BON JOVI
(English)
Early November 2002 the dates for Bon Jovi's European stadium tour in
2003 were announced. The band did a press conference and a photo session for
the German press, but we were invited too!
Here's a selection of the questions and answers, mainly given by Jon Bon
Jovi and Richie Sambora. We deleted the stupid questions like: "Four years
ago you played in Bremen. Do you still remember that?" Jon: "I don't
even know where I am today. When we do a world tour we end up in some 100
cities and stadiums, you can imagine I don't remember all of them..."
Here's an
interview provided to us (free of charge) to use...
Why did you choose to
call the album “Bounce”?
Jon: The title of the record’s “Bounce” ff1 were witty, I’d say, “You
tell me what it means. And I think the idea behind it was initially more of a
title in the first person. It was going to be about my story. Or then, the
band’s story. And then became that of the country. And the resiliency that I’ve
found personally in the band, and now, because of the events of 9/11, that of
the resiliency of the country. And I still thought that it was a title that
could be fun enough that you could make it your own, too, because it could be a
simple as bouncing up and down or bouncing a bail, and yet it can mean so much
more. so, In a strange way, I like to leave it up to the individual to decipher
what they want it to he.
What did you set out as
your goals for this record?
Jon: I think that an album, for me, has to be an encapsulated version of
a time in my life, a period. And, m this case, it’s a year since the last tour
ended. Not even quite a year. A year this week. So, from the end of July in
2001, to the year 2002, what happened? Well, other things, but 9/Il happened.
You have cute romantic songs, you have firm rock songs, and you’re gonna have
the storytelling, more classic songs that are the makings of what is “Bounce,”
Because you want a beginning, a middle and a end. I want it to be like a book
or a movie, where we’re taking somebody on a journey of what’s gone on in my
life in the last year. And though 9/11 played a part in it, a big part In it, a
sobering part in it, that was just one aspect. And I didn’t ~vant it to be
overly sentimental overly patriotic, but certainly acknowledging what myself,
the band and the country have been through.
Was the song “Undivided”
the most passionate song you’ve ever recorded?
Jon: Well perhaps, you know I like to think we put passion into anything
we do. Urn, it’s directly relatable to a specific subject that you’re familiar
with as well as I am. So perhaps if I wrote something that was just as
passionate about something only I knew about and you know, I was then relaying
the story to you and you had to guesstimate how much or not I put into it. in
our story telling, what we try to do is blur the lines between first, second,
and third person so that it’s me. you, and we. And in doing so, you find a
lyric that makes it make sense. And so the chorus for “Undivided” perhaps can
be considered universal, and not just U.S. and not just patriotic, but
thematically having to do with we as one planet. Wise up already, step back and
take a look because people in the Gaza Strip are having more consistent
suffering than we had in New York and vet to a in-eat degree people watch TV
and consider it something that’s not their problem because it’s far away or
fighting anywhere in the world or our problems are not just ours as Americans
but the world’s problems and we were able to look at that head on and write
about it.
How did you approach
production for “Bounce”?
Jon: Production on this record was somewhat simple in the approach that
fit’s not broke, don’t fix it. We had a great relationship last time with Luke
Ebbin, who is a young up and coming producer. He did a fine job on ‘Crush.” and
then wed incorporate the talents of anybody and everybody that would come in
the studio. Our managers always say. ‘There’s no 1’ in team.” it’s a great
collaborative effort in every aspect of this record, My ego’s not big enough
that! have to worry about that. I’m not vain enough to think that my or even my
and Richie’s ideas are the be all and end all. It’s not a “you can’t look until
it’s finished process,” it’s “What do you think?” and then you step back from
the canvas, and then when you move up to it again, you have a heifer
perspective of what you’re painting.
What is the most
enjoyable part of all this, for you?
Jon: In terms of my life in the band, my favorite part of it is writing
the songs. Even more so than recording them and definitely more than playing
them live. It’s the actual creation of writing a song that for me personally is
my favorite part. ‘Cause I can already envision what it’s gonna sound like, I
just know the tedious process we’re gonna have to go through to write the other
12 that go on the record, and then record them, and then overdub them, and mix
‘em, and master ‘em. Even today, you get so possessive that here we are in the
mastering lab, I should be on some beach letting you interview me with a pina
colada right now truthfully. But every aspect I was involved in, as was Richie
on this record, was more than anything we’ve ever done, and I hope that the end
result is something that I know will make us proud, but I hope the people
enjoy.
What was the time frame
it took to write the songs and to record “Bounce”?
