Posted January 2, 200817 yr Sambora looking to put 2007 behind him By JANE STEVENSON -- Sun Media Richie Sambora sounds like he has been through the worst of his annus horriblus. The Bon Jovi guitarist split from wife Heather Locklear, hooked up and then broke up with Locklear's former friend Denise Richards, lost his father to lung cancer, and checked into rehab. "Last year was a little tough for me," Sambora told Sun Media in an Canadian newspaper exclusive. "I had a little bit of a tough year. My dad passed away and going through a divorce, and child settlements and custody and blah, blah, blah and all the stuff that I went through -- that was kind of tough." Sambora said the tabloid coverage of his personal life wasn't great but he has been through it before and tries to roll with it. "The tabloid thing -- that's just the infatuation with celebrity -- at this point is at an all-time high," he said. "Because when it gets thrown in your face, you want to know about it, I think. It's like, 'Okay, they get hooked.' They pick up one of those magazines or look at one of those TV magazine shows, and it becomes a part of their lives for some people. "And people want to know what's happening to Richie Sambora next week now. It's like an on-going soap opera that I live. Half of it's baloney anyway. "A lot of young musicians, or young celebrities, will come up and talk to me, 'How did I handle it?' I lived with Cher back in 1988 when I was only a kid. It was just as bad then if not worse. I've been through it many, many times and it's something that you've just got to take with a grain of salt and laugh it off, man, walk it off. It's just a part of the fame game at this point. It's an unfortunate thing." http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/events/LMK-001134.jpg http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Bon_Jo...709969-sun.html
January 2, 200817 yr Poor Richie...good for him...I wish him the best of luck this year.....I can relate to the divorce stuff...except mine wasnt all over the newspapers....but it was all over town so..... Live your life and Keep the faith
February 17, 200817 yr Author Work, family, fans keep Bon Jovi guitarist going Richie Sambora has had a run of bad luck lately, but the legendary Bon Jovi guitarist still is looking up. In the past couple of years, Sambora was divorced from Heather Locklear, experienced the death of his beloved father and entered rehab for a substance abuse problem, yet the rocker was philosophical in a recent telephone interview. "Just because you're a rock 'n' roll star doesn't mean you're exempt from life's tragedies," the gravelly voiced singer said. "My family, my faith, the fans and the work got me through it. In fact, right after I got out of detox, I started working a week later." "The work" -- in other words, writing and performing the platinum Jersey rock hits loved by, well, everyone -- seems to be a boon for more than Sambora. Throughout Bon Jovi's career, the band -- Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Sambora -- has released 10 studio albums, of which nine have gone platinum. They've charted 19 singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, four of which reached No. 1 ("You Give Love a Bad Name," "Livin' on a Prayer," "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You"). The Yankee foursome also have crossed over the Mason-Dixon line with "Who Says You Can't Go Home," a duet with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, which hit No. 1 on the U.S. country chart in May 2006. Success, Sambora says, is simple: "The things that still work in music are songs that get to people and great live performances," he said. "That hasn't changed." Even though the nod to Nashville may have worked out pretty well (Bon Jovi is the first rock band to score a No. 1 country song), the temporary transition wasn't completely without wrinkles. Discussing the band's "Lost Highway" album, released in June and featuring some collaborations with country stars such as Big and Rich and Leanne Rimes, Sambora was frank. Nashville, he said, "is a clique-y little town, and I think the success of the record was held back because of that." Not that "Lost Highway" didn't do well. It actually was the band's first to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and their first to hit the top spot since 1986's "Slippery When Wet" and 1988's "New Jersey." But Sambora is a man with high standards. He wants the albums to sell spectacularly well, because that's what he is used to, but the 48-year-old also wants, literally, everybody and their fathers to get into the music. "We do have a universal appeal from a multigenerational standpoint," he said. For example "When I was married, my father-in-law said that the lyrics to "It's My Life" were very, very profound to him. And when my dad died a year ago, that song became profound to me in a new way." Even the youngest fans can get something out of Bon Jovi music, according to Sambora. "(Ava, his 10-year-old daughter with Locklear) really digs the band, and her friends dig the band," he said, his voice softening for a minute. "Of course, she would be grounded if she didn't." http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grpress....xml&coll=6
February 17, 200817 yr Author Even the youngest fans can get something out of Bon Jovi music, according to Sambora. "(Ava, his 10-year-old daughter with Locklear) really digs the band, and her friends dig the band," he said, his voice softening for a minute. "Of course, she would be grounded if she didn't." Awwwwww :wub: I suppose nobody likes to be grounded :lol: