Pheaturing Jon Bon Jovi From Bon Jovi

 

Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Thursday. Today is my son's 21st birthday. I can't believe he is 21. Where does time go? So, voting for the 2020 election has ended, but we're all still on the edge of our seats waiting for the official results to come in. Obviously, because it's 2020, nothing can be normal or easy right now. While votes are still being counted and the future of the United States hangs in the balance, the people at your aunt's favorite store at the mall have a message for an anxious nation: whatever happens, we must come together and shop at the Gap. The official Twitter account of the Gap posted a picture of a half-blue, half-red hoodie and a message of unity. People on the Internet took out their election anxiety on this ripe target, criticizing the post for tone-deafness and falsely advertising what some might find a cool sweatshirt. 

With Trump falsely declaring victory and filing lawsuits to stop votes from being counted, "come together" is very much not the vibe. Fast Company is calling it "the Kendall Jenner Pepsi moment of the 2020 election." The bipartisan hoodie was mocked for being tone-deaf and also ugly. They deleted the tweet and apologized for tweeting #toosoon. While not in the way that they intended, the tweet helped bring people together. Thanks, Gap. 

A pair of kayakers in the water off the coast of Avila Beach near San Luis Obispo, California were almost swallowed whole by a humpback whale while floating above a school of baitfish. Julie McSorley and her friend Liz Cottriel went for a terrifying ride. The pair were in a bright yellow kayak floating above a big pool of fish... a big bait ball... when, from seemingly out of nowhere, a humpback whale exploded out of the water with its mouth wide open. The breaching whale was just trying to eat a bunch of fish. Instead it got a fake banana and two ladies. The kayak, naturally, immediately capsizes upon getting absolutely smacked by the whale. The kayaking, whale watching women, meanwhile, disappear into the whale’s mouth. For a second it legitimately looks like they go in. Here's a screen shot...

Fortunately for these two women, they didn’t end up as whale poop. Or, maybe more accurately, whale barf? They didn’t get swallowed and they didn’t drown because nearby paddleboarders and other kayakers came to their rescue. And now they have a funny story about how a confused whale almost murdered them. All’s well that ends well. And really, what a story. You basically get to say you got Pinnochio’d. And if someone says pics or it didn’t happen, boom, you got that video. Plus that close call has got to be a hell of an adrenaline rush. A pretty good high that they’ll probably be chasing for the rest of their lives now. That “a whale is going to eat me” high. They just have to make sure they don’t start experimenting with orcas. Killer whales might not spit you back out.   

A woman has spoken out about allegedly being told to change or cover-up on a flight from Dallas to Tulsa Oklahoma with Southwest Airlines flight. The woman stated that she was told by a flight attendant that she would be forced to leave due to her outfit if nothing changed. According to her Twitter, Eve J. Marie, who is a Playboy model, had already flown from Florida to Dallas, Texas, with her seven-year-old-son when a crew member then took issue with a low-cut dress. The model opened up about her feelings, saying she was humiliated by the cabin crew. This was despite the fact that the model had already been able to board a plane without any mentions of what she was wearing. According to Marie, she is a frequent flyer with Southwest Airlines and even has a credit card with their airline. She also has perks that allow an additional passenger to fly with her entire day for free due to her high status, also known as a companion pass. Ultimately, the African -American model was giving a Southwest Airlines flight attendant’s sweater, which she draped around her chest for the rest of the flight. She was also required to sit in the first row so other passengers wouldn’t see her top. According to Fox News, the Instagram Influencer criticized the airline last week through social media stating, “What’s exactly wrong with what I have on?” The model also stated that she was offered $100 to make up for the treatment she received on the flight, but feels a compensation is not enough considering what the model had to endure. The ‘loyal customer’ took to Twitter to express her frustration, tweeting...