Jon: It was just about a year. It’s a year ago this week, we’re at the
end of July right now. It’s a year ago this week that we were finishing the
last week of’ the tour, of the “Crush” tour. We took only maybe 3 weeks off you
know right after that to decompress, wash the clothes, and get back to it. And
the writing process began I believe in L.A. and then shortly thereafter we were
in New Jersey. So that by September 11th. we were well into it, and in Jersey
writing. And so it went so theoretically from the end of August. and we were
still writing in May.
Did you approach
“Bounce” like an old album, having an “a” and “b” side?
Jon: We did. When we sequenced the album, dating back to my old love for
vinyl and laying in bed with the old vinyl, we laid it out as side a and side
b. And “Hook Me tip” would be the beginning of side
b. And I like the sequencing a lot. It’s unorthodox to put a song like “Joey”
fourth, you’re supposed to have the hit ballad there. We didn’t want to lose
that song. We took the ballad that we know is a big hit song, or we think is a
big hit song, and put it down to number 6. Who cares? It’s important to tell
the story.
The first lyrics on
“Undivided” cut right to the chase.
Jon: We had to be to the point with it like that. If you’re going to
step out on a limb and talk about, what happened on 9/11. it better be
pin-pointed and yet not be so personal that other people can't relate to it. It
can't be just your view of what happened. It has to be something that’s
universal. That was the idea
Richie: We had many conversations about the lyric, about that particular
song. ‘Cause we were saving, are we hitting this too spot-on-the head? Is this
gonna be too sad for people to digest’? And we felt that it was just right to
hit it on the head. It was the right thing to do.
During the ending of
“Undivided”, the music comes down to just an acoustic guitar and the voices,
which mirrors the meaning of the lyrics.
Jon: Just as the lyric, in it’s most basic form which is just an
acoustic guitar and a voice, which is the way that it was written, is as true
and important as is that powerful lick. You know, the lick was there to
reinforce the lyric, but the lyric is at the core of it, what’s the most
important thing. And it is the message that the chorus gives.
Was writing “Undivided”
a cathartic experience for you?
Jon: We ran the gamut. We were both at my house that morning during the
writing process, and earlier that morning, I happened to be up, and Richie was
yet to be up, and I woke him up thinking to myself.., this is something very
important. There’s something going on right now. And then you know, as the
first tower was hit, and then the second one was about to be hit and then was
hit, I woke him up and was put in a position really, where none of us knew if
this was Armageddon. We didn’t know how many more lanes were in the skies when
you started thinking... Oh My God... there’s thousands of planes in the skies
right now. What about Chicago? What about L.A.? I started thinking ahead...
time zones. Now I got my dear friend sitting at my house 3,000 miles away from
his own wife and children. My kid’s in school, wondering do I run them outta
school, what do we do here and not alarm him? Be aware of what’s going on wound
us. Remember, trying to reach for the phone, and he couldn’t get a hold of his
wife. We couldn’t call out. We couldn’t get a plane. We couldn’t do anything
like that. Acting, but not reacting. Thinking about you know, what’s going on
right now, and all the emotions soon thereafter ran the gamut from sadness,
anger, to even disbelief and the first songs we sat down to write with regard
to 9/11 were very, very sad. Songs that weren’t even ever demoed, that’ll
probably never even get out of the notebook. But were depressing. Then as we
wrote a bunch and we kept going, we started to think about this is gonna be a
year from now before we’re gonna publicly speak about the subject. Is that
gonna be the emotions that we’re feeling in a year from now? When we realized.
NO. in a year from now, people are gonna be dusting themselves off. We’re gonna
be moving on. Grab yourselves by the bootstraps and gonna have to get on with
life. As the record progressed, and songs started to weed themselves out, it made
more and more sense. Our county in New Jersey was the hardest hit county in New
Jersey. and therefore the hardest hit county in the metropolitan area. And so
many of those folks worked on Wall Street that lived in my town, There were
kids in my kid’s classrooms whose folks didn’t come home. There was a number of
them.
The lyrics on “Everyday”
reinforce the message that Bon Jovi has always forwarded as a band,
perseverance in the face of adversity...making the best out of a bad situation
and coming back stronger.
