Tag Archives: Richie Sambora

A to Z of Making It, Influenced, Music, My Stories

House Of Gold And Bones – (CONNECTIONS, COLLABORATIONS and MAKING IT)

Corey Taylor wrote the story line around the recent Stone Sour concept albums, The House of Gold and Bones. By the end of the story line, the main character has made a decision but it is unclear what it is. The important thing is that the main character stood his ground, however Taylor wanted to leave it up to the listener to decide what choice the main character has made.

To me the house of gold and bones represents life. The Gold can be anything that you make it to be, like family, children, fun, good times, doing something that you love, wealth, success, standing up for what you believe in and love. The Bones represents hardships, doing it tough, climbing up hills with no end in sight, destitution, depression, sadness and death.

The issue with today’s society is the worship of the GOLD (money) above everything else. It is the main motivator for the paths and actions we take. Seriously what is someone like Jon Bon Jovi or George Lucas going to do with all that money? Once upon a time, all of our heroes just wanted to create.

Chris Kael is the current bassist of Five Finger Death Punch. For those that don’t know Kael joined at the tail end of the American Capitalist recording sessions. How did he get the gig? He heard FFDP were looking for a bass player and he contacted FFDP guitarist Jason Hook on Facebook. He didn’t know any of the other FFDP guys. Hell, Kael was only know to a small Las Vegas circle of musicians. He asked Hook to check around with those musicians as he was sure he would get a good review and basically he got his foot in the door, he got the audition and then he got the gig. Connections however small they seem at the start all pay off in the end. Was Kael motivated by money? No. He was motivated by performing, by creating and by wanting to be in a band.

Imagine Dragons independently released three EPs and toured extensively before signing with Interscope. Then the band received an email from Alex Da Kid. He liked their music and wanted to write with them. If you know of Eminem’s, “Love the Way You Lie” song, then you know of Alex Da Kid. So the collaboration initially was for other artists on Alex Da Kid’s roster. It soon turned into the Imagine Dragons song writing effort. Were Imagine Dragons motivated by money when they started playing the Vegas casino circuit? No. They were motivated by the need to create and play live.

Connections leads to collaborations. For whatever purposes these collaborations begin with, they seem to take a life on their own. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora initially started to work with Desmond Child so that they can write songs for other artists to sing. The first song they wrote was You Give Love A Bad Name. The next song was Living On A Prayer. In the end, Bon Jovi ended up releasing the songs. When Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora started their collaboration with Desmond Child, they were broke, still living at their parents’ house and after two Bon Jovi albums, they were in debt to their record label by about half a million. Do you think that Jon and Richie cared about that? No. They wanted to create great music and with Slippery When Wet they did. With New Jersey, they tried real hard to rewrite Slippery When Wet and that is when greed comes into the picture.

People shine in so many ways and while society is spending it’s time going all practical, the ones that shine become the new Alice Cooper, the new Nikki Sixx, the new James Hetfield, the new David Mustaine, the new Dee Snider, the new Robb Flynn and so on. Practical doesn’t fit in the lives of our heroes. We all need to find our own house of gold and bones and live with the choices that we make.

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A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories

The old rock star is dead. Its time to create a new rock star that is a product of the times

Influences/Inspiration

Nobody exists in a vacuum. Inspiration comes from what you read, watch and experience.  Inspiration is the merging of these experiences and influences into something new. When Metallica came on the scene they were inspired and influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They were influenced by Punk. They were inspired and influenced by Classic Rock. They were excited and this made them nervous. Nerves made them play faster.

When Black Sabbath came on the scene they were originally influenced by the Blues. Just another blues band among the many blues bands doing the rounds at that time. Then they applied their gloomy industrial upbringing and the rest is history.

Experience

Inspiration doesn’t take place in a vacuum. All day long you are experiencing.

Could Nikki Sixx have written Kick Start My Heart if he didn’t experience death and life? Could James Hetfield have written The Unforgiven if he was brought up in a wealthy household that didn’t have Christian Science beliefs? Could Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi have written Wanted Dead Or Alive if they never toured? Could Dee Snider have written We’re Not Gonna Take It, if he was rich?