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She also shared a picture of her revealing outfit, which was a low-cut leopard print outfit, while wearing a face mask to comply with SWA flight rules due to the Covid-19. According to the United States airline’s contract of carriage, passengers are not allowed to “engage in lewd, obscene or patently offensive behavior, including wearing clothes that are lewd, obscene, or patently offensive.” It’s still unclear what Southwest Airlines means by “obscene,” “Lewd,” or “patently offensive” clothing. It also not known whether or not the fair dress code policy was made known to Marie. The airline has yet to make a public apology.

Tensions rise as the presidential election race continues between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Many fights and brawls have broken out all over the country because of dividing political views, and the atmosphere sure is tense out in the streets as everyone awaits the election results. The leader of the Trump supporter extremist group, the far-right Proud Boys, claimed he was one out of four people who were stabbed, after getting “jumped by Black Lives Matter” in Washington, D.C. Enrique Tarrio was slashed in the stomach, and others in his group were injured, including a man getting stabbed in the neck and a woman getting stabbed in the back. The Proud Boys were apparently heading home from a bar in Washington, D.C. when they were jumped and knifed. Tarrio told the Gateway Pundit, Bevelyn Beatty, a woman who had dumped paint over the Black Lives Matter mural outside of the Trump Tower, was holding her lower back, claiming, “They stabbed me.” According to the New York Post, the trending video of the supposed altercation between the members of the Proud Boys getting jumped by the Black Lives Matter movement was live-streamed, and you can see and hear a man walking back to the videographer saying, “I’m bleeding.” As Beatty was holding her lower back, the videographer, Jen Loh, the former vice president of Latinos for Trump, exclaims, “She’s bleeding really badly! We just got jumped by Black Lives Matter and they just stabbed Bevelyn Beatty,” as Loh videoed the trail of blood on the sidewalk. Soon enough, you see Loh also go up to another man who is clutching his neck. She gasps, “Oh my God, you’ve got tons of blood coming out of your neck!” The man responds in panic, “Yes I do!” holding his wound tightly. As the group tracked down police and medics, you can hear them immediately saying, “We just got jumped by Black Lives Matter here.” According to DC police, they were looking for two men, dressed in all black clothing, and a woman wearing black sweatpants, orange leggings, and a dark gray coat. She’s also “armed with a knife.” Loh had also told Storyful that she believes that Beatty was specifically targeted. She said, “If it wasn’t for the three or four Proud Boys that were there, she would have been stabbed and really brutally beaten had they not saved her from the attack.” Tarrio had told the Gateway Pundit that the injuries were “very serious, but not life-threatening. Bevelyn got stabbed as well as two Proud Boys and the guy they were attacking. [Tarrio] got slashed, but it’s not serious.” The scuffle is indicative of how intense things are in the United States, as the fight between the presidential candidates continues. 

Things got heated as pro-Trump supporters and counter-protesters clashed into chaos once again in Ithaca, New York. Although no arrests were made, two people, both female Trump supporters were injured during the madness that could be summed up as a 90-minute flag tug-of-war. Rocco Lucente had organized a small group of people outside of Tompkins County Republicans office for a march supporting President Donald Trump. Immediately, the Trump rally was met with a larger group of people across Meadow Street, organized by the local Democratic Socialists of America, but also in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement. Both sides initially kept their distance until one counter-protester, Dakota Ingraham, claimed that he felt threatened by a certain Trump supporter. Ingraham claimed during an argument that he thought he saw a man with Trump flags decorating his truck reach into his cab for a gun. However, Ingraham never actually saw the firearm. Nevertheless, he continued to argue with Trump supporters, including Lucente, resulting in Ingraham tossing a Trump flag from the truck into the street. He was detained by police, but quickly released minutes after. Soon, physical altercations started to break out, including Max Lucente, Rocco’s brother, throwing a single punch at a counter-protester. Although the Ithaca Police Department and Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office had responded initially to the craziness, they left after a short time. Things were peaceful while law enforcement was there, but the situation started to re-escalate once they left. Those that were there to counter-protest started to pull down Trump paraphernalia, including signs, hats, and flags, and throw them on the street. Ingraham, along with fellow anti-Trump and BLM protester Messia Saunders, started to really get into it with some of the pro-Trump supporters who were trying to stop the pair from ripping down Trump signs. As they tried to rip more flags away, the pro-Trump supporters decided to pull back, making for an all-out tug-of-war. According to the Ithaca Voice, two Trump-supporting women, including Angela Nash, were injured in the process. One woman dislocated her shoulder from being dragged while holding on to a Trump flag, while Nash though she fractured something in her hand in the Election Day madness. The Trump supporters retreated into the office while waiting for the counter-protesters to march to the Commons in downtown Ithaca. Ingraham and Saunders justified their actions saying that they felt like the Trump supporters were displaying racism and hate in supporting President Trump and that ripping down the signs and flags was necessary. As a result, Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler, a Republican, said, “In light of the overt intolerance, antagonism toward free speech and menacing we experienced today, we have no plans to rally next Friday.” Meadow Street was also littered with tattered Trump signs and flags from a fresh pile of embers caused by the burning of Trump paraphernalia.

