BON JOVI: Jon Bon Jovi is talking about the band's coming Rock Hall induction
There's been discussion over the years that being honored with enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is not as important to some artists as it is others and there have been some who've cried foul over politics with it.
Roger Glover from Deep Purple recently said as much, and then there are those who didn't even show up to accept their honor. That list includes Jerry Garcia with The Grateful Dead; Neil Young with the Buffalo Springfield; Peter Gabriel with Genesis; John Deacon with Queen; Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman with The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie. There are many others, but the bulk of those were due to band members not getting along.
Then there's Jon Bon Jovi, who feels his band, Bon Jovi, should have been nominated in 2008, the first year they were eligible, and elected when it was first nominated in 2011.
Speaking to Billboard about finally getting the call, Jon says, "They established this Hall when I started making records. So I was able to go to that first [induction ceremony], and you dream about it. But it seemed surreal at the time -- and, as you know, they made us wait, but it's here now, so it's rewarding...
"I've kept it to myself, but there were moments when I was cranky because we felt that we met the prerequisites and we were still making number-one records and doing and being... Anyhow, now it's all behind us, and I'm fine."
No doubt helping the band's cause this time out was the Fan Vote, which they topped with more than a million votes.
"Yeah, that was one of the things that was pleasing," says Jon. "The first time when we were nominated [2011] and ultimately didn't get in, there were a lot of conversations about were we legitimately not voted in, was there a little bit of covert action going on, and we'll never know. But afterwards they installed this public vote... That didn't exist for us the first time, and I think as a result of us not getting in there were conversations about how [the Rock Hall] is about bands of the people. So the fans have spoken."
Bon Jovi keyboard player David Bryan agrees with Jon that the band deserves to be inducted, but he's not bitter about it not happening sooner:
"Really important. I mean you started off as kids from Nowhere, New Jersey and you get out there with a dream and you keep pushing hard and, you know, we actually made it. So it's a great thing."
Bon Jovi plans to perform at the ceremony on April 14th at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland with former members Richie Sambora and Alec John Such.
THE CARS: Ric Ocasek is talking about enshrinement in the Rock Hall
Unlike drummer David Robinson, The Cars' frontman, Ric Ocasek, is sure that all the members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2018 are worthy of induction.
He tells Rolling Stone, "I'm a fan of The Moody Blues. I also like Dire Straits. All the bands that got in are definitely worthy of getting in. If you were asking me what music I'd listen to out of those, the ones I'd listen to most would be The Moody Blues since I remember them from the 1960s."
And unlike Jon Bon Jovi, who felt his band should have been inducted back in 2009, Ocasek is humbled by the honor. "I don't know if every band thinks they'd like to be in it... I kind of used to think we were a pretty good candidate. It wasn't until a few years ago when we first got nominated that I thought, 'Wow, we kind of are a candidate.' The first year I was very apprehensive about it, whether we'd get in or not, and we didn't. The second year I pretty much ignored it. This year I was ignoring it as well, so it was kind of a surprise we got in. There were a lot of bands on the list to get in that didn't get in."
Asked if it will lead to another reunion, he says, "Maybe this will be a good reason to do it again, though I really miss [late bassist] Ben [Orr] as part of the thing. As much as I want it to be The Cars and I love everyone so much in The Cars, without him it just feels different." But he does believe that bringing it to an end at the ceremony in Cleveland would be a fitting way to wrap it up. "This could be the bookends. One guy on a guitar playing bad songs and then I'm in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 45 years later."
Ocasek expects the band will perform at the ceremony on April 14th.
TOTO: Steve Lukather talks about a big 2018 for the band
Toto celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2018 and guitarist Steve Lukather says it's already shaping up to be quite a year for him and the band:
“We’re heading out on a world tour. I got a book coming out called The Gospel According to Luke. It’ll be out in February along with the record and the world tour – selling out. Things are going pretty well for a bunch of 60 year old guys, you know what I mean? We’re kind of cracking up. The classic rock will never die, you know. We’ve got 20-somethings chasing us down. It’s pretty cool.”
Toto's hits collection 40 Trips Around the Sun is due out February 9th, two days before the band kicks off the first leg of its worldwide tour in Helsinki, Finland. Although Lukather says his memoir The Gospel According to Luke will also be out in February, Amazon.com currently lists its publication date as April 5th.