Jon: We ye always tried to find the optimism. and that’s what been
signature for us throughout the years. Even through a darker record like These
Days” we were feeling rather optimistic, even though at the end of the day when
people would bring it up and say, “God this is a dark record. why are you guys
so upset?” And I would say ‘Gee, we’re in a great mood” but what has worked for
us throughout the 20 years we’ve been making records Is trying to find the
optimism in any subject that you write about. You know, if it’s “Keep The
Faith” slIer the riots in L.A.. or if it’s "Everyday” after the World
Trade Center” you try to find the optimism. A reason for people to wanna go on.
Distance can mean many
things, like distance between two points, or to be aloof, or it could be used
to convey perseverance under adversity.
Jon: That’s the point of the lyric, yeah, of the chorus that I’ll go the
distance. I’ll go as long and as hard as necessary to get the job done and to
stick with it...
Richie: That’s definitely what the song was about, I think that in my
mind when we were writing it, I almost had a picture in my head of a soldier,
in a way, leaving his wife and going to do his duty in whatever armed forces
were there and him in his mind seeing her. Saying I’ll go the distance, just
wait for me till I get back. I think that’s the cinematic picture I had in my
head.
“The Distance’s” music
sences a different role in the song with regards to the story, doesn’t it?
Jon: I think it was more about the lyric and that the music accompanied
it opposed to having been a rifforiented song that we toiled so hard over
getting’ every day an undivided right from a lick standpoint, the energy
accentuating the lyric, but the lyric being able to be as important enough to
stand on it’s own, With this one, the chords are simply there to accompany the
movie that they’re underlying. You know, they’re as important as a score is to
a film, but on the other hand really, it’s just a simple. basic, chord
structure on that song, and it was really just meant as an accompanying the
track. I really don’t think it was as important as some of the others.
Richie: Yeah that’s true. Interesting enough, what I fond interesting
about this song is the juxtaposition of the heavy guitar parts involved with
the orchestra, which really adds an urgency and actually helps the lyric come
through.
The song “Joey” tells a
story. Why did he get the name Joey Keys?
Jon: You know, because he could pick a lock key. Keys is lust like Jimmy
The Jeweler.. you know...
in New Jersey they got Eddie The Hat. We know all those guys. Tommy Thumbs, You
know.
Joey Keys. The cuteness of it is that he’s a little slow, and yet he was the
bag man, or he was the
guy who could pick a lock, or he was the any that you thought was a moron, But
it’s a flctional character, and it was something that as we were writing one
day, I hit Richie up with the don ol’ this song, and we knocked it out quick...
in a day. We wrote it in a day. And then the bridge music came while we were
tracking it and 1 just knew a good lick to change keys there. We wrote it
fictionally,,. I was thinking of “The Pope Of Greenwich Village”, and we talked
about the relationship between Mickey Rourke & Eric Roberts, and “Charlie.
they got my thumb” you know.., and guys like that are always in the romantic
version. They’re gonna win, They’re gonna act out, They’re gonna make it. And
in the song sense. I don’t hear people writing the classic old story teller
five-six minute song that takes you on a journey and makes you feel like you
can ride into the sunset. (just don’t hear songs like that anymore. You know,
Elton would do it on “Yellow Brick Road” or Billy Joel did it on all those
records. There was a.lot of great storyteller! songwriters that I just don’t
hear those things anymore in the 3 minute 30 second pop ditties that are on the
radio now. So we reached out a couple of times on this record with great focus
to have a couple of those on the record.
How did “Misunderstood”
come about?
Jon: The way that “Misunderstood” came about was a series of errors and
working too hard, combined with being away from home. I think that the best
songs that come out of honesty are the ones that you re quick enough to write
down. For instance, “Bed Of Roses”, when I was writing that song in ‘92, I was
in no mood to be writing a song due to the circumstances, and instead of
putting the pen down and walking away from the piano, I sat down and wrote
“sitting here wasted and wounded with this old piano...” and the hurt that I
was feeling physically that day. Well this time I was in Los Angeles for a
better part of 5 months doing a television program, and came home, I think it
was on a Thursday, and had meetings at the house on Friday, and then on Monday
morning began recording the record. At which time my wife looked at me and said
it’s time to straighten up. You know, you’d better realize that there’s more to
what you do than what you do, And I was in the doghouse. Instead of putting my
tail between my legs or barking back, I just wrote “right”. I should apologize
for everything I’m about to screw up here, And you know, made light of it, And
in a fun and funny way, for every guy that’s been in the doghouse before, 1
think they can relate to that. And I like the vulnerability, and the honesty
about it. So I was on a roll, and Richie said, “Run boy run”. And we did!
Interview: Ray Waddell. November 02, 2002
Photography: Henry Knegt, Köln, November 9, 2002