If I had a TARDIS I would go and try to meet Jimmy Carter, but knowing my luck I'll end up his wedding where he married Rosalynn, right after Carter's graduation from the Naval Academy in 1946. 

So, some NFL teams are changing their logos this year, just like this one...

I'm just shrugging. Sugar-free gummy bears might seem like a great idea in theory. But, like so many things being sold to us in a capitalist society, there is a catch. Anyone who's ever tried (or worse, binged) on sugar-free candy knows exactly what that catch is. If you're not sure, just check out the reviews on an Amazon listing for a 1-lb. bag of Haribo SUGAR FREE Classic Gummi Bears. While some people are clearly roasting the product, and others seem to be sharing their (very, very) real experiences, these reviews get 5-stars for hilarity... and extreme honesty. 

Hahaha. I would not try those. Weddings can be a tense balance between what the couple wants and what their family demands. Add in a potentially terminal illness, and you've got a seriously uncomfortable scenario. A bride has asked the Phile for advice after her in-laws demanded that she include a family member who has cancer... complete with hospital bed. 

"Myself and my fiancé are getting married in a month. His sister has had cancer several times in her life staring as a toddler and is currently scheduled for a somewhat last minute surgery the week before our wedding. She will be bedridden for a while after this. I don’t have any bridesmaids, just a maid of honor, my own sister. His family wants me to include her, in her hospital bed, at our wedding, up in front next to us. I love her dearly and have known her for years now, she is like my own sister. But I do not want this. It’s OUR day, I don’t want a spectacle made of our special day or one made of her. Not to sound bitter, but I have always felt my fiancé’s mother secretly loved having a sick child and the attention and sympathy it brought. She’s never been close to dying, but she has had a tough life with bad luck. I think this is just another way to get a lot of attention and praise for what a good mother she is. Sister-in-law I think wants to do it and be included. I’m actually must closer to her older sisters and would consider them my best friends, and even they are not in the wedding. I would love to have her there, but not like this. Would I be wrong for putting my foot down and saying no to this? Fiancé wants to do whatever I want, I think he would prefer to not have her there. Side note, this is a very small ceremony and we have postponed twice already. I feel we are being as safe as possible so if you have any opinions related to COVID, just know we are taking a calculated risk and are very comfortable with our decision. And that’s another excuse they are using... if she’s up front with us she’s far away from everyone by at least 8 feet." Including the sister is not a necessity. You should uninvite the sister altogether. You’re not having any bridesmaids. She should be staying at home resting up any ways. With COVID too she really shouldn’t be in a setting like that. Just say you will miss her and you hope she will FaceTime into the ceremony as you still want her to be apart of your special day. Sounds like her mom is pushing her into this. I’d suggest asking her if it’s really something she wants. Or better yet have your fiancé or one of her sisters ask her... when mom isn’t around. I bet she thinks it’s just as weird as you do. Seriously, her in her bed at the front? Absolutely not. Your future sister-in-law is not a prop, nor is her cancer. You are absolutely right that her doing this would take away from your day in the wrong way. Put your foot down and have a private conversation with your sister-in-law letting her know that while you greatly appreciate her, you think that her focus should be on recovery after her surgery and not on being in a wedding. So this bride isn't crazy. But your future in-laws might be! If you have a problem you'd like my help with then email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com. Hey, it's Thursday, kids. Guess what that means...

