Anybody Care to Comment on This

[Rockindeano]

[quote="Barb"]Just curious -- do you hold the band itself responsible for the lip synching at all, or is it just Augeri. I would say the whole band cheated, not just Mr. Augeri.

PM me this, let's not talk about this in public, out of respect for the Board.

[Monker]

I attended Camden and Hershey. They were rough, but I still enjoyed the shows believe it or not. Don't know if what I've heard from Atlanta or Charlotte has been any improvement.

And, THAT is exactly what I am saying. It has NOTHING to do with using tapes or baiting anybody.

[Abitaman]

Ripping on a guy after 4 shows is pretty sucky if you ask me. Give him until the end of the tour to fit/in, get it straight and show what he can do.

These boots are from the first few shows, I really am disappointed at the level of bitching so early in the piece.

Agreed, In my post Nashville the good and the bad, I questioned JSS in Journey, still undecided, but I also stated I found a new respect for the man last night. HE had a stage presence that reminded me of Perry. ANd even though to me he didn't quite have the Journey sound, he did good for a week into the show, and he was having a blast, along with Cain, Neal, Deen, Ross and the 17,000 yelling fans.-ERIC

Have to mention I did feel sorrow for him, when Cain did the intro of JSS, there were some boos, not alot, but they were there. SOme comments were made about him and Augeri too after the show. But, some good comments on JSS too. Only time is going to tell. Deen was a little hoarse singing last night, but still great. I don't see Deen stepping up, don't think his voice would hold up-ERIC

[Monker]

Are you going to see them this tour? I would like to hear your opinion after a live show. This is so early in the JSS show count, that it's pre-emptive to judge based on some boots, dontcha think?

Yep...in Ames on 9/7.

Yes, it is pre-emtive, prejudging, or whatever. But, I don't have any reason to believe this paring will work. I said the same thing before I even heard a boot.

[fred_journeyman]

No one ripped on him, Andrew. No one. I for one am glad he is there. A helluva improvement over what was.

But you can't tell me he can improve to where he can sing these songs in the keys being played. That takes an entirely different vocal setup. This isn't a racecar. You can't make adjustments...The band can play a little differently to accomadate him, however, there is NO way he can sing this catalogue, be it this year or next. I am not getting oin him for fuckin up words or such..Hell, Ilike that..makes me know he is live and human. But just sounding so flat....ugh.

Yeah, I agree on that. Either he has the range and the ability to sing these tunes, or he doesn't. He's not going to get better. He'll get worse from straining. I'm not talking about his overall ability as a vocalist either, because I think he's damn good. I'm talking about his ability to sing these songs night after night in the proper key.

[Argus]

Are you going to see them this tour? I would like to hear your opinion after a live show. This is so early in the JSS show count, that it's pre-emptive to judge based on some boots, dontcha think?

Yep...in Ames on 9/7.

Yes, it is pre-emtive, prejudging, or whatever. But, I don't have any reason to believe this paring will work. I said the same thing before I even heard a boot.

Well, let us know if it changes your thoughts. By Ames the set should be tighter than Deen's snare head And to all you Deen-for-lead-singer folks, he has said over and over he wants to be the drummer not the lead singer. He sings just the way he always has and won't change that to become lead. Never took a lesson and never will. Listen to the Hawaii interview Neal gave where he discussed the vocal blow out.

[fred_journeyman]

Yeah, Soto sounds rough in a few areas, but my God I'd rather have him fronting Journey on his worst day than Augeri on his best day without tapes. Then there's always the other extreme of Augeri WITH tapes. I think we have to wait till the tour is over and see if they are planning to write new material with Jeff and actually play it live. If they are, that will solve alot of problems. Then, they can play maybe 3 Journey songs that Soto does well, let Deen sing 3 and the rest will be new Journey/Soto material. We know Neal has better chemistry with Soto than Augeri. (Not that Augeri is an option at this point, anyway) That is the way to move forward. But please...no more tapes and sticking it to the fans. They damned near ruined the band name and made a laughing stock of themselves. They need to move forward, one way or another, or just go do something else. Cain's been looking like he's been sick of the road for a couple of years anyway.

Interesting points, 80R. I'm thinking...if I may...that they should let Soto finish the tour and then find someone who can really do the songs justice (not to take away anything from Soto here). Just having done a bit of research on Soto in the last few days, you can see how busy he is and does he really want to put everything else on hold to be in Journey full time?

I really think they band would be better off getting someone who has some professional experience, is young enough to last awhile and also has some creativity to help write new material.

[whocares]

I really think they band would be better off getting someone who has some professional experience, is young enough to last awhile and also has some creativity to help write new material.

You just described Soto.

He could survive in Journey if he can make it his without destroying his voice. Writing for his range is a start too. IF they'd allow him to sing those songs in concert.

[fred_journeyman]

If Journey has truly burned their bridge with Augeri, then they have affectively killed Journey, IMO.

Time will certainly tell, but at this point, I'm not holding out much hope (but I'm not pining either). In any case, I seriously doubt that they will produce a new CD with Soto. Maybe a song or two for concert, but then again, why bother with even that?

