Richie Sambora on indie rock and philanthropy

LA Weekly interviewed Richie Sambora earlier this week about his upcoming solo album and his philanthropic work. Here are a few of his answers:

On his new solo record:
"Well, it's a really personal record. What isn't? I mean, we're all the same motherf***ers right? Well, we're taking a really indie rock approach."

Wait, indie rock!?
"You know what? The music business is broken, we all know that. Everyone is kinda hanging on by a string. I was a big label guy, but I was lucky enough to free up my solo contract. I still have a big label contract with the band, but I can do whatever I want with my solo stuff. There's a whole new approach. There's a company out there called Dangerbird Records. My record doesn't sound like Bon Jovi at all. It's got different musicians and I have a different point of view. There will be a lot of jamming on there...different stuff."

Isn't Dangerbird in the philanthropy business, too?
"Yeah, Jeff [Castelaz]'s son had an unfortunate situation and he used the label to help out with that ...the Pablove Foundation. And yes, I plan to get heavily involved with Pablove. We've already been talking about that and I can't wait to help out. "

Wait. Really? Indie!?
"Yeah, that's why I feel really good about the whole indie thing. I feel really good about bands that are out playing, they are out there playing real instruments and playing real shows and they're actually bands. And that lends itself to a live performance ...which I will be doing. I'll be going on tour this fall and playing some shows. Maybe even in my backyard, who knows? Yeah, I'm gonna get back down to the bottom of the barrel and work my way up...without that whole corporate structure thing."

Interesting. I'm even more keen to hear this album now.

You can check out the rest of the interview here.

(Oh, and yes, I did asterisk out Richie's swear word even though it's abundantly clear what he was saying. I've done it in the past. I have no issues with swearing personally but I do generally try to keep a PG-13 rating on this blog. :P)

JBJ & Friends Tiger Jam videos

Jon Bon Jovi and Friends headlined Tiger Jam 2012 on April 28 (check out the set list and some comments here) and I promised some videos so here we go. If it was a normal Bon Jovi show I'd just pick some standout performances or rarities but given it wasn't, I'll just link to videos of all the songs.

• So You Wanna Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star + You Give Love a Bad Name -- with an introduction from Tiger Woods and Jon on guitar.
• Ain't Nothin' But a House Party
• Oh, Pretty Woman
• Lost Highway -- Jon pays tribute to Tiger's philanthropic side, talks about working on a new album, then flubs the words to his own song at about 3:05. ;)
• Chain of Fools -- Layonne Holmes on lead vocals.
• I'm Your Man -- Jon is kind of playing up to his sex appeal with the Adam and Eve speech at the beginning but I really enjoyed this, probably more than the Leonard Cohen version. *hides* :P
• Bad Medicine
• Old Time Rock and Roll -- sharing vocals with Layonne, Bobby Bandiera, and I think Jeff Kazee?
• We Weren't Born To Follow + Just Older
• Livin' on a Prayer
• Wanted Dead or Alive
• Under Pressure
• Sympathy For The Devil
• Start Me Up
• Baba O'Riley -- Bobby Bandiera on lead vocals with an epic violin solo from Lorenza Ponce to finish.
• I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
• The Letter
• Who Says You Can't Go Home
• Hallelujah
• 634-5789

So... what did you think of the show? How do you feel the band songs turned out?

In one definite plus, Jon is sounding pretty good.

Tiger Jam and Golden Heart awards

A couple of quick updates... First of all, Tiger Jam raised $1 million:

For the third time in 14 years, Jon Bon Jovi rocked Tiger Woods’ annual concert fundraiser Tiger Jam, and this weekend was the best of the hat track, raising $1 million. It’s difficult to believe that Jon, 50, is stronger than ever jumping, racing and running all over the Mandalay Bay Events Center stage.

It was “a jukebox full of rock and roll hits,” as Jon put it himself, and the sold-out house loved them all.

There are photo gallery links at Las Vegas Sun and Zimbio. I'll put videos up soon.

Also, check out the JBJ and Friends set list and discuss the show here.

