Bobby Bandiera, Jon Bonjovi, Southside Johnny and Gary U.S. Bonds perform “Blue Christmas” at the Hope Concert V in Red Bank, New Jersey. Recorded on December 19. 2011 by CKGOL

This Time It’s For Real – - The Hope Concert V in Red Bank, New Jersey. Recorded on December 19. 2011 by kja283

Southside Johnny and Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem) cover Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World at The Hope Concert V, Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ, December 19, 2011 recorded by CATTE729

Run Rudolph Run – The Hope Concert V in Red Bank, New Jersey. Recorded on December 19. 2011 by CATTE729

All You Need Is Love – The Hope Concert V in Red Bank, New Jersey. Recorded on December 19. 2011 by LIAMNJ

The two-hour show provided its share of unexpected delights anyway. Many were provided by Bandiera, who, in his modest manner, was the night’s most rewarding performer. As the musical director of the Rock-N-Soul Revue, he was onstage for most of the event, and he kept the pacing crisp, the spirits jovial, and prevented the big band from unnecessarily extending the outros of the songs. His guitar playing was tasteful, too: He took a warbling, string-bending solo on “Blue Christmas” that fit the high-spirited reinterpretation of the Christmas song, drove the propulsive pub-rock of Southside Johnny’s “This Time It’s For Real,” and once again approximated the dramatic heft of Richie Sambora’s gunslinger lead on “Wanted Dead or Alive.” His singing, too was graceful, and he managed to hold together a show-closing version of “All You Need Is Love” that threatened to tip into an inebriated singalong.

(Tris McCall/The Star-Ledger)

Read: Jon Bon Jovi returns to Red Bank for Hope Concert V (NJ.com)
Read: Jon Bon Jovi, alive and well, stars at the Hope Concert V (NJ.com)

THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – by ALEX BIESE -

The “Jersey Shore sound” — it’s a term that has been thrown around by musicians, fans, authors, politicians and critics for decades. Most people, however, have a hard time explaining what it means when pressed for a definition of the music made along the Garden State’s sandy coast and its adjacent regions.

Does it refer to the stadium-shaking rock ‘n’ roll of Bruce Springsteen? The blue-eyed bar-band soul of Southside Johnny Lyon and the Asbury Jukes? How about the New Brunswick-bred punk of the Bouncing Souls and The Gaslight Anthem? Is it all of these things, or none of them?

Southside Johnny Lyon: “I don’t know if there is one Jersey sound, but a defining characteristic is sincerity. The Jersey Shore was a tough place to make it way back then, and the only way you could get anywhere is by moving the audience with some heartfelt music.

“Oh, sure, you could play in a Top 40 band and do all the current hits and make a lot of money playing to the dancers, but to build up a following that cared about what you were doing and where you were going, you had to play hard and be honest. It’s still that way around here. Not too much glitz and no phony showbiz, just hard and true. Not a bad heritage for all the young whippersnappers.”

Bobby Bandiera of the Asbury Jukes, touring guitarist for Bon Jovi: “Jesus, I don’t think there is a Jersey Shore sound. I mean, over the years people that have become famous from being from this area, namely Bruce (Springsteen). I mean, even Bruce’s sound is different than Southside Johnny’s sound, in that it doesn’t have a four-piece horn section. It’s still R&B, it’s still rock ‘n’ roll, but then there’s Bon Jovi, who lives right around the corner, who doesn’t have any horns and it’s pretty much a guitar-driven (sound), so I don’t think there’s a sound, per se.

“I mean, then you can look at Frank Sinatra . . . and a few other artists that have come from New Jersey and say, ‘Well, they had nothing to do with a loud, distorted guitar.’ It was a different era, but I don’t think there is (a Jersey Shore sound), I don’t think there is such a thing. I think it’s just an encapsulation of people’s input that happened to take music to a serious level and start to re-create what their influences have been and then add to it whatever they bring to it and make it, and that’s anywhere from New Jersey to L.A. I mean, I don’t know if there’s a New Jersey sound, per se.”

Read the whole article here: http://www.app.com/article/20090705/ENT/907050301/1031

Copyright (c) The Asbury Park Press – 2009

RED BANK ORBIT: Southside Johnny! Thanks for calling in. How’s by you?

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: Life is good!

