Journey's Treatment Of Singers
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:26 amI've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the board flare ups when the talk of how Neal, Jon and management have handled past singers. I'll start by saying this is a thread moreso about Neal and Jon than it is management. I'll start with Perry. Perry was toured too hard. That was a decision management made and Perry agreed to (unfortunately). Then the sudden work stoppages. He left after Frontiers to record Street Talk. They waited for a few years and he came back for ROR. Then he stopped a bit short of finishing that tour. Again the band waited til about 1995, when Perry miraculously had the urge to sing again because the band had Rolie and Chalfant cutting songs. In 1996 they recorded TBF and had the big reunion tour ready. Hip goes bad (insert nasty comment here 
). They wait again over a year and when Perry isn't any closer to making a decision than he was 13 months prior they move on.
Enter Steve Augeri. After bidding The Gap adios he steps in for Steve Perry. The band works hard, they practice and then they hit the road. After some gigs go by, Steve finds a nice groove. He does well and more importantly, he draws well. He cuts a nice album, is backed by a label and is more than decent in concert. However, the album, in terms of past popularity, is a colossal failure. It moves less than 400,00 units, generates no interest, and gets virtually no radio spins.
The lineup moves forward as a touring act and they do so relentlessly. They tour virtually every year. They release 1 and a half excrement laden albums, the second being while Augeri is battling major throat problems. The band decides for whatever reason(s) that they're going to add artificial, prerecorded elements to their shows and proceed to do that til they can't do so anymore. Exit Augeri and enter Soto.
Jeff Scott Soto steps in and does a nice job on short notice. Jeff is eventually named lead singer (to dump water on TapeGate and effectively end the Augeri era). They tour a bit in the states, continue to receive nice reviews and head off to Europe. They fulfill a grueling European leg and return to the states. Soto, like Augeri, now had a certain contingent of fans following him (though they weighed several hundred pounds less ). However, after playing their last gig for the year they decide Jeff is not the right person for the path they have chosen. They publically thank Jeff and begin the process of looking for a new singer. Until he's named I'll leave that chapter open.
The bottom line is this. Journey gave Steve Perry a shot. He maximized it, added to the band and helped them soar. Then, for whatever reasons he decided to be a detour or roadblock every couple of years. The band waited several times until they saw the last bit of light fading and knew they had to move on this time. Hell, they afforded him (along with his talent) the luxury of being an enigmatic, semi-reclusive, rich old fart these days that wants to do nothing but talk about how he misses singing. God bless him. Steve Augeri was yanked from The Gap and was so surprised about the call he thought it had to be fake. He toured for 7 out of 8 years I believe and made enough money that he's wildly rich. They held on to him after the initial failure of Arrival and the dreadful Red 13. They continued to tour and show faith in him as their singer because the crowds were still virtually all there. JSS was summoned next. Out of nowhere, a name virtually no concert goers ever heard of, emerged as the new singer. He seized upon a mutually beneficial opportunity and gave Journey what they needed...a temporary shot in the arm, a means to extinguish TapeGate and a nice rendition of the classics. He made a boatload of dough, got to tour with the big boys and made a name for himself a bit on U.S. soil.
In summation, Journey has seemingly been patient and fair with their singers. Have they made a few bad decisions? Sure....we all have. Journey made Perry rich, Augeri rich and put a ton of dough in JSS's pocket. They owe these guys nothing. They're a business, a corporation and an entity that makes money. THAT'S the bottom line. I'm embarrassed as hell about my actions during TapeGate and the Soto firing. All of that hullaballoo over two guys that were given an ENOURMOUS opportunity they would have otherwise NEVER had. Imagine Steve Smith, arguably the world's greatest drummer, reading the reaction we made over that. Shit, when he was fired hardly a peep was muttered by him or anyone else. He moved on. Time we do the same, along with Augeri and Soto. I'm over it...completely. These guys have fucked over one singer and one singer only....Kevin Chalfant. He's the ONLY one they owe ANY sort of apology to. I'm excited about seeing these guys again. Short of a few partially lipped concerts, they haven't done a damn thing to me. And I now completely understand the business aspect of that decision. Journey gives singers a chance. It might last a decade, close to decade or less than a year, but they give you a chance. In the end, that's all you can ask for in business...a chance. I will continue to love this band, its music and its shows. For those that will discontinue going to their shows, I completely understand that is your right as a paying customer and respect that choice. God bless.
