Jon on CNBC

(June 14)

Jon was on SquawkBox last month.

He talked about philanthropy in a struggling economy, the state and future of the music business, entrepreneurship, the Soul Kitchen, politics and entertainment (and how he doesn't use "his" stage as a bully pulpit), and (a little bitterly) his previous remarks about iTunes and Apple. He also said the new album has eleven tracks; first single out in January, album in March.

At the end of the interview quipped "Great. I can go back to bed now."

Hmmm, by March, I'll have left my beloved Boston for greener (and warmer) pastures. I'll also be sans-Hathlet-and-the-Mister for a few months, so JON! Announce tour dates in my new home state for May, wouldya? :)

~ Hath

Hullo, Gorgeous

Posted on Richie's Instagram. From a photo shoot for the LA Times.


Delish.


~ Hath

More David from Washington

More photos (from Broadway.com) of David Bryan in Washington on July 23. When he took his seat at the gorgeous Steinway grand piano, it was to perform “Memphis Lives in Me” and Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Anyone able to find videos of that?

~ Hath

Night of Broadway Stars

(June 12)

Covenant House, the shelter and service center, held “A Night of Broadway Stars” gala at Lincoln Center.

“Newsies” leading man Jeremy Jordan and Rita Harvey from “Phantom of the Opera” were among those who took the stage, giving Covenant’s kids a once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform with some of the biggest names in showbiz.

Our JonBon received Covenant House’s “Beacon of Hope Award,” honoring his extensive support of the homeless young people striving to turn their lives around at the shelter for homeless, runaway and at-risk youth. Leo Carlin, President of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which works to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair, was also honored with the Beacon of Hope Award.

PageSix had this blurb about the event, which made me chuckle:

One excited woman was ready to slip him her business card on Tuesday, but her friend nixed it: “Don’t do it! He’ll think your hitting on him with your phone number,” she said. Martin Scorsese, former First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Barbara, Kenneth Cole and Maria Cuomo Cole attended the evening hosted by composer Neil Berg with performances by Rita Harvey and Capathia Jenkins of “Newsies.”

Jon's remarks about the kids at Covenant House:

"I got to meet some of the kids at Covenant House who were kind enough to share their stories with me, and we should all be very proud of them. We should celebrate their lives and their victory over the issues that forced them into homelessness. Through the funding and creation of programs and partnerships, we can all support innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and change lives, one soul at a time."

You can watch Jon's remarks only (lol) here:



The whole event is up on NOBS' website, here:



Before the event, Extra met up with JonBon and spoke with him about his support for President Obama.

When asked about this year's presidential election, Bon Jovi said, "I'm looking for a position in the cabinet, second term. Secretary of Entertainment… I'm in."

Of Covenant House's efforts to help homeless youth, Jon said, "Their mission is pure and they are doing good work."



There are also a mess of pictures up in my Photobucket.

~ Hath

David Bryan Donates Piano

From BroadwayWorld:

Tony Award winning Broadway composer and international rock star David Bryan has donated a 9 foot Steinway concert grand piano to the United States State Department Collection to be housed in the Benjamin Franklin Ballroom at the Harry S. Truman State Department Building in Washington, DC. As a founding member and keyboard player for Bon Jovi, Bryan has toured the world and shared his music with millions of people. The plaque that accompanies the State Department piano reflects Bryan’s personal belief that “In the timeless celebration of music is that which brings us together, not separates us.” That belief is also underscored in Bryan’s Tony Award winning Best Musical MEMPHIS, playing through August 5th at Broadway’s Shubert Theater and across America on a celebrated national tour.

“In times of joy and sorrow, love or hate, peace and unrest, music has always been an important outlet for expressing our emotions individually and as a nation,” Bryan said. “As a proud American musician, it is my great honor to give this gift to the State Department. I hope it brings years of wonderful music to these great halls.”

You can read the full article here.