Yuck! Gross! Okay, moving on... now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York here is...

 Top Phive Things Said About The Stress Of Waiting For Election Results 

5. Honestly I've had less anxiety waiting on the results of a pregnancy test.

4. An ultra marathon but for anxiety.

3. This election anxiety feels like waiting for scheduled surgery.

2. Waiting for election results is like waiting for a grade on a group project. I know I did my part right, but I'm scared y'all messed it up.

And the number one thing said about the stress of waiting for election results was...

1. Waiting these election results is like watching a gif download for two days in 1998. 

Hard to believe we're 8 months into a pandemic that has killed over a million people and some people are still like "I won't wear a mask, because FREEDOM." And yet, we must believe it. Because COVIDiocy is an epidemic as widespread as the virus itself. "COVIDiots" are tough to reason with. Especially because their mere maskless existence could literally kill you if you try to talk to them IRL. So if you encounter one in the wild, the best and safest thing you can do is post about it. Internet-shaming may be our best tool against this particularly dangerous strain of human stupidity.

Stupid Karen. Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jeff, shall we?

Looks like a nice day there, right? No snow yet. 

Cemetery

Die yard

If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Now from some election...

Phact 1. Ronald Reagan won in 49 out of 50 states during the 1984 United States presidential election, missing in only one by less than 4000 votes.

Phact 2. The last King of Bhutan was so popular that his people protested when he revealed plans for Democracy in 2011. 

Phact 3. North Korea holds elections every 5 years, in which the ballots list only one candidate. 

Phact 4. In order to become a Liechtenstein Citizen, you must either be married to a Liechtenstein citizen for 3 years, or live in the country for 3 years with a visa and have the entire country vote for whether or not you deserve citizenship, based on what you personally can add to the country. 

Phact 5. In 1996, the New York Times had the name of the winner in the elections as a clue and it worked regardless of the candidate. 

The 139th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...

Lenny will be on the Phile next Friday. 

Kids, this is sooooo cool. Today's guest is is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the Grammy Award-winning rock band Bon Jovi whose latest album "2020" is available on Amazon, iTunes and Spotify. Please welcome to the Phile... Jon Bon Jovi!

Me: Wow! Holy shit! Jon, welcome to the Phile. Sooo many of my friends and family members will be so jealous of this interview. I don't know what to say. I have a top 5 list of people I want to interview and you're on that list. How are you? 

Jon: Hi, Jason, I am happy to be here. 

Me: I am a big fan of your music and band. How would you describe your music? 

Jon: Songs that lit up packed arenas for decades. Remember packed arenas? 

Me: Yeah, I do. Those days might be gone. 

Jon: Yeah, and my songs might have elevated or ruined a karaoke night or two, depending who your friends are. 

Me: Ha! When you listen back to the songs that make up your Hall of Fame career, is there a theme? 

Jon: Yeah, they're inspirational, they feel you with hope and energy and excitement. You don't have to be Tommy or Gina to get that Bon Jovi has been lifting up audiences since the beginning. I'm still at it, and my new album is called "2020." 

Me: Yeah, I have that album plus all your other albums, Jon. This album is very political, right? 

Jon: Yeah, you'll hear Bon Jovi tackle the life of COVID. But somehow still finding a way to lift you up. 

