Did the band like Augeri?

[Rick]

Just watching the Vegas DVD, you almost have to notice the bands lack of interaction with SA. He, in several instances engages the members, and unlike with SP, they seem to intentionally ignore his presence.
Let me say now that I do enjoy Augeri in this DVD, he gives everything he has, and engages the audience. He sings the songs with passion, to his ability, and the crowd obviously loves it. Actually he seems more crowd friendly than SP. But I get the feeling that the band wasn't really in his corner. Seems a shame, he did take Journey a long way.
Has anyone else noticed that, or is it just the booze?

[Andrew]

Steve's style was that of less integration with the band. I address that int he current interviews....at least the band's thoughts on this. Of course he was liked, but he had his way and Perry and JSS both have their ways too.

[Rick]

Thanks my brother from another mother down under. I did read those interviews, but I guess it didn't hit me until I watched the Vegas DVD. Watching it again now. I love the Raza Del Sol song. Excellente!

[Saint John]

Steve's style was that of less integration with the band. I address that int he current interviews....at least the band's thoughts on this. Of course he was liked, but he had his way and Perry and JSS both have their ways too.

Andrew, I can't stand Steve Augeri, but that's just bullshit. He engaged VERY well with the audience, as well as his bandmates. At least save face and admit that the rest of the band KNEW what was going on. He did everything he could. For a lot of years he was liked and the band DID work well with him. The "lipping" thing was VERY much a group effort. I dare you you to challenge me. Augeri, with the ENTIRE group's consent, was a fake. Rip ALL of them. Except JSS. Schon and Cain should be ripped just like Augeri. At least at one time they were relevant.

[Rick]

saint John, just watch the video, you can't help but notice it. Your nasty retort toward Andrew is uncalled for, I posted it. I wasn't bashing SA, nor was there a mention of lipping. I was talking about the Vegas DVD.

[Saint John]

saint John, just watch the video, you can't help but notice it. Your nasty retort toward Andrew is uncalled for, I posted it. I wasn't bashing SA, nor was there a mention of lipping. I was talking about the Vegas DVD.

Fuck you! The whole band knew what was going on. Augeri, as bad as he was, was simply the scapegoat. Neal, Friga, Ross and Deen KNEW what was going on. WHY is that so hard to believe? You're an idiot. Blast ALL of them...unless you think they did'nt know.

[Rick]

Fuck you! The whole band knew what was going on. Augeri, as bad as he was, was simply the scapegoat. Neal, Friga, Ross and Deen KNEW what was going on. WHY is that so hard to believe? You're an idiot. Blast ALL of them...unless you think they did'nt know.

I really don't know what this has to do with my post. All I said was that it didn't appear that the band was engaging Steve Augeri when he engaged them in the 2001 Vegas DVD.
Again, your outburst towards Andrew and myself is uncalled for and rediculous. Do yourself a service and actually read the post before you make a response.

[McNeil]

Sorry..your watching a different DVD than me man..Augeri played it just about right.. not too cocky..just a little laid back...excellent with the audience, and band members...almost humble!! Overdubbed or not(arent they all!!) his voice was excellent, and the gig rocked!!

Seen plenty Journey with Perry.... he had no more or less of a rapport than him.... everyone is different.... for me... the Vegas DVD is still the one I put on..... over the MTV one with Perry.... simply because it has more material, being recorded toward the end of the bands output.

Im personally sick to death of the same old songs on the earlier vidz ... Open Arms, Dont Stop Beleivin etc etc yadda yadda... Ive got about a zillion live versions of this stuff all over my pc ... Jeez... The sooner they record summat new with JSS and actually gig the material.. the better!!

[The_Noble_Cause]

The Vegas dvd isn't a fair representation of the band or Augeri.
Neal is even better today and Augeri really hit his stride in '02 during the 'Under the Rader' tour.

[Andrew]

Steve's style was that of less integration with the band. I address that int he current interviews....at least the band's thoughts on this. Of course he was liked, but he had his way and Perry and JSS both have their ways too.

Andrew, I can't stand Steve Augeri, but that's just bullshit. He engaged VERY well with the audience, as well as his bandmates.

Never said he didn't engage well with the audience....Neal backs that up by saying (or telling me at least) that he thought Steve did great in making that crowd connection. I also didn't state that he didn't engage with his bandmates, but the fact is that he does spend more time out front on his own (working the crowd) I saw the band twice with Steve and this is what I saw also.

