Who Had Better Chemistry Rolie/Perry Or Rolie/Chalfant?

[Final Frontiers]

I was listening to the live concert boot of a 1978 Journey concert- and was struck by the chemistry between Gregg Rolie and Steve Perry. For all the claims that they didn't get along- it never showed onstage. Steve Perry added lyrics to older Journey songs, they adlibbed on their duets, and rocked the mike.

What did Chalfant/Rolie ever do that was comprable? Unfortunately, there's not much live material to listen to. Does anybody have any concert boots of The Storm? There seem to be only 2 videos of Chalfant singing with The Gregg Rolie Band on You Tube. So I could use some testimonials.

Lots of people here seem to want Chalfant with Journey, but does anyone want him to join The Gregg Rolie Band? Yes, I know they play mostly latin music, but they could branch out to soft rock.

[FamilyMan]

The obsession with Chalfant around here must stop.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Gregg has had Kevin come out to cover the Perry vocal parts during his solo sets. It's hard to say who Gregg had better chemistry with. The Rolie-Perry era produced ALOT of good tunes, but some of that may have been Schon's input. One thing is for certain, if Herbie is to be believed, Gregg left Journey, in part, because of Perry. So that doesn't speak well of them getting along. But two artists can hate each other and still make magic. I will just say that I think both Storm albums are pretty special and I always viewed Kev & Gregg as a team. Nobody was hogging the spotlight.

[Memorex]

The obsession with Chalfant around here must stop.

Agreed.

[scarab]

Song writing chemistry? There were only two few Rolie/Perry written songs

Im Cryin' and Do you Recall
You could add Opened the door and Little Girl to that list but it was also written with Schon.

[annie89509]

Gregg has had Kevin come out to cover the Perry vocal parts during his solo sets. It's hard to say who Gregg had better chemistry with. The Rolie-Perry era produced ALOT of good tunes, but some of that may have been Schon's input. One thing is for certain, if Herbie is to be believed, Gregg left Journey, in part, because of Perry. So that doesn't speak well of them getting along. But two artists can hate each other and still make magic. I will just say that I think both Storm albums are pretty special and I always viewed Kev & Gregg as a team. Nobody was hogging the spotlight.

I've read lots and lots of stuff from/about Journey that's ever been recorded/documented... and have a pretty good memory...don't remember Herbie came right out and said that. On BTM, Herbie specifically said Gregg left to start a family ...Gregg has said he was tired of the road (not because of anyone) ... everything ever out of band's mouths regarding GR's departure have been the same thing.

Yes, of course, much speculation has been made (mainly by the fans) that GR left because of SP ... just like messageboard chatter that it was SP that wanted AD fired after Infinity. Never had any of this substantiated by anyone associated with the band (as far as I know).

[annie89509]

Song writing chemistry? There were only two few Rolie/Perry written songs

Im Cryin' and Do you Recall
You could add Opened the door and Little Girl to that list but it was also written with Schon.

I think we should include Feelin That Way. During Infinity, Gregg said in an interview that he had this song with music written, but not complete ...needed better lyrics. He and Steve worked on it in his basement...Steve added melodies and new lyrics, and it became FTW.

I just checked the cd jacket...FTW has writing credit of SP (1st), GR, and AD.

[slucero]

From the Castles Burning interview, read it all the way through... Herbie put's Rolie's reasoning in some context:

M: OK, so, lets move on to Gregg. He left because he was tired of the road. Would you say that’s correct?

H: I’d say the truth is that he left because he saw, in 1980, when they recorded the Captured record, he said, ‘Man, this guy, Steve Perry, he’s out of control. He’s gonna fix this whether it’s broke or not. And, I’ve been doing this forever. I’ve got more money than l’ll ever need, after the successes we’ve had.


(EDIT: I omitted a part here that was not relevant)

So, all that jumping from the Gregg Rolie thing. He wanted to bail, and he picked Jon Cain. I went through all the personal (things). I said 'Wow, this is big shoes to fill, will this guy be able to do it?' I had met with Jon Cain several times. He didn't want to bail on John Waite. Waite had just broken his leg, (and) had decided the Babys had been a long-term situation that hadn't panned out. I said, 'Jon, if you don't feel comfortable, then say no. But if you do, and you're gonna go forward and you're gonna tell John Waite that you want to leave him and join Journey, fine. You'll be very close to a full member - very very close. We'll just give a little override back to Gregg on Escape and Frontiers, and then you're a full member.' He was a full member in terms of live appearances and everything else from the get, and we really did want to exploit his songwriting.