Me: I love the song "Do What You Can," from the new album. What's the inspiration behind that song? 

Jon: COVID hits and we have three community restaurants in New Jersey that works of the model of volunteerism but because of COVID no more volunteers could come in and assist in the restaurants so I was called upon to wash dishes like I did when we first opened. My wife Dorothea took a photograph and wanted to post it in our in need population that we's still be there. I think she was looking for me to give her a quote about a time and what day of the week might be open, but I said, "If you can't do what you do you do what you can." The next day I said, "Wow, there's a Bon Jovi song title for you." So I sat down to write the song and it was the song of inclusion. We're going through a difficult time on the planet Earth and anyone from everywhere could relate to the lyric. 

Me: When I first heard it I thought you were sending out love to first responders. Was I wrong? 

Jon: No, you're right. That's not incredibly surprising giving the history of my music going back to the beginning of my career. 

Me: What is is about the stories of working people doing what they can that inspires you? 

Jon: Well, I grew up in that. All of the band were from blue collar backgrounds. Both of our parents had to work full time jobs in order to make ends meet. It was what we knew. It's where we grew up and it's basically where we live today. So that's what we do and in this kind of time of need when there's such extremes like a COVID crisis. If I pitched you this is a science fiction movie you'd have thrown me out your office. But here we are living it so if people can't go to work, if they can't produce, if they can't go to school they have to do what they can to help mankind. That's really the basis of the song. 

Me: You always seemed so grounded, Jon. Why do you think that is? 

Jon: Again I think it's upbringing. Never taking this for granted and knowing that it's fleeting. And because I am fortunate enough to do what I love to do which is to write a song I've been given this great privilege. Now that's not who I am, it's just what I do. That's the bottom line, it's not who I am. 

Me: What do you mean by that? 

Jon: Well, I don't have all the trappings of a reality show and botox. I've got gray hair, what kind of rockstar has gray hair? But at least it's still mine, Jason. At least it's still mine. 

Me: So, it's important to you to be real? 

Jon: I think its who I am that makes it's important. I know a lot of my heroes or my peers that may have a difference of opinion and like to dye their hair horse colored brown and get botox every six weeks but it's just not for me, it's not who I am. 

Me: So, do you think you write songs to inspire people? 

Jon: There was a time when I was very aware of that and almost to the point where I was going to let anyone know even if I was hurting, 

Me: What do you mean? I'm confused. 

Jon: No one wants me you know the character of that they believe I am to be hurting. In that case I came to the reality it says that's what makes me human is of course I'm supposed to show that I'm hurting. But trying to still find the optimism in the hurt is what makes us human. So whether it's "It's My Life" or "Limitless." 

Me: I was gonna ask you about that song, "Limitless." What does that song mean to you? 

Jon: "Limitless" think of it in the context of COVID. God knows we're all waking up not knowing what day of the week it was. So, it was like okay, everybody, wake up, we gotta get a move on here. We got to try to do something. It felt like we were all in this kinda bad movie, The Truman Show. And so we tried to find optimism even in there darkest of scenarios. 

Me: Was there a time when you couldn't tell people that you were hurting? 

Jon: I think that it was in my mind wasn't true, but in my mind at a time in my life that I thought folks looked to us for optimism. There were periods in my career where I'd looked on other genres of music that weren't as optimistic and I thought, no my light is on optimism. And so people expect that of us. They found hope in those songs. So I was a thinking oh, maybe I need to shine that light of positivity all the time. But that's not real, you see, I have to admit to the mirror that I'm hurting. So that's whats makes us all better humans is to embrace the hurt. 

Me: What do you think of people singing along to your songs in the audience but having their own "versions" of them, what they mean and stuff? 

Jon: When we do it from a place that is pure, that's when the connection happens. When we wrote "It's My Life" I had to fight for the line "like Frankie said I did it my way." 

Me: I love that line! Why did you have to fight for it? 

