WHATS UP WITH STEVE PERRY????

[yogi]

I am not writing to cause a big controversy, but what is REALLY up with Steve Perry?? I dont care what everyone says he is the voice of Journey. If he was not, why would of Neil,Jon& Deen gone out and gotten a clone Steve Perry voice??? So where is Steve Perry now? What does he do? If Journey called would he come back? If he called Journey would they let him back? Is music still in him? Will he ever record or tour again? Is his voice fried? Is he the prick some make him out to be? I would REALLY love to know the answers to these and many many more questions.

One thing I do know is I saw him perform in San Antonio on his Strange Medicine Tour. He didnt play as long as I would of liked, but he sounded GREAT!!!

So whats really up????????????????????????????????????

[Liz22562]

Oh no Yogi...do you really want to stir up this message board? This seems to be a sore spot around here!

Peace!

[yogi]

I'm NOT trying to stir up jack. Look the guy shows up for Monster, does a Greatest Hits DVD, then once again falls off the face of the earth. What is he doing??? His former band plugs in a Steve P- sound a like-, and is cutting another CD that most of us would HAVE to admit would stand a MUCH MUCH MUCH greater chance of selling if the orginal Steve was on board. If Steve P. called up Neil today and asked back in NO strings attached would he be the lead singer of Journey???????

[perryfaithful]

Oh no Yogi...do you really want to stir up this message board? This seems to be a sore spot around here!

Peace!

Not a crazy question at a Journey site....for many Journey and Steve Perry are inseparable, so one can ask..........

Sad this paranoia

[Guest]

Oh no Yogi...do you really want to stir up this message board? This seems to be a sore spot around here!

Peace!

Not a crazy question at a Journey site....for many Journey and Steve Perry are inseparable, so one can ask..........

Sad this paranoia

Great post! Perry is EASILY the most intriguing member of the band - past and present.

[Marabelle]

I don't believe I want to be slain by any dragons tonight.
Nor, tomorrow night for that matter. And not that there are any dragons which frequent this board, however...
I think it's a great question and deserves an answer or some good solid speculation but it's also a question which would cause a great deal of debate among the board members and for those who are willing and brave enough to try to answer it..May the Force be With You!

[Marabelle]

alright i can't stand it



did he say...double edge sword?

[Monker]

Steve Perry is doing nothing but showing up on other people's albums doing secondary type vocals...no true lead vocals. He has not recorded anyting new as a solo artist since "I Stand Alone". Even the extra songs on his GH+5 CD were recorded years prior and were either leftover from FTLOSM, released on the FTLOSM CD5's, plus the one song from "Alien Project". The only other music Perry has worked on is the GH DVD released a while back.

Steve Perry never really 'left' Journey....he simply allowed his vocals to be replaced by another singer. He still owns part of the Journey name. If he wanted to be back, the band would have no choice but to take him. Even John Kalodner has said that Journey would take him back. Even Journey has said there is an open invitation for him to join them onstage at any venue on their tours. Finally, Augeri has said that he would graciously step aside if Perry wished to come back to the band.

The only person keeping Steve Perry out of Journey is Steve Perry himself.

The FACT is that Steve Perry himself recognized that he was not the only voice of Journey. He said in an MTV inteview for "Street Talk" that there were really TWO voices in Journey, his and Neal's guitar. He recognized that they worked together, weaving in and out of focus in a musical dance of sorts. If you do NOT recognize that, and recognize that ALL of Journey worked TOGETHER to create the sound of Journey, then I don't believe you really understand what made Journey "Journey".

The bottom line is that I don't think Perry WANTS to do it any longer. Think about it, he has had a year or more to work on the next 'Classic' DVD, the MTV Escape concert, but we now find out that they have not even STARTED on it. I believe he views music as WORK, and not fun, not something that naturaly flows out of him, but something he now has to FORCE out of him...he would rather do OTHER things in his senior years then rock music.

I believe he balked at TBF and the tour for the exact same reasons....it became this huge deal that snowballed into a lot more work then he had thought it would. I don't think he wanted 1983 all over again, with all the touring, the stadiums, the talk shows and radio shows, creating new reentry burns on his face. He was content being solo and playing to 2000 people at theaters. He didn't want to go back to Journey full time. Even Moyes Lucas, the FTLOSM drummer, said on his website that Perry told him that he wanted to work solo more but he 'had to get this Journey thing out of the way first.' He no longer wanted to be a part of a band that tours as much as Journey has done over the past six years or so.

He'll never be part of Journey - because HE doesn't want to be. He'll never record another solo album or tour - because HE doesn't want to live that type of life any longer...IMO.

