When Slippery When Wet was released in August, 1986, Bon Jovi was on tour as the supporting act for .38 Special. The album shot to the top of the charts and propelled Bon Jovi to international fame and, by the time this interview was recorded a year later, the band had become arena headliners and were finally preparing to take a break from the road.
Including lengthy interviews with each individual in the band, as well as a press conference given earlier in the day, this recording is extremely thorough and captures the band just after their first taste of superstardom. In the interview sections, Lisa Robinson asks each member similar questions about the best and worst parts of constant touring, why the band became so successful, and how their lives have changed with the success. Meant to be spliced into a radio-friendly montage, these un-cut recordings present the entire context of their answers, resulting in more individually-focused material than you would otherwise hear (Alec John Such is especially wonderfully tangential). For insight into Bon Jovi as the sum of its parts, this recording cannot be surpassed.
Part 1: Tico Torres
00:00 - Effect of work on personal relationships / taking friends on the road
01:32 - The band as a gang / egos as a source of positivity
02:54 - Jon as the focal point
03:46 - What's unique about Bon Jovi (caring for each other)
05:48 - Walking the line between being apolitical and being role models
08:05 - Dreaming to be as huge as they've become / what's next
09:40 - Musical influences as a kid / Mitch Mitchell as a jazz drummer
11:25 - The therapeutic benefits of drumming
11:53 - "Quitting" smoking
12:27 - Plans for work outside of Bon Jovi
13:10 - The ideal house
14:07 - Touring as work, touring as play
15:04 - Preparing for fame through Bob Bonis' Beatles stories
16:27 - The pretty boy image / female fans
17:44 - Watching TV: soap operas, Bob Vila / plans for a family (dogs) of his own
19:00 - Plans for the upcoming months
Part 2: Jon Bon Jovi
00:00 - Admiring political musicians while staying apolitical
01:55 - Fans' reaction to Bon Jovi's real-ness
03:50 - Staying the same as people, growing as writers / not a good schmoozer
06:15 - Fear and confidence as a writer / lessons learned from dating Diane Lane
07:49 - Playing down his looks
09:04 - Confidence in staying power / writing for others (Charlie Sexton, Ted Nugent, et al.)
11:50 - "Learning" how to write good songs / working with Richie
14:08 - Making connections while working at the NJ mall / opening a beer for David Bowie
16:15 - Stories about Huey Lewis, Steven Van Zandt, The Rolling Stones, Steven Tyler
18:45 - Keeping a child-like awe
20:00 - Bruce Springsteen hitting on his ex-girlfriend's sisters / not living in a mansion
21:45 - Jon's parents' reaction to the success
22:37 - No hypocrisy behind his anti-drug stance
23:49 - How he treated celebrities as a kid
24:29 - Keeping his private life private / losing wives and girlfriends
25:55 - Playing in Erie, PA for his grandfather / having people to share success with
27:45 - Being lonely at the top, out of place in the clubs
29:45 - Plans to cut his hair
31:05 - Bouts of broodiness and anxiety / how old the band members are
32:20 - Misrepresentation as a mastermind / business lessons learned from The Who
33:55 - Feeling jaded towards the industry / divorces and break-ups
35:52 - Not being rich / what the band does with the money
37:30 - Jon's little brothers
38:05 - The band staying close in spite of the success
39:28 - Not being a good opening act
40:20 - Original conceptions of fame (playing at Great Adventure)
42:01 - Feelings on imitators
Part 3: Richie Sambora
00:00 - Why Bon Jovi became so successful (timing, videos)
01:15 - Experience with making videos
04:30 - Establishing themselves as a live act and working really hard
05:35 - Relationships within the band getting stronger
06:48 - Becoming best friends with Jon / maintaining old friendships
08:53 - Difficulties keeping a girlfriend
09:50 - Being vulnerable after achieving success
10:25 - Non-competition with other bands / the resurgence of rock
11:25 - Favorite bands as a kid / still liking New Jersey
12:22 - Still able to go out without being mobbed
13:02 - Effects of having more responsibility
14:38 - Keeping an open mind towards music / bands he was in before Bon Jovi
16:34 - What's next for the band / writing the right music
18:25 - Staying in shape / not smoking / cutting back on the partying
20:09 - Staying busy on days off / writing songs for others for credibility
21:20 - Not letting the record company make the band look like women / fighting the pretty boy image
