[Old Joysey]

Originally Posted by Supersonic

And what would this right reason be? If you drop out of a tour and don't give any reason other than "needing to see your daughter", you're a moron. You sign up for a tour, and you finish it. Especially if at least 500.000 people have bought a ticket and expect you to be there. If he didn't want to tour, he shouldn't have signed up for it. It's that easy.

For the record, he mostly said, "my daughter needed me" which is totally different from "needing to see your daughter".

Anyway, he doesn't owe the public any explanation. Sometimes something happens in your life and you can't fulfill your contractual obligations, shit happens!

If Stephanie had ODed while Jon was on tour, don't you think that he would have canceled a show or two to be by her side? Would you have called him a moron for not showing up on show day although there were "at least 500.000 people (who had) bought a ticket and expect(ed) you to be there."? I think that Jon would have completely forgotten his work ethics in such circumstances and I base my speculations on the fact that he was in Europe when Sandy hit the Jersey shore and wanted to go back to NYC immediately although he was scheduled to appear in several shows: off with his "the show must go on no matter what" policy. He couldn't fly back home only because he couldn't find a flight (NJ/NY airports were under water) so he went on doing business as usual or else he would have let down everybody (fans) just the same.

Now I'm sure there have been reasons that have not been shared with us, but there's just no excuse for his behaviour.

+1. We don't know anything about it so calling him names is just plain stupid and childish. As Hugh put it in his latest interview, it's not what Richie did but how he did it.
I remember an interview where Richie explained that he was about to leave to go back on tour when his daughter told him she needed him and wanted him to drive her to school. She was 15 back then and just a few months earlier her mother had been rushed to hospital because she had been found unresponsive after what was rumored to be a suicide attempt. I'm a father myself and my first teaching assignment was in a highschool where the majority of the pupils came from dysfunctional families, i.e. I'm used to interacting with teenagers so I can imagine and understand what was going on in her mind at that time.
Or maybe Ava was perfectly alright and Richie just used her as an excuse to justify his behavior, who knows? Then yes, he would be a moron!

I said it before and I'll say it again: I believe that he was burnt out (although he said he wasn't in several interviews, but denial is part of the problem) and when you break down, you lose control and behave in unusual ways. And that is a valid excuse because burnout is an illness.

If, as you said, he had been a liability for years then it was his employer's responsibility to do something about it and not hire him any longer. When Jon explained that he knew beforehand what Paul was about to tell him (i.e. that Richie hadn't come to Calgary) he implied that he knew that Richie wouldn't show up one day or another so why not do something about it to prevent it from happening? A good CEO needs to anticipate things, when he hides the dust under the rug, he's sure to have to cope with even bigger problems in the long run.

But all of this is just speculation of course. I don't know more than what they said and I'm not looking for excuses, I'm just saying that he did what he did because he most likely thought he couldn't do otherwise at that very moment. Whether it was an impulsive or a fully thought out action I don't know, I don't judge him and I expected a better understanding from people who call themselves"fans".

[Alphavictim]

Goddamnit, who the hell reads these walls of ego-drivel?

[JackieBlue]

Originally Posted by Alphavictim

Goddamnit, who the hell reads these walls of ego-drivel?

People who want to, I guess. And perhaps those who don't realize that it's okay to skip ahead if they're not interested in 'ego-drivel'?

(Nice term, btw. Has a catchy sound.)

[Old Joysey]

Originally Posted by Alphavictim

Goddamnit, who the hell reads these walls of ego-drivel?

Isn't "ego-drivel" the middle name of a fan board?!

[JackieBlue]

WARNING!! Possible "ego-drivel" ahead!! If not interested, move on!!

Originally Posted by Supersonic

...
Well yeah, but that's because information has come out after the last 4 tours... Even during The Circle tour, rumours started to come out on how Richie wasn't showing up for rehearsals.... Some dirt has come out, both on this board and off this board when talking to crew members.

Ah, Rumours and Innuendo...such reliable sources. I hope you don't think they are exclusive, Seb; 'cause they been cheatin' on ya!! Lots of ppl have been talking to the same guys!

Doesn't it seem just a little bit coincidental how much "they" have had to say about Richie since he ticked everyone off?

Originally Posted by Supersonic

... it's been kind of obvious how Richie has been the biggest liability. If you are unable to play, you're a liability. He was drunk pretty much the entire HAND tour, was incapable of doing MTV Unplugged, had to cancel a show in South America, dropped out of a leg in 2010 and then did the same thing in 2011...

It's only been "kind of obvious" since April 2013, and that could well be caused by the sh!t-colored glasses ppl have been looking through.

BTW, which leg did Richie drop out of in 2010? I don't recall that one.

Originally Posted by Supersonic

...And what would this right reason be? ...

I don't know. I didn't say it. You'll have to ask the ppl who did what constitutes a right reason for them. Some of the things I remember were, "I could understand it if his daughter wants him at home" and "if there had been a family member who was sick" or "if he had said something before the tour started". (Of course, that last one went away when it came out later that he HAD told Jon he needed a longer break before the tour started.)

And again, you miss the point, which is that ppl were upset because he didn't give them a reason that they thought was good enough. But if they don't know the reason how can they know if it's good enough or not?

Originally Posted by Supersonic

...Now I'm sure there have been reasons that have not been shared with us...*

Bingo! And without knowing what those reasons are, how can you possibly know that he's a selfish prick?

Originally Posted by Supersonic

...And which ones would that be? ...

I don't know about you, Seb, but I know a LOT of ppl who can't do any of the things you listed; and they're still plenty smart. I once had a manager who couldn't find his way out of a bathroom without a map and couldn't keep track of a 2-day itinerary; but he was a brilliant negotiator who could sell anything and he made a ton playing the stock market. So I'd say he was far from "stupid".

Originally Posted by Supersonic

...Because that's what he's been hinting at. Richie's never said it directly, but saying things like "Well it's not really Bon Jovi without me" pretty much means that he kind of expected the thing to be blown off...*

Interpreting what he says as "hints" to what he "pretty much means" pretty much means that you did, in fact, draw your own conclusion without the facts.

Originally Posted by Supersonic

...It's not so much fans not willing to accept that these are the reasons that's the issue here, it's you who seems to need a valid other reason for Richie doing the things he does. It's as if you can't make peace with the thought of Richie actually dropping out for the reasons he stated.

So now you think you know what I think; and (big surprise) you're wrong about that, too. I don't need a reason. I'm perfectly at peace with whatever his reasons are, because I never had a need to judge him OR his reasons.

The only problem I have is with ppl who apparently DID need a reason, one that THEY thought justified his actions, but couldn't even wait until they knew what his reasons were before making judgments about the man's character. And still not knowing if they have the whole story or not, the same ppl have now decided that he's a selfish prick (no matter what the unknown reasons might be); and furthermore, he's a moron who hasn't been worth spit for the last decade, or never was that good anyway. They've basically re-written history because they got pissed off.

It's not about Richie and it has nothing to do with living in Richie land. Where I live, we believe that someone, no matter who it is, is "innocent until proven guilty" and that it's not only unfair, but "stupid" as well, to judge someone without facts, because jumping to conclusions often lands you in a ditch.

Like I said to Roll, this is way off-topic. If you want to discuss it further, I'll be happy to, but let's take it to PM. (Except I would like to know about the 2010 leg he dropped off of. )

[SadieLady]

Perhaps we will know more with the 2016 release. Jon has said that a lot happened to him and that the new music will be very "pointed." Given his obsession with loyalty (i.e. the BB track), I never bought his statement that he wasn't mad at Richie..."being in the band isn't a life sentence." I doubt that he will ever trust Richie again or forgive him.

While I hated that Richie left the tour especially since by all accounts he was "on fire" the first leg of the tour while Jon was getting flak for his static delivery and not moving around on stage, it's done and we need to all move on. Richie has all the fame and money he needs; if he is seeking artistic freedom and being able to lead his own band, more power to him. I personally think another factor in his leaving was not being able to sing a song off his solo cd while Jon took a stage break. I understand Jon wanting it to be a purely Bon Jovi concert but I still think it was part of Richie's breaking point.

[Old Joysey]

Originally Posted by JackieBlue

WARNING!! Possible "ego-drivel" ahead!!

Wait a minute! Ego-drivel or echo-drivel? Or echo-ego-drivel? Aaah! This is driving me crazy!

Still I'm enjoying the show!

[golittleperson]

"Drama" has become a Sambora staple.
I had written a short novel trying to show why I feel/think the things I do but changed my mind. Long story short, I'm worried about him. He is surrounded by no one who would discourage him (participators) and there are a lot of IG, TW , videos and posts that seem to indicate he is way off his sobriety. Plus so many deleted tweets and IG's by his circle - but they were seen, feels shady.

A bit of humility would have gone a long way IMO when he left - a simple I'm sorry to the fans, it's personal and not "hate it for the fans because not getting the real thing". I know there is the side who feel he didn't owe an apology but people spend and planned for that tour. I tried to understand, as a single parent if I had 65M in the bank I would have quit too. But he quickly spent more time away on his shows and vacations (without Ava) than if he had finished the tour. Maybe problem resolved, maybe a new interest or just want to do what he wants, when he wants. But, Lost credibility for me. The last "exorbitant amount of money" to rejoin the band was also a thorn to me.

Read this somewhere and it is such a true statement. (I was raised by an addict so I maybe see red flags others may not or I just expect them):
"An Alcoholic is an Egotist with An Inferiority Complex."

[SuperBrad]

I cant beleive this topic is still being discussed ! Jesus christ ...

[Rdkopper]

Originally Posted by SuperBrad

I cant beleive this topic is still being discussed ! Jesus christ ...

I couldn't agree more.

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