Hashirama Senju

Hashirama Senju (千手柱間, Senju Hashirama) was the First Hokage (初代火影, Shodai Hokage; Literally meaning "First or Founding Fire Shadow"). He helped create Konohagakure along with his younger brother, Tobirama, and the Uchiha clan.

Hashirama was originally the leader of the Senju clan. Under his leadership the Senju clan came to be regarded as one of the two most powerful clans in the world, rivaling the renowned battle-oriented Uchiha clan. Because of this, when someone hired the Senju clan, the opposing side would hire the Uchiha clan and vice-versa, causing frequent battles between the two. Eventually growing tired of the constant fighting, Hashirama and his clan approached the Uchiha and offered a truce with them. Allied with Madara and his clan, the two groups founded Konohagakure.
When deciding who should become the leader of Konoha, the villagers selected Hashirama over Madara for the title of First Hokage. Fearing that Hashirama would oppress the Uchiha, Madara left the village, and challenged Hashirama's rule. After an intense battle that included the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Hashirama defeated Madara; and Hashirama's wife Mito became the Nine-Tails' first jinchūriki by sealing it within herself.^[2] In the aftermath of their battle, Madara was believed to have been killed, and the Valley of the End was created. Madara would later state that he fought that battle in order to obtain Hashirama's abilities. To commemorate the battle, two statues, of Madara and Hashirama, were carved into the earth surrounding the valley.

During his time as Hokage, Hashirama came into possession of a scroll filled with kinjutsu, which he sealed away in order to keep the jutsu within a secret. He also defeated Kakuzu, who had been sent to assassinate him by Takigakure. At some point, Hashirama gained control of several tailed beasts. He spread these beasts to other, newly-formed villages in an attempt to maintain peace and equalize the powers between the nations, but it did not stop the outbreak of the First Great Shinobi World War. Thinking about the future of Konoha, he and his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, trained the young Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hashirama would eventually die during the war, but not before passing on the title of Hokage to Tobirama.

Tobirama Senju

Tobirama Senju (千手扉間, Senju Tobirama)^[1] was the Second Hokage (二代目火影, Nidaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Second Fire Shadow"). He helped create Konohagakure along with his older brother, Hashirama, and the Uchiha clan.

Tobirama was a member of the Senju clan along with his leader and brother Hashirama. When, decades before the start of the series, Hashirama struck a peace treaty with Madara Uchiha, Tobirama helped them create Konoha. When Hashirama, the First Hokage, died, Tobirama was appointed as the Second Hokage. During his reign he was responsible for establishing Konoha's organizational system by setting up various organizations, such as the Academy, the ANBU, the Chūnin Exams and the Konoha Military Police Force which he created as a sign of trust towards the Uchiha clan. However, according to Madara, the Military Police was actually established to distance the Uchiha from the government of the village and place the clan under a tight surveillance under the ANBU.
Tobirama trained a three-man team of his own, Team Tobirama, which consisted of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. During a mission in the First Great Shinobi World War, on which Team Tobirama performed with Danzō Shimura, Kagami Uchiha and Torifu Akimichi, they found themselves surrounded by twenty elite Cloud ninja, known as the Kinkaku Force. Tobirama, then realized that the only way any of them could escape alive was for one of them to be a decoy and sacrifice themselves; therefore having faith that he had trained his students well, he chose to sacrifice himself after he selected his prized student Hiruzen for the position of Third Hokage. Homura and Koharu would become Hiruzen's advisers. After giving the title of Hokage to Hiruzen, Tobirama went off to fight the enemies where he died a noble death in battle.

Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen Sarutobi (猿飛ヒルゼン, Sarutobi Hiruzen) was the Third Hokage (三代目火影, Sandaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Third Fire Shadow"). Together with Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, he was the student of the first two Hokage, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, and the teacher of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.

Born to Sasuke Sarutobi of the Sarutobi clan, Hiruzen was a prodigy who truly stood out in talent. He and his former team-mates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, were students of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage. He had somewhat of a rivalry with Danzō Shimura ever since they were children, but Hiruzen always managed to pass milestones before Danzō. During the First Great Shinobi World War, Hiruzen, the rest of Team Tobirama, Danzō, Kagami Uchiha, and Torifu Akimichi were being pursued by enemy Kumogakure ninja. Knowing that one of them would need to distract their pursuers, a task that would result in their death, Hiruzen volunteered. Tobirama chose to be the decoy instead, but before leaving he appointed Hiruzen as the Third Hokage. 