[lparn]

Steve Augeri always seemed to work the crowd.
I got the impression at least that Deen and Jon liked him.

[JeremyP]

I noticed this about Steve when I saw them in 2001. He engaged the crowd really well and what was cool was when he would smile the audience would would smile back. I thought he connected really well.

[Rick]

Well there were a couple of instances, especially with Jon, where Steve leaned on the 'whale' and sang at Jon, and Jon didn't even acknowlege his presence. Also when he flopped up on the 'whale', which might have pissed me off if it were my Yamaha, and again, not even eye contact. He did some Perry style dancing in front of the drums, and of course Deen is so busy back there, he doesn't even have time to acknowlege him. He does some time over by Neal and at least Neal looked at him, but not with that big fat grin he used to give Perry. I don't know, like I said, I really like Augeri, he is a good entertainer. He connects with the audience very well. I just felt like the band was cold to him.

[ohsherrie]

Steve Augeri always seemed to work the crowd.
I got the impression at least that Deen and Jon liked him.

I don't know anything about how Augeri "worked the crowd" and can't imagine enjoying being worked by him at all. As far as how Jon and Deen seemed, Neal and Jon seemed to be pleased with ROR too and had great chemistry with Steve Perry on stage for the shows, but have since said they weren't happy at that time at all. What I'm saying is, don't let the showmanship fool you.

[JeremyP]

"Working the crowd" is just another way of saying interacting with the audience.

[ohsherrie]

"Working the crowd" is just another way of saying interacting with the audience.

I know Jeremy. What I meant was that I couldn't imagine being entertained by him if I was in the crowd. He just never appealed to me on any level. I know you like him. and that's OK, but I didn't at all.

[JeremyP]

Ah I gotcha! I'm not too fast on the uptake sometimes. lol

It's cool with me if you don't like him, everybody's got their own favorite kind of pie or cheese or whatever.

[ohsherrie]

Ah I gotcha! I'm not too fast on the uptake sometimes. lol

It's cool with me if you don't like him, everybody's got their own favorite kind of pie or cheese or whatever.

You're cool Jeremy and there's nothing wrong with your uptake. I like cherry pie and cheddar cheese.

[JeremyP]

I like cherry pie and cheddar cheese.

Yum!

[Chevypv]

Steve Augeri always seemed to work the crowd.
I got the impression at least that Deen and Jon liked him.

I don't know anything about how Augeri "worked the crowd" and can't imagine enjoying being worked by him at all.

Yeah, i always thought SA's stage antics were just plain annoying...he always seemed WAY too feminine with his "wiggling"...

[roknroseville]

Steve Augeri did a good job in a tough situation......
Neal Schon isn't exactly MR HAPPY... But Augeri did his thing nontheless....
Plus remember RED13? That's Neal & Jons vision & it wasn't very good... Plus Augeri sounded flat..

[The_Noble_Cause]

Plus remember RED13? That's Neal & Jons vision & it wasn't very good... Plus Augeri sounded flat..

Jon indicated in interviews that it was more Neal's brainchild.
Even though two of the tracks were produced at Jon's house.

I don't think "State of Grace" holds up well under repeated listenings.
The middle eastern chords is ok, but what's the deal with the words "state - of - grace" being played in reverse towards the end?
Not cool, just plain stupid.

"The Time" actually reveals a band unit that is progressing towards a sound all their own. You hear a little bit of Augeri's "Rawthigh" in there, along with Neal's harder rocking self.

Too bad most fans' aghast reaction to Red 13, put the nail in the coffin of this band moving forward.
Neal even said he created SoulSirkus as a result.
So he could leave Journey alone, and not try to shoehorn all his musical endeavors into it.

[Red13JoePa]

"The Time" actually reveals a band unit that is progressing towards a sound all their own.

That is exactly what it was.
The band should know, that not EVERYbody "didn't get" this EP. The Time, though overlooked is a terrific song, and to a lesser extent State Of Grace blazed a new trail, too. Then they played it safe with the other 2, though I do like some of the menace (particulary Ross Valory's opening chords) on I Can Breathe.

I think I remember the Neal comments you're speaking of too TNC. He said something that at the time horrified me, which was to continue Journey as was, then have a side project spin-off with all the band members called JRNY (like the side of the Red13 case) where they could just create songs like those on Red13.
In fact, part of the interview made it sound like Red13 was the first entry in that "JRNY" not Journey project.....

It was a really weird piece of revisionist history and doublespeak.

"Our fans didn't get Red13. So we're going to call that a sideproject now called JRNY and keep doing things like that separate from Journey. But still do Journey records. And JRNY."


I hated that notion.

[amaron]

The "lipping" thing was VERY much a group effort. I dare you you to challenge me. Augeri, with the ENTIRE group's consent, was a fake. Rip ALL of them. Except JSS. Schon and Cain should be ripped just like Augeri.

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to step out of the mob opinion of Augeri and stop jacking off the rest of the band like they did nothing wrong.

[nolippin]

The bottom line, though, is that Augeri was the one holding the mic. He was the one doing the faking. The buck ultimately stopped with him. There is no way anyone was forcing him to do what he did, particularly when he was a full partner.

The "lipping" thing was VERY much a group effort. I dare you you to challenge me. Augeri, with the ENTIRE group's consent, was a fake. Rip ALL of them. Except JSS. Schon and Cain should be ripped just like Augeri.

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to step out of the mob opinion of Augeri and stop jacking off the rest of the band like they did nothing wrong.

[amaron]

There is no way anyone was forcing him to do what he did, particularly when he was a full partner.

The "lipping" thing was VERY much a group effort. I dare you you to challenge me. Augeri, with the ENTIRE group's consent, was a fake. Rip ALL of them. Except JSS. Schon and Cain should be ripped just like Augeri.

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to step out of the mob opinion of Augeri and stop jacking off the rest of the band like they did nothing wrong.

I might have to disagree with that a bit. Not that it wasn't possible that it was his decision, I wouldn't be shocked one bit to find out that an ultimatum was made.

[Red13JoePa]

The bottom line, though, is that Augeri was the one holding the mic. He was the one doing the faking. The buck ultimately stopped with him. There is no way anyone was forcing him to do what he did, particularly when he was a full partner.

The "lipping" thing was VERY much a group effort. I dare you you to challenge me. Augeri, with the ENTIRE group's consent, was a fake. Rip ALL of them. Except JSS. Schon and Cain should be ripped just like Augeri.

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to step out of the mob opinion of Augeri and stop jacking off the rest of the band like they did nothing wrong.

MMMMMmmmmmmm...kinda weak.

[maverick218]

Steve Augeri did a good job in a tough situation......
Neal Schon isn't exactly MR HAPPY... But Augeri did his thing nontheless....
Plus remember RED13? That's Neal & Jons vision & it wasn't very good... Plus Augeri sounded flat..

I really liked Red13, the production wasn't what Arrival was on purpose- the band thought Arrival was OVER produced. They wanted more of a "raw" sound and they got it. Obviously, not everyone "got" it or liked it- they were testing the waters for a new direction.

[nolippin]

And I wouldn't be shocked one bit to find out that it was Augeri who was actually issuing the ultimatums.

There is no way anyone was forcing him to do what he did, particularly when he was a full partner.

The "lipping" thing was VERY much a group effort. I dare you you to challenge me. Augeri, with the ENTIRE group's consent, was a fake. Rip ALL of them. Except JSS. Schon and Cain should be ripped just like Augeri.

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to step out of the mob opinion of Augeri and stop jacking off the rest of the band like they did nothing wrong.

I might have to disagree with that a bit. Not that it wasn't possible that it was his decision, I wouldn't be shocked one bit to find out that an ultimatum was made.

[amaron]

And I wouldn't be shocked one bit to find out that it was Augeri who was actually issuing the ultimatums.

There is no way anyone was forcing him to do what he did, particularly when he was a full partner.

The "lipping" thing was VERY much a group effort. I dare you you to challenge me. Augeri, with the ENTIRE group's consent, was a fake. Rip ALL of them. Except JSS. Schon and Cain should be ripped just like Augeri.

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to step out of the mob opinion of Augeri and stop jacking off the rest of the band like they did nothing wrong.

I might have to disagree with that a bit. Not that it wasn't possible that it was his decision, I wouldn't be shocked one bit to find out that an ultimatum was made.

Fair enough. I can agree with that as well.