). They wait again over a year and when Perry isn't any closer to making a decision than he was 13 months prior they move on.
Enter Steve Augeri. After bidding The Gap adios he steps in for Steve Perry. The band works hard, they practice and then they hit the road. After some gigs go by, Steve finds a nice groove. He does well and more importantly, he draws well. He cuts a nice album, is backed by a label and is more than decent in concert. However, the album, in terms of past popularity, is a colossal failure. It moves less than 400,00 units, generates no interest, and gets virtually no radio spins.
The lineup moves forward as a touring act and they do so relentlessly. They tour virtually every year. They release 1 and a half excrement laden albums, the second being while Augeri is battling major throat problems. The band decides for whatever reason(s) that they're going to add artificial, prerecorded elements to their shows and proceed to do that til they can't do so anymore. Exit Augeri and enter Soto.
Jeff Scott Soto steps in and does a nice job on short notice. Jeff is eventually named lead singer (to dump water on TapeGate and effectively end the Augeri era). They tour a bit in the states, continue to receive nice reviews and head off to Europe. They fulfill a grueling European leg and return to the states. Soto, like Augeri, now had a certain contingent of fans following him (though they weighed several hundred pounds less
). However, after playing their last gig for the year they decide Jeff is not the right person for the path they have chosen. They publically thank Jeff and begin the process of looking for a new singer. Until he's named I'll leave that chapter open.
The bottom line is this. Journey gave Steve Perry a shot. He maximized it, added to the band and helped them soar. Then, for whatever reasons he decided to be a detour or roadblock every couple of years. The band waited several times until they saw the last bit of light fading and knew they had to move on this time. Hell, they afforded him (along with his talent) the luxury of being an enigmatic, semi-reclusive, rich old fart these days that wants to do nothing but talk about how he misses singing. God bless him. Steve Augeri was yanked from The Gap and was so surprised about the call he thought it had to be fake. He toured for 7 out of 8 years I believe and made enough money that he's wildly rich. They held on to him after the initial failure of Arrival and the dreadful Red 13. They continued to tour and show faith in him as their singer because the crowds were still virtually all there. JSS was summoned next. Out of nowhere, a name virtually no concert goers ever heard of, emerged as the new singer. He seized upon a mutually beneficial opportunity and gave Journey what they needed...a temporary shot in the arm, a means to extinguish TapeGate and a nice rendition of the classics. He made a boatload of dough, got to tour with the big boys and made a name for himself a bit on U.S. soil.
In summation, Journey has seemingly been patient and fair with their singers. Have they made a few bad decisions? Sure....we all have. Journey made Perry rich, Augeri rich and put a ton of dough in JSS's pocket. They owe these guys nothing. They're a business, a corporation and an entity that makes money. THAT'S the bottom line. I'm embarrassed as hell about my actions during TapeGate and the Soto firing. All of that hullaballoo over two guys that were given an ENOURMOUS opportunity they would have otherwise NEVER had. Imagine Steve Smith, arguably the world's greatest drummer, reading the reaction we made over that. Shit, when he was fired hardly a peep was muttered by him or anyone else. He moved on. Time we do the same, along with Augeri and Soto. I'm over it...completely. These guys have fucked over one singer and one singer only....Kevin Chalfant. He's the ONLY one they owe ANY sort of apology to. I'm excited about seeing these guys again. Short of a few partially lipped concerts, they haven't done a damn thing to me. And I now completely understand the business aspect of that decision. Journey gives singers a chance. It might last a decade, close to decade or less than a year, but they give you a chance. In the end, that's all you can ask for in business...a chance. I will continue to love this band, its music and its shows. For those that will discontinue going to their shows, I completely understand that is your right as a paying customer and respect that choice. God bless.
Nice retrospect, but I wonder how much dough those guys really got in their pockets. And they may still owe JSS an apology too maybe? For how it was handled? Thanks for respecting my decision not to attend 
(unless Perry were to show up of course 