Later in his life, Hiruzen became the teacher of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, who would go on to become known as the Sannin. In time, he married Biwako and became the father of two children, Asuma Sarutobi and one who has yet to be seen in the series. This unnamed child would later give Hiruzen a grandson: Konohamaru Sarutobi.
While Orochimaru was his student, Hiruzen came to appreciate Orochimaru's natural talent, and often told Jiraiya to be more like him. He also came to recognize an inner malice and a lust for power within Orochimaru, and tried to steer his student away from these personality traits. After serving as Hokage for many years, Hiruzen started looking for a successor to the title. While he hoped to be able to give the position to Orochimaru, it became apparent that Orochimaru was only interested in the role of Hokage for the power it offered. His first choice was Jiraiya, but due to Jiraiya's journeys, Hiruzen instead passed on the role of Hokage to one of Jiraiya's pupils: Minato Namikaze.
Knowing fully well the dangers Minato's wife Kushina Uzumaki (then the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) would face in childbirth (as the seal holding the tailed beast is prone to weakening at this point in time), he sent his wife Biwako and a few ANBU for security to let her give birth outside the village. Nonetheless, the rogue Madara Uchiha would track them to release the Nine-Tails and order it to attack Konohagakure, while Minato faced Madara, Hiruzen lead Konoha to combat the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. He would then arrive to the scene when Minato decided to seal the Nine-Tails in Naruto, forcing Hiruzen to resume the role of Hokage. He saw to it that the orphaned Naruto would be safe by keeping the identity of his father a secret.^[3]
After reacquiring his title, Hiruzen began investigating a number of disappearances within Konoha. Upon reaching the source of the abductions, he found Orochimaru to be the one responsible. Having used those that he kidnapped as test subjects in his quest to gain immortality, Orochimaru allowed his former master a chance to kill him. Ultimately, Hiruzen was unable to bring himself to kill his former prodigy, allowing Orochimaru to escape.^[4]
Hiruzen was one of four Konoha elders involved in the massacre of the Uchiha clan. He tried to find a peaceful alternative, but negotiations fell through and, against his wishes, Itachi Uchiha was ordered to wipe out the Uchiha. Itachi proved unable to kill his brother, Sasuke Uchiha, so Hiruzen promised Itachi to keep Sasuke safe.

Minato Namikaze

 

Minato Namikaze (波風ミナト, Namikaze Minato), also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō; English "Yellow Flash of the Leaf"), was the Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Fourth Fire Shadow"). He was the student of Jiraiya and the teacher of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin. He was also the husband of Kushina Uzumaki and the father of Naruto Uzumaki.  

When Minato was in the Ninja Academy, his classmate and future wife Kushina Uzumaki thought he looked "flaky" and even "girly". He nevertheless dreamed of becoming acknowledged by the Konoha villagers by becoming Hokage, which Kushina considered to be an impossible dream. Later, when Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure ninja, Minato was the only Konoha ninja to pick up on the fact that she was leaving behind strands of her red hair to mark their path. After rescuing her, Minato explained that he had always admired her hair. No longer seeing him as "flaky", she fell in love with him.
According to those who knew him, Minato was a very talented ninja, having been considered a rare genius that appeared only once a generation. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of ten, and was added to a genin team under the tutelage of Jiraiya. Jiraiya took a special interest in Minato, and accepted him as an apprentice, amongst other things teaching him the Summoning Technique. Jiraiya even believed Minato might be the Child of the Prophecy, someone who would someday save the world.


In time, Minato was put in charge of a genin team of his own, consisting of Rin, Obito Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake. During the Third Great Shinobi World War, Minato led his team on a mission into Kusagakure to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. Because Kakashi had recently become a jōnin, Minato gave leadership of the mission to Kakashi while he went to help Konoha's forces on the front lines. After meeting up with the surviving and out-numbered Konoha ninja, Minato used his Flying Thunder God Technique to destroy the opposing Iwagakure ninja. He then returned to his team, just in time to save Kakashi and Rin from another group of Iwa forces; he was too late to save Obito. When Kakashi and Rin recovered from the ordeal, Minato helped them complete the mission.


When the war ended, Minato, not yet thirty years of age, was chosen to become the Fourth Hokage.^[2] At some point during his reign he read Jiraiya's first book. He liked the main character's determination, believing he was just like Jiraiya. Since Kushina was pregnant with their son, Minato informed Jiraiya that they planned to name their son "Naruto" in the hopes that he would be just like the main character and, in turn, Jiraiya. Jiraiya warned them that this would make him Naruto's godfather, but they insisted that this was a good thing.^[3]
Because Kushina was the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, special arrangements had to be made for Naruto's birth. Since the seal keeping the Nine-Tails within her would weaken during childbirth, Naruto would secretly be delivered in a remote location outside Konoha. ANBU would guard the area and Minato would maintain the seal while Kushina went into labor. Soon after Naruto was born they were found by Madara Uchiha. Madara killed all of the ANBU and took Naruto hostage, threatening to do the same to him. Minato was able to take Naruto back, but this gave Madara the chance to escape with Kushina. Minato found a safe place to put Naruto and then teleported to Kushina. He arrived in time to stop the Nine-Tails, having been removed from her body, from killing her, and teleported back to Naruto. Minato reunited mother and son and then went to help defend Konoha from the Nine-Tails.
Minato arrived in the early stages of the Nine-Tails' attack. After protecting the village from its massive chakra blast, Minato tried to reach the Third Hokage to inform him of what had happened. He was stopped by Madara, who tried to send him away. Minato escaped but was followed by Madara. When the two began fighting, Minato struggled to hit Madara, Madara being intangible whenever he was not currently attacking. By carefully timing his Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was able to strike him during one of these rare moments and apply a seal for the Flying Thunder God Technique to him, allowing him to teleport to Madara whenever he wanted. He placed a Contract Seal on Madara to remove the Nine-Tails from his control, forcing Madara to flee.

