MR

I'm a drummer of 28 years that used to play live all the time and for certain reasons, I don't get to ever play live(or record) anymore. Any success I had was on a small to medium club/fairs size stages in front of from 30-1000 people, and I miss it dearly. Nothing of any magnitude, but still a huge void in my creative life that I've never been able to fill.

My point is that, I can't imagine what SP must be going through IF he either can't, or is afraid to do what he has always loved doing.
The guy us one of the most beloved and indentifiable voices in the history of rock/popular music. I can't imagine that he can't still have the voice of 1998's "I Stand Alone", which was still spectacular. If he does and doesn't think his millions of fans won't think it's good enough to accept new music from him, that's tremendously sad.

I'm also thinking that while he's comfortable in his place as the main voice of Journey, he's had to have heard the recent album and the success the recent tour had, and must be thinking that someone else is driving the car that he built.

I'm sure he can still sing more than enough for most of his fans. And for the ones that care that he can't sing Open Arms in the original key, I say F U, you're not really a fan.

I hope I'm way off and that THE MAN is close to giving us new music(like I've really been hearing is close), but if he's really missing being one of the 5 greatest voices of the last 100 years(which he is) and either can't or is afraid to release to the public, any new music because he'll be compared to the ridiculously high standard that HE set, that's just really sad for us fans, and especially for the artist that we all love.

I'm just hopeful that any lack of new material from him is just because he's not done anything that he feels like putting out, as he's said in the recent past.

It would be hell to be one of the greatest singers to ever have been heard and then not be able to live up to what you've done in the past. If he has the 1998 "VOICE", not only is it what I and many other fans prefer, it's better than anything else being sung today.

Just hope that his silence to this point is what he really WANTS, not what he thinks is best for a legacy that can't be measured up to by any singer in this lifetime.

LONG LIVE THE KING.

Well said....

madsplash wrote:It would be hell to be one of the greatest singers to ever have been heard and then not be able to live up to what you've done in the past.

I don't agree with this at all. Life is a journey of evolution, and while many people speculate that Perry must be some tortured soul who simply can't do it any longer (which may be true), it's also entirely possible that Perry is content with his life and the legacy he has left. Just like Larry Bird and Michael Jordan couldn't play forever, neither can all musicians. That doesn't take away from their vast body of work.

I'm not discounting the fact that Perry may well be a perfectionist (and most accept this as fact) who can't accept the fact that he can't sing like he used to. I'm simply presenting the other side of the equation that Perry may be happy with not singing any longer. I also don't think Journey's "success", as some people call it, bothers Perry one iota. The name Journey and Steve Perry will forever be intertwined. There aren't 27 people in the country who know who Journey is without Perry. The guys on the road as Journey today aren't making a living, without Perry. Those facts alone tell me that his legacy is firmly cemented, for all of time.

John from Boston

Lora and Cyndy could print OP's post and forward it on to him.

While they're at it, tell him MBPL said, "Where The Hell Are Ya Perry?!"

Enigma869 wrote:

madsplash wrote:It would be hell to be one of the greatest singers to ever have been heard and then not be able to live up to what you've done in the past.

I don't agree with this at all. Life is a journey of evolution, and while many people speculate that Perry must be some tortured soul who simply can't do it any longer (which may be true), it's also entirely possible that Perry is content with his life and the legacy he has left. Just like Larry Bird and Michael Jordan couldn't play forever, neither can all musicians. That doesn't take away from their vast body of work.

I'm not discounting the fact that Perry may well be a perfectionist (and most accept this as fact) who can't accept the fact that he can't sing like he used to. I'm simply presenting the other side of the equation that Perry may be happy with not singing any longer. I also don't think Journey's "success", as some people call it, bothers Perry one iota. The name Journey and Steve Perry will forever be intertwined. There aren't 27 people in the country who know who Journey is without Perry. The guys on the road as Journey today aren't making a living, without Perry. Those facts alone tell me that his legacy is firmly cemented, for all of time.

John from Boston

Don't go crazy now. 27 is mighty lofty

Enigma869 wrote:

madsplash wrote:It would be hell to be one of the greatest singers to ever have been heard and then not be able to live up to what you've done in the past.