RED BANK ORBIT: You know, for anybody who knows you, that doesn’t read like something you would say.

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: Life is good, because I’ve been dead for so many years, there’s no pressure.

RED BANK ORBIT: That’s more like it. Now you’re gearing up for the big Fourth of July show, the companion piece to the big New Years show at the Count Basie.

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: An act that I stole, as you know, from the late Guy Lombardo.

RED BANK ORBIT: And yet when you show up at the Christmas benefit shows you get teased by the other guys onstage as The Grinch. But when it comes to the Fourth, whose mantel are you inheriting? Who would have been Mr. Fourth of July?

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: That would have to be the fireworks family — the Gruccis! And when they find out they’re gonna come around and try to blow me up.

RED BANK ORBIT: Now you’ve been doing these July 4th shows at the Pony for what, five years now?

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: I actually don’t keep track of things like that. I’m not interested in chronology — only when it comes to old records. I’m really not a nostalgist, and my attitude is, let’s move on.

RED BANK ORBIT: But so much of the appeal of your live shows comes from the old songs, not just your own, but other people’s songs that you’ve made your own…

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: When we do the Pony show, we’ll be playing some things from our new album, which isn’t even finished yet, plus some old songs that people have been requesting. But mostly we go up onstage and see what happens.

I did “Shout” for the first time ever the other night, if you can believe that. But it really worked out well; the band just really got it. And these guys weren’t even born when that song was a hit!

RED BANK ORBIT: So you actually don’t approach these shows with a set list? You must be the only nine piece band in existence that can just wing it like that.

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: I don’t know if it’s any looser than usual — it’s just that we don’t have everything all mapped out. We allow for some surprises — people are invited to jam with us onstage, as long as they know what they’re doing. So, no, we never do a standard set list for these shows; I try to read the crowd instead — if they’re feeling angry, we’ll give ‘em something a little more dark like “The Fever.” But the guys in the band are all pros, they can hit my curveballs.

RED BANK ORBIT: I gotta hand it to you, keeping the big-band thing going all this time. Just the whole logistics of getting everybody from one place to another on the bus is something that very few people are set up to do.

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: Well, Roomful of Blues is still out there, with that big lineup. But once you get horn fever, it’s hard to break away. We actually aren’t playing as much as we used to, and we don’t use a bus anymore — it got too expensive. We usually take vans, I just round up the band members, fill ‘em out with thorazine and throw ‘em on the van. It works out well. And I continue to pay for everything myself — I pay over and over and over…

Read the full interview at:
http://www.redbankorbit.com/wordpress/2009/07/southside-sez-life-is-good/

Also read Tom’s conversation with Bobby Bandiera;
http://www.redbankorbit.com/wordpress/2009/07/and-bobby-has-it-covered/

Come celebrate summer, at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center’s first annual “Rock n Roll Summer Cocktail Party” featuring a special performance by the Bobby Bandiera Band. The event will be held on July 1st at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, 100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park.

Things will get underway at 6:30 pm with a special cocktail reception sponsored by Stingers and 656 Ocean in the Axelrod Theater’s art gallery. Guests are invited to sip refreshing mint mojitos, sample delicious appetizers and win tickets to future shows at the Axelrod Theater. Theater doors open at 8:00 pm for a special performance of Bobby Bandiera’s “Rock and Soul Revue”.

Bandiera is a long time fixture of the Jersey Shore sound and his appearances with local legends Cats on a Smooth Surface date back to the early 1980s and clubs such as The Stone Pony, when Bruce Springsteen would jump onstage with them on Sunday nights. Bobby has played with such legends as Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. Bobby regularly headlines in leading shore venues with his band, the Bob Bandiera Band, and accompanies Southside Johnny and Bon Jovi.

Tickets for the reception and performance are $40 per person and can be ordered by calling the Axelrod Box Office at 732-531-9100 ext. 142. Group Discounts are also available by calling 732-531-9100 ext. 155.

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 18, 2009 – IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jill Garbi, Marketing Director, 732-531-9100 ext. 130
jgarbi@jccmonmouth.org
www.axelrodartscenter.com

When Count Basie Theatre CEO Numa Saisselin approached guitarist/bandleader Bobby Bandiera about doing revue-style shows at the Red Bank venue three years ago, Bandiera was reluctant.