When Minato returned to the village he found it in ruin. He summoned Gamabunta to distract the Nine-Tails long enough to teleport it away from the village to Naruto and Kushina's location. Kushina restrained it and, dying from the trauma of its removal, volunteered to have it sealed back into her body so that it would die with her. Distraught, Minato suggested instead using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on the Nine-Tails to weaken it and then seal the rest into Naruto. Kushina objected since this would mean Minato's death and give Naruto a horrible, lonely life. Minato insisted it was for the best since allowing the Nine-Tails to resurrect itself, without a Jinchūriki to contain it, would inevitably cause harm to Konoha and the Fire Country. Also, Minato was convinced that Naruto, the "Child of the Prophecy" Jiraiya had once told him about, would need the Nine-Tails' power to someday defeat Madara. After Minato used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on it, the Nine-Tails realized their intentions and tried to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield him.
While Kushina gave a few finals words to Naruto, Minato summoned Gerotora, gave him the key to the seal he would use on Naruto, and sent him to Jiraiya. After Kushina told Naruto how much his parents loved him, Minato sealed the rest of her chakra into Naruto so that she would be able to see him again when he was older, ending her life. He then sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto. Since the Third Hokage had come to help, Minato used his last moments to request that Konoha think of Naruto as a hero, and not the container of the monster that caused so much death and destruction. Before he died he sealed his own chakra into Naruto so that he could someday see Naruto again too, specifically if ever the seal was about to break so that he could restore it.

Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Hatake (はたけカカシ, Hatake Kakashi) is one of the main protagonists in the anime and manga series Naruto. He is a Konohagakure jōnin, a former ANBU, the leader of Team 7, and the only son of Sakumo Hatake. He is known worldwide for his use of the Sharingan, earning him the moniker Copy Ninja Kakashi (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi) and Kakashi of the Sharingan (写輪眼のカカシ, Sharingan no Kakashi).

Kakashi is the only son of Sakumo Hatake, also known as the "White Fang of Konoha". His mother apparently died when he was young. Kakashi has been known since a young age as an extremely gifted prodigy, regarded by many as the best of his generation. He had received top marks and had showed an innate aptitude for the ninja arts while in the academy. This permitted him to graduate from it in a single year at the top of his class at the age of 5, and then becoming a chūnin a year later. Despite his own success, his father fell into disgrace after choosing to save his comrades rather than complete an important mission, causing Konoha to suffer in the war effort. Dishonored, Sakumo took his own life after a deep depression and a drop in his skills, which caused Kakashi to lead his life strictly by the ninja code.
After graduating, Kakashi was then teamed with Obito Uchiha and Rin under the leadership of Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage. Kakashi's relationship with Obito and Rin was noted to be very similar to that of Sasuke's relationship with Naruto and Sakura respectively, as he is known as the indifferent genius who shared a complicated relationship with his team-mates, that later developed into a close friendship.

At the age of 13, soon after becoming a jōnin, Kakashi was assigned to lead Obito and Rin on a mission that would benefit Konoha in the ongoing Third Great Shinobi World War. They were to destroy a bridge being used by Iwagakure forces to move into Kusagakure. This would also be Konoha's first huge offensive move in the war. On their way to the bridge, Rin was kidnapped by two Iwagakure ninja named Kakkō and Taiseki. Obito immediately suggested that they rescue her, but Kakashi disagreed on the basis that they needed to complete their mission, opting not to make the same mistake his father did. Obito would not hear of it and stubbornly left to save Rin, but not before mentioning that he believed Kakashi's father, the White Fang, was a true hero. Shortly after parting ways, Kakashi reflected on Obito's words and Rin's prior kindness. He realized that his father was not wrong after all, which prompted him to join Obito in the rescue effort.
Kakashi arrived in time to save Obito from Taiseki, using his father's blade to combat him. Despite the 2-to-1 disadvantage, Taiseki was able to attack and damage Kakashi's left eye, who took the blow that was intended for Obito, giving him a permanent scar. In sheer terror and desire to protect Kakashi, Obito finally awakened his Sharingan, allowing him to see through his opponent's camouflage jutsu, kill the attacker, and continue on to Rin. Once they located Rin and Kakkō, Kakashi and Obito teamed up to defeat the latter. Kakashi and Obito freed Rin, but just as Kakashi's team was about to leave, Kakkō attempted to trap them with a crushing technique, causing a cave-in.
While trying to escape, Obito pushed Kakashi out of the path of a falling boulder, causing himself to be crushed beneath it instead. Knowing his life was at an end, Obito instructed Rin to implant his left Sharingan into Kakashi's damaged eye. Rin complied, and as soon as the surgery was completed Kakashi used the Sharingan and his Chidori to kill Kakkō. He then returned to Obito to see if there was anything he could do for him, but the place was turning into shambles, forcing Kakashi and Rin to leave him behind. With the help of Minato, they ultimately completed their mission, allowing them to mourn Obito's death.

Following the success of his first mission as a jōnin, Kakashi became well-known among all five great countries for the extensive use of his Sharingan, gaining him a reputation as "the man who has copied over a thousand jutsu," hence his nickname. Kakashi joined the Konoha ANBU a few years later. He later left for unknown reasons, but maintained strong connections with the ANBU. He once had a mission wherein one of his team-mates, Iruka Umino, was injured, paving the way for the latter to become an instructor at the Ninja Academy. When Iruka was having doubts at being assigned to be the homeroom teacher of Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi served to remind him of his real reasons for wanting the post in the first place.
Kakashi eventually became a team leader, and tested many genin. As the Third Hokage told Iruka, Kakashi had never passed any of them due to their inability to live up to his expectations of working as a team.

Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha (うちはサスケ, Uchiha Sasuke) is a main character in the series and anime, Naruto. Although he starts off as one of the protagonists, as the story progresses, he becomes one of the series' most dynamic major antagonists. Sasuke is one of the two remaining members of the Uchiha clan, a former member of Team Kakashi, a missing-nin from Konohagakure, the leader of the now-disbanded Taka, an associate of Akatsuki, and an international criminal.

Being the youngest son of Konoha Military Police Force captain and Uchiha clan head Fugaku Uchiha and his wife Mikoto and named after the father of the Third Hokage, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. Itachi was an acknowledged prodigy who was viewed by the Uchiha clan as a genius, and whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village and the clan. Sasuke's father in particular took an active interest in Itachi. Itachi, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent and full of oddly conflicting undercurrents, acknowledging Sasuke by taking interest in his progress as a ninja when even their father did not, but spending little quality time with Sasuke. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the Ninja Academy, he was still unable to escape Itachi's shadow. Despite consistently scoring at the top of every class, Sasuke failed to receive any recognition from his father, who defined Sasuke's success only in terms of his older brother. Itachi acknowledged the rivalry Sasuke felt, telling him, "We are brothers. I am the wall you must climb over, so you and I will continue to exist together."
Itachi's relationship with his father deteriorated further after Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan regarding the apparent suicide of his best friend, Shisui. As Itachi's behavior became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father began spending more time with Sasuke, and began teaching him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family jutsu seen as a sign of coming of age in the Uchiha clan. After only one week of training, Sasuke (age 7 at the time) performed the jutsu in front of his father, proving himself a genius as well in his own right and finally receiving his father's recognition. Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's emblem on his back. Following this, Sasuke also received a stern warning not to follow in Itachi's footsteps any further.
Shortly thereafter, Itachi massacred every member of the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke, saying that he was not even worth killing. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live... if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me... and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life." Itachi also revealed to Sasuke where the secret meeting place of the Uchiha was hidden, and suggested that Sasuke go there to learn what the true history and purpose of the Sharingan was. He told him that "To awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, that he had to kill the person he was closest to", and that "When we battle, we should have the same eyes". Sasuke thought he had fainted after this, but later remembered that he had managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursue Itachi. Upon reaching Itachi, he managed to knock off his forehead protector. Itachi was seen shedding a tear as he was picking up the forehead protector. He then proceeded to incapacitate Sasuke, who awoke in the hospital remembering only that which Itachi wanted him to.

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto was born as the son of the Fourth Hokage; Minato Namikaze and the Nine-Tails' second jinchūriki; Kushina Uzumaki. Naruto's parents had named him after the main character of Jiraiya's first book, making the Sannin his godfather.^[4]
Prior to Naruto's birth, his parents knew that the seal that kept the Nine-Tails within Kushina would be in danger of breaking during childbirth. To prevent that threat. Kushina was taken a short distance outside of the village to give birth in secret, with Biwako Sarutobi and Taji as her midwives, a few ANBU as security, and with Minato keeping the seal in place. Immediately after Kushina gave birth, Madara Uchiha appeared and took Naruto hostage, demanding Minato to step away from Kushina or he would kill the newborn child. Madara then used a clever diversion that forced Minato to transport the baby to a safer location, allowing him to escape with Kushina. By the time Minato could intervene, Madara had already succeeded in releasing the Nine-Tails.
Fortunately, Kushina (who survived the extraction thanks to her strong vitality) was saved by Minato and brought to Naruto, leaving the weakened mother to care for the sleeping Naruto while Minato went to combat Madara. To save the village, Minato sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails within Naruto, believing that his son would someday have need of the demon's power to defeat Madara's threat once and for all.^[5] Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name since the Third Hokage felt that it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.
Before Minato died, he asked that the villagers of Konoha view Naruto as a hero who had helped defeat the Nine-Tails. However, only a few of the villagers honored his request, while most instead resented him for containing the monster that had destroyed their home. In light of this, the Third Hokage decreed that nobody should ever speak of the truth about Naruto, hoping that their children would not resent him as they did. The children, however, followed their parents' lead, despite not knowing why. Apart from the Third Hokage, Iruka Umino was the only one who acted as a surrogate family to the young Naruto.

Tico Torres

Hector Samuel Juan "Tico" Torres (born October 7, 1953) is an American drummer and percussionist for Bon Jovi. He also has taken lead vocals on a song on the box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong, as well as backing vocals on a couple of the early Bon Jovi tracks, notably "Born to Be My Baby" and "Love for Sale".