I am not writing to cause a big controversy, but what is REALLY up with Steve Perry?? I dont care what everyone says he is the voice of Journey. If he was not, why would of Neil,Jon& Deen gone out and gotten a clone Steve Perry voice??? So where is Steve Perry now? What does he do? If Journey called would he come back? If he called Journey would they let him back? Is music still in him? Will he ever record or tour again? Is his voice fried? Is he the prick some make him out to be? I would REALLY love to know the answers to these and many many more questions.

One thing I do know is I saw him perform in San Antonio on his Strange Medicine Tour. He didnt play as long as I would of liked, but he sounded GREAT!!!

So whats really up????????????????????????????????????

[Liz22562]

If you notice, my statement was made light-heartedly.....

[Eric]

Monker,

You stating that Perry might - view music as work - is probably hitting the proverbial nail on the head. And there isn't anything wrong with that either by the way, however, an official statement from him indicating this retirement would be beneficial to all involved in my opinion....

[yogi]

Monker,

Thankyou sooooo much for the GREAT insight, and FACTS on Steve Perry & Journey.

[Rockindeano]

If you relate the state of Journey to, uh hmmm, politics, Steve Perry is to Journey, what Bill Clinton is to the Dems...absolutely larger than life to the core group. C'mon, let's face it, Perry lights fires, and excites the masses, and not one person in the Journey circle(the massive total circle that is all of us), wouldn't go see him lead the band again.

Having said that, America, at least for now, is a free country and Mr. Perry is free to lead a personal prioritized life, and by the looks of things he is.

I do however, have more than pissed off feelings for him as to the WOF ceremony. That star isn't just for the Band..IMO...it's for ALL of us that made them big enough to get the f ing star in the first place. Remember what Jonathan said at the end of ROR tour in Anchorage..Hell, we are all a family..from the 5 of us on stage to every single fan in the stands. Well, I consider myself proudly in the Journey family and that includes our two newest additions as well..

Dean

[yak]

Monker,

You stating that Perry might - view music as work - is probably hitting the proverbial nail on the head. And there isn't anything wrong with that either by the way, however, an official statement from him indicating this retirement would be beneficial to all involved in my opinion....

I agree with everything Monker said also, and I also agree with Eric that an official word on this self-inflicted retirement would be in order, and THAT would finally put all this bickering to rest.....or would it?

At least then Journey could move on as it should, getting out from under the dark cloud hanging over the band's head, and Steve Augeri would be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

[perryfaithful]

Monker,

You stating that Perry might - view music as work - is probably hitting the proverbial nail on the head. And there isn't anything wrong with that either by the way, however, an official statement from him indicating this retirement would be beneficial to all involved in my opinion....

I agree with everything Monker said also, and I also agree with Eric that an official word on this self-inflicted retirement would be in order, and THAT would finally put all this bickering to rest.....or would it?

At least then Journey could move on as it should, getting out from under the dark cloud hanging over the band's head, and Steve Augeri would be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Still wouldn't work

[yak]

Still wouldn't work

Your wish on your next birthday cake.

It is very obvious to me and others here that Perry wants nothing to do with Journey, so he should just let it go. But he's no gentleman and enjoys watching people twist in the wind.

[Rockindeano]

I have been thinking about Perry for about 8 years now...ever since he decided to call it a career. Now, I have seen EVERY SINGLE Perry vs. Journey, Journey vs. Perry, or Perry v. Augeri or Neal v. Perry....and it hit me.... God forbid

Is it possible "something medically could be wrong with Perry?" After seeing him at the Monster premier, he looked good. God I hope the man is in good safe health.--or,


Is it too f*****g much to ask him to come out at at least one event to honour the band?? To at least let us know he is still worth caring about, or in our world, arguing about??!! Look, there are families out there whose members despise one another, and I would wager that this might be the case in the Journey family for a couple of theories, hear me out.

1) It must be one Hell of an obstacle to have to communicate with each party via attorney's...

2) Perry was not invited to Neal's wedding(at least I'm ALMOST sure of that)

3) Perry will not accept invitations to sing at ANY show he desires, or show up at public events to honour the band such as the Warfield..

4) This poison runs two ways and there is NO disputing that..hence on the minor facts I just wrote..There HAS GOT TO BE more than just this piddly shit keeping the sides apart, let alone from even talking to one another..

Getting back to the fractured and split up families analogy. I literally hate my sister, and refuse to talk to her(and no, I am not a hateful person), but if she were to perish suddenly, I honestly do not know how I would feel. What IF any Journey member was ill, or worse yet, terminally ill, would it take that kind happening to at least bring on some sort of communication?? My point is, I love EVERY member in this group both past and present, but hate their their actions or lack therof...just me venting

sorry

[Marabelle]

I agree with Monker!

[Gaffguitars]

Steve Perry is doing nothing but showing up on other people's albums doing secondary type vocals...no true lead vocals. He has not recorded anyting new as a solo artist since "I Stand Alone". Even the extra songs on his GH+5 CD were recorded years prior and were either leftover from FTLOSM, released on the FTLOSM CD5's, plus the one song from "Alien Project". The only other music Perry has worked on is the GH DVD released a while back.

Steve Perry never really 'left' Journey....he simply allowed his vocals to be replaced by another singer. He still owns part of the Journey name. If he wanted to be back, the band would have no choice but to take him. Even John Kalodner has said that Journey would take him back. Even Journey has said there is an open invitation for him to join them onstage at any venue on their tours. Finally, Augeri has said that he would graciously step aside if Perry wished to come back to the band.

The only person keeping Steve Perry out of Journey is Steve Perry himself.

The FACT is that Steve Perry himself recognized that he was not the only voice of Journey. He said in an MTV inteview for "Street Talk" that there were really TWO voices in Journey, his and Neal's guitar. He recognized that they worked together, weaving in and out of focus in a musical dance of sorts. If you do NOT recognize that, and recognize that ALL of Journey worked TOGETHER to create the sound of Journey, then I don't believe you really understand what made Journey "Journey".

The bottom line is that I don't think Perry WANTS to do it any longer. Think about it, he has had a year or more to work on the next 'Classic' DVD, the MTV Escape concert, but we now find out that they have not even STARTED on it. I believe he views music as WORK, and not fun, not something that naturaly flows out of him, but something he now has to FORCE out of him...he would rather do OTHER things in his senior years then rock music.

I believe he balked at TBF and the tour for the exact same reasons....it became this huge deal that snowballed into a lot more work then he had thought it would. I don't think he wanted 1983 all over again, with all the touring, the stadiums, the talk shows and radio shows, creating new reentry burns on his face. He was content being solo and playing to 2000 people at theaters. He didn't want to go back to Journey full time. Even Moyes Lucas, the FTLOSM drummer, said on his website that Perry told him that he wanted to work solo more but he 'had to get this Journey thing out of the way first.' He no longer wanted to be a part of a band that tours as much as Journey has done over the past six years or so.

He'll never be part of Journey - because HE doesn't want to be. He'll never record another solo album or tour - because HE doesn't want to live that type of life any longer...IMO.

Great post. However I do believe Steve P really felt betrayed when they replaced him. And that is what he needs to get over if we are to ever see him in Journey again. He may not be ready yet. He may never be ready. I hope we will get to hear him sing live again. Steve Perry's voice, Neal Schon's guitars, dude, that's Journey! Augeri is good but he is not Steve Perry.

[perryfaithful]

Augeri is good but he is not Steve Perry.

[mystichealer]

Steve Augeri should be more concerned at the way Dean C is getting rave reviews for his vocal work, rather than worrying about Perry going back to the band.
Dean is singing more and more everytime the band play, and the fans talk more about his vocals than they do Augeri's nowaday's.
He also hits the notes that Augeri can't hit, just like the guy's in Boston do now.
Augeri hits so many bum notes now in a live setting, is it any wonder that the big D is singing more.

I also agree that Steve P should make some kind of statement about what he intends to do. It is getting just a bit silly now.


MH

[The_Noble_Cause]

He also hits the notes that Augeri can't hit, just like the guy's in Boston do now.
Augeri hits so many bum notes now in a live setting, is it any wonder that the big D is singing more.
MH

To the man's credit, he is a much much better singer now than he ever used to be. Listen to him sing LIVE on the Tyketto album (it's pretty horrendous). I like Augeri, but I just don't see why Neal didn't go with the already proven Kevin Chalfant. Did Neal even bother to listen to Augeri's painful off-tune warblings on the Tyketto album before choosing him?

I have bootlegs of Augeri from 2000 (the Osaka concert) where the guy is so bad it's pathetic. Just terrible. It's really a joke almost.
But, I also have boots from this year in Canada where he is fantastic.
It really varies.
Right when I am about to write him off as being vocally unfit for the job, I find a boot that makes me think otherwise.

Still, even on shows where he is usually *off* for most of the night, he always manages to do a smokin, respectable rendition of LTS.
He botches Don't Stop Believin almost always (except for on the DVD I have never heard him do this song justice).

I have alot of boots, and I have never heard a singer oscilate so much between sucking and being good as much as Steve Augeri does.

[Paul_UK]

I've seen Augeri live wth Journey 3 times now and he has got better each time...the man oozes confidence on stage now and I almost forgot who Steve Perry was!!

