BJCT Post: Madison Square Garden

Bon Jovi was in NYC last night!

Check out the BJCT for reviews, the setlist, photos, and videos/audio (as we find it).

Do you have anything you want to share? Drop a line to the BJCT Blog Team

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivators: Muse

Bay -- I love this picture -- his feet just kill me.

~ Hath

BJCT Post: Madison Square Garden

Bon Jovi was in NYC last night!

Check out the BJCT for reviews, the setlist, photos, and videos/audio (as we find it). 

Do you have anything you want to share? Drop a line to the BJCT Blog Team

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivator: Squirrels

Dammit, Catte, now I have that song stuck in my head!

~ Hath

Q&A: Richie Sambora

CE Pro Magazine (the leading trade publication for professionals involved in the custom electronics business) has a great Q&A session with Richie on their website. Here's a taste:

People listen to everything from low-resolution MP3 files to high-res 24-bit/96kHz WAV files. Do you have preferences?
The WAV file is better than a low-resolution file. It’s harder to transport, because it’s a dense file when compared to low-resolution file. Look,compressed music is not going to sound as good as analog ever, it just can’t, but the ear does get use to it.

From a musician/songwriter’s perspective, do you think that compressed music takes away from the listening experience?
Honestly, what happens is the ear trains itself to listen to it. A lot of people don’t know what analog sound is - I would say the majority of people. You have to be, what, 40 to know what analog was even, and then to actually remember it?

For my birthday someone recently got me an amazing gift. Somebody bought me a bunch LPs [vinyl], and now I’ve got to go out and get myself a record player. I’m looking forward to [playing them], and that I’ll be an analog freak. I can’t wait to go out and get all this stuff and re-visit all of that [vinyl and analog].

My ear is now trained to listening to digital music. It’s all conditioning.

If you could recommend any Bon Jovi or solo material recording (videos and CDs) for a killer home theater/music system demo, what would you choose and why?
All of our stuff sounds pretty good. Obviously, if you’re looking for a classic Bon Jovi album, Slippery When Wet is that. I think as an audiophile [recording], New Jersey may be the best-sounding record that we’ve made, because it’s the last analog record that we made. The production team of Bruce Fairburn and Bob Rock [put together New Jersey], and unfortunately Bruce died [in 1999]; it was Bob’s last album as an engineer. (Rock went on to produce Motley Crue’s Dr. Feelgood and Metallica’s “Black” album immediately following his work on New Jersey.)

To put Bruce and Bob together with the songs that Jon and I wrote - Jon and I were also becoming producers at that time - to put four record producers in the room who really wanted to make a great record, that really wanted to do something special, and to follow up Slippery when Wet was no easy task, but we did. We had more top-10 hits on Jersey than we had on Slippery.

DVD wise, I would say Bon Jovi Live from Madison Square Garden from the last tour is the best sounding that we have so far. It’s also well shot by a guy named Phil Griffin, and it’s mixed by our longtime cohort and engineer Obie O’Brien. He did an amazing job.

Visit the website for the full interview.

~ Hath

Vancouver Information

From the Bon Jovi website:

Bon Jovi continues to bring their signature Grammy Award-winning sound to legions of fans across the U.S. and Canada this year. The iconic band will take the stage at Rogers Arena for two back-to-back concerts in Vancouver.

On Friday, March 25th, special guest Atlantic Records singer-songwriter Ryan Star will perform the opening set at 7:30pm. Star’s recent album, entitled 11:59, debuted at #10 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart, and made it to #4 on Billboard Tastemaker Albums chart upon its 2010 release. For more information, visit http://www.rstar.net/.

On Saturday, March 26th, the Grammy-winning headliners will be the sole performers for An Evening with Bon Jovi, during which fans will be treated to a special unforgettable night packed with Bon Jovi hits. The show is set to begin at 7:30pm. Tickets are still available for this final Vancouver appearance of the tour, and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, online at http://www.ticketmaster.ca/ or charge by phone at 1-855-985-5000.