“Numa said, “Why don’t you do these tribute shows?’ ” Bandiera recalled while calling from his Atlantic Highlands home. ” “A friend does them in Canada. It’ll be fun.’ ”

The laid-back musician initially turned down the offer.

“I told Numa that I just wanted to focus on original material, but then I said that I would do it if I could pick the first artist for the show,” Bandiera said. “And he said, “Oh, no.’ But I told him to trust me.”

Roy Orbison was the first recording artist Bandiera decided to honor with his initial Jersey Shore Rock-n-Soul-Revue in 2006.

“It was a natural selection for me,” Bandiera said. “Over the years, I would pull out a Roy Orbison song while doing Jersey Shore dates and the response was always tremendous. . . . Why not do a show featuring all of Roy’s material?”

Bandiera delivered an Orbison show to a sold-out audience, and he’s bringing back the concert Thursday to the Basie.

Bandiera’s revues, which include singer/guitarist Bob Burger, bassist Graham Maby and others, usually are one-and-done affairs.

“That’s a little frustrating since we put so much work into it,” he said. “It would be nice if it were more than one show.”

This time, Bandiera’s ninth revue will be repeated June 2 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. Bandiera and company will play a fundraiser benefiting New Jersey Network.

“It’s nice to know that we can do this again in just over a month,” Bandiera said. “It would be great to do this more than once, and we have that opportunity.”

He already is looking forward to his next revue show — a tribute to trios slated for August at the Basie.

“We’ll be doing songs from The Who, Led Zeppelin, Cream, U2 and the Police, among other bands. Jon Bon Jovi said, “Bob, some of those bands aren’t trios — they have singers.’ I told him, “Who cares about the singers?’ Those bands are trios, as far as I’m concerned.”

Bandiera is pleased that he didn’t blow off Saesselin’s concept.

“It worked out great,” he said. “I’m so happy with these shows. I get to play songs that I love with a great band, and the audience just eats it up. It’s worked out better than I could have ever imagined.”

Copyright: The Asbury Park Press (c) 2009

Bobby Bandiera says he had no interest in organizing tribute concerts when Numa Saisselin, CEO of the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, approached him with the idea in 2005. Mr. Bandiera wanted to continue playing with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, touring with bands like Bon Jovi, and writing and recording his own songs.

But Mr. Saisselin was persistent. He wanted Jersey musicians to perform tributes to rock ‘n’ roll legends at the Count Basie, and was convinced that Mr. Bandiera had the connections and musical knowledge to make them happen.

Mr. Bandiera eventually said he’d do it if he could decide which artists would be honored at the concerts. Mr. Saisselin said that was fine, until Mr. Bandiera told him his first choice was Roy Orbison. Mr. Saisselin was thinking of a bigger name, like the Rolling Stones.

”I told him, Numa, trust me on this,” Mr. Bandiera says. “I’ve been playing this guy’s music, I grew up listening to this guy’s music. It’s something I can get behind in an honest way and pull it off in an honest way instead of lip-synching it and just getting through it. I can get behind this.”

Mr. Bandiera put together a band — the Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue — to perform two Orbison-themed shows in March of 2005. Both sold out and the group has since performed shows honoring the Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Motown, the British Invasion, and California bands, among others.
*
Those shows were all successful but there’s something about that Orbison show. It’s the only one Mr. Bandiera has returned to, and he’ll perform it June 2 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick for the 2009 NJN Benefit Celebration. The fundraiser for NJN Public Television and Radio will begin with a reception at the Heldrich Hotel and Spa followed by the concert at the State Theatre.

”The Orbison thing somehow shines,” Mr. Bandiera says. “Not that some of the other ones didn’t, but people like it, they want to come out and see it. I’ll be able to (play it at) three theaters inside a month and a half and do well with them.”

Some of the hits audiences can expect to hear at the show include “Running Scared,” “Dream Baby,” “In Dreams,” “It’s Over,” “Oh, Pretty Woman,” and “Crying.” Feeling Mr. Orbison’s lyrics is vital to any performance of his songs because many of them, particularly the ballads, are extremely emotional. “They’ll bring a tear to your eye,” Mr. Bandiera says.

