The man who killed Jon Bon Jovi

Jeff Goho from Pennsylvanian metal band Minutia has claimed responsibility for the Jon Bon Jovi death hoax earlier this month. He also says he's getting a lot of angry messages about it. Can't imagine why...

From SheKnows:

"I never thought the rumors would spread so rapidly," Goho said. "I am truly sorry for any and all damage that I may have caused Jon and his family. Furthermore, I can only hope that he continues to bring prosperity to the Philadelphia region and surrounding areas."

And from the Asbury Park Press:

“I’m in a band as well, and I was going into the recording studio, and we had talked about how the music industry just started taking a turn into crazy new worlds that no one, really, can assess,” said Goho, 30, in a telephone interview Monday. “Long story short, I was talking to my band members on their down time, and we got so worked up in the conversation, I just kind of took the liberty and started (the rumor), because I was so irritated.

“All I heard was ‘Bon Jovi this,’ ‘Bon Jovi’s starting a restaurant.’ What was the latest one? The Advil commercial (featuring Bon Jovi)? It was like, ‘Jeez, (Bon Jovi) was a household name due to the music, not the business.’ So I’m not proud of it. I’m getting a lot of backlash from it, but as stupid as it sounds, that’s how it started. I just had a blurb and went with it.”

In all honesty, Mr Goho wouldn't be the first person to feel that Bon Jovi has become more about "the business" than the music over the years but taking a crack at the Soul Kitchen -- not to mention stirring the wrath of the Jovi fandom -- was all kinds of silly. On second thoughts, maybe not, given I'm sure a lot of people who had never heard of Minutia now have. Jeff posted this on Minutia's Facebook page on Christmas day:

THIS IS A PERSONAL RESPONSE FROM JEFF GOHO ALONE - MY BAND IS NOT INVOLVED! - I'm getting a shit load of backlash from my most recent stunt. So, just to make it official, I'm sorry for the entire Bon Jovi thing. I will repeat the same exact thing that I told the Philadelphia Soul and everybody else spamming the fuck out of my email account. I am truly sorry for any and all damage that I caused Mr. Bon Jovi, his band members, and his family. And as I've told you blood-sucking press mongrels... I endorse all of his business endeavors and hope that he continues to bring prosperity to the Philadelphia region and tri-state area. And please stop sending attached hate mail to my fellow band members. They are in no way involved. I did it on my own. - Goho

Meh... This guy's not worth the fuss. ;)

APPENDIX #1: Hopefully this is the last bit of attention we give Goho on this blog, but Minutia has recorded a song/whiny rant in response to this saga called No Regrets. You can listen to it here.

Conversely, Bon Jovi's No Regrets (the Bounce outtake) can be heard here.

APPENDIX #2: Bon Jovi tour photographer David Bergman, who also took the photo proving Jon was still alive, wrote a blog about the whole death hoax incident... check it out at this link.

Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey: JBJ

"Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey." So says Jon Bon Jovi, and he should know, given he supposedly died December 19, 2011...

I actually completely missed all this drama as it was unfolding, but apparently this badly written fake press release was posted on Twitter and widely retweeted:

Rockstar Jon Bon Jovi (John Francis Bongiovi, Jr) was pronounced dead today after paramedics found him in a coma at his Empress Hotel, city and law enforcement of Asbury Park, NJ sources told The Times after World Christmas Tour concert on
The Bamboozle Festival,North Beach Asbury Park.

New Jersey Fire Department-First Aid Captain Douglas Gray told The Times that paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home. When they arrived, Bon Jovi was not breathing.

The paramedics performed CPR and took Bon Jovi to Jersey Shore Medical Center, Ruda said. Hundreds of reporters gathered at the hospital awaiting word on his condition. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Bon Jovi team rushed to Bon Jovi’s bedside, where he suffered Cardiac arrest.

The detectives plan to interview relatives, friends and Bon Jovis’s doctors to try to figure out what happened. The N.J. County coroner’s office will determine a cause of death. A New Jersey Fire Department source told The Times that Bon Jovi was in full cardiac arrest when rescue units arrived.

And before long, news of Jon's "death" was trending on Twitter.

Confirming it was all a hoax, this photo was posted on Bon Jovi's Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as tour photographer David Bergman's Twitter.

(I've been known to bag Bon Jovi's use of social media in the past and will probably do so in the future, but that was a pretty cool response to the situation.)

Here's Jon joking about his demise at the Hope Concert, where he performed that very night.


I'll put more Hope Concert videos up soon but in the meantime you can check out this review from the Star-Ledger.

And according to Richie Sambora, he and the still-livin' Jon are working on the next Bon Jovi record. Richie also says he's recording his long-awaited solo album simultaneously. Because, you know, they'll sleep when they're dead. (Hey, everyone else has been spewing out the puns like crazy... I couldn't end this post without at least one! :P)