Video Teaser for The Waiting

[Jeremey]

For my friends and fellow Petty fans that hang around here sometimes, here's a teaser video for the new band, along with a list of dates we have coming up in the next month.

Folks around Falls Church VA, Myrtle Beach SC, Charlotte NC, Roanoke VA, Struthers OH, and Jacksonville Beach FL should come check out a show in the next month or so!

http://youtu.be/sFv0f4CWa_A

[The Sushi Hunter]

If that's you singing, you sound pretty much exactly like the real one. Not sure how far that's going to bring the band but you do sound exactly like Petty.

[tater1977]

Sounds great Jeremey.. who's got the white sox with flip flops on ...
Sounds like Petty...

[Jeremey]

If that's you singing, you sound pretty much exactly like the real one. Not sure how far that's going to bring the band but you do sound exactly like Petty.

Thanks! Hopefully that will be a big benefit in drawing crowds and getting gigs!

[Jeremey]

Sounds great Jeremey.. who's got the white sox with flip flops on ...
Sounds like Petty...

Thanks Tater, that's Mason, our lead guitarist. He was very self conscious about his socks and flipflops for some reason so I was sure to get them in the video LOL

[The Sushi Hunter]

If that's you singing, you sound pretty much exactly like the real one. Not sure how far that's going to bring the band but you do sound exactly like Petty.

Thanks! Hopefully that will be a big benefit in drawing crowds and getting gigs!

Of course it will be.

[texafana]

Is there really that much demand for Petty tribute band?!?! Except for checking out a local band at a bar for free, would anyone pay big bucks to see a Petty trib???

For what it's worth, you sound better here than your earlier demos. But still...this is not a vocal showcase band. Hate to see you resort to this, but I understand your voice has changed...probably forever...and you want to continue to earn money doing what you love to do...sing. Much respect for that. But still...this is kind of sad to be honest. Going from emulating one of the best voices in melodic rock to now...well...emulating one of the most mediocre...from a person who I personally feel has (had?) one of the best voices at times I've ever heard, yah...a tad bit sad.

Good luck with this project, I hope you earn enough to stay in the business. But...here's wishing that melodic voice of yours can come back some day.

[slucero]

It sounds great J... keep it up. Do what you love. Fuck what anyone thinks...

[Jeremey]

Is there really that much demand for Petty tribute band?!?! Except for checking out a local band at a bar for free, would anyone pay big bucks to see a Petty trib???

For what it's worth, you sound better here than your earlier demos. But still...this is not a vocal showcase band. Hate to see you resort to this, but I understand your voice has changed...probably forever...and you want to continue to earn money doing what you love to do...sing. Much respect for that. But still...this is kind of sad to be honest. Going from emulating one of the best voices in melodic rock to now...well...emulating one of the most mediocre...from a person who I personally feel has (had?) one of the best voices at times I've ever heard, yah...a tad bit sad.

Good luck with this project, I hope you earn enough to stay in the business. But...here's wishing that melodic voice of yours can come back some day.

Thanks Tex, I appreciate your concerns. I don't see people that consider themselves primarily fans of "melodic rock" being the target market for a Petty tribute band. In fact, I would say most people that are big melodic rock fans probably do not like Petty. But if you can't look at the guy's career and what he's still doing (releasing relevant albums that still chart in the Billboard top 10, selling out headlining arena tours around the world), and see that there's obviously a huge market for his music, I can't offer anything else that could change your mind.

I think it's more the "shock" of people hearing me do something different with my voice. The great thing about this project is that I've always been a huge fan of Tom Petty, and I've always loved singing these songs. It's not some "consolation prize" for me, it's a great opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do. And the honest truth is, the Journey tribute market has become saturated....Every major town has at least a decent Journey tribute band, and with us being off the road for a year, or having to have taken off until next summer, or whatever, would have meant losing so much momentum, there wouldn't be any point in doing it anymore.

Regarding my voice, yes, the surgery changed the physiology of my voice and I'd never be able to perform at the level I did from 2007-2010 again, but that's only a problem because I was singing a very specific and iconic catalog, and my voice isn't judged on it's own merit, but on how closely it sounded to Steve Perry. So what would be the point? The reason I did Frontiers was because people always said I "sounded just like Steve Perry." Shit, I released a CD of original material with a jazz song and a Tears For Fears cover, and reviewers still said "Wow, it sounds just like "Street Talk!" So what else would I do with that particular voice in this day and age of the music industry.

Finally, whether my voice comes back enough to sound just like Steve Perry isn't a concern to me. Can I sing again? Yes. I've regained my ability to sing most of the songs on my CD (with the exception of Can't You See He's Gone and What Can I Do). I've even regained the ability to sing some of the Journey material (Our final Frontiers performance was last Saturday and I did sing "When You Love A Woman" one last time...Sounded just like it always did). So for progressing from not being able to even make a sound just 8 months ago to regaining that level of use from my voice tells me I'll be fine. Most "big time" singers take a year off all the time and deal with whatever they have to in order to "get right" again...I've been off since December, and if I had released a CD during that time and toured, like most major acts, people probably wouldn't even be wondering what I was up to until next spring or so. Because we played full time, all the time, dropping out for even a couple of months is much more obvious than a singer who is doing the normal release cycle every 18-24 months.

Do I wish I had never gotten fogged in the face and kept singing for another 3 months? Do I wish I hadn't gotten into a business arrangement where I had to perform 16-18 shows every month just to pay off my management? Do I wish I hadn't made a lot of mistakes that I did over the course of touring full time and being forced to make decisions without the luxury of thinking through them and weighing all the consequences? Of course, life would have been much easier. But clearly no one could have maintained that kind of pressure, and if this was the only way out, then so be it.

I've always said I'm more of a performer than a singer. Continuing to do what I love, is to continue to be in front of people and entertain them...I do think it's a small part of what made Frontiers successful beyond all the singing and music. But I had a lot of time to finally plot a course of action over the past year, rather than be forced to make decisions or get boxed in by the circumstances I created for myself. And luckily I'm finally able to do something that will be different, and fun, and yes, I do think successful. We've already been booked to headline House of Blues Myrtle Beach, Dallas, Houston, the Jack FM Throwback Festival in Dallas, the theatres and music halls that have already replaced Frontiers in their schedules...Will people come out? Well, we're a new band. We have to prove ourselves again. But is there a market for Petty? Geez, somebody's been buying his music, LOL.

[Jeremey]

As far as marketing a Petty tribute, here's the sales letter I sent out to the major venues and promoters. I think it makes a good argument for a Petty tribute.

An Open Letter To Talent Buyers From The Waiting
Tom Petty Tribute Band
October 8, 2012
The tribute band market has exploded over the past decade in the US, and I feel privileged to have shared in that success with my bandmates in Frontiers, the Journey tribute. Since 2002, Frontiers has been the most in-demand Journey tribute in the nation, and though we didn’t put on wigs or use props, we performed the music with a spirit and accuracy unequaled amongst our peers.
With the final Frontiers performance coming up this week, I’m more excited than I’ve been in years about a new full-time project we’ve been developing.

What if I told you that there was a band that had

sold over 60 million records,
was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame during their first year of eligibility,
scored Billboard Top 10 debuts in each of the past five consecutive decades –
And had a Greatest Hits catalog that has sold over 18 million records alone
– And you’ve probably never booked
a tribute to this band in your venue?

This is the idea behind our new project, The Waiting, a tribute to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. When became clear that Frontiers would be winding down this year, I spent months trying to come up with a concept that would be a unique and guaranteed crowd pleaser. There were a number of ways we could have moved forward, but as I’ve already mentioned, there were a ton of bands already covering everything from Pink Floyd to Neil Diamond. I soon realized, however, that there was enormous untapped potential for one particular act

– And it just happened to be one of my favorite bands of all time.
Initially, I heard some venues and promoters shrug off the idea. “Petty won’t sell,” they claimed. But it’s easy to overlook an important aspect to Petty’s catalog and what The Waiting is capitalizing on…So many tributes focus on a band that had success for 3 years, five years, tops. Journey themselves continues to capitalize on a short 5 year window that generated 90% of their hits.