24:18 - The reality behind the video for "Wanted Dead of Alive" (being exhausted)
27:00 - What happens after a show / video-taping the shows
28:00 - An "uncalculated" success / making sacrifices for the fans
29:08 - The meeting where the band made a formal commitment to each other / losing girlfriends
30:05 - What he would change: anonymity
31:56 - Plans for touring and working in '88 / finally being able to relax on stage
33:34 - Working with Cher
34:35 - Feeling star-struck, different stars for him and Jon (Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel)
36:10 - Recording with Mercy on Swan Song Records / other previous bands
38:55 - Dropping out of college to become a musician / learning from other musicians
40:13 - The best time of his life (right now) and the path leading there (fate)
42:10 - Level-headed band members due to trial by fire
43:06 - What lies ahead for Richie / holding on to values
Part 4: David Bryan
00:00 - Staying in touch with his Jersey roots
01:22 - The necessity of growing as a band
02:13 - Having fun making Slippery When Wet / working with Bruce Fairbairn
03:13 - Challenges for the future / not paying attention to reviews
04:44 - Childhood dreams of being a rock star / his first concert (Kiss)
06:15 - Classical piano training / practicing to keep the chops
07:33 - Gigs before joining Bon Jovi (background music for dinners)
09:32 - Getting from dinner gigs to selling out MSG / always believing in Jon
10:28 - Passing up his acceptance to Juilliard
12:15 - The family's reaction to choosing rock n' roll over Juilliard / a musical family
13:20 - Past bands with Jon / the first year with Bon Jovi
15:35 - What they would have done if Slippery tanked
16:40 - Keys to success (timing, preparation, content)
17:35 - The writing process / not getting his songs on the records
19:20 - Jon as the leader of a team-oriented band
20:35 - Potential outside projects (movie soundtracks)
21:29 - Current living situation
22:02 - Changes in his personal life once they started touring / enjoying being recognized
23:25 - Not knowing what it's like to be home / feeling tired (stress of a hometown show)
25:12 - The worst part of touring
25:37 - Five guys in a Days Inn (the first gig)
27:15 - People he's star-struck by (Jon Lord)
28:30 - A sensible, funny guy / favorite comedians
Part 5: Alec John Such
00:00 - Reacting to reactions to the "Dead or Alive" video
01:42 - What happens right after a show
02:30 - A recipe for success?
03:55 - The band as a family with different personalities
04:58 - A short description of each band member
07:10 - Getting arrested the first time he played MSG (for having a gun)
08:40 - Getting lost in Germany after gambling all night
10:30 - The potential for missing a show
12:15 - The music industry causing a tamer rock n' roll lifestyle
13:00 - Getting a divorce, but not because of the band / not as promiscuous
15:40 - Training for the band's current job, always in cool bands
16:27 - Phantom's Opera, an old cover band
17:15 - Rock n' roll as a respectable career choice
18:40 - Obscenity and censorship (a very long and heated discussion)
23:11 - Best thing about the new life: money / reminiscing about harder times
26:28 - A car collection
27:50 - Plans to spend some money when they get off the road / living with his mother
28:45 - Age differences in the band
29:44 - Exceeding his expectations for success / expectations for the future
Part 6: Press Conference
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Introduction from Tico (in Spanish)
02:33 - Is Jon engaged?
03:20 - "Edge of a Broken Heart," John Waite
04:07 - Changes in set lists for overseas
04:56 - Recording shows, plans for a live album
05:34 - Reaction to bad press
07:01 - Why there are restrictions for photographers at concerts
07:53 - Recording with the Pizza Parlor Jury
09:14 - The true reason for having long hair
10:12 - Jon's reflections on Sayreville, NJ
11:20 - Richie's preference for playing arenas
12:07 - Thoughts on using "Revolution" to sell sneakers
12:57 - Not competing with Springsteen
13:55 - Feelings on the Stone Pony being closed
14:42 - Best and worst parts of superstardom
16:25 - Elvis Presley's influence on the band / thoughts on Graceland
17:55 - The effect of the AIDS scare on groupies
19:15 - Where they're from
19:50 - What happened to the 2nd Nassau Coliseum date
21:08 - A follow up to the reaction to bad press
22:00 - Working with Cher (and Sonny) and others
22:54 - Meeting bands in Japan / nothing lost in translation
24:25 - Playing for the kids
25:11 - Standout shows from the tour
26:07 - Plans for and approach towards writing the new album
28:15 - Staying the same through the fame
29:40 - Reaction to "controversial" lyrics