November 04,2005
Rose Ybarra
The Monitor
Think current music charts are ruled by recent releases? Journey is proving otherwise. The group’s 1981 smash hit, "Don’t Stop Believin’," is No. 3 on iTunes rock list. Others in the Top 10 include Lifehouse and Nickelback, artists from this decade.
This throwback success on a modern medium may help Journey find an audience with fans that were born in the 1980s.
The band can thank the current Major League Baseball world champion Chicago White Sox for putting them in the national spotlight. The team adopted "Don’t Stop Believin’ " as its anthem during the final weeks of the season.
Journey dropped Generations on Oct. 4, an album of original material released by Sanctuary Records and recently completed its 30th Anniversary summer tour. After a short break, including time with the kids on Halloween, Journey continues with a handful of tour dates, including a stop at Dodge Arena in Hidalgo on Tuesday.
An interview with the group was scrapped because Halloween duty called, according to a representative for the group.
Journey, one of the foremost bands of the 1970s and 1980s, reunited in 1997. The current lineup, consisting of Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums), Neal Schon (guitar) and Steve Augeri (vocals), stands as the longest running in the band’s storied history,
Refocused but not completely revamped, Journey’s lyrics are as romantic and optimistic as ever but updated, Augeri said in a written statement.
"Not to say that there’s less fluff, but as the band matured, there are more songs that mature men feel more comfortable writing about and relating to," he said. "You can sing about negativity all you want, because that’s what we go through every day, but we’re all optimists, and if there’s a ray of hope, it’s nice to bring attention to it. You can’t have the light, without the dark. When you expose some light on the dark, and put a positive spin on it, you’ve got a Journey song."
Journey’s Greatest Hits album remains on heavy rotation in CD players, even though it was first released in 1988. Patty Ramirez, 42, of Donna said she listens to her second copy of the CD at least once a week.
"The first one was all scratched up because I was moving it back and forth from the house to my car," she said. "I think it’s one of the best albums ever released. Even my 24-year-old niece likes it and she wasn’t even born when some of the songs were recorded."
Journey, who captured the hearts of fans worldwide with tunes like, "Open Arms," "Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin" and "Lights," started 2005 on an upward note. January 21 was declared "Journey Day," by the mayor of Hollywood, the same day the band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The day was full of surprises. In addition to the current members, former Journey men such as drummers Steve Smith and Aynsley Dunbar, guitarist George Tickner and singer Robert Fleischman were on hand for the ceremony.
The icing on the cake for Journey fans was an appearance by on-again, off-again frontman Steve Perry, who left the band to pursue a solo career in 1984 and later returned. He ultimately departed again in 1996 because a degenerative hip condition prevented him from touring.
Journey’s story began in 1973, when former Santana members Schon and Rolie started the band along with Vallory, Tickner and Prairie Prince. Since then, Journey has sold more than 75 million albums.
The band set high standards back in its early days and nothing has changed, Augeri said.
"These guys push me," he said. "I was always content to sit back, but they pick me up and bring me to a level that I never dreamed of reaching."
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Rose Ybarra covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4425.