I don't agree with this at all. Life is a journey of evolution, and while many people speculate that Perry must be some tortured soul who simply can't do it any longer (which may be true), it's also entirely possible that Perry is content with his life and the legacy he has left. Just like Larry Bird and Michael Jordan couldn't play forever, neither can all musicians. That doesn't take away from their vast body of work.

I'm not discounting the fact that Perry may well be a perfectionist (and most accept this as fact) who can't accept the fact that he can't sing like he used to. I'm simply presenting the other side of the equation that Perry may be happy with not singing any longer. I also don't think Journey's "success", as some people call it, bothers Perry one iota. The name Journey and Steve Perry will forever be intertwined. There aren't 27 people in the country who know who Journey is without Perry. The guys on the road as Journey today aren't making a living, without Perry. Those facts alone tell me that his legacy is firmly cemented, for all of time.

John from Boston

John, I hope you're right, and that he's content with everything. I just KNOW that it must be hell if he's not. I agree with all that you said. Just thinking about what it would be like to be SP if it's like I said. I hope, for him, that it's not.

I'd climb over a mountain of glass to hear him sing the phonebook at age 75 in the key of low C. Just hope he knows that millions of fans feel this way.

Perry's been on the record many times over the years as saying he misses performing on stage, but at the same time, I'vm sure he's very aware that it's a double edged sword. The guy loves performing, that doesn't mean he enjoys touring, and given how intensely he protects his private life, I'm sure he doesn't enjoy the push of being back in the public eye. Hell, one shot of him at a baseball game on the jumbotron and we go bananas, speculating this that and the other. Can you imagine the ramp up if/when he releases something, and then tours?

It's all about tht double edge - I get the feeling that if he could just jump on a stage in a mid-size venue when he felt like it, with a couple of friends to just jam, he'd do it, but the flip-side of that is that he'd want the crowd to be fans, or at least into his music before hand, because every live performance I've seen, it's the interaction with the crowd that gets him off. To just jump into a venue, no notice, no pre-plan, then it's not likely to be 'his' crowd. But if it's fans in the audience, then suddenly he's got to do DSB and Faithfully and Open Arms and Oh Sherrie, because that's what they expect and if he doesn't, then afterwards it's 'oh, but he didn't sing blah-blah-blah'... and the speculation starts, can he still hit those notes, is there a reason why he didn't do them, etc.

And if he sets up a tour? Hell, how many people on this board have suggested he should release something now, and do a support tour soon, because of Revelation? But if he does, then the pressure's on - will his album do as well, will he book as many venues, sell as many tickets? If he takes the mid-size venues because he likes the intimacy, then it's set up as 'well, he can't sell the bigger venues any more'; if he changes the line up to sing what he wants to sing, or takes a new track with his sound, then 'maybe he can't do it anymore'. No matter how succesful his album might be, if it doesn't sell as well as Revelation, then there's going to be that idea that it failed; if he doesn't sell as many tickets as the last Journey tour, then the idea is he failed. It stops being about what he's doing musically now, and becomes all about how does it compare with what Journey's doing? And not only from us, maybe he knows it'll be there for him too, and he doesn't want it...

Personally, I don't think Perry will ever tour again. The last two times he did, he blew his voice before the end, and if nothing else, that's got to weigh heavily. But that doesn't mean he's never going to sing in public again. If the situation is right, and the timing is right, I can see him coming out and doing a few gigs here and there. A couple of one-offs around the country, maybe a 'Steve Perry and Friends' situation in Vegas, with several guest musicians that he's collaborated with over the years, maybe as a guest for a duet or two on someone else's tour. My bet? A couple of charity gigs - ESPECIALLY if a cystic fibrosis charity asked him to do one in Chicago. And I'd swim the Pacific to see it!

madsplash wrote:I'm also thinking that while he's comfortable in his place as the main voice of Journey, he's had to have heard the recent album and the success the recent tour had, and must be thinking that someone else is driving the car that he built.