Jon: I had just finished a movie called U571, I had come home and I really wanted to embrace the whole Sinatra thing, he had just passed away and the idea of making records on his own terms and movies on his own terms and Richie Sambora said to me, "Who's Frankie?" and I explained Sinatra and he said, "Who gives a fuck?" And I said, "I do." My definition of Frankie was that it was your brother, your best friend, it was a stranger that you'd seen on the street. Then he went, "Oh, okay, I get it." I won the argument because Frank was not Frankie to anyone else but me. That was my Frank and everybody else made it their brother, their buddy, their best friend. 

Me: So that line was about your own path? 

Jon: Absolutely. That's when the most biggest connections have happened in our songs is when we really put it from that pure and we're ready to go to the wall for it. 

Me: Here's a trivia question, Jon, who wrote "My Way"? 

Jon: Paul Anka. I actually sang it as a duet with him once on a record. 

Me: I always sing it, "I do it sideways." Haha. 

Jon: Ha ha ha. I love that. See, you made it your own. 

Me: So, do you think you're a cynical person? 

Jon: No, I don't want to end up being cynical. 

Me: In these times? How do you do it? What keeps you hopeful? 

Jon: I try to find hope even when it's difficult. And I'm not telling you I'm always able to do it. It takes conversation with people, some professional, some friends. It takes reading and letting my guard down so that I can be open enough and honest enough to have conversations. But I did find hope in these last few months in the next generation and I'm really hopeful that this graduating class of 2020, whether it's high school or college and these young people. I don't mean to sound like an old guy but they were born out of 9/11 and they graduate school whether it's high school or college in the midst of a pandemic. These to me are going to be the great innovators, the great inventors, the great ones who see beyond the color of skin or rigid religious or sexual beliefs. I really believe that this generation is going to say, "Enough of you old white men who messed everything up. It's time for us to make the better world happen." 

Me: Ha. Barrack Obama and Joe Biden said the same thing, Jon. 

Jon: I swear I didn't hear that from either of them but I agree having witnessed my third story, my second son, graduate high school this year and watching him and all his buddies. Just witnessing what I'm seeing, these kids, their priorities are different than mine were. They were born at a different time. It'd be easy for them to get down but I think they will be the ones that will save us. 

Me: Do you ever tell him that, how your life then was so different than his? I tell my son Logan that quite a bit. 

Jon: Absolutely. I bring up that point over and over. I was born when John Kennedy was President and telling us that we were going to the moon. I graduated high school when I guy named Ronald Reagan was the president and he was that cowboy from the movies that was saying rah-rah-rah. So America's kinda rah-rah period was much different than the world that these kids are born into now. 

Me: Jon, I was supposed to see you in concert again this year as well as BNL and Squeeze but because of COVID all was cancelled. What goes through your mind when you think about not touring now and the way things are? 

Jon: It's a reset button. I'm very, very aware of the economy that was moved by the entertainment business. Whether someone is a musician and in a touring entity or they were the concessionaires or the usher at the arenas or stadiums, the parking attendant. Those economies are changed maybe forever. We went out of our way to cancel the tour, not postpone it. I had no interest letting the promoter hold on to the money for a year and a half that people may need for their credit card bills and for their rent. I was very cognizant on day one that we didn't know when it was gonna gear up again and I wasn't worried about the fan base not wanting to buy a ticket in 18 months from now, If they don't want to buy a ticket in 18 months from now it's because they can't. So I wanted them to have their money back. So I was very aware of people's situation. I don't think we really realized the depths of that yet. I think we're still on novocaine as a world. The economies haven't really been shifted yet. I think that's coming. 

Me: So, what's your favorite show you ever played? Can you think of one in particular? 