~ Hath

Richie Interviews -- Access Hollywood

Thanks, CK, for dropping these links in my inbox this morning!!!

Did Richie Sambora Almost Join KISS?
During New York Fashion Week, Richie Sambora tells Access about how he tried out for KISS. Also, what’s going on with the tour for Bon Jovi?


2011 NY Fashion Week: Richie Sambora Reveals His New Clothing Line
Richie Sambora and designer Nikki Lund chat with Access about their clothing line, WTB. So, what has Richie learned about women from working in fashion? Plus, Richie tells Access how proud he is of daughter Ava when she walked the catwalk and how poised she was when she met Justin Bieber.

2011 New York Fashion Week: Richie Sambora & Gwen Stefani Show Off Their New Style!
During New York’s Fashion Week, Richie Sambora reveals his new fashion line, White Trash Beautiful, co-designed with Nikki Lund. Plus, Gwen Stefani is thrilled to showcase her new L.A.M.B. Fall 2011 Collection.

I can't watch any of the videos from work, so hopefully the links are working for you all.
~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivator: Hangover

OK, Bay, maybe Catte was right yesterday...

~ Hath

JonBon Sighting Opportunity

As found on Twitter:

tigrs99 Amit Sambora 

Jon@bonjovi will be filming New Year Eve today at Park Ave 37/38th

Doesn't say what time, or anything, but if you're in the area, it wouldn't hurt to stop by...

~ Hath

Soraia Interview - March 2

This popped in my Google Reader, then popped right back out because it's not March 1st yet. Expect to see this on Bon Jovi's website on Tuesday:

Don't forget SORAIA will be opening up for Bon Jovi at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia tomorrow!

From 11am - 3pm, SORAIA will have an interview that will air on 93.3 WMMR Philly.

To listen to their interview, visit http://www.wmmr.com/.

If you haven't heard of Soraia, and don't know what all the hype is, check out Catte's House for her latest post regarding the show she went to last weekend. 
About SORAIA

Heart, Soul, and Rock ‘n’ Roll are the rare, potent blend - the perfect storm of passion that fuels Philadelphia fivesome SORAIA. Infusing their hard-hitting, no-frills rock ‘n’ roll with soulful influences drawn from their muses, SORAIA creates songs immediately reminiscent of tunes you’ve been humming your entire life. Listening to SORAIA is coming back home to the open arms of authentic, real rock ‘n’ roll. Formed in 2004, SORAIA is Travis Smith on Bass, Stephen Thomas on Lead Guitar, Stuart Herder on rhythm guitar, and Joe Armstrong on drums. At the helm is the force of nature that is alpha frontwoman ZouZou Mansour. Channeling her inner demons and gutwrenching passion, Mansour’s naked with emotion vocals touch the most passive of listeners to their very core.

In the studio and on stage, each band member leaves his distinctive fingerprint on the music; but whether it’s her honey-whiskey voice enveloping you in a warm embrace or her primal ferocity displayed during a live performance, it’s Mansour’s unyielding intensity and soul-searching lyrics which set SORAIA apart from the wannabes chasing the fame bandwagon.

Smart and funny, confident and brazen, wounded and resolved, tender and tough, leather and lace, one of the boys yet a girl’s girl, everyone wants a piece of Zou. Nowhere is the true Zou Mansour more visible than on stage during one of SORAIA’s ferociously energetic, intoxicating live shows. Whether in a hot, sweaty rock club or a massive amphitheatre, her charisma and spirit transcends the concert stage and reaches all those who witness SORAIA live.

SORAIA is the real deal, focused on songwriting, sacrifice...sweat. SORAIA is about the music and the sweet release it brings when you give yourself over and lose yourself to it. Mansour’s primal vocals and seductive presence onstage is hypnotic. Thomas’s guitar work is stellar, and Smith, Herder, and Armstrong join forces to create a rhythmic musical union: tight and sonically confident. Together, SORAIA live is a raw, raunchy, dirty eruption of flesh and sound: all the allure and danger rock ‘n’ roll promised to be.

