A few thoughts

[tj]

1) Augeri - 2 of the 3 remaining key members of one of the great bands ever call you and ask you to join their band as the singer. What do you do, say - a)"I'm sorry I can't. I don't think I can do the songs justice and the fans who write on message boards will savage me and the band for not doing them justice." or b) "Thank you for the opportunity of a lifetime. I will try my best to uphold the legacy of the music and band." and then give it your best shot.

Augeri was in a tough spot from day 1. Almost all of us would answer B, give it our best shot, and realize that we will never please everyone. He wasn’t Perry, but it’s not like he sang like Jethrine Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies either. Anyone who says they would answer A probably doesn't want to admit that I am right.

2) Perry - If you worked in a job for years, finally made enough money to retire and do what you want, would you go back to the daily grind with people you don't especially care for, just to please your customers?

Most of us wouldn't. We would say, it was great while it lasted, we made a great product - look at how it has stood the test of time - but I want to do other things with my life.

Much of the "voice" that Perry provided came from the emotion that came with it. If he is doing it out of a sense of duty or just for the money, it will come across in the performance. I think that he knows his heart isn’t in it and won’t give less than what the fans expect.

3)Soto – He saved their butts during the tour, perhaps it should have ended there. The rest seems to have been handled quite poorly, at minimum from a PR perspective.

I haven't heard much of his stuff, so I haven't developed the same level of perspective (good or bad) for his style as many here have. But if he is as good as many here say - I don't doubt that - I think he will be fine. Still seems a crappy way to be treated.

4) The band most likely will continue with yet another singer. Many won’t pay to see them or buy any new recordings. Some will. Follow them if you want, ignore them if you want. Either way, the music still stands.

[Memorex]

Here's my take. I think a lot of people will still see them, but there will be no buzz created as there was with the others. And honestly, the ones who it will bug the most besides us die hards is Neal and Jon. They will find themselves in some summer show doing Open Arms for the 3 millionth time and know that they sold out.

I'd rather have 50 fans that appreciate my attept at new, viable music than 3000 fans that would rather hear something I did 25 years ago so they can close their eyes and remember their prom. Now, if that's the route they want to go, fine - lots of bands do. But these guys are supposed to be better musicians than that.

The keyboardist for Marillion makes about $60,000 a year. I read that in an article about his wife who makes twice as much. I assure you he is far more content with what he has done musically in the past 10 years than Jon or Neal.

I don't think anyone can question any longer that the decisions these guys made have been for the money. And maybe Escape was written the way it was done for the money. But at least it was done with integrity. Neal and Jon (and the others) have to live with that. I honestly don't think they are happy with it, money or not. They just don't currently have the integrity to make the right decisions.

As far as me, from a fan perspective, I am not yet at a point in my life where I enjoy bands that have given up or given in. I love Hall & Oates, Styx, Marillion, Kenny Loggins, etc. All of them are 80's artists and I listen to all the old stuff and remember when, but they also put out great new stuff every few years. Progressive stuff. And they have not given in. For me, and I know this is opinion, Arrival and Generations don't even come close to what they can d if they decided to really do something viable.

And of course I think that the way they treated Jeff when they were "finished" with him speaks for itself.

If they were never intending on continuing, or they were concerned with someone that sounded more like Steve Perry, than they should have taken a couple weeks off the DL tour and found that person. Why bring in Jeff to save the day, talk him up, hire him, etc when they knew he sounded different? And even if it came down to letting him go, they could have handled it much better in this day and age of Deano and the internet.

We all have our own art in life - our work, our hobbies, etc. I hope that after we have all topped what we do, we don't settle for just doing the same thing over and over. I'd rather be Prince than Journey, at this point.