stuff

[Monker]

I just wanted to reply to this from the "apology" thread...

Ah, isn't that just adorable. Maybe your Koolaid band of worshipers buy into your phony ass dog and pony show. Nah, you are nothing more than a sociopath grifter, in addition to a backstabbing liar (listen up ladies), opportunist and a pitiful excuse for a human being. You take up way too much space on the planet! Just what the world needs, another slovenly, self obssessed, hatemonger. Oh and by the way, if you want to keep receiving payola from the Band, it might behoove you to refrain from sharing your "insider" information to anyone and everyone you come across. I'm sure your "buddy" in the Band who confided in you about the $2million Augeri received to sign the gag order and disappear into the sunset, felt you would keep that little tidbit to yourself. Obviously that person is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. You couldn't keep you mouth shut if someone poured super glue in it!!!

Welcome back "The King of The Board". You and the Stepford bunch can jerk each other off all day, everyday. Now EVERYONE is on the same toxic page with you. This isn't a forum, it's a house of horrors with you at the head of the table. If the Journeymen think you are their saving grace, maybe they all need a career change. I hear The GAP is hiring!

Oh yes, one more thing, Howard Stern sucks! The only thing that sucks more, is your pathetic imitation.

Have a lovely trip to your next hangover.

It seems this is what made the rounds to people...well, without the anti-Dean theme anyways. So, let's remove that:


$2million Augeri received to sign the gag order and disappear into the sunset


That certainly, at least to me, shows they don't HATE Augeri. I can't imagine the band giving $2,000,000 to someone they hate, just to "leave the band and disapear". In fact, it sounds reasonable to me...a little parting gift to buy his membership in the band. I wonder, did Perry get $2mill after TBF? Did he even get $2?

Then there was Fred's comments about being told the lip-synching was managements idea and Augeri just went along with it. Sorry, but I think there would be WAY too much involved for this to be some pact between Augeri and management and the rest of the band being outside of it....especialy the way it's been accused. I simply do NOT believe that it was solely up to Augeri...as the above implies. It may have been management's idea, but the entire band had to agree to it, go along with it, and even take part in orchestrating it...In my opinion anyway.

Finaly, wonder why this was considered such a secret? I mean come on, it's not like anybody is faking a hip injury or something. If the band wanted to replace him, fine...why make it such a dramatic, and what seems very traumatic for some, event?

It would have been SOOOOO much more acceptable if they had just been open about everything FROM THE START. That's what pissed off so many people during TBF...the band, including Perry, went about a YEAR without saying ANYTHING. No news about a tour, no news about Perry, no news if Journey even existed. Did Journey not learn ANYTHING from that?

Now, here we are on the edge of JSS being announced as a replacement for Augeri/Perry...at least that is what everybody is assuming. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less. Why should I? There is no open dialogue with the fans. It's all under the table rumors, assumptions, leaks, and lies. If that is the way the band respects their fans, why should I respect them?

Oh, sure JSS comes on and give us a few words now and again...But, it's not anything as substantial as above. Instead we have to wait for it to be leaked out, or for Andrew to get an interview, or wait an eternity for it to be on journeymusic.com.

Then you all mumble and grumble about this forum being boring. WHY? Why do so many people need a fearless leader to have fun? Is it so hard to do it yourself? There is NOTHING stoppping you people from posting boots, or starting threads on subjects you WANT to talk about? It just amazes me that it takes SOMEBODY ELSE to show some peole what 'fun' is. It's like, "Well, that's it. Jumbo the elephant skipped town...have to close the circus now." Is that REALLY how shallow this forum is, that the ONLY fun factor is Dean...over Journey...over JSS...over Perry...over Augeri...over Tickner...even over Robert Fleischman himself? I mean, come on people...

What are we? A bunch of retarded fish-frogs that have sex with squirels or something?

[conversationpc]

Then you all mumble and grumble about this forum being boring. WHY? Why do so many people need a fearless leader to have fun? Is it so hard to do it yourself?

No, we don't ALL mumble and grumble and it's certainly far from boring. I enjoy it quite well without the "fearless leader" of which you speak.

[fred-journeyman]

$2million Augeri received to sign the gag order and disappear into the sunset

That certainly, at least to me, shows they don't HATE Augeri. I can't imagine the band giving $2,000,000 to someone they hate, just to "leave the band and disapear". In fact, it sounds reasonable to me...a little parting gift to buy his membership in the band. I wonder, did Perry get $2mill after TBF? Did he even get $2?

You know Monker, you must be tired, because this doesn't even seem like the way you normally post...