Torres was a jazz fan as a youth and studied music with Joe Morello. Before joining Bon Jovi in 1983 he had already played live with Joe Cerisano aka Silver Condor in the New Jersey Rock circuit, and in the studio with Franke and the Knockouts, Pat Benatar, Chuck Berry, Cher, Alice Cooper and Stevie Nicks, recording a total of 26 albums with these artists.
Tico met Alec John Such while playing with a band called Phantom's Opera and it was this friendship which led to him joining Bon Jovi. When Jon Bon Jovi, the lead singer of the band approached Torres, he was put off by the fact Jon was 9 years younger than him. Regardless of this he said it was Jon's charismatic appearance and watching Jon perform that attracted him to join the band.

David Bryan

David Bryan (born David Bryan Rashbaum; February 7, 1962) is the keyboard player of the band Bon Jovi. Bryan also sings backing vocals and often at live shows sings part of or the whole of the song "In These Arms", one of a handful of Bon Jovi songs credited to him.

Bryan was the first to receive a call when Jon Bon Jovi learned that he had received a recording contract, and agreed to join the band. He shortened his full name to his first and middle names. At the time Bryan was attending Rutgers University and was studying Pre-Med with a 4.0 GPA. Bryan has played keyboards and sang on all of Bon Jovi's albums, as well as the solo projects of Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. In Bon Jovi's first album, Bryan and Jon Bon Jovi wrote the songs "Brakeout (Breakout) and "Love Lies" which was track five(Love Lies)and six (Brakeout) on the album.

He co-wrote the musical Memphis with Joe DiPietro, which had its off-Broadway debut in 2002. In 2008, Memphis was performed at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California. The show is scheduled to be performed in January, 2009 in Seattle, Washington, at the 5th Avenue Theatre, prior to moving to Broadway later in 2009. Memphis, which is now on broadway since October 18, 2009, was nominated for 8 Tony awards for the 2010 season and won 4 including Best Musical and Best original musical score. Memphis is now the most nominated show on Broadway, winning multiple Drama Desk awards and Outer Critics Circle awards, including Best Musical, Best Composer, and Best Orchestrations.Memphis The Musical went on to win four Tony awards at the 2010 Tonys,including Best Musical,Best Composer,Best Book,and Best orchestrations.
Bryan also co-wrote the musical The Toxic Avenger again with Joe DiPietro, which made its off-Broadway premiere at New World Stages on April 6, 2009.

Richie Sambora

Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer/songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the popular rock band Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band. He is also a solo artist, having released two solo albums; Stranger in This Town in 1991, and Undiscovered Soul in 1998.

Sambora played guitar for Joe Cocker and auditioned for Kiss and Poison then named Paris.^[7] He was also a guitarist for the band Message, and with that band he gave out a record, which was re-released in 1995 under the name "Message", and in 2000 under the name "Lessons". Bon Jovi added Sambora to replace original lead guitarist Dave Sabo.^[7] Sambora went to a show and, after being impressed by Bon Jovi, approached him and informed him that he thought they should work together. They immediately hit it off as friends, and Sambora was invited to a rehearsal. By the time Bon Jovi arrived, the band was sounding better than ever and Sambora was hired on the spot.^[8]
Sambora has occasionally taken over as lead vocalist on some Bon Jovi songs, most notably "I'll Be There for You"^{[citation needed]} and "These Days"^{[citation needed]} when played live on the Bounce, Have a Nice Day and Lost Highway tours, while recently, on The Circle Tour, he has been performing Lay Your Hands On Me and Homebound Train. He has also performed "Stranger In This Town". One of the live performances of "Stranger In This Town", recorded during the Keep the Faith tour, was released on Bon Jovi's CD single "Dry County" in 1994.^{[citation needed]}
Recent ventures have seen him compose television theme songs for both Entertainment Tonight and The Insider. He (along with Jon Bon Jovi) is part of the Ownership Group of the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena Football League football team.^{[9][dated info]}
Sambora made a cameo appearance in The Sims Superstar.
Sambora is featured on the track "Baby Rock Remix", from LL Cool J's upcoming album "Exit 13".^[10]
His first solo outing was Stranger in This Town in 1991, a blues-influenced album that was received well by many critics although commercially a relative flop partially due to the more adult tone of the record that was not instantly appealing to Bon Jovi fans. Eric Clapton played the lead guitar track on the song Mr Bluesman, backed by Sambora on acoustic guitars. He did a short US tour in support of the album, featuring Tony Levin (bass), Dave Amato (guitar), Crystal Taliefero (percussion) and Bon Jovi bandmates Tico Torres (drums) and Dave Bryan (keyboards). Ballad of Youth was released in the UK in summer 1991 and despite plugs from The Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 the song barely skimmed the top 75.
Undiscovered Soul was Sambora's second solo album, released in 1998. The album was produced by Don Was. In support of Undiscovered Soul, Sambora toured Japan, Australia and Europe in the summer of 1998. The band featured Richie Supa (guitar), Ron Wikso (drums), Kasim Sulton (bass), Tommy Mandel (keyboards), Everett Bradley (percussion - Japan only), Gioia Bruno (percussion - Australia only) and Crystal Taliefero (percussion - Europe only).
He made a special guest appearance^[11] on Bo Diddley's 1996 album A Man Amongst Men, playing guitar on the tracks "Can I Walk You Home" and "Oops! Bo Diddley".
In 1999, Sambora appeared as a guest vocalist on the Stuart Smith album Stuart Smith's Heaven & Earth, performing a cover of the Deep Purple song "When a Blind Man Cries".
Sambora played on a recently released album called Lessons from a band called Message. The album was recorded in the early 1980s.
Sambora sings "Long Way Around" (background audio) during the final scene in the 1997 Steven Seagal action movie Fire Down Below and is featured on the movie's soundtrack.
Sambora also recorded the song "One Last Goodbye" on the soundtrack for the movie The Banger Sisters. He also covered Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" for the soundtrack of The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, released in 1990.
His guitar work is also featured on the track "Misery" on Pink's 2001 album Missundaztood with Steven Tyler.
In 2004, Sanctuary Records released a self-titled album which had been recorded in 1978 by Shark Frenzy, documenting Sambora's first recorded material. The mix tapes had been damaged in a flood and it had taken band member Bruce Foster to remaster them for them to be released so many years later.
Sambora co-wrote several tracks and played guitar on Australian rock/pop artist Shannon Noll's third album, called Turn It Up. It was released in Australia September 15, 2007.