But the overlooked thing about Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers is that they’ve consistently been producing hits over the course of nearly forty years. “American Girl” and “Breakdown” were two of the band’s first hits — released 35 years ago.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers dominated MTV for the next decade with hits like “The Waiting,” “Refugee,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” and “You Got Lucky,” before Petty himself launched a solo career (“Free Fallin’,” “Won’t Back Down”) that eclipsed the band’s previous success. What’s even more remarkable is that the band’s Greatest Hits collection was released not at the end of the band’s career, but at its height – 18 million copies and 20 years after its release, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have continued releasing top 10 CDs, including the most recent release, 2010’s MOJO, which debuted at #2 its first week of release — With first week sales of 125,000 copies.

The Waiting is the first tribute to take on a national, full-time touring schedule of this amazing band’s catalog. And we’re not wasting any time. Our debut performance is less than two weeks after the final Frontiers show, at the gorgeous State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia. After that, our second and third performances will be headlining at House of Blues Myrtle Beach and the famed Amos’ Southend in Charlotte NC.

The response to the band has been fantastic amongst those who know our commitment to quality and showmanship. But I thought it was important to write this letter for those of you who may have been skeptical about the idea of a Petty tribute. Just because there aren’t 12 Tom Petty tribute bands knocking down your door doesn’t mean the market isn’t ripe for an amazing tribute to one of rock’s most enduring songbooks. And even if there were 12 Petty bands on your doorstep, there’d still only be one of us. We’ve taken the same approach that made Frontiers such a success — No gimmicks or distracting wigs or props, no “jukebox” performances that lack imagination and don’t engage the audience. We’re taking all of those songs and breathing life into them – In a way that we’ve proven time and again engages audiences, captures their imaginations, and above all, sells tickets time and time again.

We’re currently booking available dates for The Waiting in January and February, and if you’re a talent buyer reading this, I believe we can build a passionate and lucrative following in your market.

Thanks for your time and interest, I look forward to discussing available dates as we fill our early 2013 schedule.

Please contact us today to discuss available dates for Winter 2013.

[JRNYMAN]

Do I wish I hadn't gotten into a business arrangement where I had to perform 16-18 shows every month just to pay off my management?

Holy Shit, J !!! Seriously?!?! How did THAT happen? Sounds like you were being represented by Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe!! That's just wrong on so many levels but it shows that the music industry has remained consistent over the decades with management, producers and the labels making all the moolah. That just sucks bro! I feel for ya.....

But is there a market for Petty? Geez, somebody's been buying his music, LOL.

The first Petty song I learned on keys was Breakdown and it's just as much a crowd pleaser today as it was back in '78 ('78 ? ... if memory serves)
And while I don't recall ever meeting anyone who's favorite band was Tom Petty & The HB's, it's a pretty safe bet there isn't anyone from our era who doesn't doesn't know all the words to at least a few of his songs. He was part of the musical landscape of the 70's and 80's and due to the enormous amount of airplay he received, his music and his voice became instantly recognizable - whether you liked him or not. Personally, I do like most of his stuff would most definitely pay to see/hear a Petty trib band. But, since I'm in Phoenix and yours is the only one.....

Great job on the demo BTW!!

[texafana]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I do know Petty is an icon, I just didn't think his music would be something for a "profitable" tribute band. I would gladly pay $$ to see him in concert, not so much to see a tribute. So glad to hear your voice is on the rebound, that's awesome! I meant no disrespect, because even though I speak my mind about you, I am a huge fan, and so is my wife.

[Jeremey]

Holy Shit, J !!! Seriously?!?! How did THAT happen? Sounds like you were being represented by Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe!! That's just wrong on so many levels but it shows that the music industry has remained consistent over the decades with management, producers and the labels making all the moolah. That just sucks bro! I feel for ya.....