The band has traversed the United States since 2007, playing clubs and festivals, improving their live performances and building their fan base. Making a life in rock ‘n’ roll these days ain’t easy. None of the old rules apply, except one. Success is built the hard way: through work, focus and passion. SORAIA is the presence of rock ‘n’ roll and the future of rock ‘n’ roll.

~ Hath

Wanted Wednesday: Denver 2006

Please rise for the playing of our national anthem.

Another "This day in history" days. The show today is from this date back in 2006.  I'm starting to feel a little bit like Casey Kasem.

"You know this one, right? Lemme hear you sing..."

I love watching the expressions on their faces when 20,000+ people are singing their music back to them. You can see in that moment, the appreciation and love they have for the fans. They know we get it, and in that moment, we know they get that we get it. It's a perfect moment of clarity and mutual understanding.

So, the audience sings the first verse, and Richie comes in for the second. All growly and lovely and sexy and damn. Jon picks up for the chorus, and they go on from there in another very strong performance.

Let's Ride!





You can download the track here.

~ Hath

Istanbul Pre-Sale

From the Bon Jovi website:

Exclusive Backstage JBJ Pre-sale for Istanbul Beginning Tomorrow, Feb. 23rd!

Bon Jovi will be performing at Dunya Ticaret Merkezi in Istanbul, TR on July 8, 2011! Amazing tickets are available exclusively for Backstage JBJ Members beginning Wednesday, February 23rd at 10AM Local Venue Time. Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning Friday, February 25th at 10AM Local Venue Time.

Visit BonJovi.com/Tour for more details on how you can get your tickets and for a full listing of 2011 concert dates.

Not a member yet or need to renew? Join now by visiting BonJovi.com/Join.

~ Hath

Richie Print Interview

Richie Sambora on His WTB Fashion Line, His Ex Cher, and Why He Thinks Being A Little Trashy Is a Part of Femininity

Last week, as Gwen Stefani was showing her L.A.M.B. collection in the Lincoln Center Tents, another rocker, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, was hosting the New York debut of WTB—or—White Trash Beautiful, the fashion line he designs with Nikki Lund. Shown at the Metropolitan Pavilion, the models walked to music which was also co-created by the designers. We spoke with Richie about his views on fashion, women and his very atypical life as a designer.

Racked: When did you start being interested in doing a collection and what made you take the plunge?

Richie: It came out of a song idea I had called "White Trash Beautiful," which was obviously about a girl on the wrong side of the tracks, but she was a fox and everybody dug her. Jon [Bon Jovi] and I had written the song, and it obviously was something we would have wrote when we were in our 20s—it didn't actually fit the style of what we are saying now, being more grown-up. So we shelved the song. Now we fast forward six months, and I'm walking around my house one day and I said, "You know, that really sounds like a cool name for a women's fashion line." So I called my agent and I started to meet people, and he hooked me up with this wonderful girl, Nikki Lund, who had an existing company called Eccentric Symphony. We hit it off and she got exactly what my vision was.

She came over my house a couple of days later, with a truck-load full of fabrics and we just started to jam just almost like song writers. We started putting fabrics together—we'll make a skirt out of this, and we'll compliment it with this, that, and the other thing.

Racked: So you're contribution to the line is literally, physically, designing the clothes with Nikki?

Richie: Yeah, I get into the whole choosing fabrics. Obviously she's the main designer. She's extremely talented. Then six months later, I find out she also happens to be a songwriter and musician. I'm kind of skeptical about it, but we sit down and we write a couple of songs and they are really good. So I asked, "Who do you want to work with?" And she said, "The production team The Matrix." They've worked with Avril Lavigne, Brittney Spears, David Bowie and Korn. So I called them up and said, "Let's get together," and now we have a record. The girls walk to some of the songs at our fashion shows and it's completely different than anything you'd think I'd be involved with musically. Guerilla dance music! I toyed with the idea of putting a song or two on a drive and attaching it when you buy the clothes. It will drive you right to a site where you can see everything.

