The sports world loves Bon Jovi.
This past year, the band opened the NFL season with a sold-out concert in New York and closed the season with a post-Super Bowl concert with the winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In fact, the NFL likes Bon Jovi so much — especially the hit "It's My Life" — that it adopted the song as the NFL theme.
"Next year, we're suppose to work with the NFL again," guitarist Richie Sambora said during a telephone interview from West Palm Beach, Fla. "And the great thing is, that it's isn't just the NFL who likes our music."
True. The International Soccer Association also played "It's My Life" at all its games, and Tiger Woods has asked the New Jersey-based band to play at his sixth-annual Tiger Jam later this year. "We're very fortunate that we are as popular as we are," Sambora said. "It never ceases to amaze me."
The band — consisting of core members Sambora, singer Jon Bon Jovi, drummer Tico Torres, keyboardist David Bryan and bassist Hugh McDonald (who joined six years ago) — has sold more than 97 million albums worldwide and has played more than 2,000 concerts in 47 countries over its 20-year career.
Still, Bon Jovi hasn't forgotten where it came from. "You can take us out of Jersey," Sambora said. "But you can't take Jersey out of us."
That's evident on the band's eighth album, "Bounce," which features classic-sounding story/ballads about good people caught in bad situations ("Right Side of Wrong" and "Misunderstood"), childhood friends ("Joey"), dedication ("You Had Me from Hello") and the broken-hearted ("Love Me Back to Life").
"Bounce" is also a bit more experimental — the guitars are heavier and the production has captured singer Jon Bon Jovi's voice in a dynamic frame. "We tried to give Jon's voice a better chance to stick out more," said Sambora, who produced the album with Jon Bon Jovi, Luke Ebbin, Desmond Child and Andreas Carlsson.
"We also worked in some bigger, chunkier guitars on songs like 'Undivided' and 'Everyday.' But we also wanted to make this album simple and well-rounded. In fact, I think we did a good job on this album, and it is my favorite Bon Jovi album we have ever done."
The songs "Undivided" and "Everyday" were written in the wake of Sept. 11, Sambora said. "The album, overall, is not a 9/11 album, per se. But 'Undivided' and 'Everyday' are definitely 9/11 songs. And true to our style, we try to be optimistic in our lyrics."
Back in 2000, Bon Jovi released the album "Crush" after a five-year absence from the music industry. While that album didn't come close to selling as much as Bon Jovi's 1986 multi-million-seller "Slippery When Wet," "Crush" still went gold and spawned the hits "It's My Life" and "Thank You for Loving Me."
In the days of Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and 'N Sync, having Bon Jovi in the Top 10 was a huge leap for a classic metal band.
In 2001, a live album, "One Wild Night," was released. That album had been in the planning stages since 1986, Sambora said. "That album's been in the can for a long time. There are songs we recorded back in 1985."
Although releasing "One Wild Night" gave the band some time to ponder its next move, Sambora said he and singer Bon Jovi, just hunkered down and focused on songwriting. "We wrote 42 songs for 'Bounce.' And we whittled them down to the 12 that are on the album. But we always do that. We write a bunch of songs and find the best of the batch."
So far, "Misunderstood," the follow-up single to "Everyday," is in rotation on VH1's Top 20. The video made its MTV debut on Total Request Live earlier this month.
For the tour, Bon Jovi has taken its live show to another level, said Sambora. "It's the biggest production we've taken on the road, ever. It's about a 2 1/2-hour show, and the stage is being transported to the venues by 12 semis."
The stage will feature two satellite dishes, each measuring 20 feet in diameter and set along side another dish, measuring 26 feet in diameter. These dishes will serve as video screens that will rotate, tilt and move throughout the show.
"We play live for the fans," Sambora said. "We wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for them. They are loyal to us, and, in turn, we need to be loyal to them. And so far, the tour has been going well. We've been selling out venues across the country and bringing our music to our friends."
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com