Rockers, like athletes, prepare for the season When discussing the upcoming tour and release of the new album “What About Now,” in March, the members of Bon Jovi likened their schedules to that of pro athletes. “It’s like in sports, it’s a new season.” says David Bryan, participating in a teleconference with band members Richie Sambora and Tico Torres....
Bon Jovi
Rockers, like athletes, prepare for the season
When discussing the upcoming tour and release of the new album “What About Now,” in March, the members of Bon Jovi likened their schedules to that of pro athletes.
“It’s like in sports, it’s a new season.” says David Bryan, participating in a teleconference with band members Richie Sambora and Tico Torres. “For the last 30 years it’s getting ready and mounting up a big tour and going. So the new season is here and we’re ready to go.”
Sambora agrees, noting the physicality involved in the band’s rigorous tour schedule.
“To prepare for a tour that looks like a year and a half or something like that, you have to physically prepare for it,” he said. “But once you get out there, you get in a groove, man, and like Dave said, this is what we love to do.”
Torres was next to endorse the theme.
“As for preparations, you try to keep yourself a little healthier, only because you’re on the road,” he said. “And when you have to sing and perform, getting sick is not an option. And so really, you’re more attune to staying in shape for that reason.”
As long as we’re in the sports analogy mode, let’s look at the stats for this enduring rock band from New Jersey.
Since breaking out in the early 1980s, the band has played over 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 35 million fans.
“We’ve always had that adage that we would play everywhere we could in the world and take our music to every place we could,” Sambora said. “And I think that we’ve been very, very loyal to our fans and consequently our fans have been very loyal to us. Fortunately, it’s an anomaly that we still all get along together and have a great time playing together and we’re still making good music that people want to hear.”
The band’s “Because We Can Tour” kicks off at Mohegan Sun on Feb. 9. They come back around as part of the stadium leg of the tour, playing Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on July 20.
As for the set-list on a nightly basis, while the band is sure to include some new material, the three band members confirm that it is lead singer Jon Bon Jovi that will decide what gets played.
“There’s no really duking out,” says Bryan. “Jon really is out there singing it, so he comes up with a set list. We have a master list of how many songs that we have and he comes up with the list when we get to the show. We get handed the list and there you go.”
The conversation came back around to sports when one journalist pointed out the 2014 Super Bowl was scheduled for the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Would the band be interested in performing at the big game in their home state?
Wow, man, we’d love to play the Super Bowl,” said Sambora. “You know, I’m not sure if we’ve been contacted yet or not but I think any time they would ask us, we would make time for that.”