Journey & Perry...
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:20 amComments from Bob Lefsetz -
I just got off the phone with Irving Azoff. Despite the raging success of "Glee", he decided to keep Journey off the road this summer. You can't overwork your acts, you can't go out every year. Or, you can ask yourself the question, do you want to burn it out or go for longevity? Remember grade school, where you learned about farmers letting their land go fallow? Same deal in rock and roll. Work the same venues every year with the same crop and you end up in trouble. Only in this case, it's not the land that dries up, but your audience.
When "Any Way You Want It" was first a hit it was easily dismissed by the cognoscenti, put down as a lightweight romp. But compared to today's pop confections, "Any Way You Want It' looks like Beethoven.
As for "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'"... Isn't that what we all want?
"Glee" is not a band, but a TV show. Which builds, fades and is done. Hell, just look at "American Idol". There's no such thing as too much music in the marketplace, especially when none of it gets radio airplay. Yes, these "Glee" albums are made for home play. On your iPod, in your car. Listening makes you feel exuberant...and there's nothing wrong with that!
And there's a hard core Journey fan base that's never stopped believin'. They've been waiting for the reunion show. If Dave can get back with Van Halen, if Felix could play with the Rascals, Steve Perry and Neal Schon can make up and go on the road. To play stadiums. It could happen. Steve called me a couple of months back and sounded as upbeat and thrilled about his music as ever.
Furthermore, this proves that if you've done great work that made it once, you're only one step away from a renaissance. But you can't push it, it's got to happen by accident, serendipitously. A royalty check should be sent to David Chase for each and every song downloaded. And make no mistake, "Glee" sales drive Journey sales. And if Chase could put their music in the greatest TV series ever, who are we to pooh-pooh it!
I just got off the phone with Irving Azoff. Despite the raging success of "Glee", he decided to keep Journey off the road this summer. You can't overwork your acts, you can't go out every year. Or, you can ask yourself the question, do you want to burn it out or go for longevity? Remember grade school, where you learned about farmers letting their land go fallow? Same deal in rock and roll. Work the same venues every year with the same crop and you end up in trouble. Only in this case, it's not the land that dries up, but your audience.
When "Any Way You Want It" was first a hit it was easily dismissed by the cognoscenti, put down as a lightweight romp. But compared to today's pop confections, "Any Way You Want It' looks like Beethoven.
As for "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'"... Isn't that what we all want?
"Glee" is not a band, but a TV show. Which builds, fades and is done. Hell, just look at "American Idol". There's no such thing as too much music in the marketplace, especially when none of it gets radio airplay. Yes, these "Glee" albums are made for home play. On your iPod, in your car. Listening makes you feel exuberant...and there's nothing wrong with that!
And there's a hard core Journey fan base that's never stopped believin'. They've been waiting for the reunion show. If Dave can get back with Van Halen, if Felix could play with the Rascals, Steve Perry and Neal Schon can make up and go on the road. To play stadiums. It could happen. Steve called me a couple of months back and sounded as upbeat and thrilled about his music as ever.
Furthermore, this proves that if you've done great work that made it once, you're only one step away from a renaissance. But you can't push it, it's got to happen by accident, serendipitously. A royalty check should be sent to David Chase for each and every song downloaded. And make no mistake, "Glee" sales drive Journey sales. And if Chase could put their music in the greatest TV series ever, who are we to pooh-pooh it!