Racked: You were talking about your vision. What is the inspiration for this collection?

Richie: Well this is like a spring collection, more or less—chiffons and silhouettes, and things like that, but there are a lot of jeans, short jackets and bustiers. It's a spring kind of thing. Our first collection, off the bat it was rockier and heavier: leathers and snakes skins and zebra prints. This collection is a little more airy, a little more ready to wear, so to speak. I think it's going to do well.

Racked: What type of woman—although we kind of have an idea from the name White Trash Beautiful—would you say wears your clothing?

Richie: I think any woman could wear this collection, really. It's like sexy jeans and sexy little shirts. It's not trashy—what it is, is elegant. The name is a little bit funky, so we're going to keep it at WTB. I think the name might constitute some kind of negative connotation but it's really just fun. We're trying to create stuff that's timeless. Nothing to do with trash.

Racked: Whose designs do you wear?

Richie: Everything that I wear on a day to day basis now, and also on stage, I design. So I've been kind of doing this haphazardly for a long time, but now there's a concept behind it...Actually a turning point for me, was when I was about twenty eight years old and I started dating Cher. Obviously she's a fashionista, she taught me a lot.

Racked: What did Cher teach you?

Richie: How to put things together. You shouldn't wear this with that; what was right for the occasion. Because when you're a kid you don't know that kind of stuff, especially when you're a man. She's a great lady.

Racked: So that had an input into your line today?

Richie: Absolutely, I think you bring everything in your life to where you are at this point, right now. Everything I see on women walking down the street is a big part of my input in this particular line. I know what I like to see women in. I think that clothes are an expression for women especially. That's what I want this line to do. Empower women, make them feel like they are an individual, make them feel sexy. Cause everybody's got a little bit of white trash in them. No matter where you are. Everybody wants to be a little sexy and a little trashy. I think it's a part of femininity.

Racked: You've mastered one creative field, what's it like starting as a novice in another one?

Richie: It's great, that's the beauty to life, that you never stop learning. Nikki's teaching me a lot about that stuff. I'm learning a lot about retail, and about fashion retail and all this other stuff, all over the world. It's a great experience and I'm having fun because I get to create in a whole other realm.

Racked: What do Jon Bon Jovi and the rest of the band think of the line?

Richie: They're digging it. Jon's daughter waked in my show in London. My daughter walked in both the LA shows that we've done. Everybody's very supportive in the band of each other's individual projects. No matter what they are. That's what I think is the main ingredient that keeps this band together almost thirty years now.

source

Thanks J, for dropping me the link on this!

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivator: Tequila

Aw, sure it is Catte!  You just have to have the constitution to handle it :)

~ Hath

WTB Fashion Show -- Red Carpet Interview

Richie Sambora and Nikki Lund Fall 2011 Fashion Show Interviews and Runway Show from Stephen Marinaro on Vimeo.

Bon Jovi Guitarist and Musician/Designer Nikki Lund showcased their White Trash Beautiful (WTB) Line at NY Fashion Week 2011. WTB is a contemporary women's line with masculine tailored pieces with heavy trims on soft fabrics. The hair was rock and roll fierce and the looks were a great combo of rock meets sheik and sexy.

Please enjoy my Red Carpet interviews with stars including Chaske Spencer of Twilight, Richie Sambora, Vince De Paul, Housewives or New York and more!

www.thesalonguy.com

source

Re: The Grammy Experience

James Blunt and Richie Sambora on the grammy Experience:



~ Hath

Richie Shopping for an Ex

Yes, ladies, though he's been "looking" since the Philly WMMR "show" last year, Mr. Sambora is still looking for his Mrs.

People magazine has this interview with Richie:

Richie Sambora is looking for his Mrs. Right – or at least Mrs. Right, for now.

"I'm on a search for my future ex-wife," the Bon Jovi guitarist, 51, told PEOPLE at the N.Y.C. Fashion Week Style 360 afterparty for his line, White Trash Beautiful.

