The current state of the Bon Jovi lineup has been a little murky since guitarist Richie Sambora left the band mid world tour in 2013, but according to frontman Jon Bon Jovi things are pretty clear to him, and apparently Sambora has “quit” the band.
“He quit. He’s gone,” the frontman told Showbiz 411. “No hard feelings,” he added. “Being in a band isn’t a life sentence.” Cracks in the Bon Jovi lineup began to show back in April 2013, when it was announced that Sambora would not continue with the band on their Because We Can world tour due to “personal issues”.
Speculation at time time was that the split was due to ongoing tensions between Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi. Sambora hinted at a possible falling out in the following months, telling the Sun, “I love the fans, I love the band. Jon and I have been tight for like 30 years, so all of this is very sad and it affects so many people around us.”
After Sambora’s split from the tour, Jon Bon Jovi talked vaguely about the tensions to Ellen. “All I can say is that, honest to God, it’s a personal matter, but we love him very much and he’s absolutely still a member of the band,” the frontman said while appearing on Ellen last year.
Now, according to JBJ himself, Sambora has opted out of the band on his own behalf. Richie Sambora was recently in Australia as a last minute addition to the Soundwave 2014 lineup, where he even unleashed some Bon Jovi classics with a little help from Australian guitar Orianthi.
“They’re my songs too, you know? And I’ll make them my own in a different way,” he told Music Feeds. The pair stopped by Music Feeds Studio earlier this year to play some tracks from both Sambora’s and Orianthi’s catalogue of solo material.
Watch: Richie Sambora + Orianthi – Seven Years Gone (Live at Music Feeds Studio)
http://youtu.be/QN7hXWWMX1E