Jon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., on March 2, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of Bon Jovi. Throughout his career, he has released two solo albums and eleven studio albums with his band which have sold over 200 million albums worldwide.^[1]
As a solo artist, Bon Jovi has numerous awards for his work, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for his solo hit: Blaze of Glory. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Monmouth University in 2001. He campaigned for Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election, John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, and Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election.

Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., in Perth Amboy, New Jersey the son of two former Marines, hairdresser John Francis Bongiovi, Sr. and florist Carol Sharkey. He has two brothers, Anthony and Matthew.^[2] His father was of Sicilian and Slovak ancestry and his mother was of German and Russian descent.^[3][4] He spent summers in Erie, Pennsylvania, with his grandparents as a newspaper salesman.^[5] As a child, Bon Jovi attended St. Joseph High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey, during his freshman and sophomore years.^[6] He later transferred to Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey.^[7]
Bon Jovi spent most of his adolescence bunking school to opt for music activities instead, and ended up playing in local bands with friends and his cousin Tony Bongiovi, who owned the then famous New York recording studio, The Power Station. As a result, his academic records displayed less than spectacular achievements and poor grades. By the time he was 16, Bon Jovi was playing clubs. It was not long before he hooked up with keyboardist David Bryan (real name: David Bryan Rashbaum), who played with him in a ten-piece rhythm and blues band called Atlantic City Expressway. Bon Jovi also performed with bands called The Rest, The Lechers and John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones.
When he was seventeen, Bon Jovi was working sweeping floors at his cousin Tony Bongiovi's recording studio. In 1980, when Meco was there recording Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album, Bongiovi recommended Bon Jovi for the song "R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas." This became his first professional recording (credited as John Bongiovi).^[8] He left in 1983 when he got a record deal.^[9]
Jon Bon Jovi recorded a song, Runaway, one of a few songs John wrote during his bus travels from Sayreville to The Power Station. He went to several record companies, including Atlantic Records,and Mercury (PolyGram), but they all turned him down.
Jon Bon Jovi visited the area's major rock station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple" in New York City. He spoke directly to the promotion director John Lassman, who accepted the song "Runaway" for inclusion on the station's compilation album of local homegrown talent. Bon Jovi was initially reluctant to have it included but eventually gave them the song on which Bon Jovi had used studio musicians to play on the track. The studio musicians who helped record "Runaway" – known as The All Star Review – were guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, drummer Frankie LaRocka, and bassist Hugh McDonald.
Runaway became a local hit on the charts. Along the way, Mercury gave Bon Jovi a recording contract in 1983, and to promote Runaway, Bon Jovi called up Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Alec John Such and formed a band. After Bon Jovi claimed he wanted a group name (and rejecting "Johnny Electric"), one of the group suggested "Bon Jovi", slightly changing the spelling of Jon's last name.

