BON JOVI: Richie Sambora has no plans to reunite with the band
Though the reunion between Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora appeared to go off without a hitch Saturday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, don't look for Sambora to be back in the lineup anytime soon.
Richie Sambora says (regarding a possible reunion):
"Not right now. Oh no, I'm into the RSO thing. I mean I've been working on that for a while and I'm really, really happy with the way the music is coming out. And, you know, when I left the band, I mean Jon was going in one musical direction and I was going to another one. And you know what? There's no malice. 31 years is a pretty good run. We weren't one of those bands that took time off in between. Like the Stones are smart. They took two, two-and-a-half years off -- had a life. U2, same thing. You know, stuff like that. Bruce did the same thing. We never stopped man. And then when we did, I'm doing a solo album."
RSO is Sambora and his girlfriend, guitarist Orianthi. They will release their debut album, Radio Free America, on May 11th.
Sambora said performing with Bon Jovi for the first time since 2013 was like riding a bike.
He said, "No, I didn't feel awkward at all. I mean, don't forget they are my songs too. You know, when I'm on the road I play them too and they go over like gang busters. It feels good."
While we wait to see when Sambora and Orianthi will be back on the road, Bon Jovi got back out there last night (Wednesday) in Orlando, Florida. Up next is Atlanta on Friday followed by Charlotte on Saturday. They'll be out through May 18th in Montreal.
MORE BIG 95 MUSIC NEWS: Thursday, April 19th
ZZ TOP: 50th anniversary is coming up
Dusty Hill says he's "a fan of Las Vegas and always have been, on many levels."
Promoting ZZ Top's five-show run that begins Friday at the Veneitan, he tells the Las Vegas Sun, "Vegas to me is a place like Hollywood or New York where you can walk around and people recognize you but it’s like, hey, that’s cool, and then we go on with our lives. You’re not just there to see me onstage, you’re there to play and have fun."
Surprisingly, it's the first time these Texas rockers have ever done even a mini-residency. Hill says, "We’ve been wanting to try this for a while, even before it became the thing to do... To have more than one day in any town is different for us. We’re non-stop."
Next year will mark ZZ Top's 50th anniversary. Hill says, "We are unique because we’re the same three guys, and as Billy says, playing the same three chords." Hill says they're working on a documentary as well as other concepts, after all, "The 50th only comes once."
STEPPENWOLF: John Kay talks about what's next
John Kay says 2018 will be the last year Steppenwolf tours.
The band's front-man thought he'd given up "the road" a decade ago. But Steppenwolf returned for a dozen or so shows a year since 2009, largely to fund his family foundation whose mission is protecting endangered wildlife.
But now at age 74, he says, "Even though we have a great time on stage and appreciate the loyalty of our supporters," there are other interests he wants to spent time on.
He's currently planning a one-man show, with video, for the lecture circuit that brings together his musical history with his advocacy.
John Kay talks about how he plans to appear beginning in 2019:
"I'm at the point where I need to do something else. So what I'm now working on is, the kind of thing... [what] speaker tours are made of. And this project is called Born to Be Wild -- From Rock Star to Wildlife Advocate. Steppenwolf's John Kay and his Journey of Transformation."
PRINCE: Memoir publication is set
Prince's memoir will be on sale for holiday gift-giving.
The late rocker's literary agent, Esther Newberg, tells Billboard that the "first draft" will be published this fall. She says Prince was "committed to the book project" and had teamed with author Dan Piepenbring, personally writing more than 50 manuscript pages.
The deal was announced just weeks before Prince's April 2016 death. The project was described then as "an unconventional and poetic journey through his life and creative work."
In 2016, Prince and Newberg planned to call the book The Beautiful Ones. There's no word whether that will remain the title.
AEROSMITH: 50th anniversary is coming soon
Now we know why Aerosmith backpedaled on calling last year's Aero-Vederci Baby tour a farewell tour -- they're not done.
Joe Perry tells Atlantic City Weekly, "In 2019 we will be closing in on our 50th anniversary, so we are planning some dates and a tour to celebrate that. Right now we are pretty much laying low and finishing up some solo things before we start that."
Perry's next solo thing is three dates as Joe Perry and Friends started yesterday (Wednesay) in Boston, followed by Hampton Beach, New Hampshire today (Thursday) and Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday. The "Friends" are Aerosmith's Brad Whitford, Extreme and former Van Halen singer Gary Cherone, former Boston guitarist Barry Goodreau, and Charlie Farren, singer and guitarist in The Joe Perry Project.