He had finally agreed, and we go through all of the machinations. (I've) got the band at their rehearsal facility in east Oakland, and I'm picking up Jon at the Oakland airport. I had my 928 Porsche at the time, my 1980 928, and I popped the hatch in the back, and I put his keyboard in. The doors aren't even closed - I haven't closed my driver door, he hasn't closed the passenger door - he hands me a tape, and says 'this is a tape of my wife, Tané. Now, here's the deal - you manage her, you get her a label deal, you make her career happen, or take my keyboard out of the back, I'm out, I'm going right back to LA, no Journey.'

M: Oh man.

H: I go, 'Hey we had an agreement, and you had committed to me. And you're touching upon the single biggest problem I have with all people who pick up an instrument and decide that they're entertainers and performers and players. It's at the expense of any sense of commitment. And you were committed on other terms and conditions, and you want to change the deal right now. And that is jive.' And he said, 'Well, than call me jive. Do I get out of the car, or do I stay in?' And, so I said, 'Well, I will get her a label deal. I'm sure it won't be because she deserves it.' And he said, 'Let's listen to the tape.' and I said, 'No, let's not. Just shut the door.' And so, I gotta tell you, in no uncertain terms, I knew what Jon Cain was like day one. Day fucking one.

Anyway, Jon Cain's come-uppance came very quick. We go, we write that Escape record. We record the thing (and) it's magnificent. I sequence it, entitle it, and package it, as I always would. We're ready to hit a home run. We had this big party at Fantasy records in Berkeley, with all the press, media and radio there to hear this new masterpiece. Something goes wrong, and Perry's in there with Jon Cain, and somebody suggests 'Wow, this is so great, Jon Cain sure did bring a lot as a songwriter!' And he did! You said it yourself. You know, I agree. Whether I like these people as individuals doesn't have anything to do with my total respect for Perry's talent, for Jon's talent, for all of their talents. But, boy - Perry bristled so much at the notion that Jon Cain had contributed much of anything to that, that he just proceeded to dismiss and diminish Jon Cain's contributions and involvement to the point where Jon Cain had to leave the room and was out in the parking lot, I mean bawling like a fucking baby. Bawling like a baby. So I went out in the parking lot, and I said, 'Now you see what happens when you run into even a bigger asshole than yourself? This is what it feels like. Now if you think that you can go tit for tat with that prick, and be as much more a bigger prick than he is, I got news for you. You have met your fucking match. You know why? Cause everybody sees you coming, Jon Cain. You advertise what a prick you're going to be. Perry - he's got the bulk of the world fooled. And he had you fooled until tonight.'
That was it. That was the beginning of the realization for Jon Cain. I betcha right then and there he said 'I wonder a little bit less why Gregg Rolie walked away from such and incredible enterprise, at such an incredible point in their history.' It was just a no-brainer. Stadium act. How do you walk away? I'll tell you how you walk away. If you were drowning in the ocean, and Steve Perry came along in his luxury liner, he would offer you a life raft in such a manner that you would decline it. I'm not just talking about you; I'm talking about anybody. The terms and conditions would be such that you would pass.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Thanks, Sluc. You saved me a cut and paste.

[Final Frontiers]

Rock Cellar Magazine: After Infinity, your role as writer/lead singer was lessened considerably, how did you reconcile that? Is that what led you to ultimately leave the band?

Gregg Rolie: I always wanted to sing a song or two, a couple would have been nice but then it got less and less. I don’t think Perry liked me singing. It was never discussed but I really think that’s what was happening. But he was the lead singer. My point about all of that is the Beatles did great with four singers. Why not? I liked when we sang and traded off of each other. I would have loved to have done more, but you get tired of hearing one voice. I know that I do. So hearing someone else sing adds another flavor and makes it more interesting. That didn’t have anything to do with my leaving the band; it was more personal than anything. I built two bands, I’d been on the road for all my life up until then and I was done. I wanted to start a family and didn’t want to do it from the road. And that was it. I’d really had it. I’m glad I did it and making that family is my best work so far. I have a great family; I have two wonderful kids and a beautiful wife and couldn’t be happier about it.