Meanwhile, Richie Sambora is going to be honoured at the Golden Heart Awards on May 7 for his work with the Midnight Mission:

Grammy award-winning musician Richie Sambora will be honored at the 12th Annual Golden Heart Awards on May 7 – along with Del and Bettina Breckenfeld – for his philanthropic work with The Midnight Mission, a human services agency offering emergency services, drug and alcohol recovery and transitional programs for homeless men, women and children in Los Angeles.

The Golden Heart Awards will take place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and will begin with a 6:00 pm reception, followed by dinner, the awards and entertainment.

“I have a profound respect for the Midnight Mission,” says Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora. “I’m inspired by the work they do day in and day out. I’m proud to be affiliated with such a solution-minded outreach program. For the betterment of our community, I gladly contribute whenever I’m able to lend my support to the cause in any way I can. To have the Midnight Mission recognize me with this award is humbling and an incredible honor.”

Tiger Jam 2012 - JBJ & Friends set list

Jon Bon Jovi and Friends headlined Tiger Jam overnight to benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation which aims to provide educational opportunities for young people.

Here's the setlist... If anyone could confirm/correct or add any more information (e.g. who was in the band), that would be awesome.

Tiger Jam 2012 - Mandalay Bay Events Center - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - April 28, 2012

1. So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star [The Byrds cover]
2. You Give Love A Bad Name
3. Ain't Nothin' But a House Party [The J. Geils Band cover]
4. Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
5. Lost Highway
6. Chain of Fools [Aretha Franklin cover] - Layonne Holmes vox
7. I'm Your Man [Leonard Cohen cover]
8. Bad Medicine
9. Old Time Rock and Roll [Bob Seger cover]
10. We Weren't Born To Follow
11. Just Older
12. Livin' on a Prayer - acoustic
13. Wanted Dead or Alive
14. Under Pressure [Queen/David Bowie cover]
15. Sympathy For The Devil [Rolling Stones cover]
16. Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
17. Baba O'Riley [The Who cover] - Bobby Bandiera vox
18. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
19. Good Times [Chic song]
20. The Letter [The Box Tops song]
21. Who Says You Can't Go Home
Encore
22. Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
23. 634-5789 [Wilson Pickett cover]

The Voice takes on Bon Jovi

Singing competition franchise The Voice hit Australia last week, and yep, Bon Jovi made an appearance (if only in the songs).

Here is Chris Ninni singing Always during the Blind Auditions. He ended up on Joel Madden's team. (I'm not sure if this video is region restricted; if I find a YouTube upload, I will add the link to this post.)


What do you think? He also uploaded a video of himself singing Bed of Roses to YouTube.


And while we're on the topic of The Voice, I also stumbled across Jamar Rogers from the US version doing a unique rendition of It's My Life.

Bon Jovi's son gives Poly lacrosse a good name

Nice little article about Jon's eldest son Jesse Bongiovi's efforts in lacrosse:

“He has an unbelievable commitment that I look up to,” Bongiovi said of his father. “He’ll come home Saturday mornings, I’ll sleep in and he’ll be like, ‘I just ran five miles. What did you do today?’ … He’s always working hard at musical stuff. It inspires me to come out here and work hard.”

Bongiovi’s own efforts have paid off on the lacrosse field. He is the starting faceoff specialist for Poly Prep, the defending NYSAISAA champion. Bongiovi, who admits to playing a little guitar, has won more than 50 percent of draws to start the year. He scored his first career varsity goal for Poly (1-2) in a 12-6 loss to Fieldston on Friday. Bongiovi hopes to lead the team to another state crown.

Read the full article here.

Rock of Ages trailer (Tom Cruise sings Bon Jovi)

First of all, I'm back (in case anyone missed me). Sorry for the lack of recent updates... I was overseas and was relying on mobile web access which made blogging difficult.

Thought I'd ease in with a new trailer for Rock of Ages (starring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx) that came out earlier this month. There's a little snippet of Tom Cruise performing Wanted Dead of Alive.

Who's seen the musical? And who's planning on watching the movie?