"I'm just looking for the right person to have more children [with]," said the father-of-one, whose daughter Ava (with Locklear) is 13. "I just love being a dad."

He adds: "There's nothing like a love for our children. I love being a papa, and that's the truth."

So what's he looking for in the potential mother of his future kids? Sambora says he doesn't have "any preconceived notions."

"I think it just hits you," he says.

You can read the whole article here.

~ Hath

Greatest Hits Sheet Music (Amazon)

Becky found this a few days ago -- Thanks Becky!!

List price: $19.99; Amazon price: $13.59

Amazon has (for pre-order) a Greatest Hits sheet-music book (piano - vocal - guitar) being published by Hal Leonard.  You can check out the other Jovi sheet music offerings from Hal Leonard here.

You can pre-order this title (expected to ship March 9th) from Amazon.
~ Hath

Roadies for the Day

I like this trend -- showing the students what putting on the show entails. From yesterday's NewsObserver:

When rock group Bon Jovi takes the RBC Center stage tonight in its Live 2011 World Tour, eight NCCU students will be able to say they were “with the band.”

The students, all members of the Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society, were selected to shadow the Bon Jovi crew as they prepared for tonight’s performance, according to an NCCU release. Students spent this morning helping unload and build the stage before returning in the afternoon for a tour of the arena, sound check and testing.

Bon Jovi, voted the No. 1 worldwide touring act by Billboard and Pollster, presents a spectacle that includes 1.5 million pixels on the high definition video screens; 8,400 amps required to execute one arena show for lights, audio, video, rigging, motion control and robots, and 950 separate video cues during the show to correctly display the show on the video screens.

According to NCCU's Charmaine McKissick-Melton, today's experience is educational driven. The students participating are mass communication and music industry majors.

The Herald Post goes on to say that

Bon Jovi will travel to 19 countries while on tour and include more than 250 students in the Bon Jovi internship for a day.

I wonder if any international dates will include some sort of intern-for-a-day program.

~ Hath

source

Bon Jovi Trivia Sweepstakes

From the Bon Jovi website:

You can win tickets to the Bon Jovi 2011 tour by answering any of the trivia questions that we ask on Twitter ! Keep reading for details!

Bon Jovi's Twitter account, @BonJovi, will be asking 1 trivia question a day starting at 12pm PST on Monday, February 21, and will continue doing so until Friday, February 25. Answer any of the 5 questions in order to be entered to WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE BON JOVI TOUR!

Be sure to reply @BonJovi to the tweet with your answer and the city nearest you to the trivia questions with the hashtag #BonJoviTrivia (i.e. "@BonJovi My answer - Los Angeles #BonJoviTrivia"). Each response will be noted and a random winner will be chosen to win the prize of 1 pair of tickets to the nearest Bon Jovi show. Good Luck!

To purchase tickets to any of Bon Jovi's concerts in 2011 visit our tour page

Tour Dates

March 9, 2011 Chicago, IL United Center
March 17, 2011 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
March 19, 2011 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
March 22, 2011 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions Arena
March 26, 2011 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
May 14, 2011 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
May 17, 2011 Houston, TX Toyota Center
May 19, 2011 Memphis, TN FedEx Forum
May 21. 2011 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
May 22, 2011 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
May 06, 2011 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
May 15, 2011 Orlando, FL Amway Center
May 12, 2011 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Center
May 10, 2011 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena

Read the Official Rules Sweepstakes end February 25, 2011

BJCT Post: Raleigh

Bon Jovi was in North Carolina last night!

Check out the BJCT for reviews, the setlist, photos, and videos/audio (as we find it).

Do you have anything you want to share? Drop a line to the BJCT Blog Team

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivator: Dexterity

*sigh*

~ Hath

BJCT Post: Montreal

Bon Jovi was in Quebec last night!

Check out the BJCT for reviews, the setlist, photos, and videos/audio (as we find it).

Do you have anything you want to share? Drop a line to the BJCT Blog Team

~ Hath