Take these lyrics from “Crying”: “It’s hard to understand/ But the touch of your hand/ Can start me crying.”

Or this from “Running Scared”: “Then all at once he was standing there/ So sure of himself, his head in the air/ My heart was breaking, which one would it be/ You turned around and walked away with me.” It may sound like a happy ending, but the singer has no faith that his girlfriend truly loves him.

”Sometimes it’s just astounding that the audience reacts the way they do,” Mr. Bandiera says of Mr. Orbison’s songs. “On the other hand, it’s not a mystery that they do because these songs can certainly pull emotion out of you. And that’s what you hope a song does when you’re writing it and after you’ve written it. They make you think, they make you feel, they make you tough. Those songs certainly do all of those things.”

Of course, Mr. Orbison has arguably the best voice in rock ‘n’ roll history. Chasing the notes he hit in “Crying” and “It’s Over” seems futile, but Mr. Bandiera says he can pull it off. “I have the good fortune of having a voice that can capture what he did — to a certain degree,” he says with a laugh.

In putting the tribute shows together, Mr. Bandiera calls upon musician friends from all over the Jersey Shore. The size of the band can range depending on what he needs (the Motown show required various singers who could capture the spirit behind different songs).

In addition to Orbison’s most famous songs, the concert will feature a few tunes he covered like “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Unchained Melody.” “There’s a few of those in the show,” Mr. Bandiera says. “And because I grew up listening to him, I was so inspired, some of the songs I’ve written over the years certainly capture a Roy Orbison-esque style. So I injected those into this show as well.”

Next for the Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue is a tribute to power trios — Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, the Who. But wait? Isn’t Mr. Bandiera’s math off a bit with those last two?

”When I mentioned to Jon Bon Jovi we were doing Led Zeppelin and the Who, he says, ‘Those bands have four guys in them.’ I said, ‘Jon, who gives a s— about the lead singer?’”

The Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue will perform a tribute to Roy Orbison for the NJN Benefit Celebration at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, June 2, 8 p.m. A reception will be held at The Heldrich Hotel & Spa, 10 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets to the reception (including admission to the concert) cost $500; concert-only tickets cost $34-$45; 732-246-7469; www.statetheatrenj.org

Source: Centraljersey.com

It’s all cold down along the beach… the wind’s whipping down the boardwalk… and it’s freezing in Red Bank, where Bruce showed up tonight to bring some extra warmth to the newly renovated Count Basie Theatre. Just as in 2006, with no area holiday shows of his own, Springsteen chose to join in the festivities at Bobby Bandiera’s Hope Concert.

On the bill with Bandiera’s Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue were Tim McLoone and the Shirleys, Brian Fallon, Nicole Atkins, Gary U.S. Bonds, Southside Johnny, and Jon Bon Jovi; Springsteen’s surprise appearance came at the end of the night, as he joined the house band and a few of the bill-toppers for a few Christmas songs, two classic covers, and one of his own.

The night’s format had crossover between artist’s sets: Gary U.S. Bonds (after notably performing Bruce’s “Action in the Street”) was joined by Southside Johnny for “This Little Girl” to segue into Southside’s set; Johnny was joined on his last song by Jon Bon Jovi for “This Time It’s For Real.” When it came to Bon Jovi’s last song, out came Springsteen to back him up on “Run Run Rudolph,” playing lead guitar and hollering backup on the final chorus.

“Happy holidays!” said Bruce, otherwise a man of few words tonight. (Leave the quotables to Southside: “I’d wish you a merry Christmas, but it would be out of character” and “I get so sentimental, I have to drink myself into oblivion.”) Springsteen opened his own set with a doubleshot of his holiday B-sides, “Merry Christmas, Baby” followed by “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Southside — “Mr. Grinch” — joined in on the latter, and LaBamba came downstage to take Clarence’s part, “you better be good for goodness’ sake.” (LaBamba and Mark Pender brought the horn section headcount to eight for Bruce’s set.)

After Bruce went it alone on “634-5789,” Bon Jovi came back out to split the vocals on “Tenth Avenue.” And a final encore, as Springsteen was joined by Southside, singing lead, and Bonds for a rousing “Havin’ a Party.” Weather outside: frightful. Inside: plenty hot.

