SamboraBlog

"Each tour is the end of an era and it's an end of a journey," Sambora tells Billboard.com. "The journey starts out with Jon (Bon Jovi) and I sitting in the room with a couple of pieces of paper and a pen and a guitar, and the songs start the whole thing. And it ends up in the studio with the band and then on the promotional tour ... and then the fun part, taking it to the people. So this'll be the end of the 'Lost Highway' era -- and the beginning of a new one, absolutely.”

The group kicks off a short North American swing that starts Sunday in Sarnia, Ontario, and finishes with two shows at New York's Madison Square Garden on July 14-15. As previously reported, Bon Jovi will also play the Major League Baseball All-Star Game concert on July 12 in New York's Central Park.

By the time it wraps the tour will play to an expected 966,000 fans worldwide in support of the 2007 album "Lost Highway," which was Bon Jovi's first No. 1 debut on The Billboard 200 and has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide, according to Universal.

Bon Jovi is starting to plot its next moves, too. One project that's likely in the offing is a documentary commemorating the band's 25 years that's being directed by award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple, who's been on the road with the band this year. There's also talk of a second greatest hits album, for which Bon Jovi might record some new songs.

"I'm not quite sure where to go -- "Is it 'Greatest Hits, Vol. 2' or is it time for a solo record -- or is it time to walk away?" says Bon Jovi, who will also be focusing on the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League team he co-owns with Sambora. "I don't know what it'll be yet. I'm thinking about it but not thinking about it, y'know? I'm still too caught up in this touring process to think."

Sambora, meanwhile, says he'd be surprised if there's much time away from Bon Jovi. "I wouldn't foresee much of a break, no," says the guitarist, who recently guested on a new song (“Baby”) for rapper LL Cool J and is doing music for a blues film that also includes B.B. King and Dr. John.

"We need to take a little bit of a breather and decompress, and then we'll get back together and see what's going on,” he says. “Jon and I, we start woodshedding, we start writing pretty quickly. There's lots of other stuff to do, but Bon Jovi's the number one priority, no matter what."