Gary Graff / Billboard
Bon Jovi’s David Bryan and Tico Torres are expecting a special, and probably emotional, night when the group — including founding members Richie Sambora and Alec John Such — is inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame on April 14 in Cleveland.
“It’s hard to predict what you’re going to go through,” drummer Torres told Billboard during a conference call with reporters to promote the second North American leg of Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not For Sale Tour, kicking off March 14 in Denver. “But speaking to Alec on the phone, it was wonderful. We took that journey together at certain times as a group, and I think it’s wonderful we can re-enact that — not only for us, but for the fans. I think when you get together with old friends, there’s always going to be some deep emotions within that.”
Bryan added that it’s also high time that Bon Jovi, which won the fan vote conducted by the Rock Hall, receive the honor after being eligible for the past nine years. “It’s a little late, but we’re in the club,” the keyboardist said. “It’s a wonderful club to be in, from Elvis and the Beatles and the Stones, and you feel like it’s definitely a club to be in. It’s a great honor.”
Bryan confirmed that the reunited Bon Jovi will play “a couple songs” at the ceremony with the former members. which he predicted will be “pretty cool. We’re really looking forward to that.” It will be the first time John Such, who left the group in 1994, has played with Bon Jovi since a one-off appearance in 2001 and Sambora’s first since departing acrimoniously in 2013.
Bon Jovi will also be celebrating the induction on the road, playing 28 dates through May 14. The group has just released an expanded edition of This House Is Not For Sale, featuring a pair of new tracks. Echoing what Jon Bon Jovi told Billboard in December, Bryan said “When We Were Us” is “a song that’s brought on by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and where we’re at in our career, and it’s talking about where we were, where we are and where we’re doing.” “Walls,” meanwhile, “is about unification, not separation,” with both personal and political underpinnings. “It’s what happens in the world. It’s putting up walls within yourself,” Bryan explained. “There’s a lot of metaphors that go with that. It’s like ‘Keep the Faith’ was a sign of the times. We still have signs of the times in the writing.”
A video for “When We Were Us” is being shown exclusively via Tidal.
Bon Jovi, which will receive the Icon Award on March 11 at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, is releasing the new songs to refresh This House Is Not For Sale for the tour and intends to include them in the show, but Bryan doesn’t see them as a harbinger of the group moving to individual songs over albums. “Who knows what the future is, but we usually make records,” he said. “I don’t think we’re gonna put out songs. These are just adding to [the album] ’cause it’s a continuation of the tour, a new leg.” The production and 360-degree seating for this leg remains the same as last year’s show, while the set list will vary a bit from show to show. “We love to play the old songs and the new ones and we mix it up and that’s what keeps it fresh,” Bryan said. “We have so many to choose from, so we change sets each night, swap out a couple songs.” Torres added that, “The new songs are what make it fun, and fresh. It’s amazing that we’re in fashion to this date. We pinch ourselves all the time.”
This article originally appeared on Billboard.
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