JBJ on "Nightline"

WOw, I totally forgot about this. *duh*

Thank you to Debee1015 for uploading this, and Queenie for reposting it so I saw it! LOL

JBJ ABC Interview Nightline

Interesting article. Sounds like this will air on Monday, August 1 on Nightline - at 11:35 pm EST. (8:35pm PST)

From abcnews.go.com:

The first topic that arises in an interview with Jon Bon Jovi -- if the interviewer is female -- is, of course, the hair. The music must wait.

The story of the singer's iconically feathery mane leads back to Bon Jovi's father, a marine turned hairstylist. "He created it," Bon Jovi said in an interview with ABC News' Lara Spencer.

Bon Jovi, 49, went on to make an important distinction: "[My hair] was very famous, but you know what? Bono had a mullet. I never had a mullet. Mel Gibson had a mullet. … I was Cousin It. I just had a big ball of hair. … Fortunately I still have it. … There's no weave in there, baby."

The rock superstar was being escorted by five police motorcycles from Newark, N.J., to New York City. He had been in Newark fulfilling his role as the only celebrity on President Obama's White House Council for Community Solutions, something he prides himself on almost as much as his roots in the Garden State.

"New Jersey shaped who and what I am. Growing up in Jersey gave you all the advantages of New York, but you were in its shadow. Anyone who's come from here will tell you that same story. … It dates back to Sinatra. Anybody -- Jerry Lewis, Abbott and Costello -- they all had to fight for what they did, and this is where they came from," Bon Jovi said.

Bon Jovi, the band, is beginning the European leg of its "Circle" tour following 16 months of concerts throughout the United States. After three decades, they are still thrilling fans and selling out arenas with their 1980s' anthems like "You Give Love a Bad Name."

The tour was the top-grossing tour of 2010, bringing in more than $200 million and easily outselling some of the biggest current names in music. It has been more successful than the tours of Kanye West, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber put together.

"Yeah, that's not even the same league," Bon Jovi said.

He explained longevity in the music business via an analogy: "Everyone else is here for what we call a cup of coffee. … When you become Billy Joel and Elton John, or U2" -- or Bon Jovi -- "then you sit around and you're enjoying dessert."

Bon Jovi said he has always been this confident. Now it's backed up by numbers. When he was starting out and hoping for his first break, it was backed up by sheer determination -- and a catchy rock song.

"I went to a radio station on Long Island in 1982, and thank goodness for me, it was so new that there was no receptionist. So the DJ opened up his booth, and took my tape and listened to it and thought it was a hit song," he said.

He had sent the tape -- containing the song "Runaway" -- to record companies for nearly a year, with no response. "This guy was on the air at a new station, and he loved music. So he answered the door when a kid knocked on it."

The band has stuck together through each other's good times -- like keyboardist David Bryan winning a Tony in 2010 for the musical "Memphis" -- and stumbles. The day of the interview, Bon Jovi was going to see guitarist Richie Sambora, who had just been released from rehab.

Bon Jovi likened the relationship to brotherhood. "It's a very close relationship when you're in a band for that many years. … You've experienced things together that you didn't experience with your own siblings or your spouse. You've lived in a cocoon that only the other members of that organization have lived in," he said.

Still, brothers can fight and go years without speaking. Further explaining the band's success, Bon Jovi switched his analogy to football. "Everybody has the same dream. Everybody believed. Everybody still followed the quarterback, and, you know, knew what integral role they were playing within the team."

Bon Jovi's personal life has had the successful longevity his music has. He's been married for 22 years to his high school sweetheart, Dorothea. They have four kids, including a daughter who is off to college in the fall. She's just about the same age her dad was when he started singing hits like "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive," which still get standing ovations today.

With his 50th birthday a few months away, Bon Jovi has been expanding his efforts beyond the rock star lifestyle. The White House council is one example. His Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has helped build hundreds of houses for poor families, and he frequently performs at charity events for organizations such as the New York Police Department.

After 30 years in and out of hotel rooms, Bon Jovi has learned to streamline. This applies to his famous hair, now much shorter, as well as his clothing.

"I carry one bag -- [fewer] than everyone else in the band ever did. … I'm a guy. Guys will take one pair of jeans, five T-shirts and three pair of socks and that'll get you by for 10 weeks. When I'm on stage, I hope they're washing these jeans once a week, because that's about it!"

JBJ on "In the Studio"

Thanks for posting this on Facebook, Johnna!

JBJ did a short interview on politics with In the Studio - from inthestudio.net:

REDBEARD: Jon, in a September 1989 interview, you told me that your politics and religion have to be kept private. When did you change your mind in that regard, and more importantly, why?