Source: BACKSTREETS.COM

BY KELLY JANE COTTER – Music Writer – December 23, 2008

“It ain’t Santa Claus,” Bon Jovi said, announcing a special guest. “We got something better.” Like his fellow rockers at Monday’s Hope Concert, Springsteen took the stage in a low-key manner, providing guitar solos and backing vocals to Bobby Bandiera’s lead on “Run Rudolph Run.”

Springsteen soon took center stage, with back-to-back performances of “Merry Christmas, Baby” and his definitive version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” He directed the band and led the audience in cries of call-and-response. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” soon followed, and all was merry and bright.

A finale of “Having a Party,” with Southside Johnny Lyon on lead, backed by Springsteen, Bandiera, Gary U.S. Bonds and the band, capped an evening that raised more than $250,000 for the Parker Family Health Center in Red Bank, as well as thousands of cans of donated food for the FoodBank of Monmouth/Ocean Counties.

This was the fourth Hope Concert, a tradition founded and organized by Bandiera, a longtime member of the local music scene who currently tours with Bon Jovi. Earlier in the night, Bon Jovi sang “Blue Christmas,” and then gave an optimistic wish for the new year and the new president, Barack Obama.

“Hope you all are tryin’ to be good in this crazy time,” Bon Jovi said to the crowd. “It’s an exciting time, too. We’ve got a big change comin’ in the new year. And I’ll be glad to kiss 2008 good-bye.” Bon Jovi performed relaxed, upbeat versions of his recent hits “Lost Highway” and “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”

Southside Johnny introduced one of his signature songs by telling the audience that he’d been on Sanibel Island, Fla., two days earlier. “I checked the weather on the Internet on my laptop computer,” he said, with mock pride about his technological prowess, “and I thought, ‘I don’t want to go home.’ ” It was indeed a frigid night in downtown Red Bank, with streets quickly deserted after the show let out.

Highlights of the earlier portion of the concert included the beautiful, booming vocals of Layonne Holmes, who sang Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love,” and Bob Burger’s wistful version of “Monday, Monday,” by The Mamas and The Papas. Neptune’s own Nicole Atkins channeled both Ronnie Spector and Brenda Lee in covering “Be My Baby” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” respectively.

Singer-songwriter Brian Fallon, a Red Bank native, displayed considerable lyrical talent in two acoustic bummers about death and loneliness. His big smile, as he told the audience he was born a few blocks away in Riverview Hospital, and his enthusiasm for being part of the Hope Concert somehow made his songs seem less depressing. Opening the show were Tim McLoone and The Shirleys, who must feel like they live at Count Basie, having performed there two additional nights last week with Holiday Express.

Copyright: THE ASBURY PARK PRESS (c) 2008

.

WE’RE HAVING A PARTY

Note: La Bamba, although on crutches, in what might have been one of the most roof rousing horn section mash-ups of the younger past…

Here’s another one with two aspiring young artists from New Jersey beeing backed up by Bobby Bandiera’s Rock & Soul Revue, with Jeff Kazee and Kevin Kavanaugh on Keyboards and the best horn section in Rock ‘n’ Roll…

TENTH AVENUE FREEZE OUT

Kelly Jane Cotter of the ASBURY PARK PRESS writes in today’s edition:

The fourth annual all-star Hope Concert, organized by guitarist Bobby Bandiera, raised more than $250,000 for the Parker Family Health Center, here. Audience members also brought more than 10,000 pounds of food donations for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN

Jay Lustig at the NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER summarizes the night:

It was a big show in every way, with more than 20 musicians (including eight horn players) onstage at times. Bon Jovi’s miniset included “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” “Lost Highway” and the Elvis Presley-popularized “Blue Christmas,” as well as a duet with Southside Johnny on “This Time It’s For Real.”

Among Southside’s other songs were “I Don’t Want To Go Home” and Tom Waits’ “Down, Down, Down,” and he dueted with Bonds on the Sam and Dave classic, “You Don’t Know Like I Know.” Bobby Bandiera’s Jersey Shore Rock ‘n’ Soul Revue presented a lively set, and also served as the evening’s house band. Rising Jersey-bred stars Brian Fallon (of The Gaslight Anthem) and Nicole Atkins performed just briefly, singing two songs apiece, but made big impressions, and Tim McLoone and the Shirleys kicked the evening off with a good-natured set of holiday tunes.

