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1 " When I was twenty-five, “Bad Name” was the shit. We were in the mall. We had that hair and those clothes. It was real. That was us, then. But I couldn’t do that today. I don’t think we could sit down to write “You Give Love A Bad Name” again. It would be crafting and it wouldn’t resonate. "
― Jon Bon Jovi , Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful
2 " RICHIE: Part of what I do and what I’ve always done, consciously, is really try to bring a good feeling to the organization. I’m not a guy who is shy about saying, “Hey, I love you,” and giving you a hug. If "
3 " RICHIE: When it comes down to Jon and I writing a song, it’s pure. We’re not thinking about business. We’ve written specific songs earlier in our careers saying, “This is going to work in an arena” or “This will work in a stadium.” They were specifically made to get the crowd ready, get everybody’s dander up, and deliver the knockout punch. "
4 " JON: Lost Highway was an introspective record because we took a look at ourselves and left ourselves open to scrutiny by sharing those situations and feelings beyond the four of us. It was a great growth record. We were in a place where we had something to write about and turn our lives into big, broad subject matter. "
5 " RICHIE: My journey has been steadfast: to be Jon’s right-hand man. First and foremost, I try to always be there for him, as a friend, on a musical level, and from a business standpoint where he can use me as a mirror for himself. We’ve always looked to Frank and Dean. Frank was the Chairman and Dean was the right-hand man. That’s the way it was. It was a dynamic duo. "
6 " JON: With the New Jersey record, I refused to have anyone think all this was luck. We wanted to show that with the first two records there was something there, and even though the third one did pay off—big time—I was going to keep fighting to make sure you knew I could do this again and again and again. We weren’t going to be a one-hit wonder. There "
7 " RICHIE: Management came to us and said, “Do you wanna do another seventy shows?” And we went, “We gotta stop, man.” That decision was a crucial point in the band’s career. We were just a mess—emotionally, physically. Life had changed drastically from three years prior. And in that three years’ window, we were in the cocoon of a tour. Trying to fit back into life after that was the tricky part, I think. Everybody was going through growing pains. JON: "
8 " JON: To tell you the honest-to-God truth, if we had had everybody patting us on the back for the last twenty years I’d have gotten fat and old and lazy; it would had been a lot easier than keeping the chip on your shoulder and going, “Gotta fight, gotta fight.” But that’s sort of motivational. I find it to be the reason you wake up in the morning. "
9 " After our long trek on the Bon Jovi trail, making this book has taught me why this band is what it is. Why they have endured, why they are loved. It’s simple, really; they are a family. "
10 " JON: From a songwriting point of view, we grew up after the New Jersey album. By then, I had a hell of a lot more to say and we were more mature. "