Cain Interview 9/1/05
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2005 12:46 pmJust saw this 
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005 ... 005/125453
Journey back on the road
Date published: 9/1/2005
By EDIE GROSS
A few short hours after wrapping up a show in New Jersey--and a few more before rocking a stage in New York--Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain reflects on the changing nature of his audience.
The die-hard fans who snapped up vinyl records in the '70s and '80s are out there, belting out "Don't Stop Believin'" like it's a personal anthem.
But mixed into that sea of nostalgia is a whole new crop of fans, teens barely old enough to drive, who download their Journey off iTunes after hearing the music on "American Idol" or MTV's "Laguna Beach."
"They're bombarded with all kinds of music, yet they chose to hum ours. That's the best nod you can get," said Cain, whose own three kids sing along to Journey tunes. "The best testimonial to Journey is it appeals to the ages."
Long a staple of karaoke menus and 1980s theme parties, Journey, about seven years into a comeback effort, is producing new music and appealing to another generation.
"The parents used to drag the little ones, and now the kids are coming--and they're not little anymore," Cain said. "Things are evolving. Maybe there's a renaissance for our music."
Journey is in the midst of a 57-city tour celebrating the band's 30th anniversary. Each concert, which lasts about three hours, literally features three decades of music--songs from their self-titled debut in 1975 up to their newest album, "Generations," which lands on U.S. shelves Oct. 4.
The tour is scheduled to stop at Wolf Trap in Vienna on Wednesday and in Baltimore Sept. 9.
"It's a musical exhibition, an evolution of Journey," said Cain, who himself joined the band in 1980. "There's a lot of material that's unfamiliar to the audience, but the real Journey fanatics are going to know the old stuff.
"You have a wine tasting of different years, and we're sort of doing that with our music, giving them a taste of what Journey used to be like."
The band, which has featured a host of personnel changes over the years, hit its peak in the early '80s with singer Steve Perry as its front man.
A decade later, all of its members had moved on to do other projects--Cain and guitarist Neal Schon left in late 1988 to form Bad English--and Journey's journey seemed at an end.
But in 1996, a handful, including Perry, came together for the reunion album "Trial By Fire." Perry was injured in a hiking accident before a tour could be put together.
But Schon, one of the band's original members, was determined to hit the road again, said Cain.
Cain signed on, and the two recruited former Bad English drummer Deen Castronovo, vocalist Steve Augeri and Ross Valory, who'd been the band's original bassist.
The lineup for the last seven years hasn't changed, making it the longest-lasting one yet for Journey, Cain said.
The comeback hasn't been easy, he said. Some fans were resistant to any new music from Journey. Plenty wanted Perry back at the helm. And some radio stations have refused to play their stuff, citing the kitsch factor.
"It was like dragging a sled up a hill, a very heavy sled," Cain said. "It's been a long way to climb our way back, and yet I always believed in this catalog."
About 11,000 fans turned out to the Aug. 26 concert in Holmdel, N.J., Cain said.
"It's just really cool. In '98, there would've been a third of that number. That's what happens when you work hard," he said.
After this tour finishes on Oct. 9, the group plans to stay home for about a year to spend some time with their families, Cain said. But Journey isn't disappearing any time soon.
They'd still like to hit Europe and Australia and take another stab at Japan, where they toured in 2001.
With age has come perspective, said Cain. The band doesn't worry so much anymore about the critics, who have never been all that kind to Journey.
Instead, he said, they focus on pleasing the fans. Each concertgoer receives a copy of the new album, the first in which each member sings lead vocals.
"This whole thing we're doing on the road is a tribute and a tip of our hat to the fans," Cain said. "We figure after 30 years it's time to give some love back to the fans."
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005 ... 005/125453
Journey back on the road
Date published: 9/1/2005
By EDIE GROSS
A few short hours after wrapping up a show in New Jersey--and a few more before rocking a stage in New York--Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain reflects on the changing nature of his audience.
The die-hard fans who snapped up vinyl records in the '70s and '80s are out there, belting out "Don't Stop Believin'" like it's a personal anthem.
But mixed into that sea of nostalgia is a whole new crop of fans, teens barely old enough to drive, who download their Journey off iTunes after hearing the music on "American Idol" or MTV's "Laguna Beach."
"They're bombarded with all kinds of music, yet they chose to hum ours. That's the best nod you can get," said Cain, whose own three kids sing along to Journey tunes. "The best testimonial to Journey is it appeals to the ages."
Long a staple of karaoke menus and 1980s theme parties, Journey, about seven years into a comeback effort, is producing new music and appealing to another generation.
"The parents used to drag the little ones, and now the kids are coming--and they're not little anymore," Cain said. "Things are evolving. Maybe there's a renaissance for our music."
Journey is in the midst of a 57-city tour celebrating the band's 30th anniversary. Each concert, which lasts about three hours, literally features three decades of music--songs from their self-titled debut in 1975 up to their newest album, "Generations," which lands on U.S. shelves Oct. 4.
The tour is scheduled to stop at Wolf Trap in Vienna on Wednesday and in Baltimore Sept. 9.
"It's a musical exhibition, an evolution of Journey," said Cain, who himself joined the band in 1980. "There's a lot of material that's unfamiliar to the audience, but the real Journey fanatics are going to know the old stuff.
"You have a wine tasting of different years, and we're sort of doing that with our music, giving them a taste of what Journey used to be like."
The band, which has featured a host of personnel changes over the years, hit its peak in the early '80s with singer Steve Perry as its front man.
A decade later, all of its members had moved on to do other projects--Cain and guitarist Neal Schon left in late 1988 to form Bad English--and Journey's journey seemed at an end.
But in 1996, a handful, including Perry, came together for the reunion album "Trial By Fire." Perry was injured in a hiking accident before a tour could be put together.
But Schon, one of the band's original members, was determined to hit the road again, said Cain.
Cain signed on, and the two recruited former Bad English drummer Deen Castronovo, vocalist Steve Augeri and Ross Valory, who'd been the band's original bassist.
The lineup for the last seven years hasn't changed, making it the longest-lasting one yet for Journey, Cain said.
The comeback hasn't been easy, he said. Some fans were resistant to any new music from Journey. Plenty wanted Perry back at the helm. And some radio stations have refused to play their stuff, citing the kitsch factor.
"It was like dragging a sled up a hill, a very heavy sled," Cain said. "It's been a long way to climb our way back, and yet I always believed in this catalog."
About 11,000 fans turned out to the Aug. 26 concert in Holmdel, N.J., Cain said.
"It's just really cool. In '98, there would've been a third of that number. That's what happens when you work hard," he said.
After this tour finishes on Oct. 9, the group plans to stay home for about a year to spend some time with their families, Cain said. But Journey isn't disappearing any time soon.
They'd still like to hit Europe and Australia and take another stab at Japan, where they toured in 2001.
With age has come perspective, said Cain. The band doesn't worry so much anymore about the critics, who have never been all that kind to Journey.
Instead, he said, they focus on pleasing the fans. Each concertgoer receives a copy of the new album, the first in which each member sings lead vocals.
"This whole thing we're doing on the road is a tribute and a tip of our hat to the fans," Cain said. "We figure after 30 years it's time to give some love back to the fans."
Why will they "never" tour Oz? Are the promoters over there just not interested?