Then there was Fred's comments about being told the lip-synching was managements idea and Augeri just went along with it. Sorry, but I think there would be WAY too much involved for this to be some pact between Augeri and management and the rest of the band being outside of it....especialy the way it's been accused. I simply do NOT believe that it was solely up to Augeri...as the above implies. It may have been management's idea, but the entire band had to agree to it, go along with it, and even take part in orchestrating it...In my opinion anyway.

All right, let's say - for grins and giggles - that Management insisted that because Augeri lost his voice - they use a tape. Management has SOME pull with the band legally, I'm assuming. They're not just there as a "Here's what I think you should do" kind of thing. With Metallica, as a for instance, THEIR management actually had not only a vote, but could break any ties that the band voted on. That's the way it is written up in their legal docs. So, let's say Journey's management decreed that they should use a tape. Who knows why? Maybe Azoff felt that Journey couldn't last through another lead singer change, since there was still an amount of acrimony regarding Perry's absence. I don't necessarily believe that it was up to Augeri. I think it started with management and filtered down and the guys essentially had to go along with it...that is until Dean got wind of it and broke it wide open. All of a sudden...out Augeri...in JSS.

Finaly, wonder why this was considered such a secret? I mean come on, it's not like anybody is faking a hip injury or something. If the band wanted to replace him, fine...why make it such a dramatic, and what seems very traumatic for some, event?

Wow, this sounds nothing like you, however I'm tired at this point, so maybe it's just me. I'm not sure it would be that easy to replace Augeri if in fact he was a partner in the band. You couple that with management's insistence that he stay (if they did insist) and you've got the making of an immovable wall...that is until lo and behold, the secret's out of the bag just like Nilli Vanilli and now the band has to do something and do it QUICK.

It would have been SOOOOO much more acceptable if they had just been open about everything FROM THE START. That's what pissed off so many people during TBF...the band, including Perry, went about a YEAR without saying ANYTHING. No news about a tour, no news about Perry, no news if Journey even existed. Did Journey not learn ANYTHING from that?

Did an alien take over your mind, Monker? I guess I'm just tired because nothing you're saying is anything that Monker/You couldn't "logic" your way through. When has the band been forthright and open about internal decisions? Why would they have to be? It's always a "politically correct" statement that is finally issued with things like this.

Now, here we are on the edge of JSS being announced as a replacement for Augeri/Perry...at least that is what everybody is assuming. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less. Why should I? There is no open dialogue with the fans. It's all under the table rumors, assumptions, leaks, and lies. If that is the way the band respects their fans, why should I respect them?

I don't think the band cares if we respect them or not. For them, it's a question of selling tickets.

Oh, sure JSS comes on and give us a few words now and again...But, it's not anything as substantial as above. Instead we have to wait for it to be leaked out, or for Andrew to get an interview, or wait an eternity for it to be on journeymusic.com.

Yep, it's weird, but altogther too common these days.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Finally, wonder why this was considered such a secret? I mean come on, it's not like anybody is faking a hip injury or something. If the band wanted to replace him, fine...why make it such a dramatic, and what seems very traumatic for some, event?

Ever meet someone soo nice that it becomes all the more challenging to say so much as a slightly disparaging word?
Neal would've loved to have made the switch sooner, the only thing I can imagine is that Augeri is soo nice of a chum that is extremely hard to look him in the eye and tell him to go take a hike.
Yeh, that's the situation in a nutshell.
Incredulous though it may sound.

It would have been SOOOOO much more acceptable if they had just been open about everything FROM THE START?

Ur 100% right, but, how do they possibly do that?
Openly admitting that the voice they personally chose to replace Steve Perry was wanning would've been career suicide.
Most casual fans already considered replacing Steve Perry an impossible feat!

It didn't help that things like VH1 BTM made Augeri seem like the second coming of Steve Perry.
Augeri's reputation increasingly pivoted around "having the voice of Steve Perry".
Once that ball got rolling there was no stopping it.

[fredinator]

Hi Monker, Dean, to me, is the missing fun factor of this board because: he posts something outrageous and gets everybody riled up, pictures start coming out of the woodwork, some mud gets slung around, gossip starts, it's great! I have used the "b" word (boring-sorry); I think I should have used the "p" word (preachy). Some of the recent posts came off to me as pretty preachy which for me is b*****. I am new and kind of shy about posting so it's always a pleasure when Dean, AR, TNC, JourneyRox, NIG, Carlitto, etc., post; I always get a little chuckle from their stuff. Do you think this forum is shallow? I usually enjoy your posts, too.

[ArnelRox]

Hi Monker, Dean, to me, is the missing fun factor of this board because: he posts something outrageous and gets everybody riled up, pictures start coming out of the woodwork, some mud gets slung around, gossip starts, it's great! I have used the "b" word (boring-sorry); I think I should have used the "p" word (preachy). Some of the recent posts came off to me as pretty preachy which for me is b*****. I am new and kind of shy about posting so it's always a pleasure when Dean, AR, TNC, JourneyRox, NIG, Carlitto, etc., post; I always get a little chuckle from their stuff. Do you think this forum is shallow? I usually enjoy your posts, too.

