Bon Jovi Revisited

(Here's the latest piece I've been working on. I've wanted to tell it for a while, and got extra inspiration from Chuck Klosterman's "Fargo Rock City," one of several books I read on tour. I'm just home from six + weeks on the road in Europe and now it's time for me to hibernate for a few days. Enjoy!)

I'm going to get this out in the open right now: there is a video of me singing a Bon Jovi song at the top of my lungs. Eventually, it will find its way to YouTube. In anticipation of this, I've decided to come forward, admit my guilt and face the consequences.

It was the Summer of 2007 when the incident in question took place. I had just performed at the Sounds Of The Underground Festival in Sayreville,New Jersey.* The SOTU Fest consisted of bands that, it is safe to say, are considered heavy, even by hardcore metal fans' standards. In addition to my band, Testament, there was Shadows Fall, Chimaira, Every Time I Die, Goatwhore and others.

We had just finished watching the final band, Gwar when a small group of us knocked on the door of the Shadows Fall's tour bus, and went inside. It was dark except for a mini lighting rig which spewed colored spotlights, turning the front lounge of the bus into a makeshift disco. It was packed with musicians from different bands, crew members and local friends, all of us buzzed from the unlimited supply of beer and liquor. Some of the female guests were dancing, which caused the bus the sway in time with the music. The songs were so loud it sounded like a concert. Most were rock anthems, considered 'acceptable,' by metal standards, such as 'You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC.

All of a sudden, like a speeding time machine bound for 1987, Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" came over the speakers. As the 'whoa' sound of the guitar (courtesy of a nifty device known as a 'talk box') permeated the lounge, we were faced with a dilemma: should we be good little metalheads and request a 'fast forward' to the next song? Should we walk out the door and continue visiting the other buses? What should we do?

In a show of mutual solidarity, a split second decision was made. Several of us, including myself, Jason Bittner from Shadow's Fall and Matt Zebroski from AS Trio, who was visiting, locked arms and started singing the first line "Tommy used to work on the docks...the union's been on strike, he's down on his luck it's tough." As the song reached the chorus, we were all singing to the camera (held by our friend Frankie, who was filming everything) screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs like European soccer fans. It was as if we were the striking union workers in the song, and we banded together to fight the system. For these few moments, the world was ours and we could do whatever the we wanted, even committing the ultimate metal crime: rocking out to Bon Jovi.


"Guilty as charged. But dammit it ain't right.**"

At the time that line was written, Metallica was the anti-Bon Jovi, avoiding music videos, flashy imagery and anything else resembling commercial hard rock. In the press, Bon Jovi was painted as the antithesis of what Metallica represented. A few years later, Metallica would go on to hire Bon Jovi's producer, Bob Rock, and become a multiplatinum juggernaut darker and crunchier than their Jersey based peers, but by 90's standards, just as commercial. That's not meant to be a critique of Metallica. In fact, I saw them recently, thought their show was terrific and they were cool to talk to afterwards.

I only bring this up because at this time, anyone that played thrash, speed death or any other form of heavier metal, was following Metallica and influenced by this initial perception. This was especially true if you were from the San Francisco Bay Area, where Metallica was based. As a sixteen year old who just joined a band of Bay Area thrashers several years older, I was no exception. So if someone would have said back then that Metallica would soon have a common link with Bon Jovi, no one would believe it. And if you would have said that I'd one day be at a festival hanging out with speed metal musicians singing along to a Bon Jovi song, I'd have said you're out of your mind.

"Livin' On A Prayer," is about working class folks in Jersey, Tommy and Gina. He's a dockworker that plays guitar and had to put his 'six string in hock' (guitar in pawn shop). She waits tables at a diner (can't get more 'Jersey' than that...). Times are tough but they're going to hold on to what they've got, and they have each other and that's a lot. And...guess what? They're gonna give it a shot!

