Richie Sambora visiting friends Shy and Charlotte Anderson (daughter of Jerry Jones), whose daughter plays for HP.
Bon Jovi’s magic didn’t quite wear off on HP. ESD won the game 20-9.
Richie Sambora recently discussed the Bon Jovi stadium shows, Kid Rock, and Bon Jovi’s O2 residency in London with the press. He was interviewed with five different radio stations in various cities so be sure to check it out.
The bonus live tracks include songs taken from sound checks and concerts held in venues from all over the world, ranging from 500 seat theatres to massive football stadiums. Many of the live versions are extended, including "Get Ready" (Bon Jovi), "In and Out Of Love" (7800 Fahrenheit), "Blood on Blood" (New Jersey), "Keep The Faith" (Keep The Faith), and a duet featuring Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland performing "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (Have A Nice Day) with the band.
This "Special Edition" collection will feature new packaging. Each CD will feature new artwork, including images from each period, and new liner notes documenting the band's success through each stage of their twenty-five year career. Exclusive soft-pack versions will also contain reproductions of laminated tour credentials.
Additionally, each "Special Edition" will provide fans with the ability to gain "backstage access" to The Bon Jovi Vaults — a website being created to offer exclusive virtual content, including photos, tour memorabilia and additional live audio tracks.
This sounds interesting. As someone who has supplemented her collection from iTunes, it will be nice to have "hard copy" versions of the all studio records. Still, though, one has to wonder how much higher than normal these will be priced as they're "special edition" CDs -- especially those with those tour credential reproductions.
Or maybe I'm just being cynical on this sunny Monday.
A review sent to me by my Jovi-pal Lisa from LI. Sounds like she and her son both had a fantastic time!!
I decided to take my son Kyle who is 12 (almost 13) with me to the show to witness the first Bon Jovi show of his life to see why Mom is such a lunatic over the band!! I asked my hubby, but, he was really not interested (as I could tell by the rolling of the eyes). My 16 year old daughter, Kristin was supposed to be my partner in crime but she went to Disneyworld and sang with her High School Choir for a singing competition. (They got a trophy and placed at the event woohoo). We arrived at the venue (St. Pete Times Forum) very early @6:30 and we decided to go in(what the hell).....we knew we had seats on the floor but not sure how close....so, we were 9 rows from the circle...right in the center....both Kyle and I looked at each other and started to scream and shake..yippee for us!! I asked him if he wanted to get a soda or anything....he said he was shaking too much to leave his seat!!!! So, everyone is starting to get their seats and we made fast friends with everyone around us sharing Jon stories and gushing over how much we love the band..yada, yada, yada....So, I go up to the circle(just to check it out) and this girl comes running over to me....OMG..your are Gina from Long Island..you go to a lot of shows don't you?? Now, for those of you who dont know me I am from Long Island originally (only been in Florida 8 years) and I look like every Italian girl from Long Island and I am thinking...hmmmm...should I go with this??? I was like no I am Lisa from Long Island...and she is like Oh I am Emily...blah, blah, blah...is that your son? How cute...is this his first Bon Jovi show...etc....anyway...not to bore you but, you kinda feel like a family as you start talking to everyone around you and in Tampa.....lots of people are from Long Island and New Jersey so, I felt like I was HOME!!! Ok..now I will fast forward.....Dashboard Confessional started at 7:30pm...very cute lead singer..ok band..singer looks like the lead singer from Green Day...starting to shake some more...where is Bon Jovi?? I thought they might start early..but no...8:45 start time!!!
This is Our House starts playing....I decide to call some friends to listen in. I do this several times through the night..seems to have worked out well!!!
Ok..Lights get dark and loud screams and here comes HRH.....melt, melt....I had a clear shot of him from my seat...really, I tried to imagine that he was playing to me alone in my living room.....the illusion worked..all I could see was HRH and I was just blown away by his well, beauty.......really the youtube vids and pics do him no justice..the man is A WORK OF ART!!!!! Kyle at this point, is standing on his chair, a sea of women all around him giving him high 5's and asking him if he is having a great time (how cute)!!!
So, of course, the 3rd song You Give Love a Bad Name...got the most screams... boy can he move his behind (duh), I was blown away by When We Were Beautiful.....when I watch it on youtube the song does not blow me away but LIVE..OMG....he sings it with such LOVE...that you just wanna cry!!! The Whole Crowd seemed to LOVE, LOVE Superman Tonight....loud screams on that one...again, very very nice LIVE, and then when he sings We Got It Going On.....the place just erupts as he is climbing the robots....I really mean it...the crowd went NUTS!!! Ok, so, he finally comes out to the CIRCLE and he is so close to me that it almost seemed Surreal......you know?? So, me and the LOUD and VERY FUN, Jersey Girls in front of me were hugging each other and screaming and saying how Mother EFFIN hot he is...what a blast...those girls added to the fun of the night!!! And then Richie joined him in the Circle for I'll Be There For You and I have a new love of Richie....he is extremely handsome up close..his muscles are to die for...the videos and pics dont show the real Richie!! Then, of course, David and Tico join the boys on the Circle...and for those of you who know me, I love David.....also such a cutie pie....but really, as much as I love him...it was all about Jon for me last night...Jon was playing to me in my living room and 15,000 other people were invited!!!
There were a couple of cute moments.....
When Jon introduces Richie to play Lay Your Hands on Me He says....this is my roomie from last night....I am figuring they stayed in South Florida....in Miami as witnessed by the paparrazi pics out there..they both giggled..it was cute
Then during one song...damn, I cannot remember which one....Jon says...I have an Aunt and she lives here in Florida and this is her favorite song
Then, during KTF....Jon stops playing the maracas at the beginning looks at David and gives Tico the stink eye.....I want to see that on video to get the full effect but, it looked like Stink Eye to me...it also looked like he stopped singing too....I am not totally sure on this but that is what it looked like to me!!! If anyone else knows the story..let me know!!!
And finally, when the amazing night was over, my son turned to me and said "MOM, this was the HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE"........I smiled at him and said "Mission Accomplished"!!!!!!
It's a Friday night video shoot at the storied Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, and cavernous Soundstage E is rockin'.
Inside a tunnel of billowing white silk and flashing blue lights, Jon Bon Jovi lets loose on "Superman Tonight," the Jersey boy's paean to everyday heroes.
Off to the side, Bon Jovi's longtime lead guitarist, Richie Sambora, watches on a monitor with two extras from Philadelphia. Back in the day, he tells the women, shoots like this were an excuse for blow-your-mind bacchanalia. "It was a lot more fun then," he laments.
"But Richie, think of how far you've come," one offers cheerily. "It's Friday night and here you are, hanging out with a nun."
Sambora answers Sister Mary Scullion with a howl.
Read the rest of this GREAT article to get a glimpse into all the good that Jon's friends, and founders of Project HOME (Sister Mary Scanlon and Joan McConnon) have and are trying to accomplish.
