First post......Tribute band Opinion

[replicaguitar]

Hello everyone........I have been visiting MR for about 5 years now, it seems that this site is just as addictive as coffee, cigarettes and gambling. I can't start my day without knowing wtf is going on in the music world that I have an interest in. I used to visit BT quite a bit and posted there a few times, but never really dug the vibe there. You people seem a bit more real, and MUCH more interesting.

I am 40 years old, and since the age of 12 have been getting paid to play guitar professionally. It is all I "really" know how to do. Sure, I have a regular job as a flooring store owner, but that is not my real passion....hell it hardly pays the bills. In the 28 years that I have been gigging, and in the 80's it was full time, on the road, I have learned that JOURNEY's music is really some of the hardest music to reproduce live. Vocally they have a signature sound, their harmonies require everyone in the band be able to sing, and sing well because the parts are not easy to hear when picked apart, but sound great all together, oh and btw while you are singing you also have to be playing the songs as close to the original studio version as possible. Oh yeah, did we forget to mention that SP wasn't the only talent in the band. Neal Schon is almost impossible to sound like, his licks are his signature and soooooo lightning fast a mere mortal can only hope to get close. He has an awesome sense of melody and phrasing so the slower melodic passages are easy enough, but you have to be able to put the "feeling" into evey note the way he does. Then he hooks all of the great melodic stuff together with these blazing fast bluesy riffs that make no-sense when you're trying to figure them out. Steve Smith, Gregg Rollie, Jonathan Cain and BTW Ross Valory is a smoking bass player, these guys are not slouches. So to me, any cover band that is willing to give a Journey tune a try, God Bless, cause it is a challenge.

I guess the reason i felt the need to post is all of the stuff flying around about tribute band singers. First of all, I play in a JOURNEY tribute band based in GREEN BAY, WI called SEPARATE WAYS. We don't get the attention of other tribute bands because we are not playing in a major market, and that is just fine. It is important to understand that ANYONE who decides to play in a tribute band does it because they love the music. That is what it is all about. Any singer who has the balls to try to cover SP in his prime has my respect. Jeremy H, Hugo, Juan, Dan G(the east coast SW) all do a great job! Of the 4, they all have strengths and weaknesses, as does my singer. I honestly don't believe that any of these guys is going to be the next singer of Journey.

The point here is that for all of the singers that everyone here on this forum are talking about, there are hundreds of others who you've never heard of that may be the next coming. Remember the guys in JOURNEY know a lot of people, and while the Tribute band singer do a great job, to get on the big deck takes more than just a great voice. It takes a "swagger", a confidence....JSS had that plus the voice. Singing in front of 1500 people at the state fair or 500 at the HOB is not the same as fronting one of the greatest rock bands of all time. If they were willing to let JSS go, then I believe they have something up their sleeve! Believe me, I love my singer, he has a powerful voice, very clean in the upper register with excellent vibrato. He can sing the early perry without the rasp that so many other singer exhibit. However when he needs the rasp, he doesn't have it. He also doesn't have the Perry phrasing that is trademark. I wouldn't trade him for anyone because in the 17 years I have been playing with this guy, he has had maybe 7 bad nights. With all that said, I don't think, regardless of how good a singer he is, and all the years we've been performing, that it would be a wise decision for any band of Journey's stature to put an in-experienced front-man in the band. In-experienced at Journeys level / stature. Would i like to see a "cinderella" story? Sure! But it's not gonna happen. Journey doesn't have the time to train someone on how to front them. He has to be a natural, again JSS was this........so whats the deal?

Anyway I hope i haven't oversteped the bounds of a first post, but i wanted to get my feet wet.

BTW if you're interested, you can check out WISCONSIN'S Journey Tribute Band - SEPARATE WAYS here;

www.myspace.com/separatewayslive

4 live audio tracks in the player and 2 live videos

Thanks for the years of entertainment.......with more to come

[ohsherrie]

Journey doesn't have the time to train someone on how to front them. He has to be a natural, again JSS was this........so whats the deal?

Anyway I hope i haven't oversteped the bounds of a first post, but i wanted to get my feet wet.

I don't think you overstepped your bounds at all. Your insight is interesting.

Yes, Jeff is a natural and a fabulous singer and showman. Many of us were very disappointed, if not angered, by the way things turned out.

However, Jeremey is also a natural. Maybe people have to see one of his shows live to really get that.

[replicaguitar]

However, Jeremey is also a natural. Maybe people have to see one of his shows live to really get that.

I do agree that Jeremey is an awesome singer and frontman in FRONTIERS. But over the years i've been lucky enough to have been on the big stage, as i'm sure Jeremy has also, and there is no comparison what-so-ever to being in a club or festival/fair event. I'm not saying he couldn't do it, and of all of the singers mentions here, he would probably be my choice....i just don't think it's gonna go that way. I do however think it is awesome that Jeremy has soooo many supporters here....that is why we do it!

[stevew2]

Your band sounds good,I hear his strong points and weak points. it takes balls to even try to get up there and try to hit them high notes.Good guitar playing.Jeremey could step in tomorrow and sing for Journey.I ve seen Frontiers three times,and have know doubt he can do it

[replicaguitar]

Your band sounds good,I hear his strong points and weak points. it takes balls to even try to get up there and try to hit them high notes.Good guitar playing.Jeremey could step in tomorrow and sing for Journey.I ve seen Frontiers three times,and have know doubt he can do it

Thanks for the compliments......I want to make it clear that I have no doubt that Jeremey, Hugo, Juan, Dan G or my singer Paul could get on stage and "sing" with Journey....they all have the chops for that. And Jeremey has posted enough video's on YouTube for me to see that he can perform. There is one video in particular of "Why can't this night go on Forever" that is just awesome. I just think there is more to it than being able to sing, or perform! The expectations that fans have puts an extreme amount of pressure on someone. All of that stress BTW can cause vocal issues. So to think that Just because a guy has a lot of talent, which they ALL DO, can front JOURNEY is expecting alot. The singer is put out on an island, especially w/Journey....no-one else in the band has the personality to be a "front" person. SO who-ever it ends up being is not going to get a lot of help in that area. Perry was a Great entertainer......very comfortable in front of the band as its spokesman. Steve A. on the other hand while a good singer, was not much of a front person. Saw them 3 times and the music was always great, but sort of lagged in between. Now i know that some of the females found him attractive so that's a plus, but for me, just not enough energy. I saw JSS once with Journey. He was awesome! THe energy he brought to the stage was spectacular. He made everyone else have to raise their own game. Maybe they weren't up to the long-term challenge of that! Again no disrespect to anyone.....but these are HUGE shoes to fill.....because the comparisons are still being made to Perry....not Augeri or Soto!

Thanks again for listening......i feel sorry for whomever they choose! It's gonna be a bumpy ride.