Coming full Circle
By Christopher Toh, TODAY | Posted: 12 November 2009 1407 hrs

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SINGAPORE : To say that rock band Bon Jovi is on a high right now is an understatement. After all, 26 years is a long time to be in any job, let alone one as volatile as being rock stars. And Bon Jovi are celebrating their silver jubilee in a big way.

On Monday, they performed their latest single "We Weren't Born To Follow" in Berlin, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Then, there's the book and documentary special "Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful". The book traces the history of the band, while the documentary captures the excitement of last year's "Lost Highway" tour.

And let's not forget the new album released on Monday: Critics are raving that "The Circle" is one of the band's best works since the days of anthemic rock in the late '80s.

The hair may be smaller but the tunes are still as big. We caught up with the band in Tokyo while they were there promoting their new album to talk about their journey.

Special thanks to Universal Music and Hiromi Inomata

The word "circle" denotes "completion." Are you guys done?

Jon Bon Jovi: A friend of ours gave it to us, and her name is even on the credit. She suggested the title and I said, "Don't say anymore. I know exactly what this means." This could mean something different to everybody but to me it means it's never ending.

It's sort of what we feel about our band. In very New Jersey terms, it's very hard to get in, and even harder to get out.

Tico Torres (Tico): Infinity is a wonderful way to look at music because there is no end.

So this is not the end for you?

Jon: No! That's looking at the dark side, that we've come full circle. It's not a return to our beginning - for me it was continuation, to just keep going.

Do you feel pressure to top your hits every time you release a new song?

David Bryan (David): All you can do is the best you can do. We've always been that way. Do the best you can do, put it out there, and that's all you can do.

Richie Sambora (Richie): As a band, we happen to be in a unique position. If we made a record and didn't like it, we just start over. It's not like a new band who makes a record with the little amount of money and time they've got, and they've got to put it out no matter what.

Even the experiment that we did with the Nashville record ("Lost Highway"), we said: 'Let's see what happens. If we don't like it, we just don't put it out.' But we all loved it, so we put it out, and the world loved it, too, thank God! Anytime a door opens for you to evolve, and you think you can do it, you've got to step through that door.

What's a normal day in the life of a rock star like?

Richie: Let's see, I wake up in the morning at six o'clock, wake my daughter up, make some breakfast, get her ready for school, drive her to school, come home, take a little nap because I was up late the night before, get ready, go to the studio, work for a few hours, come back, have dinner with my daughter, do some homework, and start again the next day.

That's what home looks like usually. It's like a strange dichotomy because at home you're just a dad, but on the road you're a rock star. I think that part of our success is that we've been able to actually balance that and be able to flow between both those dichotomies of identities seamlessly after all these years.

David: Actually the biggest difference is that you get more sleep when you are (touring)! Because you don't have to wake up at six o'clock to bring your kids to school! I've got three kids, I drive one to school, come back wake up the other one, drive that kid to school, come back and … after three hours, it's nine o'clock in the morning!

Richie: I think all four of us, when we are home, we are family guys. We pay attention to our families. Take out the garbage just like everyone else, and do everything else that everybody else does.

David: I make my kid take out the garbage!

Richie: It's hard to make my daughter take out the garbage.

David: Yeah, that's the good part about a son. But the daughter can do the dishwashing and laundry!

Richie: Yeah, she's got other chores.

When are you guys coming to Singapore?

Richie: It's on the list. I would say the first quarter of 2011. It's not even 2010 yet so it's impossible to think that far ahead, but that's what - from the scheduling conversations that we are having - it looks like.

Do you foresee a time when the music's over?

Richie: It doesn't look like we are stopping, does it?

David: 70 more years, and that's it! 70 more years, and I'll be done. I think it's always been the undying faith that kept us going. If you think you can make it happen, it can happen.

"The Circle" and "Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful" are out in stores now.

- TODAY/ra