Jon Bon Jovi - Japanese interview

I believe this is the interview referred to in the tweets I posted earlier. Jon talks about the documentary When We Were Beautiful and new album The Circle. I think the interviewer is Masa Ito but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.




Jon's comments about "Work for the Working Man" and the album cover are probably the most interesting. The cover sounds awesome apart from the glaring omission of Hugh McDonald within "the circle" -- yes I am aware that I probably sound like a broken record when it comes to Huey, and no of course I'm not surprised -- but that doesn't mean I can't lament his continued exclusion from the band.

When We Were Beautiful premiering on Showtime

Media release as seen on the new-look BonJovi.com:

THERE’S NO HIDING IN THE SPOTLIGHT; SHOWTIME® TO PREMIERE BON JOVI: WHEN WE WERE BEAUTIFUL
September 24, 2009

First-Ever Bon Jovi Documentary Explores a Band’s Journey through 25 Years of Brotherhood

Premieres Saturday, October 24th at 9 PM ET/PT on SHOWTIME

LOS ANGELES, CA – (September xx, 2009) – Bon Jovi has built one of the biggest success stories in rock music history – now that story will be told by the band themselves. The documentary, WHEN WE WERE BEAUTIFUL, premiering Saturday October 24th at 9 PM ET/PT on SHOWTIME offers an intimate glimpse at these globally celebrated icons who remain, at their core, a band of brothers from New Jersey.

Directed by filmmaker and photographer Phil Griffin and produced by Academy Award®-and Emmy-winning producers @radical.media, the documentary was filmed on the road and behind the scenes with the band during their 2008 Lost Highway World Tour, which famously came to a close with a historic concert in New York City’s Central Park. At the height of their success—with another number one album and the number one grossing tour of 2008 in Billboard magazine-- Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful reveals the secrets behind this legendary band’s determined and charismatic leader Jon Bon Jovi, and band members Richie Sambora, David Bryan, and Tico Torres.

Threading intimate band-member interviews with scenes of life on the road, WHEN WE WERE BEAUTIFUL vividly portrays how the band made it through the rough patches, how they reach consensus on their priorities, and how Jon leads them with strength and compassion. Avid Bon Jovi fans will find plenty of new reasons to be so devoted, but anyone can revel in this exploration of the work that goes into the success and longevity of this band’s magnitude.

“Throughout the process of working with Bon Jovi, I was amazed at the candor and humility Jon and his band showed me,” said director Phil Griffin. “The result is not a neatly wrapped up bundle of staged interviews and musical interludes, but rather a series of open and sometimes difficult conversations, explored against a backdrop of music spanning 25 years. It is a film about the peace of Tico, the complexity of Richie, the drive of Jon and the brutal honesty of Dave. It is their willingness to share their stories that gives us what I hope is a very human story—that humanity is what I believe has seen this band stand the test of time.”

Bon Jovi has set the bar for more than two decades as one of the most successful rock bands in the world, and was 2008's top touring act in the world, coming in at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Tour chart. Globally, they have sold more than 120 million albums and performed more than 2,600 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans. A new studio album, The Circle will be released on November 10th and the new single “We Weren’t Born to Follow” is climbing the radio charts at record speed.. In addition to the documentary, Harper Collins will release a 192-page companion book on Oct 27th also titled When We Were Beautiful.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNELTM and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2TM, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNELTM ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

Hopefully this gets released internationally. (And hopefully it's good!). Apparently Showtime Australia simply licenses the logo from the American Showtime and has no other relationship with them, so I don't know when, where, or how it would be released here. (And I could have heard incorrectly about the non-relationship because I know both networks screen Dexter, for instance.)

New Bon Jovi website + 2DayFM interview

First of all, the official Bon Jovi website has undergone a bit of a makeover. I haven't had a chance to explore it properly but it looks a lot cleaner now and there is no video/audio autoplay anymore, which is a definite win for web design. I think you may need to re-register on the site but there also seems to be a forum/messageboard on there again, outside of the exclusive Backstage one.