LOL, yeah, not to get too much into it, but I did have an arrangement with a booking/management company that started off with no problems, then escalated over a year or two into being a real drain on resources. Kind of one of those "you know, I can handle that for you for an extra %," type things. "Really, that would be great!" Wrong. LOL.

The first Petty song I learned on keys was Breakdown and it's just as much a crowd pleaser today as it was back in '78 ('78 ? ... if memory serves)
And while I don't recall ever meeting anyone who's favorite band was Tom Petty & The HB's, it's a pretty safe bet there isn't anyone from our era who doesn't doesn't know all the words to at least a few of his songs. He was part of the musical landscape of the 70's and 80's and due to the enormous amount of airplay he received, his music and his voice became instantly recognizable - whether you liked him or not. Personally, I do like most of his stuff would most definitely pay to see/hear a Petty trib band. But, since I'm in Phoenix and yours is the only one.....

Great job on the demo BTW!!

Thanks so much, I think the depth of the songbook is pretty incredible, and once people realize that we're playing for nearly two hours and just doing hit after hit after hit, lots of people are going to come away from a show and tell their friends just how awesome Tom Petty tunes really are...At least that's the idea LOL. The one thing I'm a little unsure of is the fact that with Journey, you have rock songs, then you have power ballads. Petty doesn't really have any ballads, LOL...So the show is a 100 minute rock and roll show, and we have to keep the setlist varied and interesting so people don't feel beat up by the awesomeness of all that rock jammed into one small space. We're doing a couple acoustic arrangements, and there's tons of singalong hits, so I think it will keep things rolling along. The thing about Journey was, I knew if we put something like "Forever In Blue" or "Chain Reaction" in the setlist, it was going to fly over the heads of a lot of the "general public" in the audience, but I can honestly say, we didn't have to dig deep at all with Petty to come up with a set list of radio hits that could fill a full show. In fact, there's a couple of hits that we just aren't going to play, even though they were big hits and had videos, because we felt they would slow down the pace of the show.

[Jeremey]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I do know Petty is an icon, I just didn't think his music would be something for a "profitable" tribute band. I would gladly pay $$ to see him in concert, not so much to see a tribute. So glad to hear your voice is on the rebound, that's awesome! I meant no disrespect, because even though I speak my mind about you, I am a huge fan, and so is my wife.

Thanks Tex, I didn't take it that way...I wanted to get specific in my answer just so there wasn't any misconception that I was "settling" for what I was doing now. We used to be in the van with Frontiers, or sitting in a hotel room before a show, and jamming to Tom Petty, and Greg (bass player) and I would joke back and forth...."We need to do a Petty tribute man," and we'd get excited about how awesome it would be, then of course back to the reality of playing 150 Frontiers shows that year. So it's something we've all really dug into with a lot of passion. When we get to Dallas House of Blues I'll be sure to PM you, so you and your wife's first Petty tribute band concert would be on the house LOL.

Thanks again!

[Ehwmatt]

J, any samples of the band itself playing yet? Those are not the band's tracks you're singing on, right?

[Jeremey]

J, any samples of the band itself playing yet? Those are not the band's tracks you're singing on, right?

Hey Matt, no that's just a vocal demo. Since we've been furiously rehearsing for the past 2 months for the show in a couple of weeks, there hasn't been any practical way to get a quality studio recording of anything. Plus some of the guys live 3-4 hours away, and our rehearsal time is pretty well maximized for working out the arrangements, etc. After our first couple of performances we'll be able to release a great deal of stuff to YouTube, etc. But at this stage it was necessary to get something out to people to establish some credibility with my voice, etc.

[Ehwmatt]

J, any samples of the band itself playing yet? Those are not the band's tracks you're singing on, right?