In October 1984, Bon Jovi supported the group Kiss at the Queens Hall in Leeds.
With the help of their new manager Doc McGhee, the band's debut album, Bon Jovi, was released on January 21, 1984. The album went gold in the US (sales of over 500,000). In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album 7800°Fahrenheit was released, but the response was poor. The turning point came when they brought in songwriter Desmond Child for their third album, Slippery When Wet. With Child co-writing many of their hits on this and future albums the band shot to super-stardom around the world with songs such as "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", and "Wanted Dead or Alive". The album has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide since its release in late 1986.^[10]
During their 1986-1987 tour, Jon's attempt to give it his all during live shows (plus the tour's exhausting schedule) greatly strained his vocal cords. In the band's Behind The Music special, he notes that his vocal cords were given steroids to help him sing. With the help of a vocal coach, he was able to continue doing the tour. Contrary to popular belief, Bon Jovi did not have voice damage during the New Jersey Syndicate Tour.
The next album from Bon Jovi was New Jersey released in 1988. The album was recorded very shortly after the tour for Slippery, because the band wanted to prove that they were not just a one hit wonder. The resulting album is a fan favorite and a mammoth commercial success, with hit songs such as "Bad Medicine", "Lay Your Hands on Me" and "I'll Be There for You", which are still nightly stalwarts in their live repertoire.
Despite the band achieving massive success, New Jersey almost led to the end of the band as they went straight back out on the road so soon after the heavy touring for their previous album. This constant living on the road almost destroyed the strong bond between the band members. Sambora is noted on the albums as co-writer for many songs, yet he resented the lack of attention that was heaped on Jon alone. As mentioned in VH1's Behind the Music, the band members note that at the end of the tour, each band member went their separate way, even departing in separate jets after the tour ended in Guadalajara, Mexico in early 1990.
Between 1990 and 1992, members of Bon Jovi went their separate ways after the very rigorous two year New Jersey Tour, which exceeded 200 shows on 5 continents. This time off also helped them determine where Bon Jovi would fit within the rapidly changing music scene upon their return.
In 1992, the band returned with the album Keep the Faith. The album was released in November 1992. Produced by Bob Rock, the album signified an ending to their early metal roots in previous albums and introduced a more "rock n roll"-driven groove to the album. Much more complex, lyrically and musically, the album proved that Bon Jovi could still be a viable band in 90's, despite the industry's and audience's growing affinity for Grunge.
In 1994, Bon Jovi released a "greatest hits" album titled Cross Road, which also contained two new tracks: the hit singles "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night". Always spent six months on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Bon Jovi's all-time biggest hits. The song peaked at #4 on the U.S. charts and at #1 in countries across Europe, Asia and in Australia. The single sold very well, going platinum in the U.S. That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, the first and only lineup change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald, who was the bassist on "Runaway", unofficially replaced Such as bassist.
Their sixth studio album These Days was released in June 1995 to the most critical acclaim that the band had ever received. With the album These Days, Bon Jovi took the mature rock sound they had developed on Keep the Faith further. The record as a whole was darker and more downbeat than the usual Bon Jovi flare. By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a "force" in the music industry, proving much more durable than most of their 80's glam peers.
After another lengthy hiatus of nearly three years, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. Their 2000 release, Crush, enjoyed overwhelming success all around the world, thanks in part to the smash-hit single "It's My Life", co-written by famous Swedish producer Max Martin. Crush, which also produced such hits as "Say it isn't so", and helped introduce Bon Jovi to a new, younger fan base.
In late 2002, Bounce, the band's follow-up to Crush, hit stores. Though Bounce did not enjoy the level of success of its predecessor, the album did produce hit singles such as "Everyday" and the title track.

Bon Jovi's ninth studio album, Have a Nice Day, was released in September 2005. "Have A Nice Day" was the first single off the new album and the second single from the album "Who Says You Can't Go Home", was released in the U.S. in the spring of 2006. In the U.S. a duet version of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland was released, and in May 2006, Bon Jovi made history by becoming the first Rock & Roll Band to have a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Chart. On February 11, 2007, Bon Jovi also won a Grammy Award, for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" for "Who Says You Can't Go Home".
In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their studio album, Lost Highway. The album debuted at number #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time that Bon Jovi have had a number one album on the US charts since the release of New Jersey in 1988. Thanks to the band's new country music fanbase, the album sold 292,000 copies in its first week on sale in the U.S., and became Bon Jovi's third US number one album.
On April 6, 2009, it was announced that the Tribeca Film Festival will screen a Bon Jovi documentary called When We Were Beautiful. The film follows the band on the Lost Highway Tour during 2008. The film is directed by Phil Griffin and will be the centerpiece of the festival and is considered a work-in-progress.In November 2009, Bon Jovi released their latest studio album The Circle.

John Otto

John Everett Otto (born March 22, 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida) is the drummer and co-founder of the band Limp Bizkit.

Otto, along with his cousin Sam Rivers, and Fred Durst, founded Limp Bizkit in 1994. What started as a small band from Jacksonville, Florida escalated into one of the most popular nu metal and rapcore bands in the world, selling over 45 million records worldwide.
After a successful career, in November 2004, rumors began to surface of the departure of John Otto from the band. These conclusions were derived from the fact that new pictures of John Otto had not shown up on Limp Bizkit's official site for several months. Also, some rumors arose that John Otto had become a Benedictine monk. These rumors were addressed by Fred Durst himself in a post on his official website entitled "People are Dumb". Fred did not address the topic directly; he chose to give subliminal "hints" that John was indeed still in the band. Pictures of John Otto later surfaced on Limp Bizkit's website, disproving the rumors altogether.
John wrote and recorded drums for all the tracks of The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1), but, before he did this, producers and band members recorded with Sammy Siegler without John's knowledge. The other band members and producers made the final decision as to which drummer would be on the final recording. John does not want his work to be confused with Sammy Siegler's, who he believes to be a good punk style drummer. According to John, Sammy did not achieve the stylistic groove imprint that is unique to his (John's) sound and style which is the backbone of Limp Bizkit.

Currently, Otto is clean from drugs. He lived in Marina del Rey, California, and was giving drum lessons for Star Education [1], but currently lives in Hollywood, California. He is currently performing again with Limp Bizkit in 2009 on their comeback world tour, with the band's original lineup. He will be playing on the band's next album, Gold Cobra.
Recently, John has shown fans his interest in rapping. Going by the name 'Johnny Ottomatic' he's shown several songs on his MySpace, along with his rap group known as Sun Zoo, with fellow rapper L.A. Jay. John states that he doesn't intend for it to get in the way of Limp Bizkit.[2]
On October 1, Otto stated that he is currently working on a solo album, and put a demo of the first song, "Apocalypse", on his MySpace. Otto later revealed that his new project was in the form of a new group known as Stereochemix with the other members being Ceekay, DJ Apokalypze, Fin and Norm. And Manager "Pureform". The group recently unveiled their first music video on the website
He also joined Scooter Ward of Cold to record drums for the upcoming debut from his band, The Killer and the Star.

