PREVIEW Longevity, consistency traits that characterize Bon Jovi

The band recently released 'Have a Nice Day,' its ninth album.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
So much of rock'n'roll these days is the marketing. And no band plays the game better than Bon Jovi, '80s rock act-turned-new millennium adult contemporary favorite.
From Oprah to Howard Stern, from Japan and Europe to the United States and back to Europe, from AOL to Monday Night Football, the New Jersey band performed its frequent flyer-mile duty to promote the release of its latest album "Have a Nice Day" and its lead single title track.
"We just did the most ridiculous promotion that was ever created in the history of promotions, but it really worked out great because the album came out at No. 1 in like 12 countries," said guitarist Richie Sambora, who seemingly sounds more like a record company weasel than working-class hero.
Career highlights
Appearing in so many different venues defines the appeal of Bon Jovi, which began its career more than 20 years ago with its self-titled album that spawned top 40 hit "Runaway."
The band has been running ever since, with ubiquitous follow-ups "Slippery When Wet" (1986) and "New Jersey" (1988) making the group the biggest in the world.
Including "Have a Nice Day," the band's ninth album, Bon Jovi, for good or bad, really hasn't changed its sound as much as reworked its mainstream rock formula of catchy melodies with heart-shaped or heartbroken lyrics.
"There is a lot of individual challenge, a collective band challenge and adding new technology," Sambora said. "But when it comes down to it and you put Jon and I in a room to start writing a song and stick us on stage, there is no way we're not going to sound like Bon Jovi. It's always great to stylistically diversify yourself and to constantly find new avenues for your music, and you can't change it too much. We couldn't make a Pink Floyd record, but we certainly could move Bon Jovi along, and I think we've done that successfully on every record. That's what keeps us going."
Creative departure
For fans looking for digression, that took place on 2003's "This Left Feels Right," which found the band reworking its hits with mixed results.
Sambora talks positively about the experience, saying it was a "crazy experiment" that showed the band that despite changing up melodies and chords, its songs still stood up in fine fashion.
But something about Sambora's "crazy experiment" explanation doesn't wash.
Sure, "This Left Feels Right" was a major disappointment, but the band has too many high-profile digressions that worked to just dismiss the recent release as an experiment gone awry, especially when considering Bon Jovi is credited with creating the entire "Unplugged" craze with its 1989 MTV Awards performance of "Wanted Dead or Alive." Furthermore, the band did a great job of reworking its '80s hit "Living on Prayer" into the slowed down "Prayer '94" for a 1994 greatest hits album.
So maybe creative departures are hit or miss for Bon Jovi. No harm, no foul.
And perhaps knowing what you're going to get with Jon, Richie and the boys is why fans continue to flock to the group's live shows. This includes its upcoming Nov. 8 show at Cleveland's The Q and Dec. 6 date at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena.
"Come on man, it's Bon Jovi," Sambora said. "Hey listen, we've always been known to be a great live band, and we're not getting any worse. We're only getting better, so everybody knows that we give a great, energetic live show. We involve the audience as much as possible, and people walk out sweating. You're going to get a good two and a half hours. You're going to get your money's worth."