And here’s another account of the night from Stan Goldstein of the BRUCE BLOG @ NJ-ONLINE

Overall, it was a three-hour show, but I would say the best Hope Show of the last three. Very high energy throughout and Bruce was on top of his game tonight. Maybe not the best five-six songs people wanted to hear from him, but I don’t think anyone left the Count Basie Theatre disappointed tonight.

“Once again we showcase one of the many great talents to come out of New Jersey. He’s a superb guitarist who is equally at home in the Bon Jovi touring line up, playing on stage in front of 70,000 adoring fans, as he is in a packed and smoky club venue in Amsterdam, really letting rip with Southside Johnny and the Asbury JUKES. He is also a fine solo artist in his own right; he is Bobby Bandiera.”

(sound of pool balls clacking away in the background)

Marc: Now, nine o’clock in the morning, there I am in a German hotel/country club and ready to meet Bobby Bandiera, one of the finest guitarists to come out of New Jersey. and what do I find? He’s already up, he’s had breakfast and he’s playing pool. now THAT’S rock and roll! He’s just finished a massive world tour playing with Bon Jovi and now he’s back on the road with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. so how does he get his head around these crazy changes of life style.

Bobby: At the beginning of the day it’s what I do. in the middle of the day it’s what I do and at the end of the day it’s what I do. whether it’s on stage in front of 20,000 or 70,000 people with Bon Jovi, or small clubs that I do with Southside, or on my own. I bumped into Dave Edmunds while I was in London and there’s a possibility that I may come over and do a month this coming year with him. so we’ll see how that goes. but it’s just a great thing to be working and making a living at playing music, as I’ve always done, and hopefully it’ll go for the next fifteen years or so or, whatever I have left in life.

Marc: A lot more than that one hopes.

Bobby: Hopefully more than fifteen, but I’ll take fifteen.

Marc: OK. so he’s playing with Bon Jovi one day. he’s playing with Southside Johnny the next. but does he feel more involved in the more intimate surroundings of the Southside tour.

Bobby: Definitely. it’s more intimate in a small room like that. it’s. I think it’s a little bit more fun in that you have a closer connection, you know. because you are closer. but it doesn’t mean on a big stage that you can’t rev it up and get that same communication goin’ in front of 20,000 or 70,000 people . I haven’t been on my own in a situation like that to know what it feels like to command it but being on the stage with Bon Jovi. I mean if you’re on stage and you’re performing, you’re pretty much part of commanding. the crowd’s response you know. all that has to do with it. but watching him is great . watching anybody do that on stage is a great thing knowing that they can get 70,000 people in their back pocket . but to answer your question ultimately, it is more fun and more intimate to play in a smaller place.

Marc: Tell me a bit about this New Jersey collective. you pop out and go and do a tour with Bon Jovi. Ed Manion’s out there playing with Bruce right now. and then you come back together. it’s sort of like you’re just a big gang of friends.

Bobby: Yeah, it’s like a family. a family reunion. you haven’t seen them for a while. you go out with Jon Bon Jovi’s thing and it’s guys you haven’t seen for a while and it’s like “How’s the kids?” and bla-bla-bla. this is great playing again, it’s fun playing again, it feels good playing again. I come home, do my local thing with one or two other people that I don’t get to see while I’m out here doing this. Bruce does a handful of Christmas shows or a party during the year for this or that .

Marc: So it’s like a networking thing. big time.

Bobby: All part of being smart, yeah.
(“Only In A Dream”)

Marc: That’s “Only In A Dream” from Bobby Bandiera’s first solo album that came out in 1993 just called “Bandiera”. So getting back to the man. this diversity thing, playing with all sorts of different people, doing all sorts of different styles. does that keep you fresh and on your toes?

Bobby: There’s a lot to be said for that, right? I mean you’re expecting a little bit of a different twist in each situation but ultimately you’re asked to play in those situations because of what you do. what you bring. yeah there might be a little twist that you have to play a mandolin or a 12-string or acoustic guitar more than you’d play electric in some situations. it all goes into the pot and it comes out playing and doing what you like to do and feeling that you’re doin’ alright because you’re working.

Marc: That really leads me into your own solo work and the diversity you’ve shown in that. you really do seem to spread it around a bit…?