Bleh, no way. He knows better. He built a shiny ass Bentley and what they're driving now is a Ford Windstar. They're doing what they're doing now because if they want to continue on (on any kind of noticible level), its what they have to do. Their solo and side projects did not take off and the money is on the Journey name. I wouldn't call it success the same way I'd call 1980-83 Journey a success. The 2008 tour did well because they had 3 big names together, and because the casuals are going for "Journey" the way they remember growing up with that music. Put them out there with a little known or unknown opener and you have a lot of empty seats. Same with the 2006 tour. Wouldn't have gone over as well without another big name sharing the bill. They got themselves a decent marketing blitz and shipped enough CDs to be gold (*I* don't count it as two). With Perry, he would be all the marketing they'd need. He knows that and they know it. I don't pretend to know what the guy is thinking, I don't know him, but if I were in his place, I'd be laughing at the fact that when I hear Journey songs on the radio, its always MY songs with MY voice that are being played.

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

madsplash wrote:I'm also thinking that while he's comfortable in his place as the main voice of Journey, he's had to have heard the recent album and the success the recent tour had, and must be thinking that someone else is driving the car that he built.

Bleh, no way. He knows better. He built a shiny ass Bentley and what they're driving now is a Ford Windstar. They're doing what they're doing now because if they want to continue on (on any kind of noticible level), its what they have to do. Their solo and side projects did not take off and the money is on the Journey name. I wouldn't call it success the same way I'd call 1980-83 Journey a success. The 2008 tour did well because they had 3 big names together, and because the casuals are going for "Journey" the way they remember growing up with that music. Put them out there with a little known or unknown opener and you have a lot of empty seats. Same with the 2006 tour. Wouldn't have gone over as well without another big name sharing the bill. They got themselves a decent marketing blitz and shipped enough CDs to be gold (*I* don't count it as two). With Perry, he would be all the marketing they'd need. He knows that and they know it. I don't pretend to know what the guy is thinking, I don't know him, but if I were in his place, I'd be laughing at the fact that when I hear Journey songs on the radio, its always MY songs with MY voice that are being played.

See the essentials thread for verification of this magnificent post!

Onestepper wrote:

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

madsplash wrote:I'm also thinking that while he's comfortable in his place as the main voice of Journey, he's had to have heard the recent album and the success the recent tour had, and must be thinking that someone else is driving the car that he built.

Bleh, no way. He knows better. He built a shiny ass Bentley and what they're driving now is a Ford Windstar. They're doing what they're doing now because if they want to continue on (on any kind of noticible level), its what they have to do. Their solo and side projects did not take off and the money is on the Journey name. I wouldn't call it success the same way I'd call 1980-83 Journey a success. The 2008 tour did well because they had 3 big names together, and because the casuals are going for "Journey" the way they remember growing up with that music. Put them out there with a little known or unknown opener and you have a lot of empty seats. Same with the 2006 tour. Wouldn't have gone over as well without another big name sharing the bill. They got themselves a decent marketing blitz and shipped enough CDs to be gold (*I* don't count it as two). With Perry, he would be all the marketing they'd need. He knows that and they know it. I don't pretend to know what the guy is thinking, I don't know him, but if I were in his place, I'd be laughing at the fact that when I hear Journey songs on the radio, its always MY songs with MY voice that are being played.

See the essentials thread for verification of this magnificent post!

If you mean this:

Onestepper wrote:

tj wrote:http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10737478

Wait! There aren't any post Perry essentials? Shocking!

...then yeah.
Not to take anything away from the follow up singers but the fact is, it just didn't happen.
If it were MY "essential" list, then Higher Place and a couple others would be on it but... it ain't my list.
People want SMFP.

Most excellent topic.

My .02:

Look, the guy can sing FOUR WORDS: "Can't let you go"....and it's PANDEMONIUM!!

If/when he comes back, my personal recommendation is the following:

1. Follow your heart; record whatever the hell YOU WANT ~ heck, you're SMFP

2. Do a video, and don't tour.

Case closed; everyone's happy. Maybe.