That was my choice and I had to leave. I ended up drinking too much and was just unhappy. I didn’t like where I was going in my life so I blew it off and had to go. I think the hardest part about it was I really did help build all of that. That gypsy life is wonderful when you’re the gypsy and when that’s’ over with and you’re tired of living out of a suit case, it’s like anybody else who gets bored with it. It doesn’t matter how exciting it is, it’s not as much fun as it used to be. You’re older and you want to do something else with your life. It was time to go.





- See more at:


http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/ ... fi5Hu.dpuf

Now these are Gregg's own words and there are interviews where he says "Nobody got along with Steve", but it's been more than 30 years if he wanted to blast Steve Perry he could. I just don't think he's kind of guy to air his dirty laundry. Classy, is the word people used to use to describe that kind of behavior . I suppose it's more fun to speculate that everyone in Journey hated each other except when they were onstage.

I actually respect Gregg Rolie so much for making his family a priority and wanting to be there for them and caring about being a good father . That makes him seem like a really great guy to me.

What terrible things does Herbie Herbert have to say about him

I don't blame Jonathan Cain for looking out for his wife and his own best interests. This is show business, not show art and everyone's out for themselves. Everybody's a shark. As the saying goes, "Do unto to others, before the dude does it to you" .

[Memorex]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.

[Yoda]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.

Interesting comment!

One thing is for sure - Journey certainly had a lot of egos in its history! I guess that's why people feel it's such a breath of fresh air to have guys like Augeri and Pineda in the band.

[Gina3008]

After all is said and done, Journey was no different than other bands with their squabbles, jealousies etc. And, after watching documentaries about The Eagles, Deep Purple, Foreigner, Styx etc., Journey really seemed to get along better than some. It was just too bad that Journey couldn’t get past their issues to regroup like others have done. THAT would certainly make my day. Each Journey singer from Rolie on contributed much to the band’s success at their point of time with the band. Some just not as much as Perry but each still contributed, even Chalfant slightly, but Rolie’s contribution was greater, IMO, than ANY other singer that followed Perry. Still, I am definitely glad that these singers were there to carry on and keep Journey in the limelight.

[tater1977]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.

Only saw one time that SA joined Cain on the piano. SA ran across the stage & tried to hop
up on the piano, but got stuck by either his leather pants or open shirt...
Guess the friction stopped him short of ending up beside Cain to play....
Never seen AP share it with Cain either....

[tater1977]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.

I don't know if you would call it sharing per say... but SP sometimes would do
"key" duty when GR went out front and played his harmonica.

[Rick]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.

I don't know if you would call it sharing per say... but SP sometimes would do
"key" duty when GR went out front and played his harmonica.

He did that with Cain as well. It's in the Escape concert video.

[tater1977]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.

I don't know if you would call it sharing per say... but SP sometimes would do
"key" duty when GR went out front and played his harmonica.

He did that with Cain as well. It's in the Escape concert video.

GR wasn't on the Escapee tour...

[Rick]

]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.


I don't know if you would call it sharing per say... but SP sometimes would do
"key" duty when GR went out front and played his harmonica.

He did that with Cain as well. It's in the Escape concert video.

GR wasn't on the Escapee tour...

A most correct observation, Tater. But here he is, doing just that, when Cain was in the band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... 7Br4#t=153

[tater1977]

]

GR wasn't on the Escapee tour...

A most correct observation, Tater. But here he is, doing just that, when Cain was in the band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... 7Br4#t=153

He did that with Cain as well. It's in the Escape concert video.

Thank You most hon. Rick..
Every once in a while I remember to retain 'stuff'' ..
Saw them several times on tour back then.

[slucero]

I'd say its a pretty fair bet that for Gregg this is all ancient history... he made a bunch of money and "escaped" the drama... and did it for the right reasons..

He got out while the getting out was good..