Sam Rivers

Sam Rivers (born Samuel Robert Rivers, September 2, 1977, Jacksonville, Florida) is the bassist and one of the founding members of the band Limp Bizkit. He is the cousin of the band's drummer, John Otto.

Rivers musical career started fairly early on, with him playing the tuba in a band in Arlington Middle School. He got into music initially because of his cousin John Otto, who played jazz-style drums.
He attended Bishop Kenny High School, and later The Douglas Anderson School Of The Arts. He actually played guitar before he played bass, but switched at the suggestion of his music teacher. His influences include bands such as Black Sabbath and Megadeth.
In 2001, he married his girlfriend Kinter Atkins.

Rivers first met Fred Durst while working at a Chick-fil-A in a mall in Jacksonville. The two started talking, and found they shared several interests, including skateboarding and music. They decided to get together for a jam session. Rivers was becoming an accomplished bass guitarist, and Durst was to be a vocalist. Together with several other people they formed a short-lived band called Malachi Sage. Rivers' talents on guitar would later come into play in Limp Bizkits Results May Vary album, the only album not featuring longtime guitarist Wes Borland, with Rivers playing both guitar and bass on select songs such as Creamer and Lonely World.
When the band did not work out, the two decided to try again, and this time John Otto came into the picture to be the drummer at the suggestion of Sam. In 1994 the three formed Limp Bizkit. Later on guitarist Wes Borland came into the fold, as well as DJ Lethal in 1996. Rivers was the youngest member of the band. When their first album Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ was released, he was only 19 years old.
He was voted Best Bass Player at the 2000 Gibson Awards.

Wes Borland

 

Wesley Louden Borland (born February 7, 1975 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American musician and artist, best known as the guitarist for the band Limp Bizkit. He has been in several other bands as well, such as The Damning Well, Goatslayer and Big Dumb Face. He also recorded on From First to Last's Heroine album in 2006, and served as bass guitarist for the band's subsequent tour. Borland is well known for his dark and bizarre stage appearance, and for his fondness of musical artists that differed greatly from the musical tastes of his bandmates in Limp Bizkit. Borland performed in Black Light Burns, in which he sang and wrote most of the music. As of 2009, Borland has rejoined Limp Bizkit.

Borland's family moved from Virginia to Jacksonville, Florida where his father took a pastoral job at a Presbyterian Church. In Florida, Borland met bassist Sam Rivers, but the two did not get along due to rivalries between local bands. He went to school with John Otto. He spent his summers in Montreat, North Carolina, working in the sound booth for Montreat conference center, a Presbyterian Church institution. When Limp Bizkit was looking for a guitarist, John Otto threw out his name, stating he was more of an artist than a guitarist, but the band decided he'd be worthwhile for the position. In one of these bands, Borland sang and played guitar but didn't use a guitar pick. He would only play guitar using the two hand tapping style of guitar playing that he would go on to use in Limp Bizkit songs such as "Stalemate", "Sour", "Re-Arranged" and "Indigo Flow".
Fred Durst left to Philadelphia for a short while, leaving the others to speak to Wes and see if he'd join the band. Borland accepted, and the three practiced, while keeping in touch with Durst over the phone. Later Durst came back to Jacksonville, and the band had a show scheduled. Durst and Borland met for the first time and played their first show together 30 minutes later. On stage, Borland was known for his eccentricity, frequently wearing elaborate face paint and black-tinted contact lenses.
In the very early stages of Limp Bizkit, Borland's brother and future Eat the Day bandmate Scott Borland played keyboards, but with the early inclusion of DJ Lethal, the band eventually became a success. Scott played with Limp Bizkit as a session keyboard player on Limp Bizkit's first three releases, until Borland quit in 2001, which is when the two brothers formed Eat the Day.

Fred Durst

William Frederick "Fred" Durst (born August 20, 1970) is an American musician, director and actor, known primarily as the frontman of the band Limp Bizkit.

Durst began Limp Bizkit with Sam Rivers and John Otto in 1995 which then led to Wes Borland joining shortly thereafter. DJ Lethal, formerly of the hip hop group House of Pain joined in 1996 which marked the final line-up for Limp Bizkit, they would then go on to record their debut album, Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ to see a release in the following year.
Limp Bizkit's first hit, a cover of George Michael's late 1980s hit Faith, gained traction due to heavy airplay on MTV, especially during the first year of TRL. The band's other major hits include "Nookie", "Break Stuff", "Re-arranged", "Counterfeit", "N 2 Gether Now", "Take a Look Around", "Rollin'", "My Generation" and "My Way." Durst has directed most of Limp Bizkit's music videos, as well as videos for Korn ("Falling Away from Me"), Deadsy ("The Key to Gramercy Park"), Cold ("No One"), Puddle of Mudd ("Blurry"), and Staind ("It's Been Awhile," "Just Go," and "Home"), among others.
Durst was ranked 71 in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalist of All Time