“Guitarist” talks to proud Americans Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi about songs,
guitars and “kicking ass”!




"The Band of 100 Million"

Richie Sambora is pretty proud of the box set “100, 000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong”. Existing of four CDs and a DVD this is a mammoth compilation of the evolution of the band. From local favorites of the American East coast to one of the longest existing and best selling bands around the world.

The band of twenty years, from New Jersey, could have simply go through all their hits on one collectible, with one or two unknown songs, but they have 38 never released songs, plus different demos, obscure b-sides and songs from soundtracks. The record company had to swallow their proposition of 24 songs. But singer Jon Bon Jovi said it like this, “ I said forget it. That’s not a box set but a double-CD." Then they asked what we really wanted. I said: "What about 50 songs? And they said “Ok!”

The result is more than a simple chronological overview of the Bon Jovi- archive. It’s more the steal of the DNA that resulted into the mega hits of this band. Fragments of well known songs will pass by in unfinished songs and you will hear glam rock next to housewife friendly ballads. Even through three quarters of these songs have never been heard before, the box set is full with grand scale choruses. Lyrics of the street and the riffs and solos that are typical for the Bon Jovi albums.

Richie Sambora has to give numerous interviews in the Winter sun of Los Angeles but looks very fresh. He waves away the suggestion that Bon Jovi is at a point in their career would suffer in releasing 4 CDs with “left over material”. "We had no trouble with that whatsover", he said firmly. This is a record for the fans. Jon came with the idea first. He suggestion let’s do something monumental for our 20th anniversary. Around that time we crossed over the magical mark of the 100 million sold albums. Jon and I have been very productive. We have always had twice as many songs as we needed, sometimes three times as many. Instead of the twelve, thirteen songs for an album we had thirty or forty. But we have always wanted to do something around our 20th anniversary. Not many rock bands have made that mark.

The songs run from 1985 till 2003. You can hear a certain development ?
 
RS: "Absolutely. You can hear how Jon and I have grown as songwriters of the sound of the songs and the lyrics. On this box set you hear more the difference in styles than any regular record of Bon Jovi. That makes it unique, I think it does."

Did you playing also grow ?

RS: "Well, I don’t know if it’s better, it’s definitely different. I’m from the modern blues.

Before Bon Jovi I had played in so many different bands; a progressive rock band, a funk group, a modern blues band and a heavy metal group on Swan Song Records, Led Zeppelin’s label. But with Bon Jovi we toured with all these heavy metal acts, so I pulled all my metal work out of the closet. That’s how we sounded in those times. When we were developing our own sound, I became more rock ‘n’ roll and I could place my blues influences more.

Was it difficult in the beginning letting go of your blues background ?

RS: "That was very hard. It felt like I had to let go my roots. But I came forward as a musician and I could still do what I love to do. If I was playing acoustic by myself, in a blues or funk band, or if I was hired for a session, I was happy because I was at least playing."

Through the years you are more seen as the guitarist that delivers parts, not as guitarist that plays hours of solos.

"True, I’m not. I try playing melodies. The guys I listen to - Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Hendrix and The Allman Brothers - they play music that you remember; if you listen to the Beatles, the production is so efficient. George Martin was about that, a genius, those guys were very good at it. You can sing along all these solos and drum fills. That is something you try to achieve as a producer and composer. Make sure that they remember everything.

If you look back, what do you remember of the early days of Bon Jovi ?

RS: "We had no money. We lived all together in one apartment; there were many women and much liquor. That’s all we needed. On the debut album we tried to discover who the hell we were. We were only six months in the band. We had seen each other musically. The big question was if the songs obstructed the band? I don’t think so. The band was much better than the songs that we wrote. For a young group that was looking for their own sound, the result wasn’t bad. But it was surely no “Slippery When Wet”."

How did you guys make the creative jump to "Slippery When Wet" ?

RS: "Through the songs. With our craftsmanship things were okay because the only thing we did was play, play and play. The only thing we needed was good songs and a good producer. We had that in Bruce Fairbairn."

You have already said that you have a special sound when Jon and you are together in a room. Are there songs that needed strong treatment?

"Sure. Some songs you write very fast, others take a day or three. When you listen to the box set especially “Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night” that song became a big hit but this first version is very different. I think that I like this version better. It is much darker, the lyrics come together better just right."

While your guitar playing was developing, there must have been a lot of equipment being tried ?

RS: "Oh, of course. Even on “Slippery When Wet” I had only three guitars. I have still got all these old Kramer Signatures. I don’t give them up. Now and then I have to think which one I eventually like to put away, if a dealer has something I really want to have. The double-neck Kramer? I did have two and then the black one went. The white one is the one I wanted to keep!"