[Final Frontiers]

From the Castles Burning interview, read it all the way through... Herbie put's Rolie's reasoning in some context:

(EDIT: I omitted a part here that was not relevant)

So, all that jumping from the Gregg Rolie thing. He wanted to bail, and he picked Jon Cain. I went through all the personal (things). I said 'Wow, this is big shoes to fill, will this guy be able to do it?' I had met with Jon Cain several times. He didn't want to bail on John Waite. Waite had just broken his leg, (and) had decided the Babys had been a long-term situation that hadn't panned out. I said, 'Jon, if you don't feel comfortable, then say no. But if you do, and you're gonna go forward and you're gonna tell John Waite that you want to leave him and join Journey, fine. You'll be very close to a full member - very very close. We'll just give a little override back to Gregg on Escape and Frontiers, and then you're a full member.' He was a full member in terms of live appearances and everything else from the get, and we really did want to exploit his songwriting.

Anyway, Jon Cain's come-uppance came very quick. We go, we write that Escape record. We record the thing (and) it's magnificent. I sequence it, entitle it, and package it, as I always would. We're ready to hit a home run. We had this big party at Fantasy records in Berkeley, with all the press, media and radio there to hear this new masterpiece. Something goes wrong, and Perry's in there with Jon Cain, and somebody suggests 'Wow, this is so great, Jon Cain sure did bring a lot as a songwriter!' And he did! You said it yourself. You know, I agree. Whether I like these people as individuals doesn't have anything to do with my total respect for Perry's talent, for Jon's talent, for all of their talents. But, boy - Perry bristled so much at the notion that Jon Cain had contributed much of anything to that, that he just proceeded to dismiss and diminish Jon Cain's contributions and involvement to the point where Jon Cain had to leave the room and was out in the parking lot, I mean bawling like a fucking baby. Bawling like a baby. So I went out in the parking lot, and I said, 'Now you see what happens when you run into even a bigger asshole than yourself? This is what it feels like. Now if you think that you can go tit for tat with that prick, and be as much more a bigger prick than he is, I got news for you. You have met your fucking match. You know why? Cause everybody sees you coming, Jon Cain. You advertise what a prick you're going to be. Perry - he's got the bulk of the world fooled. And he had you fooled until tonight.'
That was it. That was the beginning of the realization for Jon Cain. I betcha right then and there he said 'I wonder a little bit less why Gregg Rolie walked away from such and incredible enterprise, at such an incredible point in their history.' It was just a no-brainer. Stadium act. How do you walk away? I'll tell you how you walk away. If you were drowning in the ocean, and Steve Perry came along in his luxury liner, he would offer you a life raft in such a manner that you would decline it. I'm not just talking about you; I'm talking about anybody. The terms and conditions would be such that you would pass.

What's an "override"? Does that mean Gregg got paid for Escape and Frontiers even though he didn't work on them? Cause people complain that Steve Perry got paid for 10 years after he officially left the band- yet the precedent was already set with Rolie. What's good for the goose really is good for the gander .

And all that stuff about making Jon Cain cry, well, that was probably revenge for all the shenanigans that went on with "Open Arms" . Yeesh, I expect guys to bust each other's chops every once and awhile.

[annie89509]

Thanks, Sluc. You saved me a cut and paste.

Stand corrected... I did forget something. The CB interview I read once, never wanted to revisit again, for obvious reasons. I did watch the BTM dvd quite a few times over...and Herbie had a different take on GR's departure on that show. Also, Gregg did just state in a recent interview article posted here that he left because of being tired on the road and not because of one person (gee... wonder why he had to qualify ... lol).

** Oh, yeah, thanks FF, for finding the interview. I'm not good at finding the source...just try to remember what I had read..

[yulog]

Wonder how Gregg would have felt if he had to share his keyboard duties.

I don't know if you would call it sharing per say... but SP sometimes would do
"key" duty when GR went out front and played his harmonica.

He did that with Cain as well. It's in the Escape concert video.

Playing the same note 50 times(they could have gotten a 5 yr old in the audience to do that)

[Rick]

I don't know if you would call it sharing per say... but SP sometimes would do
"key" duty when GR went out front and played his harmonica.

He did that with Cain as well. It's in the Escape concert video.

Playing the same note 50 times(they could have gotten a 5 yr old in the audience to do that)

Yeah, I noticed that. I understand he was pretty good on the bass and great on the drums though.