Bon Jovi plays fairy godmother to Cinderella

Bon Jovi扮演了Cinderella的仙女教母

By Jae-Ha Kim

Chicago Sun-Times

May 27, 1987

*原文来自作者Jae-Ha Kim个人网站：https://www.jaehakim.com/interviews/bon-jovi-plays-fairy-godmother-to-cinderella/，该采访在1987年5月27日发表于芝加哥太阳报

*翻译：微博@堆堆带我飞 

The story of Cinderella reads like a rock ‘n' roll fairy tale.

Cinderella的故事就像是一个摇滚版的童话故事。

 

The band's debut album, “Night Songs,” has sold more than a million copies, and the four hard rockers are on their second major tour in two years. The Philadelphia-based quartet will be the opening act for the immensely popular Bon Jovi in concerts starting at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Rosemont Horizon.

Cinderella乐队首张专辑《Night Songs》的销量已经突破百万大关，而四位摇滚明星正在两年之内的第二次大型巡演途中。本周六和周日的晚上八点，这支来自费城的四人团体将在Rosemont Horizon体育馆为当下最火爆的Bon Jovi的演唱会开场。

 

“We've been having a lot of fun on the road with Jon (Bon Jovi) and the boys,” said singer Tom Keifer, founder of Cinderella.

“在巡演路上，我们与Jon（Bon Jovi）和他的乐队成员们玩得很开心。”Cinderella的创立者和主唱Tom Keifer这样说。

 

“It's great because he lets us do whatever we want to do,” Keifer said. “Some bands like to stifle their opening acts so that they'll look better by comparison, but Jon isn't concerned about that. He knows how good his band is, and he knows we can hold our own against him.”

“这很好啊，因为他让我们想做什么都可以，”Keifer说，“有一些乐队为了彰显自己，会有意扼制暖场乐队的表现，但Jon不在乎这个。他知道他的乐队本身已经足够好，也知道我们能与他相称。”

 

Bon Jovi should know how good Cinderella is. He played a crucial role in helping the band get a recording contract two years ago. After seeing Cinderella perform at the Empire, a popular Philadelphia club, Bon Jovi went backstage to meet the guys.

Bon Jovi的确知道Cinderella有多优秀。早在两年前，他就在Cinderella得到唱片合约的过程中起到了至关重要的作用。当时在帝国摇滚俱乐部（费城的一家广受欢迎的俱乐部）目睹了Cinderella的表演以后，Bon Jovi到后台去见了他们。

 

“He said he thought we were really talented, and that our set sounded like it had some hits,” Keifer said.

“他说他觉得我们很有才华，而且认为我们的演出中有几首听起来很成功的作品。”Keifer说。

 

“So he just hung out with us for a while and talked, and we thought that was that. Anyhow, the next day our manager tells us he heard that Jon had been to his label (Polygram Records) telling them all about us and how good he thought we were. So that really helped us, I think.”

“接着他和我们一起玩了一阵子，还聊了一些，我们以为这件事就到此为止了。但是接下来的第二天，我们的经纪人告诉我们，他听说Jon去和他的唱片公司（Polygram唱片）说了我们的事，还有他认为我们有多么优秀。我觉得这真的帮了我们的大忙。”

 

Keifer, 26, took his music seriously from an early age. He began guitar lessons when he was 8 years old. After learning the basic chords and some rudimentary songs, he decided he wanted to rock ‘n' roll, something his teacher didn't really understand. By the time Keifer was in high school, he had already formed several bands.

Keifer今年26岁，从很小的时候起，他就开始以认真的态度对待他的音乐生涯了。他从8岁时开始学习吉他课程。在完成了基础的和弦和歌曲的学习以后，他找到了自己想要做的方向，那就是他的音乐老师并不十分理解的摇滚乐。在他进入高中之前，他已经组建过了几支乐队。

 

The son of schoolteachers, Keifer almost dropped out of high school at 15 to become a professional musician.

作为一位教师的儿子，Keifer却差一点在15岁的时候就放弃学业成为职业乐手。

 

His parents persuaded him to continue with a plum reward: a Les Paul guitar for a diploma.