~ Hath

Hard Rock Live Event

Jon Bon Jovi will bring his new “solo” show (backed by a band called the Kings of Suburbia) to Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on July 26 at 8 p.m. An exciting solo debut for Jon Bon Jovi at Hard Rock Live, fans can expect to hear favorite Bon Jovi hits, as well as classic rock and roll songs.

Hopefully there will be youtubers in attendance, and we can get a good setlist and videos linked up for you guys.

Anyone going?


~ Hath

@TarynElliotFic Winners!

Sorry folks, I dropped the ball on this one -- no excuses.  To compensate, Taryn has graciously offered a copy of her book to all the commenters who posted comments on the contest giveaway post.

Lora, Jeanine, and Denise, get in touch with Taryn at taryn@tarynelliott.com, and she will email you them the version of your choice -- Nook, Kindle or PDF.

For everyone else, if you havent' already, pick up Taryn's second book, ASHES AND WINE, from Entangled Publishing, is now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

You can follow Taryn on Twitter, friend her on Facebook, subscribe to her Blog, fave her on Goodreads and cruise her Tumblr, Sunlight Kisses.

~ Hath

Jon in Dallas

From The Dallas Morning News (from June 11):

Husband-of-the-Year contender Mark Cuban got a little added value when he brought in Jon Bon Jovi as the surprise entertainer for a Friday-night 40th-birthday party for his wife, Tiffany. Bon Jovi rarely, rarely plays birthday gigs, but Mark Cuban was doing the asking (and paying) so he wanted to come up with something special for the guest of honor.

As his own added surprise, Bon Jovi ordered a white-gold Cartier watch for Mrs. Cuban, had it engraved for the occasion and presented it to her at stately Cuban manor.

An area of the Cubans’ Preston Hollow estate was covered in an air-conditioned tent and a very select group of guests (less than 150) dined on food from Abacus. Jack Ingram was the opening act and when Bon Jovi hit the stage, the cell phone cameras came out.

Later Friday night, Bon Jovi was spotted on the patio at the Marquee Grill in Highland Park Village before he headed down the road to go to bed. The musician is long-time friends with Dallas businessman Shy Anderson and his wife, Dallas Cowboys VP Charlotte Anderson. He spent the night in the Andersons’ Highland Park home.

In the backlog, there are several of these one-off type stories -- Jon (either with or without the guys) doing these private gigs. There's also many opinions on this, ranging from "those money-grubbing assholes" to "hey, they're just having fun" to "dammit, save it for the tour". In case you're wondering, I'm firmly in the second camp. I believe they're just having a good time, perhaps gearing up for the next tour, and hey, if they can make a little extra scratch, well, I can only say I wish someone would pay ME a huge amount of money to come in to a lavish party and have fun doing my job.

Here's the official set list, tweeted by the lovely Lorenza Ponce:

~ Hath

CMT Music Awards Promo

This promo was cute.  Jon makes an appearance at around 1:27.

Good Luck, Toby Keith, indeed.

~ Hath

David Out-and-About

David Bryan (among others) attended an event at a private residence in Washington, DC on July 23rd.  The Human Rights Campaign, The Global Equality Fund, and The Elton John AIDS Foundation all honored Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sir Elton John.

The private dinner lauded Clinton and Sir Elton for raising awareness for the Global Equality Fund, a program of the U.S. State Department, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.  It is a new global initiative (backed by President Obama) to support gay rights. The US has committed $3 million to a fund that will work to support LGBT rights worldwide.

~ Hath

I'm Back... Sorta

OK, so all the major stuff is FINALLY working itself out -- we're closing on our new house next month, and the current one is up for sale; I've survived a few days in the hospital (turns out it WASN'T a heart attack, thank God, just stress and exhaustion) and I have a backlog of some 70 emails from various people and places to get through for the blog.

If you stay patient with me, even though some of the news is WAY old, I will work my way through them in the next several weeks, trying to keep up with "current" stuff as it happens.

Thanks for all the well wishes and good thoughts -- hopefully I get caught up before the new record comes out :)  I'm not quite ready to bring back the Wanted Wednesdays or the Mid-Day Motivators, but hopefully soon.

Thanks for your patience everyone!

~ Hath