Wall Street Journal article

[frfksakes]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1199294 ... lenews_wsj


Twist
A Tribute Band Singer
Takes a Net Shortcut
In Journey to Stardom
By RAYMUND FLANDEZ
January 24, 2008 6:33 p.m.

Check any karaoke bar's list of offerings and you'll find a healthy selection of songs by Journey -- '80s-radio stalwarts such as "Don't Stop Believin'," "Faithfully" and "Open Arms" might have been written with future generations of karaoke belters in mind.

So maybe it was destiny that Journey, which has sold more than 43 million records in the U.S. alone, didn't find its new lead singer through a rigorous audition process. Instead, the band found him via YouTube.

Guitarist Neal Schon saw clips of Arnel Pineda, a 40-year-old Filipino who leads a Journey tribute band called the Zoo, in which Mr. Pineda nailed the band's signature songs, inviting comparisons to former lead singer Steve Perry's inimitable vocals.

"I've been digging the idea behind YouTube," writes Mr. Schon in an email. "There's so much live footage, which does not lie."


Here's Journey on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005. Steve Perry is third from left, Robert Fleischman is three down from him, and Steve Augeri is third from right.
A live clip, Mr. Schon says, gives "a real sense of the artist's talent as opposed to a demo that might have been doctored up. … And in Arnel's case, he sounds amazing."

Journey, which began in San Francisco in 1973, was thrust back into the spotlight last summer, when "Don't Stop Believin'" closed the finale of "The Sopranos." But in recent years Journey has whirled through a revolving door of lead singers: Mr. Pineda takes over for Jeff Scott Soto, who left in 2007. And if you're keeping score, Mr. Pineda will be Journey's sixth singer. Mr. Soto took over from Steve Augeri, who left for medical reasons after replacing Mr. Perry in 2006. Mr. Perry took the vocal reins in 1977 from Robert Fleischman, who'd shared lead vocals with Gregg Rolie, Journey's keyboardist and original lead singer.


Arnel Pineda with a photo of his new bandmates.
One afternoon last August, Mr. Schon was taking a break from writing music when he wondered if the Web might help with Journey's search for a new singer. That led him to YouTube, and to Mr. Pineda.

"When I first saw Arnel's videos on YouTube, I thought he sounded too good to be true," Mr. Schon says, adding that "I even had to walk away from the computer for a few hours, then go back to hear him again."

But Mr. Pineda ignored Mr. Schon's email via YouTube -- he thought it was a hoax. He was eventually persuaded by the friend who'd posted the YouTube videos to connect with the guitarist.

Journey decided to fly Mr. Pineda in to audition; he performed for three days in three- to four-hour rehearsals with the band, and won them over. "He just kept getting stronger each day," Mr. Schon says.

HEARIN' IS BELIEVIN' (links in original article)


Listen (and watch) Ariel Pineda get his best Steve Perry on with the Zoo:
• Don't Stop Believin'
• Faithfully
• Open Arms
• OK, so his Robert Plant isn't quite as good:
• Black Dog
• Not a bad Sting, though:
• Roxanne"It was hard to imagine that after dreaming about this for over 20 years, I was actually having the chance to sing and play with the band I've loved and respected since I was a child," Mr. Pineda says.

As for Mr. Schon, he's bullish about YouTube as talent sieve.

"I think the days are over of major record companies flying around A&R guys to major cities to listen and find new talent," he says. "Wouldn't you think it's a plus to find what you want for your band, as opposed to 'someone else's opinion' of who would sound and be right for you?"

Journey and its new frontman are working on an album to be released later this year. Still, it remains to be seen whether Mr. Pineda will prove a long-term success, or just another name on the band's lengthy roster of singers. Fan-to-rock-star stories don't always last: In 1996, British heavy metallers Judas Priest hired Ohio-born Tom "Ripper" Owens, a veteran of the tribute band British Steel. Mr. Owens' story inspired the 2001 movie "Rock Star," starring Mark Wahlberg, but his spot has been reclaimed by original singer Rob Halford. And another Journey tributeer has a rather different story -- one of a YouTube fairy tale that ended in rags.

As with Judas Priest, Journey will have to wait and see whether their new lead singer is embraced by its die-hard fans. But whether or not Mr. Pineda succeeds, serious karaoke singers should work on their chops: In the YouTube era, the distance between a band and its dedicated fans can be bridged by a mere mouse click. Love a band with a vacancy and think you've got the pipes or the guitar licks? As Mr. Pineda's journey shows, don't stop believin'.

Write to Raymund Flandez at raymund.flandez@wsj.com.

[perryfaithful]

Imagine, Neal says live footage does not lie????

