Jay Leno
interview transcript
12-3-02
J - Jon
R - Richie
L - Leno
L: Welcome back, we're with Bon Jovi, Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Samora. How are
you?
J & R: Excellent!
L: Tell me about this song here
J: It's called the doghouse song because any married man realizes that sooner
or later we all live in the doghouse you know. Just when you think you got it
right, duck (Jon ducks), cuz you never got it right.
L: So where do you screw up? I mean...(pulls out Jon's issue of People, guys
laugh), so where do you screw up, what is your biggest screw up? (Jon rolls
eyes) What do you do that just pisses her off?
J: I come home! (audience laughs) just show up you know, it's all about coming
home.
L: Well c'mon Richie, don't you got something?
R: Um, alright! (claps hands) My wife and I are presenting at the Grammys and
she looks great, she's a beautiful woman, so she had on this kinda pants suit
kinda thing, but she looked gorgeous in it & I said something to the effect
of you would be a sexy schoolteacher, and I just said you look like a
schoolteacher. Ooh, didn't work!
J:That's just like saying funk (I think that's what Jon said? I can't tell),
that's just like saying funk.
L: But I can tell by the way you said pants suit, it wasn't working from that
point on..
R: She looked gorgeous but...
L: See, now you're backtracking! (R laughs) See if I was a woman, you just said
the word "pants suit" so..."pants suit"...
J: You know how you get out of it?
L: How do you get out of it?
J: You speak French...(waits for silence)....Cartier! (audience laughs)
L: So how do you make up?
R: Cartier! That's the best way to make up.
J: Cost ya, you know every time what you say it's gonna cost you.
R: Flowers, love letters...
J: Write 'em a song.
L: And nothing's worth arguing over
R: Write 'em a song like this! (crowd cheers)
L: Isn't it better to agree than argue? You just go yeah, yeah
J: Absolutely! Yes dear, yes dear, yes dear. Everybody thinks you're a rock
star when you come home you're man of the house, the dog is right above. No,
no, it don't work that way. But that's okay, that's why you write songs, and
for those of you who can't write songs, leave it up to us!
R: Yeah, let us be your voice
L: Would you guys say you were rebellious in your younger days?
J: Well, certainly, I'd like to think we were. I mean, hence the profession we
chose, you know (giggles). You went to school with sunglasses and long hair,
you were a man for a while and rebelled against everything.
L: Well how did your dad keep you in line because I know Italian dads tend to
be... (Jon smiles)
J: After the smack, he'd draw the blade out and I'd say oh no
L: (says something I couldn't make out)
J: My dad wasn't a Soprano, yeah, sure he did!
L: My dad would just kinda go for the belt (wiggles belt, J&R laugh) Goes
for the belt kinda thing!
J: Just rattling the...
L: I would get him Zandebuilt (sp?) slacks so he'd go yikes! there's no belt!
J: My father was mean, so he was a hairdresser...
L: Oooohh!! (fakes fear & shakes his hands sarcastically)
J: Yeah! You say that now! He pulled out the blade and cut all your hair off!
L: That was worse than anything!
J:Yeah, yeah, now that was a cruel and unusual punishment!
L: Now are you a strict father? What do you do? How do you...
J: How can I be a strict father? My kids are going to look at what I do and go,
'Ugh, you're kidding, right?' (audience laughs) 'You're kidding!' "I-I-I
did that when I was a kid..." Obviously you're gonna do that, "No
fooling dad, you did that", right?
L: So how old are your kids?
J: 9, 7, and 7 months.
L: Okay, and yours?
R: She's 5
L: 5
R:Yes
L: Okay, now suppose your son wanted to go out with your daughter?
J: HA! (audience laughs) HAHAHAHA!
R: Now that's fine stock!
L: Now suppose they're both like 18 and they go out on a date, who's gonna be
more worried? (nudges Jon) Are you gonna be like, "heh heh!" (J &
audience laugh)
R: I'll be like this! (holds up fist)
J: The thing is we'd be in the back seat watching them two in the front seat
like this (folds arms)
L: I'm just curious how that would work.
J: I'm getting a package deal...
R: She'd be the prettiest girl in the convent
J: for all the daughters in the convent, that's right!
L: Now how long have you guys been together?
J: 20 years, in July
L: That's amazing
J: Quite an accomplishment, you know and we're going everywhere as always.
L: You're going to Australia
J: We're gonna go to Australia
L:Gonna have Christmas in Australia?
J: No, no, no, we'll be back for Christmas, then we turn around go back to
Japan, actually we'll be back for the Superbowl in America and we start our way
back east. It's America, then Europe, then back to America. We're out now man,
our suitcases are packed, we're out on the road.
L: Well, very cool you guys, it's always fun.
J:Thank you.
L: and congratulations on all your success..(they shake hands and end the
show).