More recent tracks are heavier, especially for the “Bounce” album. Was that your Flying V, a reproduction of a Custom Shop Korina from 1958 ?

RS: "Yes, the heavy work on that album was an combination of the Flying V and my 1959 Les Paul. For the most songs we have doubled the strike guitar with the V through a Marshall and my Les Paul over another Marshall. Sometimes I doubled the V with a Dot neck Gibson ES-335 from 1959."

Would you have ever dreamed of using an ES-335 in 1985 ?

RS: "Well, that’s the beauty of making records. You can use every guitar, every amplifier and every pedal. It’s your brush on the canvas, the more variety in different colours you have, the more you can choose from. Luckily I have always wanted to play; I use my guitar all the time. I feel right at home with my instruments. I have got quite an extensive vintage collection where everything still works. They all stayed in tune, that’s my criteria. The thing I love the most is what I call ‘riggers’. As long as they are tuned and sound good, I don’t care if they look like they have been dragged at the back of a car along the streets! I love to play guitars."

Sambora has also used these well-worked guitars for the next Bon Jovi album, which should be released in early 2005. He doesn’t say much about specific songs, or his guitars or the sound. But ask him what he has been listening to lately and he phrases Green Day, Coldplay and - the always present guitar freak reveals himself - Johnny A, the magician of the new jazz. But he admits, "Don’t ask me what happens on MTV or in the hit lists. I feel that the music business is not a healthy business but artistically it is looking pretty good. Although I feel that there is not enough rock ‘n’ roll. Finally, he is very happy that he is still here after twenty years.

"It keeps amazing us, we are very proud. That’s why we still keep going. You can’t stop when everything still moves you. As long as we are still relevant, as long as we are having fun and continue to develop and the people still wants us, we will stay and keep doing it."

     

"Richie’s choices"

“Guitarist” gets the latest news about Sambora’s signature guitars, his favorite solos
and favorite gear.

There are rumours that you are working on a signature Gibson.

RS: "I was doing a signature L-5, but I think they will make this now, without the Sambora name. I still have a good relationship with them but I don’t know if I’ll still be doing a signature series for Gibson. There is going to be an acoustic signature series for Martin. They make also a couple of double neck guitars. Quite remarkable, because they have never made one before. I play Martins quite often on so I feel flattered."

Is there a particular solo of Bon Jovi where you are very proud? "Bed of Roses" perhaps ?

RS: "That’s a very nice solo where the music has guided me. Because of the melody I knew exactly which way to go. I just shifted some high and low notes. “Wanted Dead or Alive” was also an interesting solo, because I used power chords, which makes it quite simple. But it is very interesting. “I’ll Be There For You” was a good blues solo in a pop song that ended up as a number one. I did quite a lot of remarkable things. The subtle things are part of my style."

Are there other things you would have like to have known when you started, apart from vintage guitars ?

RS: "I don’t play wireless anymore, I don’t like this now. Your sound sucks, you loose a lot of sound and I have been very careful with that. I have traded in a big part of my podium presentation for a better sound out of my amplifiers. I challenge myself to find the right chords, they all work differently. I still have feedback but everything is not post EQ. I’m going to experiment more with pedals on the new record. I’m using quite a lot of them. The signal becomes very pure, later on they adjust effects to it."

How is your relationship with Richie as a guitarist ?

JBJ: "Richie is twenty times better than I could ever be. I can compose good songs on guitar but Jeff Beck doesn’t need to worry about me! The truth is that with the guitar, I wanted to write songs, that’s how I learned to play. I wasn’t copying any solos. I was wondering, which chords are these? Which turn around? That never stops, by the way. You keep learning."

Are you now a better singer now than compared to 1985 ?

JBJ: "O, sure. I’m light years better. I have seen that with others too. Steven Tyler sings much better, so does Bono. Also Bruce Springsteen, is in my view, much better now compared to singing throughout the years."

When you and Richie were doing solo projects in 1990 and 1991, was there ever any mention about the end of Bon Jovi ?

JBJ: "No. We had burnout because of the whole business. We took a two year break. We needed to discover what fun was all about and what we needed to throw away. We put freed ourselves of our manager, started over with our own company. I said to the band, “Believe in this. If we can sing this one out, we can be the new Rolling Stones. The result was “Keep the Faith.”

You don’t really need the money. What drives you ?

JBJ: "I love writing songs. That gives me more fulfillment than recording. That comes in second place, and touring last. Composing gives me pleasure. That will always be there and that is in my opinion the best thing."