Bobby: Well yeah. if there’s been one thing that I’ve been pretty much warned over the years it’s when you make a record – why don’t you set more of a direction as far as a style or the style you want to be perceived as – and my attitude is, I want to be perceived as playing every style I’m good at doing and have fun at doing. I don’t have to make a record that goes a little bit of the way like country song , a pop song or a 3-piece power-pop thing. if I’m writing, and I happen to like a handful of songs that go this way or that way, and I wind up using one or two of them and make the album more fun to listen to instead of just in one direction. although record companies want to see one direction . although I don’t know if they do that so much any more. it’s just so different to the way records get perceived and made these days than it was 25 years ago or 20 years ago.

Marc: So for you to make another solo record, and indeed I hope you do, and it’s not too long.

Bobby: I’ll be working on a record within the next three months. another record for myself.

Marc: Excellent! A collaboration?

Bobby: Yeah. there’ll probably be some . probably be some. I hope to come over to Europe in 2007. here and there so if you’re out there, pay attention and come and see me!
(“Change, Change, Change”)

Marc: Another track off the first solo album from 1993 just called “Bandiera”, “Change, Change, Change”. I noticed at the gig the previous night that he was giving the old Telecaster a rest and playing something new and sparkly. I wondered if this was a local purchase?

Bobby: Let me see. a couple of months back, you know, you’ve got nothing to do some days that you have off. you wander into the music stores. and a guitar that I bought about six or seven years ago when I was here, a Duesenberg – and they have a new body style, they made a new style. and I happened to see it in the store and I was like. this is good. this is good, let me see if I can contact them so I don’t have to spend $2000 buying it in a store. and if they like the idea that I’ll be playing it and showing off their goods for them, out in front of an audience on tour, maybe we could work a deal. and they said “Yeah, yeah. sure we can work a deal.” So I got a great deal on this guitar and I like to stick to my end of the bargain. I told them it doesn’t have to be for free, but I said if it’s a good deal I promise you when we’re touring I’ll bring the guitar so it’s a visible thing for people to see. but it’s great, it’s great. and you know Fender is a great company. and now this company’s doin’ it. it’s just one of these things that go along with one of the perks of being a musician that’s working.

Marc: It’s a great guitar. it looks a bit like a 50’s Chevvy or something on stage.

Bobby: Yeah, it’s got that retro 60’s/50’s/60’s look to it and it’s cool and it sounds great too.

Marc: Yeah well you played it virtually all night so it can’t be a bad guitar.

Bobby: Duesenberg “Double Cat” that’s what it’s called.
(“I’ll Never Find Another You”)

Marc: A really great version of the old Springfields’ classic, “Another You”, and you can find it on Bobby’s most recent solo album, “Is My Father There?” – it came out in 2004. So, solo work. projects on the books. touring with the JUKES as we speak. but what about Bon Jovi. is that it for now with those guys?

Bobby: Well. I don’t know. don’t know. there could be some more. I’m not sure if it’s going to be this year or 2007 but if it is. if he gets another record done . I hope I play on it first of all, and if I don’t that’s OK too. but I’ll be working on my own record … I’ll be working whatever John’s got. like I said Dave Edmunds asked me to come over and play a little bit, I think the month of April so we’ll see if that comes to light . but if it doesn’t, whatever comes up on the table in the next year that’s going to keep me working through the year, I’ll be there.

Marc: Dave Edmunds. I’ve read that you’ve been admiring his stuff for years and years…right back to before Rockpile, even before Love Sculpture.

Bobby: Yeah right. you know. he was great to play with. I played with him for a couple of years and it’s just a balls-to-the-wall guitar rock’n’roll band.

Marc: Well, we’re going to catch up with you next year, either with that or with your own band which would be great to see you out with your own band.

Bobby: I’m really excited about getting another record done and coming to Europe to tour a little bit behind it and do anything I’m going to do in the States with it as well but I really look forward to trying to push myself more in this coming year 2007 . not that I won’t accept a tour with this guy or that guy, but I really want to try and make it stick this year as far as “Bobby Bandiera” is concerned.

Interview transcribed by Maggie Powell with permission of the author

Copyright by (c) BFBS2 / Marc Tyley – 2006