If you think you can write a hit song with no prior experience, you’re dreaming.  Our whole life is information. Be ready to reference it.  Trust your first initial feeling.

Sign Of The Times

Don’t get caught up in doing things in the old way. Today’s medium is the Internet. No one wants to hear new music from their favourite artist every two years. We surf the net each day, looking for new music and information.  If there is a demand for your music, you should create and distribute constantly.

The days when we used to have very little music are over. The days of saving up to buy an album and the playing the same album over and over again are also gone.  Now, we’ve got the history of recorded music at our fingertips. YouTube has everything that you want, Spotify has almost everything that you could want and if all of that fails cyber lockers and The Pirate Bay fill the void.

Product Of The Times

The old rock star is dead. Its time to create a new rock star that is a product of the times. Keep innovating.  Embrace the new reality that is being born. Stop playing by the rules of the Classic Rock artists.

Look at the band Heartist. When they formed, they decided that they would not play by the old rules of playing as many gigs as possible just to get noticed.  They decided to not play by the old rules of guaranteeing promoters 50 presales for each gig (which more or less meant, the band either had to beg people to come to their show that didn’t want to be there or they basically paid to play).  They decided to write songs.  They decided to keep on writing. They started posting demos on YouTube. They started building a buzz. The songs had quality. People started to spread them, share them, talk about them. They played ONE gig and got signed by Roadrunner and management.

What Does Music and Success Mean These Days?

Music is for the fans. Music is for the people. Music is not for a record executive to make billions so that they can compete with the Forbes 100 Rich List.  If you want to be in the music business, you need to focus on what music means. Be inspired! Create!  You have to practice, be original and wait for your moment, when you have to deliver.

Def Leppard’s Hysteria was out for over a year before it exploded on the back of the Love Bites single. A sleeper hit that no one saw coming. If the song is really damn good it will get people’s attention.

If you want success, you need to get people’s attention. If you want success you need to work hard and don’t plan for it. If you want success, practice and be ready to turn that inspiration into a product.  If you want success, you need to know that you have no control over what spreads and what doesn’t. Don’t judge the success of your project straight away. Success is always ten steps behind. It takes a while for it to happen.  Don’t just the success of your project in dollar terms. Success is about laying a solid foundation and building on it.

Your music has to be accessible. It needs to make an instant impact. Fans do not have the time to spend on letting an album sink into our brain like the old ways. These days there are so many options and people don’t endure that which is not pleasing to them, They move on. Repetition is not an artist’s friend in the current times. The life span of a song is different these days.

Most of the time you get one shot for each new fan. It is that one time when people will hear what you have created. One time where you need to satisfy them, so that they can respond and share.

Today, you need to have that one unbelievable cut, that makes the people need to hear it over and over again. That one cut that makes the people want to go and find out more about you.

Whether it be Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, Dio’s “Holy Diver”, Ozzy Osbourne “Crazy Train”, Kiss “Lick It Up”, Shinedown’s “Second Chance” or Metallica’s’ “One”. It works in every genre of music.

Connections

Artists can go straight to their audience, there are no restrictions. Artists by now should know that their career depends on building a loyal relationship with as many fans as possible. In order to build relationships, you need to get people’s attention. You need to find a way to be heard over all the noise.

Standing Out – Visuals and Music

You want to be remembered. You want to be talked about. How can you achieve that? Society is a visual culture. That is why we watch TV shows, movies, take pictures and film ourselves.

Why do you think, when you see a preview for a new movie coming out, the studio marketeers have music with it? Why do you think TV shows and movies have soundtracks? They are re-enforcing the visuals with music, as people take more notice when that happens. If people notice they will talk about.

Putting your music with visuals is a big step forward to getting people’s attention. How many times have you walked out of a movie, thinking, what a tough score. I just watched World War Z and I loved the track that Muse did for it.  Man Of Steel had an unbelievable score by Hans Zimmer, that captured the emotion in each scene. It was also inspiring and uplifting. I still remember the preview to the Captain America movie, where they had the music (46&2) from Tool playing and that was almost three years ago.

