Jon and Richie

They are brothers, not just Jon & Richie, but David & Tico too. Maybe Hugh too. Being with the same guys for 30 years turns friendship to a brotherhood, they were like brothers since the very first day. I can't understand what's going on to be honest but they are still brothers

If they were truly as close as some would desperately like to believe, how did none of them see or realise Richie was starting to lose interest in the tour?

Even if he never said it, a group of close friends that have been together for 30 years would have read between the lines. They meet up on gig days a few hours before the show but otherwise go about their own business - that's not a close-knit brotherhood. They used to be close in the days they used to share tour buses, dressing rooms etc., but it's long since moved away from that. Separate cars to/from gigs, separate dressing rooms,... separate lives.

IMO, they appreciate where they've been together and how they've got here but not who they have each become individually along the way. It's natural to take things for granted after you've had such a constant in your life for so long.

Yeah because friends start to have wives, families, you don't spend each day in each others pockets. Just becoming a Dad yourself you'll realize that very quickly. It makes you no less friends. That's just what growing up does.

Exactly. They might not be as close but they spent so much time together (even when they are not on tour they write songs or do other events and even their kids are "friends" plus Jon has mentioned quite a few times that they share different memories which each other than they do with their wives. I think "family" is a good analogy. I might not be too close with all my family members but they are still family.

Firstly, I want to say I am not deluded, and do not even care if they are friends or not. However, I know from my experiences that I have a best friend who is like a brother to me, we have had arguments, he has pissed me off one day and not the next, I have not talked to him for 6 months, one year, 18 months etc, and have currently not even been in the same room as him for like four years. There are things about him I dislike and other I love, that is how it is.

With that in mind, Jon sending Richie a look across the stage either in affection or pure hatred tells me nothing about their relationship. In fact even if it emerged that they are having a massive fight now, I would not be inclined to think it says they have not been close or indeed are not close. Its that old chestnut, we will never know.

What we do have is them saying they are friends, their word is more concrete than a look on stage. Do I believe it? I have never really thought much about it because it is not important. But thinking about it now I guess I sort of do believe it, do you guys believe what I just wrote about my friend?

I hear ya...

And yes, I'm a believer, absolutely.

Well, it does appear to me they used to be much closer than from a few years on. I've done some research on Aerosmith and hey, Joe Perry was out for six years and they did reunite! What is even more striking is that his and Steven's personalities are worlds apart and still, there's magic when the two meet.

The stand-off between him and the band lasted two years. I wonder aloud why grown men who have known each other five decades couldn’t pick up a phone.
“When you’re in the thick of it, I guess you just don’t and we didn’t, for whatever reason,” says Tyler. “For that period of time, I was high. So I didn’t see the humour in any of it. Like when the band didn’t visit me in hospital after I fell off stage, I took all of that crap too seriously.
“We never realise how much we mean to each other until we’re back together. Life gets in the way — marriages, children. Not to take away from that, because I love my kids, my wives and my girlfriends, but there is nothing like this band and shame on me that I thought any other way.”
“Our personalities are so different, I can’t believe we ever bumped into each other,” adds Perry. “Somehow, there’s magic there. I mean, I didn’t put an ad in the paper going: 'Wanted — guy that loves life, scuba diving and shooting guns, but also has visions of being a rock star and is looking for someone to argue with half the time.’ You can’t plan for that stuff.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...ing-breed.html

Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): How is your relationship with Steven now?

Joe Perry: It’s pretty much what it is. You can love your brother, but you don’t have to like him. We have our ups and downs. He’ll say stuff in the press, and I’ll think, “What the hell is he talking about?” Next time I see him, it’s all hugs and kisses. We know the band is bigger than our ups and downs. If anything, it has been a learning process in how to deal with each other’s personalities. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to write the book because people hear stuff about Joe and Steven not getting along.

Somebody just asked me if the band was still together a couple of weeks ago, so there’s all kinds of stuff floating around out there. It has been one of the things that have made it hard to keep together for forty years. There are not too many bands out there that are touring all the time that manage to keep the same guys in the band, the same lineup that was there in 1971. That takes a lot of work. It’s as simple as that. You learn how to adjust, as you get older. You go from being a teenager with no responsibilities to middle aged with wives and girlfriends, and then you become fathers and grandfathers.

We’ve all had that side of our lives, and we’ve had to reconcile that with this rock and roll thing, which is a timeless kind of music. I truly believe it helps keep you young. When we walk on stage together, I look over and see the same guys I saw forty years ago, and there’s no age involved. It’s just about playing and putting on the best show we can for our fans. It’s kind of a unique club to be in, and there are only four other guys in it.

http://smashinginterviews.com/interv...t-of-aerosmith

and The Stones are role models for them as well! what gives me hope in case of BJ is that some serious circumstances may turn the injured pride into sincere appreciation. when Perry almost fainted on stage and had some heart problems, Tyler desperately wanted to make a contact and in fact, they're inseparable ever since, touring together again.

I can see some parallels between the two stories but maybe it's just my wishful thinking. who knows?

And who would have thought just three years ago that G'n'R would reunite!

Only time can tell if the bond is stronger than the more or less factual feud....

I've wondered many times over the past month if Jon has mentioned Richie and his demons because he has no audience with the man and it is the only way to reach out and try to get him to face those demons before Richie winds up the next dead musician. Everything else he has said about Richie has been positive. Great friend. Great collaborator. Best buddy. Always makes sure he gets credit. Maybe Jon is doing something that seems out of character to a lot of us for a deeper and more important reason.