TRAGChick wrote:
2. Do a video, and don't tour.[/b]

Wellllll, hang on. Let's reverse those. I don't know that I'd be encouraging videos...
He might end up on a dock again, with a silly mustache and dressed up in a king's crown.
Videos: not a strong point.

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

TRAGChick wrote:
2. Do a video, and don't tour.[/b]

Wellllll, hang on. Let's reverse those. I don't know that I'd be encouraging videos...
He might end up on a dock again, with a silly mustache and dressed up in a king's crown.
Videos: not a strong point.

Yeah; you may be right.

OR....

It could be another "Strung Out" ~ y'know....with storyline, dialogue, silhouette dancing, .....um.....etc.

Gratuitous "Exhibit A":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-zZspnjLFk

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

TRAGChick wrote:
2. Do a video, and don't tour.[/b]

Wellllll, hang on. Let's reverse those. I don't know that I'd be encouraging videos...
He might end up on a dock again, with a silly mustache and dressed up in a king's crown.
Videos: not a strong point.

I always thought the refusal to do videos for ROR and the Oh Sherrie video were in protest about the stupid stuff they were made to do for those early 80s clips. Pretty sure I read an article where the guys were being interviewed while making the clip for either Seperate Ways or After The Fall, and the journo noted Perry was rather pissed with the whole concept and had to be talked around to it.

Arianddu wrote: After The Fall

Absolutely silly ass concept. ^

TRAGChick wrote:It could be another "Strung Out" ~ y'know....with storyline, dialogue, silhouette dancing, .....um.....etc.

Gratuitous "Exhibit A":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-zZspnjLFk

TRAGChick wrote:It could be another "Strung Out" ~ y'know....with storyline, dialogue, silhouette dancing, .....um.....etc.

Humid in CT?

Yet those are the silly music videos everyone remembers?

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

madsplash wrote:I'm also thinking that while he's comfortable in his place as the main voice of Journey, he's had to have heard the recent album and the success the recent tour had, and must be thinking that someone else is driving the car that he built.

Bleh, no way. He knows better. He built a shiny ass Bentley and what they're driving now is a Ford Windstar. They're doing what they're doing now because if they want to continue on (on any kind of noticible level), its what they have to do. Their solo and side projects did not take off and the money is on the Journey name. I wouldn't call it success the same way I'd call 1980-83 Journey a success. The 2008 tour did well because they had 3 big names together, and because the casuals are going for "Journey" the way they remember growing up with that music. Put them out there with a little known or unknown opener and you have a lot of empty seats. Same with the 2006 tour. Wouldn't have gone over as well without another big name sharing the bill. They got themselves a decent marketing blitz and shipped enough CDs to be gold (*I* don't count it as two). With Perry, he would be all the marketing they'd need. He knows that and they know it. I don't pretend to know what the guy is thinking, I don't know him, but if I were in his place, I'd be laughing at the fact that when I hear Journey songs on the radio, its always MY songs with MY voice that are being played.

Frist off you maybe spot on there.Now sorry as much as i love SP.He is not the king that is for Elvis.My 2 faves are Elvis & Steve Perry.

BJG that was priceless.heehee Love the way you think.

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

Onestepper wrote:

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

madsplash wrote:I'm also thinking that while he's comfortable in his place as the main voice of Journey, he's had to have heard the recent album and the success the recent tour had, and must be thinking that someone else is driving the car that he built.

Bleh, no way. He knows better. He built a shiny ass Bentley and what they're driving now is a Ford Windstar. They're doing what they're doing now because if they want to continue on (on any kind of noticible level), its what they have to do. Their solo and side projects did not take off and the money is on the Journey name. I wouldn't call it success the same way I'd call 1980-83 Journey a success. The 2008 tour did well because they had 3 big names together, and because the casuals are going for "Journey" the way they remember growing up with that music. Put them out there with a little known or unknown opener and you have a lot of empty seats. Same with the 2006 tour. Wouldn't have gone over as well without another big name sharing the bill. They got themselves a decent marketing blitz and shipped enough CDs to be gold (*I* don't count it as two). With Perry, he would be all the marketing they'd need. He knows that and they know it. I don't pretend to know what the guy is thinking, I don't know him, but if I were in his place, I'd be laughing at the fact that when I hear Journey songs on the radio, its always MY songs with MY voice that are being played.