Standing Out – Opinions

No artist can please everyone. So don’t try. All artists stand for something. If you write a song that is anti-(insert topic here), you will alienate some, and connect more with others. When people get fired up (via positive or negative feelings) they pay attention.

Standing Out – Different = Success

If you look at all of your heroes, they are there for a reason. They are different. When they came on the scene, they were different. Twisted Sister was different to all the other bands in the Eighties in how they dressed and looked. Their style was a combination of AC/DC style rock, mixed with Judas Priest metal, with a dose of punk chucked in. Metallica was different to all the metal and rock bands when they came onto the scene. Motley Crue was different to all the new wave music that was popular at the time. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were all different to the Eighties Glam Rock movement. Black Sabbath was different to all the hippie folk music at the time.

Different also includes doing cover versions of popular songs. Take jazz songs and turn them into rock songs. Take pop songs and make them into rock songs.  The original artist’s fans will be curious to hear these versions.  Led Zeppelin did a lot of covers, Metallica the same. Van Halen had cover songs on their first five albums. Motley Crue did Smokin In The Boys Room and Helter Skelter.

What Does It Mean to be an Artist Today?

You don’t want to be an artist that becomes who others want them to be. You don’t want to be an artist that whores themselves out to make money. You don’t want to be an artist that does what they have to do to keep the status quo.

It’s okay to not be liked by everybody.

Real artists don’t believe in conforming. Real artists stay true to who they are. Real artists play to their fans and allow the fans to talk about them. Do not change for all the new people that could tag along to your success train, that’s death. You need to keep playing to the hard core fan base. A great artist is someone who leads us into the unknown who we can’t help but follow.

Dream Theater is one artist that comes to mind, that did it their way or the hard way. Signed as a progressive band, they released When Dream and Day Unite, which the label ignored and then went on a long search for a vocalist. When Pull Me Under got traction on MTV and Radio, the band was then a commercial prospect for the label. So the label now wants more crossover songs, and this lead to the issues with the label around the Falling Into Infinity project. After that the band stayed true to who they are and they have grown with each album and are more successful now than ever.

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Music, Stupidity

Overdoses, Dysfunctional Bands and Jon Bon Jovi

So the word on the web is that Jon Bon Jovi tells Richie Sambora that he thought drug overdoses could only happen in Richie’s household. Thus was at the time when Jon’s daughter Stephanie had an overdose.

Truth or lie, only Jon and Richie know. The point. Bands are dysfunctional. They always have been and always will be. If there is truth to the rumour, how can Jon say something like that to a person that has co written the majority of the songs with him.

The comments about Sambora being easily replaceable adds further weight to the argument that Jon is simply an asshole and self centered.

Read The Dirt or The Heroin Diaries for how it was to be in Mötley Crüe.

Watch The History of the Eagles to hear the comment from Don Henley on the break up. He called it a horrible relief.

Robb Flynn from Machine Head has been very open about the firing of Adam Duce. He mentioned that Adam’s heart hadn’t been in it for a long time.

Dokken is the poster child for dysfunction.

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Music

The State of Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi just can’t seem to get out of the news these days. There is the escalating feud between Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, which I am sure will sort itself out and then re-escalate again. The Because We Can tour is still continuing, playing to thousands of people each night. Maybe Jon Bon Jovi should remain the tour to Because I Can. Then there is the Cleveland Browns debacle, where a concert to launch the season for the NFL team was cancelled due to low ticket sales at the request of Jon Bon Jovi.

Word on the street is that, fans still purchased tickets on the belief that Richie Sambora will be returning to the band eventually, however, with the feud escalating and the comments from Jon Bon Jovi about Richie Sambora being easily replaceable, fans are starting to realise that Sambora’s return is far from certain, especially when Sambora has stated that he would like to return, however Jon Bon Jovi denied the request.

So where does this leave the band Bon Jovi. At the moment the band is Jon Bon Jovi, Tico Torres, Dave Bryan, hired salary employee Hugh McDonald on bass and fill in guitarist Phil X on guitar. Can this version lay claim to the Bon Jovi title?

It’s like another favourite band of mine, Dokken. To me Dokken is Don Dokken, George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown. Don Dokken once said that he and the rest of the Dokken band members thought that they would get rich once they signed a recording contract and started selling records. He then goes on to say that for every dollar the band made, they had twenty cents to split four ways. Since Don Dokken signed the original contract, the band agreement was that he would earn 50% and the other 50% was to be split between George Lynch, Mick Brown and Jeff Pilson. That is what started the rift between George Lynch and himself. In order to keep the band together Don was forced to sign a contract that was an equal four way split. As the band got more famous, the resentment got more.

I know it is difficult to hold a band together, especially when money starts to become involved and so forth.

Jon made it clear after the New Jersey tour, that if the Bon Jovi band was to continue into the Nineties, he had to seize control. Is the current state of affairs a consequence of this?

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Music, Stupidity, Treating Fans Like Shit

Sambora to Bon Jovi – Hire The Edge

It took the comment, “he’s been through it before,” from the lips of Jon Bon Jovi to finally break the silence from Richie Sambora.

I took that comment to mean that Sambora is going through alcohol issues again.

Sambora then didn’t see the next big right hook coming his way, when Jon Bon Jovi stated that if Sambora was like The Edge he would be harder to replace, however since he is not The Edge, he is replaceable.

That comment would piss me off as well. It sure pissed Sambora off. He sent Jon Bon Jovi an email saying, “Hire the Edge,”.

Sambora has gone on record stating that he wants to return, however he still hasn’t. I wonder why.

Jon Bon Jovi needs a reality check. Its not always about the money in music. Music is about the camaraderie. It is about people from different walks of life coming together as one.

From reading all the news on the Internet, I am getting the impression that Jon Bon Jovi is just focused on himself. Hell, the fan club is in his name. He has isolated himself. In time, the fans will isolate him.

I always saw Bon Jovi as a band. A lot of other fans see it the same way. It looks like Jon Bon Jovi sees it differently.

If the Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora partnership truly ends, it is a damn shame that it had to be after the release of the worst Bon Jovi album ever.

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Music, Treating Fans Like Shit

Predictions

A lot of changes have taken place in bands that we all love over the last 18 months.  Some good, some bad and some sad.

Slayer
Dave Lombardo found out online that he has officially been replaced by Paul Bostaph.  Main songwriter Jeff Hanneman sadly passed away. For the touring cycle, Hanneman has been replaced by Gary Holt from Exodus.

Prediction: Slayer will just tour from now on, playing the summer festival scene, without any new music being released.  The estate of Jeff Hanneman would fire off a legal letter to Slayer over unpaid royalties.

Stone Temple Pilots
Scott Weiland is fired and then he claims he can’t be fired from the band.  Chester Bennington from Linkin Park is in as the new singer, and on top of that there is a lawsuit, where the STP guys are alleging that Weiland has broken the terms of a band agreement, which stipulates what each member can do outside of STP.

Prediction: This will just stay in the social media pages, with pot shots thrown at each party.  STP will do the Twentieth Anniversary tour for Core, and so will Scott Weiland.  Expect another Queensryche saga.

Bon Jovi
This is all about Richie Sambora.

First he didn’t turn up to a show.  Jon Bon Jovi then grabbed Phil X to fill in for Sambora and the PR machine issued a statement saying that Sambora had to leave the tour for personal reasons.  Fans are still purchasing tickets, only to see the band without him. Sambora remained quiet for some time and now the feuding is going public, with Sambora saying that Bon Jovi is making his return “very difficult”.  Bon Jovi then mentioned that Sambora is replaceable, whereas The Edge from U2 is not. Bon Jovi further stated, that Sambora wasn’t committed enough, and that his clothing business had taken up more of his time.  Sambora tweeted that is not the case, as his clothing business has been happening for 5 years, and music is and always is his first priority.

Prediction: This will get sorted. Jon and Richie will make up, record another album and then the same thing will happen again.

Queensryche

Geoff Tate is building a resume, that includes spitting at Scott Rockenfield, telling festival crowds they suck, pulls a knife at his band members, tell’s fans to record themselves telling him how bad his new album is (he actually thinks it’s funny) and now he takes a fans cell phone and throws it away.  This guy is all class.

The lawsuit over the name is in limbo land and the Todd LaTorre fronted Queensryche are about to release their album.

Prediction: Geoff Tate will be classified insane and then he will blame all the fans again, telling them they suck.  The Todd LaTorre fronted Queensryche version will also fail.

Machine Head 

Adam Duce was fired from the band because his heart wasn’t in it anymore.  No official replacement has been announced, however on-line bassist auditions have taken place and the list was whittled down to 8.

Prediction: Robb Flynn will ensure that Adam Duce is taken care off in relation to royalties payments post his departure.

Black Sabbath 

Prediction: The Bill Ward saga is over.  The band has moved on.  Black Sabbath will sell out their shows, however the new music will be hit and miss.

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Music

Bon Jovi – What is going on with Richie Sambora, plus ticket sales

First the ticket sales.  I have posted numerous articles on the Bon Jovi pre-sales for the Australian tour, here and here and here and here and here and here and here.

Again i went online via Showbiz and i can still purchase 4 platinum tickets to all the Bon Jovi shows in Australia, even the first Melbourne show, that is supposed to be sold out.

Ticketek still has tickets up for sale for the Sydney shows.  I can purchase single or double tickets in Platinum, however if i want 4 in a row, only Gold seats are available.  This is what happens when you come back time and time again with the same high prices.  Bon Jovi will sell out again, however next time they tour, it will be harder.  Just look at the Rolling Stones.  Tickets for their U.S shows are selling slow at $650 a piece, so a week before the show they are down to $85.

Speaking of the Stones, in the Mirror UK article Jon Bon Jovi mentions the following about Mick Jagger;

“I watched a DVD of him (Jagger) in my dressing room and I used it as inspiration, he is my inspiration. The Stones, that’s the bar. They still play great, sing great, they are sloppy as f*** but that is half the fun.”

Is Jon serious?  He obviously hasn’t seen this piece of disaster promotion.  It is totally laughable, and what is even funnier is that the official Rolling Stones channel put it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLRD1R8GNgY

The article in the Mirror also talks about Richie Sambora.  Jon says:

“We were all in Calgary, Richie was going to turn up on show day but we went the night before because it’s a long flight.”

“At 3.30pm on show day the phone rang and it was Paul the manager and he said guess what, and he didn’t even have to finish the sentence. I said, you’re kidding. We went on that night. I haven’t seen Richie since.

“Love him, spoken to him once. I talked to him once, once in six weeks and 18 shows. He’s not fired, we didn’t have a fight, it certainly isn’t about money.

“We go back 30 years. He can return when he is ready to die every night the way I walk on the stage. It’s different without Richie. No one’s mad, no one’s sad. But fortunately because we had been through it before we performed that night. We couldn’t let down the fans.”

I believe that goes to show how far the relationship has deteriorated.  One conversation in six weeks.

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Music

Bon Jovi – What About The Free Fall? Hello to 133.

Another week, another drop for the greatest album Bon Jovi has ever done.

In eight weeks, What About Now has gone from Number 1 to Number 133.  The Greatest Hits album is at 182 and it has been out for a long time, so I am predicting that What About Now will free fall past the Greatest Hits album out of the Top 200.

It’s time to set John Shanks and Billy Falcon free.  Find a new producer, like James Michael.  Set Billy Falcon free.  Find a new songwriting partner.  Get Phil X to contribute music.  It’s time to bring the rock back.  It’s time to write an album for your audience and not for a teenage market that doesn’t care about you.

And what is happening with Richie Sambora?  The fans deserve to know the truth.  Is he in or is he out?  Is he going to join the tour at all?   

The days of Richie Sambora being in Bon Jovi appear to be over.

