MR

TNC's link to the recent DLR interview hearing the parts about Journey made me look up and found this article.

http://www.vhnd.com/2017/04/12/van-hale ... y-in-1978/

The picture at the top confused me (and you cant copy and paste it) as it included Steve Smith with Neal, Michael, and Eddie,
but then saw that a Hagar less Montrose was also a part of this tour.

Anyway a good article but yeah I could see why Journey wanted to drop them.

If Van Halen wasn't rowdy, Journey would have stolen Eddie Van Halen and his brother for Journey and they would have been no Van Halen. With two guitarists, Journey would have been forced to rock out, and no ballads. Perry would have probably left the band after three albums. Then they would have replaced him with Sammy Hagar. Just Sayin'

JourneyHard wrote:If Van Halen wasn't rowdy, Journey would have stolen Eddie Van Halen and his brother for Journey and they would have been no Van Halen. With two guitarists, Journey would have been forced to rock out, and no ballads. Perry would have probably left the band after three albums. Then they would have replaced him with Sammy Hagar. Just Sayin'

You sound as high as Neal looks in that photo.

Art Vandelay wrote:

JourneyHard wrote:If Van Halen wasn't rowdy, Journey would have stolen Eddie Van Halen and his brother for Journey and they would have been no Van Halen. With two guitarists, Journey would have been forced to rock out, and no ballads. Perry would have probably left the band after three albums. Then they would have replaced him with Sammy Hagar. Just Sayin'

You sound as high as Neal looks in that photo.

They could have called it Van Schon or Van Journey.

Here's some good video of a 1978 Montrose performance...not sure if this was from the Infinity tour, but it would have been just around that time.
There's a killer Steve Smith drum solo around 34:45. Much harder than I've seen him play before, very heavy on the double bass.
This is the gig that earned him Aynsley Dunbar's seat in Journey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXG_dO8vYVo

Art Vandelay wrote:Here's some good video of a 1978 Montrose performance...not sure if this was from the Infinity tour, but it would have been just around that time.
There's a killer Steve Smith drum solo around 34:45. Much harder than I've seen him play before, very heavy on the double bass.
This is the gig that earned him Aynsley Dunbar's seat in Journey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXG_dO8vYVo

As much as I love Smitty, and love that he's back with Journey, I miss this kind of playing from him. Much harder and forceful indeed. There's a reason Perry used to call him "Steve Machine Gun Smith." His kit today doesn't even sit the same as it did then. He's really evolved.

Did Steve Smith move right in to a playing member of the band, or did he come in as a drum tech/roadie for Aynsley Dunbar first? And in this video are the those the same Sonor drums he played with Journey?


later~

IIRC Perry didnt like Dunbar's drumming.
I think Dunbar't technique was more for jamming.
Weird Perry has this much pull after one album, but who knows.

They musta liked what they saw in Smith and rightly so.
Came in pretty much the same way Cain did, after touring with the Babys, and Smith touring with Montrose.

Itll be interesting to see who Journey tours with next year.

scarab wrote:Itll be interesting to see who Journey tours with next year.

I don't know if either of these are still touring, but I would like to see Pat Benatar and Bad Company with Journey.

FamilyMan wrote:

Art Vandelay wrote:Here's some good video of a 1978 Montrose performance...not sure if this was from the Infinity tour, but it would have been just around that time.
There's a killer Steve Smith drum solo around 34:45. Much harder than I've seen him play before, very heavy on the double bass.
This is the gig that earned him Aynsley Dunbar's seat in Journey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXG_dO8vYVo

As much as I love Smitty, and love that he's back with Journey, I miss this kind of playing from him. Much harder and forceful indeed. There's a reason Perry used to call him "Steve Machine Gun Smith." His kit today doesn't even sit the same as it did then. He's really evolved.

I agree...for as much as I love watching him play with his various jazz outfits, there was something special about seeing him play harder and heavier back in the day. He's spoken about how and why he has modified the setup of his kit in an interview I read a few years back. It makes for easier and better playing for his style - better posture, less reaching, not as much of a physical endurance.