JON BON JOVI: I really see myself as a concerned citizen (now), and a father of four and a husband, and certainly an ambassador of pop culture in this world. As I traveled near and far to Africa, Asia, Europe, I’ve seen just from afar that people love America. They really love the culture. They love the music we have given them. They love the idea of the dreams that we have given them. And I’m sad to say that, in places where I went fifteen years ago and was greeted as that ambassador of culture, I would have second thoughts about going to(now) . Not necessarily for fear of my own safety but perhaps for somebody on a road crew. And it’s a shame, because I love this country immensely. And I don’t get involved in politics as much as I do in philanthropy, because I’m a firm believer that 50% of the people are against you just because they believe you vote with a certain political party. I don’t want to be the man at the party, I want to be the guy who makes a difference, that believes in the ideals of what this country was founded on. The more I read of Thomas Jefferson andAbraham Lincoln and George Washington, and especially John Adams who was not as well known to me until recent years, that I realized that this is a magical place, a mystical place that is worth defending. Not the way it was represented by George W.Bush and Dick Cheney. And if that’s going to cause me some pain, as it has, then so be it. I’m just reporting in as a concerned citizen.


RB: Are you saying that declaring your political beliefs threatens your career?

JBJ: Nothing like the Dixie Chicks not getting played on the radio. Even though I may not have agreed with the Bush administration, & didn’t vote for them, I never slagged the man in office simply out of respect for the office of the Presidency of the United States. And for that reason alone, we as Americans have to forget about “red”(Republican) and “blue”(Democrat) and we all honest to God have to become “purple” and try to have compromises so that we as a nation can continue on and go forward, not only for us but for our kids. Regardless of my beliefs, I don’t sit on my stage at night and talk politics. You come to see me perform. I don’t use my platform as a place to talk politics. And yet there have been times, places, and people who have chastised people in my line of work for speaking out. I am one that believes that dissent is in fact patriotic, and we should question our leaders. Because if you don’t, you’re nothing more than a sycophant. Just because a person’s in office doesn’t mean he knows all the answers. This is still a democracy.

Men's Health magazine: Jon's best

Jon interviewed with Men's Health on what some of his favorites are.

My friend Beth pointed out this quote...

"There are too many freakin' flavors today. I don't want Rocky Road vanilla twirl, I don't want 99 flavors, I want basics."

...as explanation for why the setlists are so plain! ;) LOL!

Enjoy.

HOTEL
"The Park Hyatt Tokyo, where Lost in Translation was filmed. You can't help but think how right Sofia Coppola got it when she shot there. It has probably the greatest view from a gym anywhere in the world. The Ritz or the George V (the Four Seasons) in Paris for the bar, which I believe was Hemingway's."

BEST CLASSIC RIDES
"My 1978 Datsun 280Z was the first cool car I owned, and it still holds a place near to my heart.I love my 1970 Chevelle. It's blue with white racing stripes…convertible. My kids call this the loud car. It has a brand-new engine. It's loud. I ride it hard. My Harley Custom SofTail sits on the floor of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's the bike I took across the country a couple times in search of Route 66."

BEST BOARDWALK
"Seaside, Wildwood, and Asbury Park, on the Jersey shore. For those of you who never got to experience the boardwalks in Jersey back in the day, I wish I could give that to you."

BEST JUNK-FOOD RESTAURANT
"Go see Mrs. Max at Max's in Long Branch during the summer. Order a hot dog. Everything you need to dress it is on the table. Order the onion rings and pretend you're a Soprano. Order a really cold root beer. If you have room for dessert, it's all there. You'll see all your favorite Jersey guys' pics on the walls. And oh yeah--tell Mrs. Max I said hi."

BEST LULLABY TO SING A CHILD TO SLEEP
"I make them up in the moment."

BEST WORKOUT
"I was doing Workout 101 for years: treadmill, elliptical, weights. Now I'm going to do yoga. I went for my first time, and I enjoyed it. I'm a 21st-century man."

BEST BOOK
"The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma. Let's just say it was one of the most influential books for me, because it talked about how more and bigger is not always better. I came to that realization a decade and a half ago. I bought lots of copies for friends who were in similar situations, some of the guys in the band, other people in our line of work."

BEST JEANS
"Levi's are my favorite, but the truth is I want the Levi's of my youth: zipper, one button, straight legs. There are too many freakin' flavors today. I don't want Rocky Road vanilla twirl, I don't want 99 flavors, I want basics. I wear Lucky's or Diesel now. I sound like a cranky old man, don't I?"