Thanks. I got included w/the stars of the board. Wow. Moving on up, to the top, to the penthouse apt. at MR.

For the record, apart from myself, I love all those other people's posts too. Dean will be sadly missed around here. I hope he comes back, but I think he's really done this time.

[Crazie Scarab]

Dammit, Monker, you whine alot.

[A Fire Inside]

That certainly, at least to me, shows they don't HATE Augeri.

I figured as much when he showed up in NJ and JSS wrote nice things about him here afterward.

Then there was Fred's comments about being told the lip-synching was managements idea and Augeri just went along with it. Sorry, but I think there would be WAY too much involved for this to be some pact between Augeri and management and the rest of the band being outside of it....especialy the way it's been accused. I simply do NOT believe that it was solely up to Augeri...as the above implies. It may have been management's idea, but the entire band had to agree to it, go along with it, and even take part in orchestrating it...In my opinion anyway.

Why does it being management's idea mean it was only between them and Augeri? Maybe the band voted 'yes'. It was said in another thread that management didn't think the band would survive another lead singer switch... the band majority probably agreed... that sounds plausible to me.

It would have been SOOOOO much more acceptable if they had just been open about everything FROM THE START.

Sadly that's not the way Journey works.

Ever meet someone soo nice that it becomes all the more challenging to say so much as a slightly disparaging word?
Neal would've loved to have made the switch sooner, the only thing I can imagine is that Augeri is soo nice of a chum that is extremely hard to look him in the eye and tell him to go take a hike.
Yeh, that's the situation in a nutshell.
Incredulous though it may sound.

That's so... gay. But I can believe it.

[ohsherrie]

It seems this is what made the rounds to people...well, without the anti-Dean theme anyways. So, let's remove that:


$2million Augeri received to sign the gag order and disappear into the sunset


That certainly, at least to me, shows they don't HATE Augeri. I can't imagine the band giving $2,000,000 to someone they hate, just to "leave the band and disapear". In fact, it sounds reasonable to me...a little parting gift to buy his membership in the band. I wonder, did Perry get $2mill after TBF? Did he even get $2?

It sounds perfectly reasonable to me that, if Augeri was a partner in the company rather than just an employee, he would need to be compensated in some fashion for the dissolution of the partnership. You can't really compare it with the split with Perry though. Augeri didn't own any part of the catalog that the company has been running on. Perry does and appears to still have some control over that aspect of the business. Whatever arrangements were made with either man will probably always remain company business.

Then there was Fred's comments about being told the lip-synching was managements idea and Augeri just went along with it. Sorry, but I think there would be WAY too much involved for this to be some pact between Augeri and management and the rest of the band being outside of it....especialy the way it's been accused. I simply do NOT believe that it was solely up to Augeri...as the above implies. It may have been management's idea, but the entire band had to agree to it, go along with it, and even take part in orchestrating it...In my opinion anyway.

I can also see management suggesting the use of tapes. It seems to be pretty common practice to use enhanced vocals to varying extents in live shows these days. It probably didn't seem like too much of a stretch to compare what the band was doing to what people like Britney Spears do in their stage productions. Since a lot of fans and industry perception hadn't been able to get past the break with Perry, making another change probably did seem like the bigger risk. No matter who suggested it though, I can't imagine how it could have possibly been done without the entire band knowing about it and at least accepting the idea if not actually agreeing to it.

Finaly, wonder why this was considered such a secret? I mean come on, it's not like anybody is faking a hip injury or something. If the band wanted to replace him, fine...why make it such a dramatic, and what seems very traumatic for some, event?

It would have been SOOOOO much more acceptable if they had just been open about everything FROM THE START. That's what pissed off so many people during TBF...the band, including Perry, went about a YEAR without saying ANYTHING. No news about a tour, no news about Perry, no news if Journey even existed. Did Journey not learn ANYTHING from that?

That's the part I don't understand. It seems like it would have saved a lot of trouble for everyone if they'd just explained that Augeri had lost his voice, he can't sustain a tour anymore and we're bringing in JSS. Maybe they see that now too, but it's too late to go back and change it. The way Jeff was just suddenly there with no notice to anyone leads to all kinds of speculation as to what was going on behind the scenes. Maybe Andrew's inteviews will shed some light on that. I really don't think we'll ever know the innerworkings of the business of Journey, or the interpersonal relationships involved, in this situation or the break with Perry. I'm not even sure we have any right to, even though I'd love to. Again though, you can't compare it to the split with Perry. Perry was an integral part of all that Journey is known for. Augeri was just the guy singing the songs that Perry made famous.