See the essentials thread for verification of this magnificent post!

If you mean this:

Onestepper wrote:

tj wrote:http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10737478

Wait! There aren't any post Perry essentials? Shocking!

...then yeah.
Not to take anything away from the follow up singers but the fact is, it just didn't happen.
If it were MY "essential" list, then Higher Place and a couple others would be on it but... it ain't my list.
People want SMFP.

Not true. It's a Sony release and therefore a rights issue. Journey are on a completely different label now and this 'new' 3 disc set was likely devised and released after the money men got a whiff of how well the current incarnation of the band had done with sales of the 3 disc Revelation. They just wanted a piece of the pie - and Perry gets a bite too.

Journey is just fine without Perry and the tour receipts prove that. He's not missed by the masses. The last 2 memories he gave us were a high school gym tour with a band of half-ass musicians (relative to Journey) and his kamikaze mission circa 1996. Hardly classy.

Saint John wrote:Journey is just fine without Perry and the tour receipts prove that. He's not missed by the masses. The last 2 memories he gave us were a high school gym tour with a band of half-ass musicians (relative to Journey) and his kamikaze mission circa 1996. Hardly classy.

Well that is how you feel.But many of us feel SP is a class act.

bluejeangirl76 wrote:

madsplash wrote:I'm also thinking that while he's comfortable in his place as the main voice of Journey, he's had to have heard the recent album and the success the recent tour had, and must be thinking that someone else is driving the car that he built.

Bleh, no way. He knows better. He built a shiny ass Bentley and what they're driving now is a Ford Windstar.

With Perry, he would be all the marketing they'd need. He knows that and they know it. I don't pretend to know what the guy is thinking, I don't know him, but if I were in his place, I'd be laughing at the fact that when I hear Journey songs on the radio, its always MY songs with MY voice that are being played.

NICE!!!

Just remember...Perry wasn't shit pre-Journey and he isn't shit post-Journey. But he was the shit with Journey.

escapefan wrote:Yet those are the silly music videos everyone remembers?

i liked them. I just wanted to see them. they coulda stood on a the back of a pickup in an elmo costume singing "Elmo's world".

hehe

I kinda liked the part in ATF where they are around the table. kinda like regular people. i do like the concert videos better than the concept videos. I think that 'fanatical' fans could come up with better concepts though cuz we 'know' them. so maybe the concept developers didn't know them so much? that's what i have always thought anyway.

Babyblue wrote:

Saint John wrote:Journey is just fine without Perry and the tour receipts prove that. He's not missed by the masses. The last 2 memories he gave us were a high school gym tour with a band of half-ass musicians (relative to Journey) and his kamikaze mission circa 1996. Hardly classy.

Well that is how you feel.But many of us feel SP is a class act.

Never convince me he's not a class act.

Saint John wrote:Journey is just fine without Perry and the tour receipts prove that. He's not missed by the masses. The last 2 memories he gave us were a high school gym tour with a band of half-ass musicians (relative to Journey) and his kamikaze mission circa 1996. Hardly classy.

That's a ridiculous statement.

madsplash wrote:

Saint John wrote:Journey is just fine without Perry and the tour receipts prove that. He's not missed by the masses. The last 2 memories he gave us were a high school gym tour with a band of half-ass musicians (relative to Journey) and his kamikaze mission circa 1996. Hardly classy.

That's a ridiculous statement.

why?

Saint John wrote:Just remember...Perry wasn't shit pre-Journey and he isn't shit post-Journey.

Right...and this is probably a good time for you to remember that Journey "wasn't shit" pre-Perry in "isn't shit" post-Perry!


John from Boston

Enigma869 wrote:

Saint John wrote:Just remember...Perry wasn't shit pre-Journey and he isn't shit post-Journey.

Right...and this is probably a good time for you to remember that Journey "wasn't shit" pre-Perry in "isn't shit" post-Perry!

They've played to millions of fans post-Perry. If he was that important people wouldn't be satisfied without him, but that's simply not the case.