Izzy McBride is riding around the Twin Cities with the Jon Bon Jovi seal of approval.
When McBride made a stop at the U Saturday, while chauffeuring the entourage of E! TV show host and best-selling author Chelsea Handle, a couple people whispered to me, “Izzy is Jon Bon Jovi’s favorite driver.”
To confirm this tidbit, I asked Bon Jovi Thursday when he visited the homeless residence People Serving People in Minneapolis. “Is Izzy my favorite driver in the Twin Cities? Absolutely,” said Bon Jovi, laughing and pointing at my camera (see HYPERLINK “http://startribune.com/video” startribune.com/video). Putting on his dark glasses as he stood up, the rocker added, “He’s outside” tapping his watch.
Outside, Bon Jovi patiently took photos and signed autographs. My video will make you see Jon Bon Jovi in a whole new light, no Kleigs necessary. While some filthy-rich celebrities don’t get interested in a charity until they are befallen with an illness, Bon Jovi has taken the cause of family homelessness to his heart. As he adroitly pointed out, it’s one of those things that can be fixed with money as opposed to scientists.
A great Scott night
The rock star was making people’s day all over town Thursday, the second day of his hard rock group’s two-night stop in the Twin Cities.
Reading about singer Alison Scott inexplicably losing a radio station’s contest to open for Bon Jovi at St. Paul’s X, Jon Bon Jovi righted the situation. I’m sure members of the groups Select Three and fourforty are fine performers, but my music insiders are suspicious of them getting more votes than Scott, who is much better known throughout the metro.
Scott was driving to Chicago when she got word from her manager Kevin Bowe to turn around and come back for the show.
“Did you hear,” Scott wrote me via e-mail. “I’m playing tonight! You are the best and my new favorite person. Thanks so much for helping me! Apparently taking the high road wasn’t so bad after all.”
And thank you, Alison, my item got posted everywhere, including on the Bon Jovi website. Former TV meteorologist Janie Peterson sent me a message via Twitter during the concert: “Alison Scott just gave you a shout out @ Bon Jovi pre-show. You are her fav.”
That’s nice, but even better was finally getting Scott on the phone Friday. “It was unreal. It’s such a big stage and such a big room and just being able to do a performance of that magnitude is definitely new,” she said.
Scott is so laid-back, I had to get the real backstage dish from her manager. “Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora both stopped by the dressing room and said Hi,” said Bowe. “That was nice. The whole thing couldn’t have gone better. I said to Bon Jovi, ‘You know, you’ve made a little girl’s dreams come true today and I think Alison is happy, too.’ He liked that. She was in fine form. She’s rather polite and all I’m-a-white-girl-from-Plymouth off stage, but when she’s on stage she’s like get-the-hell-out-of-the-way. It’s weird. I’ve never been able to tell where she gets it. She was happy she had a chance in the dressing room to wash her hair. She had been on the [road driving 8 hours], she was a little sweaty.”
Treadmill or weights?
E-mailer Paul Kirkman wrote me this: “I work out at the Life Time Athletic Club at the Grand Hotel and when working out today I saw Jon Bon Jovi. At first I was uncertain whether or not it was him and while I was in the gym no one paid him any attention. But I noticed a Superman tattoo on his shoulder and Googled ‘Bon Jovi tattoo’ and indeed Bon Jovi has a Superman on his shoulder.”