Now, here we are on the edge of JSS being announced as a replacement for Augeri/Perry...at least that is what everybody is assuming. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less. Why should I? There is no open dialogue with the fans. It's all under the table rumors, assumptions, leaks, and lies. If that is the way the band respects their fans, why should I respect them?

Oh, sure JSS comes on and give us a few words now and again...But, it's not anything as substantial as above. Instead we have to wait for it to be leaked out, or for Andrew to get an interview, or wait an eternity for it to be on journeymusic.com.

Maybe there are some disgruntled feelings somewhere in the mix and somebody's throwing some sort of legal wrenches in the works that prevent the disclosing of some pertinent information. Just a thought. They really can't do anything about the things that we speculate on and come up with theories about. Even if they'd come out with it from the beginning we'd probably still be on here picking apart what they said, so they just leave us to it and go about their business.

What are we? A bunch of retarded fish-frogs that have sex with squirels or something?

Nah, not most of us anyway.

[Mandi]

Very interesting points, and well thought-out posts. I am curious about one thing, however.

Does anyone have any real knowledge/information about Steve Augeri receiving a large cash settlement in return for his silence???? Is this actually true, or just more speculation????

I am asking, because strange as it may seem to some, I am truly hoping this is a fact, and not another rumour.

I would love nothing better than to know for sure that Steve has been taken care of by Journey and Journey management, for his years spent as the lead singer. I hope it is true that he received 2 million dollars, because I feel he deserves it. It would make me very happy to know that this man who has lost his voice (thru no fault of his own, ) has lost his job, his income, and the means to support his family, has lost his career, his self-esteem, and the respect of some fans, that he has been given a large cash settlement would be the best thing I have heard in a long time.

I know the "big announcement" is just around the corner, and I am anticipating the news that JSS will remain the lead singer of Journey just as much as anyone else here. JSS is amazing, and his place in Journey is all but cemented in.

But, I cannot forget that Steve Augeri stepped up to the challenge that was offered to him, by the founding band members, and he gave it his best shot. He put his life on hold, and went out to tour with Journey. He left his family behind for months at a time, and went out to live his dream. Imagine doing that and after a few years, discovering that the job you love so much, is ruining your ability to earn your living doing what you love most in the world. For a singer to lose his voice that way must be a devastating experience. He may recover in time, or he may not. Either way, his tenure with Journey is over. Its not like it was his fault, or his wish. I like to believe he intended to use tapes (with the entire bands knowledge) just until his voice healed. Unfortunately, his voice didn't heal. Singing those songs ruined his voice, and his career.
That's why I hope he was paid a handsome "severance" pay by the band. He needs to be able to support his family, pay his bills, and send his son to college, just like anyone else.

And please, if you are going to respond by saying that he could always get his job at the Gap back, do us all a favor, and don't say it. No one needs to hear any more callous, insensitive remarks about Steve Augeri. I wish him well, I wish him nothing but the best for him and his family, and I hope to G-d that he laughed all the way to the bank with that 2 million dollar check!!

Mandi

[ohsherrie]

Mandi,

I have no idea what, or if Augeri, was paid anything. I have no idea what really transpired in this change of frontmen. I was just speculating on the speculation. I, like you, think he deserves some kind of "severance" even though I wasn't ever a fan of his. He gave up a job to try and live his dream and now he can't do that, so the people that enticed him away from his "day job" surely compensated him in some manner. Whether it was a $2 million dollar payoff is just something that's being tossed around on a messageboard.

[ArnelRox]

But, I cannot forget that Steve Augeri stepped up to the challenge that was offered to him, by the founding band members, and he gave it his best shot. He put his life on hold, and went out to tour with Journey. He left his family behind for months at a time, and went out to live his dream. Imagine doing that and after a few years, discovering that the job you love so much, is ruining your ability to earn your living doing what you love most in the world. For a singer to lose his voice that way must be a devastating experience.

Very well said Mandi. As u know, I'm not an Augeri fan. I have reacted emotionally to bad boots of his I know. But that's just my reaction to hearing those songs sung in a way that's not appealing to me. But ur right. Even tho I wasn't a fan, the band made the decision to bring him on & they believed in him.. He gave up a career & went w/what the band believed in. He was with them for a long time. 8 yrs is no joke. Whether he sang or exited the band the way I would have liked or not, he still deserves compensation for his efforts. He still should be able to take care of his family who he obviously loves very much. At one point, he had a good voice. Presumably he no longer does. That must be very devastating since that's what he always wanted to do w/his life, sing. I do wish him well in whatever he decides to do in the future.

(Log, leave it alone. I'm being sincere.)

[yulog]

Now that was---CLASSY------good on you JR