Hey Matt, no that's just a vocal demo. Since we've been furiously rehearsing for the past 2 months for the show in a couple of weeks, there hasn't been any practical way to get a quality studio recording of anything. Plus some of the guys live 3-4 hours away, and our rehearsal time is pretty well maximized for working out the arrangements, etc. After our first couple of performances we'll be able to release a great deal of stuff to YouTube, etc. But at this stage it was necessary to get something out to people to establish some credibility with my voice, etc.

Cool. Well I'm anxious to hear how you guys capture that jangly Petty guitar sound. It's a deceptively tough sound to get, IMO. It's so simple it's hard. I've never quite been able to match it. My strat is too thin and my humbucker guitars are too hot/fizzy. I think I need a telecaster.

[RPM]

Jeremey practicing as a kid for his future Petty gig





J/K dude you sound great. I was never a fan of nasally type voices, but strangely Petty's upper range
is very clear and I always enjoyed his voice. I cant imagine how anyone heard Dylan sing and proclaim
"yes what a beautiful voice we must sign him!"[/b]

[slucero]

J, any samples of the band itself playing yet? Those are not the band's tracks you're singing on, right?

Hey Matt, no that's just a vocal demo. Since we've been furiously rehearsing for the past 2 months for the show in a couple of weeks, there hasn't been any practical way to get a quality studio recording of anything. Plus some of the guys live 3-4 hours away, and our rehearsal time is pretty well maximized for working out the arrangements, etc. After our first couple of performances we'll be able to release a great deal of stuff to YouTube, etc. But at this stage it was necessary to get something out to people to establish some credibility with my voice, etc.

Cool. Well I'm anxious to hear how you guys capture that jangly Petty guitar sound. It's a deceptively tough sound to get, IMO. It's so simple it's hard. I've never quite been able to match it. My strat is too thin and my humbucker guitars are too hot/fizzy. I think I need a telecaster.

I remember reading that, for the most part... their earlier albums were Tele's through small combo's like blackface Princeton's and tweeds. . They favored the smaller amps for their clean sound and that it's easier to make a small amp sound "big" in the studio.. the bigger stage amps were just for decoration.

Here's a pic that show's to small Fenders behind two Vox Beatle amps..

[Jeremey]

Finally I can get guitar geek for a while LOL...

The recorded sound of TPATH's early stuff is really deceptive. Mike Campbell was using a Fender Broadcaster & Tom was using a Strat - Fender Blackface Princetons and Vox AC-30s for amps for most of those early records. The songs are so simple, but the arrangements are VERY complex, which has a lot to do with the sound of the guitars....There were 3-4 guitar tracks on most songs, playing different inversions of the same chords to give that huge sound. Throw the 12 string Ricks in the mix and it just has such a unique sound that's hard to nail down. Lucero is dead on that the small combo amp is a key to that sound. The Vox Super Beatles are pretty much for show on stage....There's some Vox AC-30s and Tom is running through a Fender Bassman as well, but Campbell is using the Fender Princetons for the most part I believe.

Mason (our lead guitar player) is playing a Rick 330 I believe through a small Fender Deluxe maybe with an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and he has the sound absolutely nailed. Kenny (rhythm guitar & vocals) is playing a strat through a VG 99 and he can model the sound pretty much exactly, as well as cover some of the odd stuff like sitars, etc. I'm just playing an Epiphone Dot through an amp modeler (AC-30) and getting a "close enough" sound, but I'm only playing on intros, choruses, and under the guitar solos, so my playing isn't as prominent in the mix as Mason and Kenny.

The only "live" recording we have right now is a real rough rehearsal of "Here Comes My Girl," which isn't really great for guitar sounds but here 'tis:

http://youtu.be/TBBiap8ATbw

[Jeremey]

Sang live for the first time in almost a year last night with the new band's debut. For anyone who's been curious to see what it may sound like, here's a video of our opening song:

http://youtu.be/UHCB1TcNVVA

[slucero]

sounds effin GREAT.

.. looks like great fun too.

[steveo777]

Sang live for the first time in almost a year last night with the new band's debut. For anyone who's been curious to see what it may sound like, here's a video of our opening song:

http://youtu.be/UHCB1TcNVVA

Where is the front man?