I'll be the first to admit that these lyrics are campy. Alright, beyond campy, so much so that they're bordering on a joke. But guess what? The lyrical content is not the point! If you want a heartfelt Jersey working class story, then there is another Garden State songwriter you should listen to: his name is Bruce Springsteen. For that matter, go beyond the New Jersey state line and listen to Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Johnny Cash. I do listen to all these artists, but usually when I'm by myself and in the mood for reflection. Putting them at a post show bus party full of metalheads would have been like serving milk at the Mardi Gras Festival in New Orleans.

Music has many purposes in life. Reflection is one, festivity is another. Every culture has love songs, spiritual songs and drinking songs as well as many other types. Just as an African drumming ritual for dancing and celebrating has its place, so does a good rock'n'roll party. Our little impromptu 'ritual' that night was powered by a good hair metal song,*** suburban America's replacement for native drums.

'Livin' On A Prayer' is a party anthem in every sense, despite the "down on their luck" working class characters in the story. I don't know what Bon Jovi's intentions were when he wrote it. If he intended to write a teary eyed tale that tugs on your heartstrings, then he failed miserably. But if he intended to write a timeless, good time sing along tune, then he succeeded on a grand scale.

"Wanted: Dead Or Alive," has a similar quality. The lyrics are about how tough and lonely it is touring in a band. There is truth to this, but it was pretty laughable when it came out. Why? Because Bon Jovi at that time had, at least from appearances, reached the pinnacle of the music industry: first class hotels, traveling in private jets as well as the 'steel horse' (tour bus) he refers to in the lyrics. C'mon, Jon, how hard can it be? But is "Wanted: Dead Or Alive" a great sing along tune? Absolutely. When alcohol is involved the song seems to get even better. Like "Livin' On A Prayer," "Wanted: Dead Or Alive" is unique in that you can enjoy it without taking the lyrics seriously. Both songs have the quality of an ironic purpose of celebration.

I'll never forget the night Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora played "Wanted..." acoustically at the MTV Music awards. I was watching it in the room with members of Testament and our crew. I was ashamed to admit how much I liked the performance, until the guys around me all agreed, it was good. In fact, it was really good. So good that there were a lot of nodding heads, mutters of 'Damn,' and 'Fuck yes,' all around. This despite the fact that none of us would be caught dead in a Bon Jovi T-shirt (and still wouldn't). Bon Jovi's performance that night was such a smash success that MTV decided to do a series based on it with other artists entitled 'Unplugged.'

MTV Unplugged ran well into the era of Nirvana. Nirvana's own "Unplugged" performance spawned a hit recording and home video, something that wouldn't have happened without, yes, Bon Jovi. And the fact is, none of this would have happened if Bon Jovi wasn't good. It may have been hard to admit but they really were. I haven't paid attention lately, but the evidence is that they still are good. Not good on the level of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Not even in the same universe. Just good at what they do.

Do I consider myself a Bon Jovi fan? No. I've never owned a Bon Jovi record. I don't think i ever will. I don't know anything about Jon personally, aside from knowing musicians and techs that have worked with him. I've heard mixed reports about how he is to be around but choose to judge him by his success and the fact that when I bumped into him last year at a NYC rehearsal studio, he was nice to me. While most other commercial rock bands of the 80's are relegated to playing the same clubs they played when they were first starting out, Bon Jovi is selling out Giants Stadium, performing on the Super Bowl, in Central Park and other a-list performances. I don't need Bon Jovi's music in my life, but I say Kudos to Jon Bon Jovi for managing to stay relevant in this day and age.

A final thought: speed metal musicians like to have fun too. It's just not something worn on our sleeves and in our lyrics like it is with commercial hard rock,'glam' metal etc... Most of us on that bus that night are in bands whose heaviness is never questioned. We've earned the right to engage in a little guilty pleasure, even singing along to a Bon Jovi song.

*Coincidentally, Sayerville, NJ is Jon Bon Jovi's hometown

**From Metallica's "Ride The Lightning

***to his credit, Jon and company shedded the big hair image early on, and are far from the textbook definition of 'hair metal.' However, much of his music, especially in the 80's, had the same target demographic.