Brother..........

[lights1961]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119929495499862495.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


Twist
A Tribute Band Singer
Takes a Net Shortcut
In Journey to Stardom
By RAYMUND FLANDEZ
January 24, 2008 6:33 p.m.

Check any karaoke bar's list of offerings and you'll find a healthy selection of songs by Journey -- '80s-radio stalwarts such as "Don't Stop Believin'," "Faithfully" and "Open Arms" might have been written with future generations of karaoke belters in mind.

So maybe it was destiny that Journey, which has sold more than 43 million records in the U.S. alone, didn't find its new lead singer through a rigorous audition process. Instead, the band found him via YouTube.

Guitarist Neal Schon saw clips of Arnel Pineda, a 40-year-old Filipino who leads a Journey tribute band called the Zoo, in which Mr. Pineda nailed the band's signature songs, inviting comparisons to former lead singer Steve Perry's inimitable vocals.

"I've been digging the idea behind YouTube," writes Mr. Schon in an email. "There's so much live footage, which does not lie."


Here's Journey on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005. Steve Perry is third from left, Robert Fleischman is three down from him, and Steve Augeri is third from right.
A live clip, Mr. Schon says, gives "a real sense of the artist's talent as opposed to a demo that might have been doctored up. … And in Arnel's case, he sounds amazing."

Journey, which began in San Francisco in 1973, was thrust back into the spotlight last summer, when "Don't Stop Believin'" closed the finale of "The Sopranos." But in recent years Journey has whirled through a revolving door of lead singers: Mr. Pineda takes over for Jeff Scott Soto, who left in 2007. And if you're keeping score, Mr. Pineda will be Journey's sixth singer. Mr. Soto took over from Steve Augeri, who left for medical reasons after replacing Mr. Perry in 2006. Mr. Perry took the vocal reins in 1977 from Robert Fleischman, who'd shared lead vocals with Gregg Rolie, Journey's keyboardist and original lead singer.


Arnel Pineda with a photo of his new bandmates.
One afternoon last August, Mr. Schon was taking a break from writing music when he wondered if the Web might help with Journey's search for a new singer. That led him to YouTube, and to Mr. Pineda.

"When I first saw Arnel's videos on YouTube, I thought he sounded too good to be true," Mr. Schon says, adding that "I even had to walk away from the computer for a few hours, then go back to hear him again."

But Mr. Pineda ignored Mr. Schon's email via YouTube -- he thought it was a hoax. He was eventually persuaded by the friend who'd posted the YouTube videos to connect with the guitarist.

Journey decided to fly Mr. Pineda in to audition; he performed for three days in three- to four-hour rehearsals with the band, and won them over. "He just kept getting stronger each day," Mr. Schon says.

HEARIN' IS BELIEVIN' (links in original article)


Listen (and watch) Ariel Pineda get his best Steve Perry on with the Zoo:
• Don't Stop Believin'
• Faithfully
• Open Arms
• OK, so his Robert Plant isn't quite as good:
• Black Dog
• Not a bad Sting, though:
• Roxanne"It was hard to imagine that after dreaming about this for over 20 years, I was actually having the chance to sing and play with the band I've loved and respected since I was a child," Mr. Pineda says.

As for Mr. Schon, he's bullish about YouTube as talent sieve.

"I think the days are over of major record companies flying around A&R guys to major cities to listen and find new talent," he says. "Wouldn't you think it's a plus to find what you want for your band, as opposed to 'someone else's opinion' of who would sound and be right for you?"

Journey and its new frontman are working on an album to be released later this year. Still, it remains to be seen whether Mr. Pineda will prove a long-term success, or just another name on the band's lengthy roster of singers. Fan-to-rock-star stories don't always last: In 1996, British heavy metallers Judas Priest hired Ohio-born Tom "Ripper" Owens, a veteran of the tribute band British Steel. Mr. Owens' story inspired the 2001 movie "Rock Star," starring Mark Wahlberg, but his spot has been reclaimed by original singer Rob Halford. And another Journey tributeer has a rather different story -- one of a YouTube fairy tale that ended in rags.

As with Judas Priest, Journey will have to wait and see whether their new lead singer is embraced by its die-hard fans. But whether or not Mr. Pineda succeeds, serious karaoke singers should work on their chops: In the YouTube era, the distance between a band and its dedicated fans can be bridged by a mere mouse click. Love a band with a vacancy and think you've got the pipes or the guitar licks? As Mr. Pineda's journey shows, don't stop believin'.

Write to Raymund Flandez at raymund.flandez@wsj.com.

WSJ article.. great read. Waiting to see what it will sound like---i want to not care...but then i want too...

Rick