Although I wish Sambora luck on his next venture, I am pretty interested in whether or not they hire a new band member or just use a session guy(s) from here on out...
With the amount of money this band generates on tour, they could attract huge names to audition for the spot. Still, I don't see anyone becoming a true band member at this point in Bon Jovi's career.
I've got a soft spot for Bon Jovi (nostalgia) and specifically Bon Jovi with Sambora but they're just like any other act that size/age... they haven't contributed anything of significance to the music industry in 20+ years and all they do is play the same few dozen songs to arena at inflated prices every summer. "Who's in the band" doesn't really effect the creativity they've already lacked for a long time. It's certainly the end of an era but I guess I don't personally think it diminishes the band's credibility anymore than it's already been diminished.
Not surprised he left. My wife is a Bon Jovi fan (frankly I can't stand them) and she was gutted that Sambora was not playing with them when she saw them live earlier this year. JBJ has tried his best for years to make himself a solo artist with a backing band, with Sambora out of the picture he has pretty much achieved his vision.
I liked them 10+ years ago, imo they couldn`t produce good albums with Ritchie lately so probably they won`t be worse without him. Though I liked his style. Maybe a new member could reignite the fire?
They'll have to hire someone more than a session guitarist. Sambora contributed a good chunk of (IMO better) vocals to the albums throughout the career.