As a young jazz fan, studying with Joe Morello, Tico never could have imagined the success that would come his way. Even before he joined with Jon Bon Jovi in 1983, Tico had a successful career as a drummer. His studio and live experience with Frankie and the Knockouts, Pat Benatar, Chuck Berry, Cher, Alice Cooper, and Stevie Nicks helped to establish him as a first call player. Playing with Bon Jovi has simply been the icing on the cake.

Few bands embodied the era of pop-metal like Bon Jovi. The New Jersey-based quintet developed an ingratiatingly melodic and professional variation of hard-rock - one that appealed as much to teenagers as to adults. Their videos helped propel 1986's Slippery When Wet and 1988's New Jersey into multi-platinum status around the world.

The group managed to subtly change their image in the early '90s, moving away from metal and concentrating on straightforward arena-rock and ballads. The shift in style worked, and Bon Jovi was the only American pop-metal band of the '80s to retain a sizable audience in the '90s.