Secondly, Jon was on the line this morning on 2DayFM's Kyle and Jackie O Show. Kyle & Jackie O interviewed Jon in January 2008 in Sydney, but this interview was actually conducted by Andrew G and Jackie O -- Australians will probably be aware that Kyle Sandilands is currently on suspension. Anyway, the whole segment was pretty lightweight as is 2DayFM generally, and they didn't even talk about The Circle, but it was quite relaxed and fun I suppose. Topics included writing hits, growing up in New Jersey, and life on the road and in the spotlight. Jon said, in response to a listener's question that he hoped to do a "big tour in Australia" which would be excellent news for me. He also said he wasn't sure he would see himself still doing what he's doing 15 years from now because he didn't want to be the "fat Elvis". The podcast is available for streaming or download at this link.

JBJ on When We Were Beautiful documentary

More from an interview with Jon Bon Jovi on Tokyo Radio, this time about the upcoming documentary When We Were Beautiful, as tweeted by the wonderful TokyoRockChick.

These 17 posts are from Jon Bon Jovi's interview, its about their documentary movie. #BonJovi2 minutes ago from web

1 : The documentary When We Were Beautiful: We made a movie, and the idea was that caputure the band in that moment in time.2 minutes ago from web

2 : We didn't want it to be retrospective, we didn't want it to be a concert movie. So it was very specific what we're looking for,3 minutes ago from web

3 : which is the caputure what it's like the inside the circle (the band), what it's like when the door is closed.3 minutes ago from web

4 : So even the parts aren't pretty, I left in there on purpose. So you could get more of the sense what it's like.3 minutes ago from web

5 : If you are a REAL fan, you watch something like this and I think you appreciate it more.4 minutes ago from web

6 : Because you've already seen the shows, you've already watched the old 20 some year old televisions, videos and stuff.4 minutes ago from web

7 : You wanna know what the guy is all about, and I think this helps to tell that story.4 minutes ago from web

8 : So first we thought we could tell the story with the book, and began writing the memoirs.5 minutes ago from web

9 : And we didn't like it. We gave the company their money back.5 minutes ago from web

10 : We hired the 1st director who is an Academy Award director and she didn't get it. It was obvious after a couple of weeks we did it.5 minutes ago from web

11 : We started to destroy it. And we met a guy Phil Griffin the director, he shot a video for Whole Lot of Leavin'6 minutes ago from web

12 : and he caputured it, took some great photographs and having a conversation with him.6 minutes ago from web

13 : You realise it was a great conversation, and he could be rather inquisitive and sensed great interview.6 minutes ago from web

14: So we thought "Let's take a chance" and hired him to direct and give him access and trust him.7 minutes ago from web

15 : So we paid for it and we sold it off. It all worked for the best cause when you paid for it you have total control.7 minutes ago from web

16 : and even the people who bought it, it's company called Showtime here in America, they gave us total artistic freedom.7 minutes ago from web

17 : They didn't come in, they didn't change it, they kept their words on it. So I'm pleased with the outcome.8 minutes ago from web

More album and tour info from Tokyo

Here are some additional details to the earlier post about the new album and tour as announced on Tokyo radio. (You may need to read the earlier post to understand what some of this is referring to.) Thanks again to TokyoRockChick for the tweets.