Jeremey, you have so many talents. You have navigated the ins and outs of the business. I really hope you can find something that works. I'm not down on this effort, but at the same time I don't see how it works.....yet. Maybe it just needs to be polished....I don't know. All I do know is that I have your "Every Little Thing" album, which I love. That was on the right course, but your voice is not going to do another one of those. Your song writing skills are excellent. How about writing more music tailored to your "present voice"?

[Jeremey]

sounds effin GREAT.

.. looks like great fun too.

It was awesome! I was really impressed with the turnout for our first ever show in an untested town on a Thursday night....These are the first few songs, so everyone was obviously sitting for the first 20 minutes or so but by the time Free Fallin' came out on the 6th song everyone was standing. Great audience response (lots of call backs, etc) and not a single skeptic standing in the corner with their arms crossed...

[Jeremey]

Sang live for the first time in almost a year last night with the new band's debut. For anyone who's been curious to see what it may sound like, here's a video of our opening song:

http://youtu.be/UHCB1TcNVVA

Where is the front man?

Jeremey, you have so many talents. You have navigated the ins and outs of the business. I really hope you can find something that works. I'm not down on this effort, but at the same time I don't see how it works.....yet. Maybe it just needs to be polished....I don't know. All I do know is that I have your "Every Little Thing" album, which I love. That was on the right course, but your voice is not going to do another one of those. Your song writing skills are excellent. How about writing more music tailored to your "present voice"?

Thanks Steve, I appreciate what you're saying. I'm really confident this is going to work, but I also understand it's taken a complete change of mindset from the "Journey" approach to things. I'll say this...There was always so much intense pressure all the time in Frontiers, from the band, from the fans, and from myself, that it was always a constant challenge to make sure you always did the very best, knowing that there are so many snipers out there that are ready to shoot down and point out every single flaw (and usually post to your Facebook page about how much better a "Steve Perry" their nephew does than you do).

This is a totally different vibe. I'm still a front man but I have a guitar in my hands now. And the crowds (on our debut night at least) are totally different. For example, a crowd of about 12 20something "bros" came in about 30 minutes into the show and came up to the stage. My Frontiers training said, "oh, geez, here comes trouble," as 95% of the time these are the guys that are going to start the ironic fist pumping and screaming out for Steve Perry. Nothing like that happened at ALL...They were totally into the show and the music and everyone else was as well...Dancing, singing along, and sticking around for 2 encores.

I know it's hard to see how things like this are going to work through the prism of "Journey" and melodic rock, but there is a LOT of people out there that really enjoy this stuff, and as long as we can do a classy and honest performance of the material, that audience is going to grow.

Overall a really great experience all the way around for a debut performance....We had 97 people in the hall, which isn't great...But it was a Thursday in DC, the night after Halloween, which was a triple whammy, and we had 97 people...ONE of which was a regular Frontiers fan and friend of ours...Now when we first played that room with Frontiers in 2008, we played on a Friday night and had 35 people in the room. So I think we're off to a good start...

[Jeremey]

Second (last!) video, a compilation of the first 20 minutes of the show:


http://youtu.be/ZqTpvPbhtIE

[slucero]

Second (last!) video, a compilation of the first 20 minutes of the show:


http://youtu.be/ZqTpvPbhtIE

Nice... good representations of the tunes...


I feel for you drummer.. its gotta be hard go from "behind the beat" Stan Lynch tunes, to "on the beat" Steve Ferrone tunes.


Good stuff man!

[ForceInfinity]

Jeremey-

I read somewhere that you are able to handle many of the songs from your solo album minus a couple songs (which is completely awesome that you got it back up to this point), but you're able to handle Lotus again? There was that one part on the song that sounded like it would punish a voice. Speaking of that solo, I know people compare you to Steve Perry on that album, I personally thought parts of the album sounded more "Outfield-ish" to me (probably owing a little to your collaboration with John Spinks I suspect), and I dig Outfield by the way.

SeanB