[Barb]

Done.

Just curious -- do you hold the band itself responsible for the lip synching at all, or is it just Augeri. I would say the whole band cheated, not just Mr. Augeri.

PM me this, let's not talk about this in public, out of respect for the Board.

[EightyRock]

I know Soto is a busy guy and if I remember, he was supposed to do some studio work with Steve Lukather in the fall. Neal seems to like Soto and has good chemistry with him, so maybe they should see where that would lead, especially if they add Cain to the mix. I don't know how many of those wedding type songs Soto will want to write, but I'm sure they could do a couple ballads. Soto did an excellent job singing Who's Cryin' Now, so I know he can sing more mellow stuff, too. Neal is more into rock anyway. Soto is how old? 41? I think if they got anybody younger than that, they'd look like a bunch of grandpa's up there with their grandson on vocals. I'm still willing to give Soto the rest of the tour before I make any decisions on how I feel about it. Not that my opinion or anybody else's opinion, other than the band's, counts.

[TRAGChick]

Journey - The Official Voice Killing Band. lol

They should just rename themselves "VoxKill" and be done with it.

[wildone]

Journey - The Official Voice Killing Band. lol

They should just rename themselves "VoxKill" and be done with it.

great now we are gonna have to see them at the county fairs!!!!

[Liam]

Journey - The Official Voice Killing Band. lol

They should just rename themselves "VoxKill" and be done with it.

great now we are gonna have to see them at the county fairs!!!!

No...They can't have that name. I want it now. Now all I need is a drummer, keyboards, etc. LOL.

[verslibre]

Nipples.

[fred_journeyman]

I really think they band would be better off getting someone who has some professional experience, is young enough to last awhile and also has some creativity to help write new material.

You just described Soto.

He could survive in Journey if he can make it his without destroying his voice. Writing for his range is a start too. IF they'd allow him to sing those songs in concert.

I'm not sure I did describe Soto. Yes, he's got a great voice and yes, he obviously has some tremendous talent, but the question is will his voice hold out, when at least parts of some of the songs are not in his range? If he starts off straining, it won't really get better.

[daltonsdad]

I'll comment. JSS is doing fine. Bootlegs suck. Deen will not sing lead because his voice will burn out. Neal and the band are the only folks who can judge any of this. That's my story and I'm stickin to it

I would agree with that...except that Atlanta show was a VERY good quality boot. JSS just doesn't fit. I find it pretty amazing that anybody would think he would. Again, it's like Gary Cherone in VH, a great voice that is not a good match for the band.

Ughh please don't remind me of that debacle. I am still pained by the Cherone thing! I think Journey should contact some friends in the industry and line a celebrity fill in at lead singer, rotating each week. There are a bunch of very talented frnt men who can sing live out there. I nominate Rik Emmit formerly of Triumph to be the first!

[verslibre]

Yeah, Rik's is a helluva voice...his Triumph heyday (and even afterward). Definitely could've filled a "Perry void." Rik still sounds great, even if he doesn't quite "peel off the high end" (his words), so to speak.

[Playitloudforme]

Just my two cents on this, doesn't mean it means a damn thing tho. JSS might be Neal's vehicle to do a version of Journey that is harder, less melodic overall. That would mean a slow, but deliberate departure from the Journey classics, with Deen perhaps handling a few of them to keep the audiences happier. Neal's been wanting to do a harder edge for a long time, and he seems to have a synch with JSS.

Is it "Journey" and will it sell are the questions. I think in order to succeed with that concept, he'd have to put up with a slow transfer, not jump headlong into a harder-edged Journey sound. So many concert going fans demand the dirty dozen, and giving that up isn't going to be easy or even wanted. They'd have to get some airplay too, which means management would have to back it. I don't see that happening.

And then again, SA could miraculously reappear in 6 months perfectly fine. I doubt it, but then again, we don't truly know the extent of his 'chronic throat' issues.

The whole thing is going to be interesting to watch, no matter what.

[Red13JoePa]

I attended Camden and Hershey. They were rough, but I still enjoyed the shows believe it or not. Don't know if what I've heard from Atlanta or Charlotte has been any improvement.

Looking forward to the September show at The Borgata in A.C. Go see it for myself and see how it goes.

Yep, for the most part most peeps in the crowd seemed to dig Augeri just fine... . We on the net knew of the firestorm and Augeri's pain but about 10k people there did not and most dug it.

I work with a guy who also went and said the show was good and the "guy sounded exactly the same" as Perry.

[amaron]

He could survive in Journey if he can make it his without destroying his voice.

Problem is that it's already happened to two singers.

[Red13JoePa]

He could survive in Journey if he can make it his without destroying his voice.

Problem is that it's already happened to two singers.

Yep, and funnily enough Perry and Augeri had roughly the same # of shows under their belts, I guess. I could be wrong but I'm just estimating they were in the band about the same time and though the classic era tours were prolly longer, there were fallow years, whereas SA's 8 years were pretty much full-on every summer and half the fall.