Don Chafflin is leading a double life.
Not only is he lead vocalist for Don Jovi, a tribute to the music of Bon Jovi, coming to 52 Sumner in Springfield on Thursday, April 24, but he is also lead singer for Voices of Extreme.
“I’m an original recording artist and I also run a video company which shoots promos for some of my best friends in tribute bands in the Tri-State area of New York. It is something I never intended on doing until I got a call from a friend of mine who asked me to do some Bon Jovi songs with his band. Before you knew it, we became Don Jovi,” Chaffin said about the band, which has been around for a year and a half.
The 90-mintue show features many Bon Jovi hits, such as “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Bad Medicine,” “I’ll Be There for You,” “Living in Sin,” “Bed of Roses” and tons of other favorites.
Bon Jovi has sold more than 130 million records throughout the world since being founded in 1983 by Jon Bon Jovi. The band has released 16 studio albums and several live albums. They have performed more than 2,700 concerts across 50 countries for more than 34 million fans. Their many accolades include being inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, followed much later into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
Chaffin noted that he gained a greater appreciation for Bon Jovi after joining the tribute band.
“I was listening to groups like Van Halen and Led Zeppelin long before Bon Jovi. I didn’t know all of the band’s material except for the monster hits on radio. When Don Jovi was formed, I had to learn their much bigger catalog of music and it revealed to me just how many great songs they did. I wasn’t familiar with them before that until studying the catalog. It gave me a new perspective and opened my eyes to how really great a songwriter he was,” Chaffin said.
Chaffin noted there are many things that came together to support the success of Bon Jovi.
“He had the right physical appearance to match the1980s era, especially with his female fans, he has a very commercial voice, and he was attentive to his songwriting whose lyrics spoke to his fans,” he said.
Chaffin, in addition to his lead vocals for Don Jovi and Voices of Extreme, which is much of his current focus with a new single about to be released, has also stepped up to the mic as lead vocalist for Red Lamb, Ram Jam, Riot Act, Road Crew and American Mafia.
In addition to Chaffin, Don Jovi consists of industry veterans and accomplished musicians and recording artists in their own right, Sean Tarr on lead guitar; Chris Tristram on bass; Nick Troiani on keyboards; and Matt Ricci on drums.
Tickets, priced at $19-$45, are available online at 52sumner.com.