他的父母说服他继续学业，条件是一项非常诱人的奖励：拿到高中毕业证，换一把Les Paul吉他。

 

“I really wanted to quit school, but a Les Paul was something I'd always wanted, too,” recalled Keifer, chuckling. He completed school, got the guitar, and kept on playing in bands.

“我是真的不想读书了，但Les Paul也是我一直梦寐以求的。”Keifer笑着回忆道。最终他完成了学业，拿到了吉他，并继续乐队的事业。

 

Until Cinderella, Keifer chose to stay in the background of the groups he formed. Preferring to play guitar and write the songs, he left the singing duties to other members because he felt they were better qualified.

在组建Cinderella以前，Keifer总是会选择担当乐队中的配角。相比担任主唱，他更愿意弹吉他和写歌，而把唱歌的工作留给其他成员，因为他觉得其他人比他更有资格。

 

“Now the guys (in Cinderella) will think I'm slighting their vocal abilities,” he said, laughing.

“现在他们（指Cinderella的成员）会以为我觉得他们不会唱歌了。”他笑着说。

 

Keifer formed Cinderella with bassist Eric Brittingham four years ago. They both decided that their band would have two requirements: Cinderella would play original material, and they would play only hard rock.

四年前，Keifer与贝斯手Eric Brittingham一起成立了Cinderella。他们在乐队的两条基本准则上达成了共识：Cinderella是原创乐队，以及Cinderella只专注硬摇滚。

 

Even though that was a period when hard rock wasn't as desirable as British synthesizer pop, Keifer and Brittingham persevered.

尽管在那时，硬摇滚并不像英国合成器流行音乐那样受欢迎，但Keifer和Brittingham仍然坚持了下来。

 

“There was never a question in my mind what we wanted to play and look like,” Keifer said. “Some people might not think it's hip to have long hair and wear leather. These are the people who think our music isn't good music. Well, music's music, and I happen to prefer hard-rocking rock ‘n' roll. I've always been a hard rocker from the beginning, even as a kid, and I'll be one till the end.”

“我从来没纠结过我们要玩什么样的音乐、要看起来像什么样，”Keifer说。“可能有人觉得长发皮衣落伍了，他们也不欣赏我们的音乐。但是，音乐就是音乐，我刚好就喜欢硬摇滚。我从一开始就玩硬摇滚，甚至从小就是这样，一直到以后也会这样。”

 

Fans who have seen Cinderella's videos – full as they are with nubile girls, macho guitar-hero poses, and head-banging music – may be surprised to learn that Keifer says he doesn't smoke, hardly drinks, and has an affinity for hot tea.

对于已经看过Cinderella的歌曲MV的粉丝来说，体验了MV中围绕在他们左右的性感女孩、帅气的吉他英雄姿势和用力甩头的音乐之后，他们会震惊于听到Keifer说他并不抽烟，很少喝酒，而且钟爱热茶。

 

Should he bump into some overzealous fans who have followed him back to his hotel, Keifer tries to give them what they want, be it an autograph or a photograph or some advice about forming a band. But groupies should be forewarned that he is faithful to his fiancee, Emily Pember. Outside of the band, he said, she's his only interest.

如果遇到有一路跟他走到酒店的狂热粉丝，Keifer会尽量满足他们的要求，可能是一个签名、一张照片或者一些关于组建乐队的建议。但是，这里提前提醒骨肉皮们，他对他的未婚妻Emily Pember一心一意。在乐队的事情之外，他说，他只对她感兴趣。

 

The Keifer-Pember romantic union is the culmination of a four-year courtship. But Pember, a graphic artist, has proven herself to be an integral part of the group by designing the band's logo.

Keifer与Pember的浪漫关系在四年之后达到了新的高度。但作为一位平面设计师，Pember设计了Cinderella乐队的标志，从而证明了自己也是这个乐队不可或缺的一部分。

 

“I wish I could spend more time with her, but this is an opportunity that sometimes never happens to many bands,” said Keifer, referring to the tour. “Sometimes it takes a couple of albums to introduce a band to the whole scene, before the following builds up. But we really lucked out.”

“我希望能有更多的时间和她相处，但这是一个千载难逢的好机会，”当提及这次巡演时，Keifer这样说道。“有的时候，需要花上好几张唱片的时间才能让一支乐队走进公众视野中，然后才能继续发展。我们真的很幸运。”