Jon: Not really. It'd be a big surprise I guess, there's be nights I guess you'd say to me, "Well, wasn't that one of the highlights?" And I go, "No, because I was distracted for whatever reason wasn't in the moment." And other nights I go, "No, that was really good." It's not about size, it's about connection. Sometimes it's just the connection with the band or the audience or maybe just how I felt that day. So size was never the motivator. It sure is sweet to have the photographs to look back on but that's really not what makes me want to do it in the morning. 

Me: Doesn't it make you do a different performance style performing in a stadium or arena? 

Jon: It can be. Again that's up to the individual I'm not gonna learn dance moves. I don't like pyrotechnics at our shows, But in this day and age maybe now more than when we started playing stadiums the quality if video is such that you could see a bead of sweat, so in truth I could be as intimate in a stadium as I could be in a nightclub in a cabaret lounge if I'm aware of the camera. Now the big grandiose moves when I'm really a hundred plus years away and three tiers down from the guy in the top of the bleachers in the stadium I could jump up and down and do jumping jacks all I want, I'm still only an inch and a half tall to that guy who's looking from that far away. So I know what you're trying to say and yes, that is true to an extent. I'll tell you what was more prevalent for me to be more animated was when we were that opening act and I had to get the attention because they didn't know my songs as well. When I had to do what was called head hunting, and maybe a language barrier. I had to go out there unknown in the Soviet Union when I was used to relying on "okay, folks, here's one called 'Living On A Prayer.'" 

Me: Who did you open for? 

Jon: We did a festival. I'll gibe you a great little anecdote. We played the Moscow Music Peace Festival in 1989, we were the headliner, it was a band you know the ridiculous lineup of bands of the moment, which was the Scorpions, and Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue, and Skid Row. We went out there and we're the closer. This was after having "Slippery When Wet," and "New Jersey," two massively big records. Where all I would have to do is say the title of the song and the stadiums would erupt. Well, I'm in the Soviet Union where they never had those records. So we had to follow the Scorpions which were a ridiculously live band. They were great live and in truth we got our butts kicked. 

Me: Really? Why is that? 

Jon: Because I went out there and did what I would do to an audience that knew my records. The second night on the same stage, in the same lineup, I knew how to win the crowd over. What I did was I took a Russian soldier, did the whole story that you now heard over a hundred times, I have him blue jeans and t-shirts for a Russian military outfit. I came down the aisle in the Russian military outfit, I told the band to play the intro of that song over and over and over, I'll get there eventually. They did as I asked, I jumped over the barricade, I had the hat and the coat on and I won the moment. Because now I had to go okay, how do I win without any cheap tricks. That's what it meant to be a great entertainer. 

Me: So, one of my favorite songs ever is "Living on a Prayer," and I have to say that key change is the best ever. When you perform that song on stage do you feel that key change like everybody else does? 

Jon: Thank you for asking the question that haunts me every single night. LOL. I wish we didn't do the key change. When I was 25 it wasn't so bad. But when I'm sitting up in that stratosphere... fuck it, at 58 every night. The big one before the solo is a high C. Then the key change takes you even higher. Believe me, it's not easy. It ain't was. 

Me: But it feels good I bet. 

Jon: Well, I know the magnitude of what it was after the fact. I will admit readily it wasn't my idea. I'm one of three writers on the song. I co-wrote that with Richie Sambora and Desmond Child. We created it the three of us out of nothing, nobody had a damn idea when we walked in the room. We created every inch of that song and in doing so that damn key change came up. I was like, "Sure, I can hit those notes" when I'm punched in. Then they hit stop and I punched it in and they hit stop and I punched it in. Man alive, now I have to perform that song probably four thousand times over the years. It's not easy. 

Me: You have to do the key change or people will be mad at you, right? 

Jon: It is what it is. 

Me: Jon, you're one of the top people I always wanted to have on the Phile, so thank you. 

Jon: Thanks, Jason. I really appreciate it.

That about does to for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Jon for a cool interview. This was amazing. The Phile will be back on Monday with the Chicks, who used to be the Dixie Chicks. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Kiss your brain. 

I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon