Richie Sambora, 7 Years Gone

Firstly, I know I've been slack with blogging. With everything going on in the world at the moment, it's one of the things that has gone on the back burner for me, but rest assured I haven't forgotten about Bon Jovi. 😉

While I take some time to gather my thoughts (and the Bon Jovi content I've neglected to post over the past month), let's cast our minds back to this time seven years ago. It was a different world, and a different Bon Jovi. The second leg of the Because We Can Tour had just started... meaning we'd just been hit with that infamous show in Calgary in which Richie Sambora didn't turn up and the band ended up doing the gig with no lead guitarist.

Phil X, of course, replaced Richie for the rest of the tour, and every concert since.

"Like a moth dances with the light
Sometimes a shadow burns too bright
Shattered silence in the night
You wake up, move on..."
- Richie Sambora, Seven Years Gone

"Seven Years Gone" is probably one of the best tracks from the Aftermath of the Lowdown album. And even though Richie has become a somewhat polarising figure among Bon Jovi fans, depending on whose "side" you're on, there's no denying the guy had a significant hand in some great songs.

So here's "Seven Years Gone" just because it's been seven years and I wanted to post it:

And here's Richie performing "Seven Years Gone" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2012:

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Richie Sambora & Alicia Keys: I'll Always Walk Beside You

Richie Sambora has released a special edition of his song I'll Always Walk Beside You featuring Alicia Keys on the piano.

You can purchase and download it from his website, with all proceeds being donated to the American Red Cross's Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Richie Sambora Live! with Kelly and Michael

In further Aftermath of the Lowdown promo news, Richie Sambora performed Every Road Leads Home to You on Live! with Kelly and Michael on September 21, 2012:



He also had a web exclusive chat with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan about the personal turmoil that led to Aftermath, life as a musician and being on tour:

Aftermath of the Lowdown promo rolls on

Richie Sambora's album Aftermath of the Lowdown was released digitally on September 18, with the physical album to be available from this week. He has been doing some cool promotional performances, including this (electric for the first time) performance of Every Road Leads Home to You on Good Morning America.


Hath is pretty much on top of Richie's other promo appearances, and I have to acknowledge that a chunk of my traffic comes from her, so I'll just link to her blog where you can find some audio or video:

• Interview and acoustic performance of "Every Road" on The Howard Stern Show
• Radio interviews on WDVE and The Todd N Tyler Radio Empire
• Radio interview on The Rock 106.9 WCCC
• "Every Road" and "Taking a Chance on the Wind" on 93.3 WMMR
• Yet more interviews on 96.5 WKLH, 102.9 WMGK, 103.5 The Fox, and Wall Street Journal

Richie also did a Q&A with the Hollywood Reporter. Here's a snippet:

THR: Is there a marketing plan in place?

Sambora: Some of the people at Dangerbird play the record for journalists or radio people and don’t tell them who it is. It’s really cool. People are going to have a preconceived notion of what this record is supposed to be. I think it’s a great exercise because it lets people visit the music fresh, and after three songs they go: "Who the hell is that? Richie Sambora. Get the f--- out of here.” I love that people are so surprised.

THR: How was it different writing for your record than a Bon Jovi record?

Sambora: When I write songs with Jon, it’s an awesome experience, but basically there is a lot of commonality in our relationship. We grew up five miles away from each other, a couple years apart, in the same social bracket, but our styles are very different. When I write for the band, he is the megaphone for that band. So I write words that he is going to be able to sing, and I look at that as very important. With my solo stuff, I’m the guy with the mic. I’m the megaphone. … In the band, we all sit down and talk about things. Jon is the leader of this band, and I have had a lot to do with everything. I have been a guy that has co-written 90 percent of the hits, as well as many songs on every record. I also co-produced a lot of the records with Jon. We were essentially the songwriting team that moved that team forward, and on the business level, I have been his right-hand man. We were label presidents on our own label on Atlantic Records and produced Skid Row out of that, so Jon and I had done a lot of work in this organization for a lot of years, and that’s the way it’s rolling. Jon’s the leader, and there are no bones about that -- and no hard feelings. Everyone has a specific role in the caste system of what this band is, and that’s why it has lasted for 30 years.

Read the full interview here.

And finally, my friend and fellow Bon Jovi fan Adam reviewed Aftermath of the Lowdown for media-feed.com. Check it out and if you wish, leave your feedback on their Facebook page.

Richie Sambora Free at Noon live - World Cafe

Ahead of the digital release of his new solo album Aftermath of the Lowdown, Richie Sambora did a promotional gig in Philadelphia on September 14, 2012 which was broadcast on WXPN and NPR.

You can listen to it here.



It's also on YouTube if that media player isn't working for you.

The set list was as follows:

1. Taking a Chance on the Wind
2. Weathering the Storm
3. Every Road Leads Home To You
4. Wanted Dead or Alive
5. Sugar Daddy
6. You Can Only Get So High
7. Stranger In This Town
8. Livin' On A Prayer

Oh man, he sounds freaking awesome... Aussie tour, pleeeease? ;)

ADDENDUM: Hath has posted some videos from this performance on her blog... Check them out.

Richie Sambora EPK

Richie Sambora talks about making his solo album and breaking free of the Bon Jovi box and other preconceived notions about who he is.



He looks and sounds... revitalised. Hope that bodes well for the future.

Every Road Leads Home to You (Instagram lyric video)

Back in July, the call went out to Richie Sambora fans to submit Instagram photos for a lyric video of Every Road Leads Home to You.

Here's the video.



Was your pic included?

And in case you missed it earlier, the official music video for Every Road has also been released.

Richie Sambora's hard-won road to Aftermath of the Lowdown

This feature on Richie Sambora was published by the Los Angeles Times recently. Richie talked about the lowest point of his life and opening up on his new solo record:

"When I fell off that cliff, I realized who I was, unrelated to the band," Sambora said while on a sofa in the Palihouse lounge in West Hollywood. "I'd started to clean up five years ago, but I slipped, and made those amends. I'm lucky I wasn't a guy who lost his family or relationships."

The article also discusses the unlikely marriage between the guitarist of a super commercial band like Bon Jovi and an indie label like Dangerbird Records:

"Phil told me about his friend Richie who had a fantastic record, and that he hoped we'd have some common ground," Castelaz said. "But growing up, I was a janitor and swept garbage at an arena where Bon Jovi played. They were a rock 'n' roll hit machine, and my generation railed against those guys."

But slowly, the recordings started to win him over. And though much of Dangerbird's cool-kid audience will run screaming for the fire exits at the thought of buying an album from a Bon Jovi side project, it's easy to hear what turned Castelaz into a believer. "Burn that Candle Down" kicks off with a psychedelic fuzz barrage that the Black Keys would be happy to call their own. If the piano-plaintive yearn of "Every Road Leads Home to You" got misfiled under Coldplay or Arcade Fire, radio programmers would salivate to play it.

"This is nothing like Bon Jovi," Castelaz said. "They make quality rock music, but this is vulnerable and real about his travails. When he first played 'Every Road Leads Home to You,' it blew my … mind."

Read the full article at the LA Times.

Watch new Richie Sambora video + pre-order Aftermath of the Lowdown

Richie Sambora's new music video for Every Road Leads Home to You is now streaming online thanks to The Sun.

I didn't blog about Richie's change of hair colour when he tweeted about it and sections of the online Bon Jovi commmunity went into meltdown, but you can see Blond Richie now in all his desert-swept glory. Do you like the video?


In related news, you can now also pre-order the new album, Aftermath of the Lowdown in various packages from Richie's website.

Here's the email that landed in my inbox via BonJovi.com:

Hey everyone,
Richie Sambora's new solo album "Aftermath of the Lowdown" is going to be released digitally on September 18th, with the CD version arriving in stores one week later on September 25th.

Richie has also created a limited edition deluxe album package available exclusively through RichieSambora.com. The deluxe package includes a 16-page leather-bound, foil-stamped & embossed photo book featuring images from famed photographer James Minchin. Inside the hardcover book is the exclusive 180-gram 2xLP vinyl version of "Aftermath of The Lowdown" (featuring an etched Richie Sambora silhouette), the album on CD format, and an autographed lithograph print.

Preorder the exclusive "Aftermath of the Lowdown" deluxe package from RichieSambora.com, and choose either a Richie Sambora hoodie or t-shirt to complete your bundled order. Select your preferred bundle ranging from the $200 limited edition box & hoodie, all the way down to a simple $11.99 CD & digital album download.

All packages will receive an early download of "Aftermath of the Lowdown" on September 18th, and physical products will ship to arrive as close as possible to the album's release date of September 25th.

In other news Richie is beginning to announce European tour dates in support of the new album! Keep an eye on Richie's Facebook and Twitter for U.S. tour dates to be announced soon!

RICHIE SAMBORA TOUR DATES:
- OCT 9 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg - BUY TICKETS
- OCT 12 Munich, Germany @ Circue Krone - BUY TICKETS
- OCT 13 Berlin, Germany @ Huxley's - BUY TICKETS
- OCT 16 London, UK @ Shepard's Bush - BUY TICKETS

Richie Sambora is touring Europe

Richie Sambora's long-awaited third solo album Aftermath of the Lowdown is set for official release in less than a month, and for far longer than that fans have been wondering about an accompanying tour.

Well, some dates have now started to filter through in the last few days, straight from the king's mouth... The Aftermath tour will kick off on October 9 in the Netherlands!

First date of the Every Road tour... Amsterdam Oct. 9th.. It's on.

— Richie Sambora (@TheRealSambora) August 24, 2012

He will be playing at the Melkweg in Amsterdam.

For German fans, Richie also announced shows in Munich and Berlin on October 12 and 13...

Two tour dates added in Germany! 12 October in Munich, 13 October in Berlin! vsb.li/nzo4Tm

— Richie Sambora (@TheRealSambora) August 28, 2012

The gigs are at the Circus Krone in Munich and Huxleys in Berlin.

Luke Ebbin tweeted that we should "be patient" for more dates, which is always hard... but hopefully Richie is headed to your part of the world! And mine, for that matter, although I guess Australia is pretty far away...

Aftermath of the Lowdown: Q&A with Richie Sambora

Rolling Stone interviewed Richie about his forthcoming solo album Aftermath of the Lowdown... Here's an extract:

The lyrics are very heartfelt. You have, "Every heartache's a blessing/ Every knockdown was a start." I know you touched upon this with the album title, but did you intentionally set out to make a record that was so intensely personal?
What I found, interestingly enough, through the ups and downs of my life over the past decade since I made my other solo record, and all the stuff that I've gone through in my life over the past decade – this record is basically about my stuff. And what I really found out is that my stuff is pretty universal. The stuff that I've gone through isn't that alien. The stuff that I've gone through, anybody can go through in their lives and they probably will. Ups and downs and things like that. So I really felt like everybody can relate to these lyrics and make them their own. At the end of it, when I looked back on it, that's really what I've found.

You're exactly right except, perhaps, for "Seven Years Gone" because of the specific number of years. That one's about your ex-wife?
About seven years ago, life for me started to take kind of a little bit of a dip. I was getting divorced, my father was dying of cancer at that point in time, so things were definitely at a transformative period in my life. And then all of the sudden, I looked up, when I started writing this record, and I said, "Wow! Seven years gone!" It really went by very quickly. I started to think about the transference of time. My God, it's like, all of the sudden, I've been in this business for 30 years now and all the amazing stuff that's happened to me. So I guess it was kind of a reflection on all that kind of stuff, and I think anybody can relate to that.

You know what else I found during the making of the record? Pain and struggle are necessary, and challenging situations like that are necessary, for you to actually find your freedom and move on. The essential message of this record is freedom. A song like "Taking a Chance on the Wind" – about "Raising my flag/ And taking my chance on the wind" – it's all about risk. But, it's like, people ask me, "Why'd you make this record, Richie? Wasn't it a risk to make such a record?" And I say, "It would've been a risk not to make this record." I had to get this stuff out. It was a cathartic thing for me to do this album. And also, just to express my individuality away from the band.

I think that's probably why I went with an independent record company. That's why I went with Dangerbird. All this about "raising my flag" – independence. That's what I wanted, you know? I wanted independence from stuff that I knew before.

Read the full interview here.

Interestingly, Richie was also asked if Hugh McDonald was now part of the "brotherhood" and (not surprisingly) towed the Jon Bon Jovi line.

Will Black covers Every Road Leads Home to You

Independent Canadian rock musician and Bon Jovi fan Will Black has done an acoustic cover of Richie Sambora's new song Every Road Leads Home to You. Check it out...



What do you think of this version?

Aftermath of the Lowdown coming September 18

Richie Sambora's long awaited solo album Aftermath of the Lowdown will now be released on September 18, 2012 (not September 4 as previously reported):

After spending the last few years getting more attention for his sometimes-troubled personal life than for his music, Sambora says that the album’s title reflects his desire to give his side of the story. “This is the truth, the lowdown,” he explains. “And after you speak that truth, there’s always an aftermath.” Among the topics addressed in the album’s lyrics are divorce, substance abuse, single parenthood, independence and self-reliance.

Sambora notes, “A lot has happened in my life over the past 10 years, personal stuff that’s cathartic for me to get out… really, things that could happen to anybody, but I just happened to be in a band with the biggest concert tour in the world, and in the glare of the public eye.”

The guitarist adds, “This is my favorite record I’ve ever made. It’s the most fulfilling and beautiful experience in my life as a musician.”

Don't forget you can still get a free download of Every Road Leads Home to You and/or submit a photo for the accompanying Instagram video via Richie's website.

Happy birthday Richie Sambora

It's Richie Sambora's 53rd birthday today (July 11).

Head to his website and you can:

• Send him a birthday message
• Get a free download of his new song Every Road Leads Home to You (which many of you will have already since it's been leaked but now you can have an endorsed copy of it)
• Submit a photo for the #RichieRoad Instagram Photo Project which I detailed in an earlier blog post
• Do any or all of the above.

http://www.richiesambora.com/happybirthday/

Happy birthday, Richie! :)

#RichieRoad Instagram Photo Project

If you love taking photos on your mobile phone, Instagram and Richie Sambora, you can now enjoy them all together -- with an Instagram music video being created for Every Road Leads Home to You:

Help Richie Sambora create an Instagram photo-based video for the new song "Every Road Leads Home To You" from his upcoming album "Aftermath of the Lowdown." Before you hear the song, read the lyrics below and use Instagram to snap a photo of something in your world that represents the lyric.

Read Lyrics

1. Download Instagram (iPhone or Android)
2. Follow @TheRealSambora on Instagram
3. Take a photo representing a word in the lyrics
4. Add the hashtag #RichieRoad
5. Add a second hashtag related to the specific lyric your photo represents (ie: #phone for “phone” or #bridge for “bridge”)
6. Upload the photo

Richie will choose his favorite photos from your submissions and make create a video, so everyone can see "Every Road Leads Home To You" through your eyes.

There's a lot of hype around Instagram and quite a few musicians who have embraced fan involvement through the app, including Rufus Wainwright, The Vaccines, and Ed Sheeran. Now we can add Richie Sambora to the list. ;)

Will you be submitting a photo?

Richie Sambora Sunset Sessions

Richie Sambora recently performed an acoustic set at Sunset Sessions Rock!, playing songs from his upcoming solo album Aftermath of the Lowdown as well as some Bon Jovi favourites. Here's some video...

Performing Every Road Leads Home To You and Livin' on a Prayer:


Talking about working with Luke Ebbin and Jeff Castelaz at Dangerbird Records and being free to explore things outside of the "Bon Jovi juggernaut."
Performing Taking a Chance on the Wind and Wanted Dead or Alive:


Sunset Sessions are industry-only events so I'd just like to thank them for sharing these videos... Us fans appreciate it. ;) It's probably got to be said that Richie doesn't really sound too good here but he could be having an off day.

What do you think of the performance and the new songs?

Aftermath of the Lowdown: New Richie Sambora album

I guess Richie didn't like my North Korean Democracy suggestion then (That's the last time I will make that joke on this blog, I promise; I realise it's not actually that funny). From Ultimate Classic Rock:

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora will release his third solo album, ‘Aftermath of the Lowdown’ on September 4, Brave Words reported today (June 24). The album will be on indie label Dangerbird Records, with whom he signed back in May.

Apparently the album was accidentally leaked on SoundCloud before being removed but I haven't heard it. Richie also performed at the Sunset Sessions listening party on Saturday (June 23, 2012).