Will another Bon Jovi album be released?  I don’t think so.  No one cares about it, if it is crap and that is exactly what the current album is, CRAP served on a grand scale.

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Music, My Stories

Bon Jovi – Attack of The Showbiz Pre-Sales

It’s another day and another attack of the Bon Jovi pre-sales for the Because We Can 2013 Australian tour.

Even though I am critical of Bon Jovi at times, in the end I am still a fan, and i just purchased 4 platinum tickets totalling $1,076.  I have seen Bon Jovi live previously (Bon Jovi was at their best on the Keep The Faith tour), and i wanted my two boys and my wife to share the experience as well.  My other child will be almost 2 years old in December 2013, so he will have to wait for another time, if there is one.

Showbiz is selling the pre-sales today.  Click on this link to buy.

GA is $159 per person

SILVER is $129 per person

GOLD is $199 per person

PLATINUM is $250 per person

DIAMOND is $315 per person

Some cities do not have some of the options available for the Pre Sales.

Let’s hope that Richie Sambora comes out as my family and I are Richie fans.  I even saw Richie perform live at the Shellharbour Workers Club (otherwise known as Shellies) back in 1998.  It was one of the best shows I have ever been too.  That story is for another day.

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Music

The Crazy Lifestyles of the Rockers and Metallers

The rock and metal music world that I love so much has had its fair share of controversies recently.

The most recent, is finding out that Jeff Hanneman’s liver failed due to alcohol related cirrhosis.  With so much focus on the flesh-eating bacteria, everyone forgot Jeff’s love of the demon alcohol. 

We all have those little demons that can either gives us the edge or destroy us.   Ozzy Osbourne has been battling them his whole life.  Nikki Sixx has gone to war with them and it looks like at the moment he has come out on top.  Robb Flynn from Machine Head has been more than open with his alcohol battles and depression.  Steven Adler the original GNR drummer is back in rehab.  Anthony Kiedis, Slash, Kurt Cobain, Duff and the lists just go on and on.  

Randy Rhoads battled his whole life to become famous and when he got it, he wanted to walk away from it.  It didn’t satisfy him, the touring, the bus trips and the hotel rooms.  Randy found solace in his instrument, others find solace in drugs and alcohol.  Surrounded by enablers and yes people, it’s very easy for people to get caught up in a culture that thrives on drugs and alcohol. 

Then you have the bad break up’s – Phil Anselmo still trying to reach out to Vinnie Paul with all that forgive and forget self-help mumbo jumbo.  To me it’s all just B.S.  My motto is to move on but never forget.  Let’s put the facts into context, if Pantera stayed together, Damageplan would not have been playing at the small crappy venue with terrible security, where Dimebag was killed. 

Bad break up number 2 – Geoff Tate and Todd LaTorre both operating as Queensryche.  They are further diminishing the great name of the band, with two incompetent releases.  What a dead set joke? 

Bad break up number 3 – Even though Jon Bon Jovi goes on to Ellen and says that Richie is still in the band and that he is just taking time out to deal with personal issues, it’s over.  The famed Bon Jovi Circle is broken.  Thanks Richie for writing some of the best songs, and I still think you got robbed by Jon for not getting a writing credit on Dry County.  The song was handed in by Jon at 4 minutes long, Richie made it a 9 minute epic however only Jon was listed as the songwriter.

Bad Break up number 4 – this one happened a while back, however it came back into the news a few weeks ago when the Breaking Benjamin band name was returned back to vocalist and main songwriter Benjamin Burnley.  This break up aired a lot of dirt, especially the recording contract type of dirt and the inner workings of a BAND AGREEMENT.    

On the other side of the spectrum, Tim Lambesis, the lead singer of As I Lay Dying, has just entered a not guilty plea for his alleged involvement in trying to hire a hit man to kill his estranged wife.  This one came from left field.  It was a WTF moment.  How stupid can someone be?  Has anyone seen how this dude looks.  I am sure he could have gotten any other chick.  I know it’s not a joke, but I couldn’t stop making comparisons to the Horrible Bosses movie.

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