1 : 8 songs that DJ listened were all fantastic. The Circle will be a really GREAT album, back to ROCK & VERY Bon jovi in a word. as per DJabout 13 hours ago from web

2 : Seems it has one big theme, BJ wants to give the world strength, positive energy in such a bad times we've been through since last year.about 13 hours ago from web

3 : The song w/o title which will be on the best CD was Extremely Awesome. Its DJ's favorite.The song has similar guitar to It's My Life.about 13 hours ago from web

4: As for Hawai 14th/Feb/2010, its only 1 show there.about 13 hours ago from web

5 : London O2 Arena, 20 shows, Promoter AEG. This info will be announced officially.about 13 hours ago from web

6 : DJ mentioned Berlin O2 Arena as well. But its not confirmed by Jon.about 13 hours ago from web

7 : As of 5th/Sep, Jon himself told there was no live in 2009. But record company side told DJ they were planning something secretly.about 13 hours ago from web

8 : Record company side had their plan of Bon Jovi live around the release date for the promotion and wanted Jon to say Yes.about 13 hours ago from web

I have to admit, the 2nd and 3rd points are causing me a bit of apprehension. But I am getting excited about The Circle's release. Hope the tour comes to Australia!

Fan backlash rocks Bon Jovi

Obie recently confirmed there would be a guitar solo on the album version of "We Weren't Born to Follow". It followed some rather lively discussion among fans about the lack of a solo after Jon's shout of "Guitar!". Rafael, teenage fan in Brazil even came up with his own pretty cool solo.

So I found this article on MusicRadar rather interesting. It's an interview with Richie about the new album.

"When I recorded the solo to that song, I played a very melodic, kind of Beatles-esque break. That was the mood I was in. As soon as the song got leaked to radio, people went crazy, sending e-mails and Twittering and everything: 'We love the song, but what's with that solo? We want a rippin', burnin' Richie Sambora solo.

"So I said to Jon, 'Hey, do you want me to change it? We got time. And John was like, 'Sure. Go lay down another solo and we'll drop it in the song on the album.' So that's what I did - I cut it yesterday, in fact. It's a monster."

But does the guitarist mind having fans, in effect, 'produce' part of a song? "Nah!" he says, with a laugh. "When I played sessions, it was all about serving the song. Sometimes you have to test things out and see what works. I'm totally cool about the whole thing. And I guarantee that when people hear the new solo, they'll be stoked. Ask and you shall receive."

Wow. Maybe the band does take a break from the ivory towers to listen to fans once in a while. :P

So in case they (or their people) happen to be reading this blog right now, and haven't visited www.bonjovi-live.com since the tour dates posted up there were revealed as a hoax, Seb has posted some tour requests and a promise there.

Seb has pledged to donate $100 to Habitat for Humanity if Bon Jovi plays "In & Out of Love" in Holland on the upcoming tour and an extra $5 if it's played anywhere else. He also says he will donate $10 for every These Days song played at a show he attends. You can read his open letter in its entirety here.

The Circle tracklist

Finally! The complete track list for The Circle, not including bonus tracks. Order hasn't been confirmed.

question

Hi Obie!

When are you going to publish Circle setlist and more info?

Asked by andro10 on September 14, 2009 at 10:58am

answer

OK, here goes........
We Weren't Born To follow
When We Were Beautiful
Work For The Working Man
Superman Tonight
Bullet
Thorn In My Side
Live Before You Die
BrokenPromiseland
Love's the Only Rule
Fast Cars
Happy Now
Learn To Love

Answered by Obie on September 14, 2009 at 11:44am

If I put on my Negative Nancy hat, I come up with the following whines: Track 1 is already an "It's My Life Part 4 with Born to Be My Baby chorus"; "Superman Tonight" sounds like a Five for Fighting ballad; "Live Before You Die" will be "It's My Life Part 5"; and "Broken Promise Land" sounds like a poor Springsteen imitation.

But I'm not really in a negative mood right now. I'm just so freaking psyched about this album now. The buildup to it has been so immense. Will it be a real rock record? Will Jon's voice sound great? Will there be Sambora solos for the ages? When and where will Bon Jovi tour? Believe it or not I'll be 21 by the time the album is released (Anyone who's met me will know I don't really look my age :P) and a new Bon Jovi album is as good a reason as any to par-tay. ;)

(Besides, I love Five For Fighting, and John Ondrasik even told me he is a Bon Jovi fan.)