I guess we picked the best shows!!!

[mystichealer]

He also hits the notes that Augeri can't hit, just like the guy's in Boston do now.
Augeri hits so many bum notes now in a live setting, is it any wonder that the big D is singing more.
MH

To the man's credit, he is a much much better singer now than he ever used to be. Listen to him sing LIVE on the Tyketto album (it's pretty horrendous). I like Augeri, but I just don't see why Neal didn't go with the already proven Kevin Chalfant. Did Neal even bother to listen to Augeri's painful off-tune warblings on the Tyketto album before choosing him?

I have bootlegs of Augeri from 2000 (the Osaka concert) where the guy is so bad it's pathetic. Just terrible. It's really a joke almost.
But, I also have boots from this year in Canada where he is fantastic.
It really varies.
Right when I am about to write him off as being vocally unfit for the job, I find a boot that makes me think otherwise.

Still, even on shows where he is usually *off* for most of the night, he always manages to do a smokin, respectable rendition of LTS.
He botches Don't Stop Believin almost always (except for on the DVD I have never heard him do this song justice).

I have alot of boots, and I have never heard a singer oscilate so much between sucking and being good as much as Steve Augeri does.

Good points 'NC'.
I agree with pretty much everything of what you have said here.


MH

[Monker]

However I do believe Steve P really felt betrayed when they replaced him.

Why? They did it before the reunion when Perry made the decision to be a solo artist rather then return to Journey...why should he feel betrayed when they replaced him after he dropped the Journey ball again, just as he did after ROR? Perry betrayed Journey's trust when they brought him back, not the other way around.

And that is what he needs to get over if we are to ever see him in Journey again.

I completely disagree. In almost EVERY interview Perry has given recently he talks about being on the sidelines and how good it feels to let someone else have the spotlight. When has he talked about being 'betrayed' by Journey?

Steve Perry's voice, Neal Schon's guitars, dude, that's Journey!

Journey is Journey...not Perry or Neal.

{quote]
Augeri is good but he is not Steve Perry.
[/quote]

Steve Perry can't sing Journey songs the way they were written 20+ years ago either...and nobody said Augeri was Perry. I'm glad he's not. If he were, they would not be touring, would not have had Arrival, Red 13, and talk about a new album. If Augeri were Perry, we would be stuck talking about old Journey songs in commercials and movie soundtracks - and nothing else.

Dean is singing more and more everytime the band play

That simply isn't true. How many songs did he sing on the cruise? He gets three songs or so and that's it. It isn't that big of a deal.

and the fans talk more about his vocals than they do Augeri's nowaday's.

The fans talk about it because it is new. The fans talked about Jonathan's vocals and how much he sounds like Neal back when this band first starting touring again. Big deal.

I also agree that Steve P should make some kind of statement about what he intends to do. It is getting just a bit silly now.

It's only a bit silly for those who don't want to face reality. Steve Perry will never record an album or tour again. I've been saying that for about seven years.

Why would Perry be so stupid to say he's retired? That would be a very dumb decision...he's not going to close that door.

[Metal Ed]

1. Perry had the chance to continue with Journey, but decided not to. He could have got his hip fixed and moved on, but he kept everyone waiting, which I see as really letting the guys in the band down and again in his own way trying to control. He said never felt like a member? I guess you can't be a member when you control everything.

2. If Perry wants to record or tour like he said he wanted to, he will. I saw him in '95 and he was GREAT!!!!!! He could have done more solo material ( he only did 6 solo songs). Hopefully he will work again and not become a "Greatest Hits" act, like Journey is fastly becoming.

3. If you are a TRUE Journey fan (or fan of anyone), then you will be a fan no matter what. Any singer or drummer, through bad albums, and you won't go get a beer or take a leak when they play new songs.
Let them grow and express themselves. Why do you think there is Soul Sirkus? Members need to be able to get out new ideas. Arrival was a good CD, but who gave it, or Augeri, a real chance? Journey has had at different times: 7 singers singing lead ( Gregg, Robert, Neal, Perry, Jon, Augeri, Deen), 5 drummers( Prairie, Ansley, Steve, Mike, Deen), 2 bassists( Ross, Randy) and even 2 Guitarists(Neal, George). Guess what? It is all Journey. If the spirit is alive, then the band is alive. Does a sports team stop being that team when they change the QB?

4. Journey kicks ass.

[Liz22562]

Metal Ed - Well Said!!!!

[bakerp]

What guitarist named George?

[Argus]

What guitarist named George?

Tickner

[Metal Ed]

George Tickerny, Guitarist along with Neal before they were big. I believe he may be on the first album.

[bakerp]

Learn somthin new every day!