Jeremey wrote:Here's an observation - Maybe no one in Journey thought they could continue or survive without Augeri. Maybe up to a certain point, they did believe that there was no way the band could have survived another lead singer changeover so late in the game. Neal himself said late last year or early this year that this was the "last incarnation" of Journey. Journey gave Augeri the power to believe that the Journey machine could not move forward without him. Humble or no, the weight of that level of power could have been enough to give Augeri and the band the sort of arrogance to believe a tapegate could be perpetrated. Neal, Jonathan, Ross - They'd all been in that position before with Perry and did not have the strength to believe in themselves to move forward. It wasn't until Neal and Jeff got together with Soul Sirkus that Neal really felt there was the potential to move out of the rut they were in. And coming off the Soul Sirkus tour in early 2005, Neal had just gotten back to basics with one of the best live vocalists in the business - Only to be faced with a gracious, humble, yet croaking and asthmatic singer - I think it gave Neal hope to believe that there was a way to move the band forward instead of driving it into its grave.
My only problem with that scenario Jeremey is that Neal, Jon and Ross are the veterans. Why would they have put all their cards in a game with a relative nobody? Could the Wigglers have really made them think Augeri was that much a part of who Journey was? I guess maybe losing a portion of their fanbase when Perry was gone may have made them think they couldn't survive losing the Augeri fans, but damn, Augeri was nothing compared to Perry. Most of their audience for the concerts didn't even realize who was singing. Why would they have given him that kind or power over them, either legally or emotionally? I personally don't think he was all that humble after he got his legs under him in the band. I think that was the image he chose to project thinking it would win over some of the lost fan base. It seems that some people fell for it.
I can understand if Neal had feelings of insecurity about the future of the band after the failure of Arrival. I could see where all that has happened may have made him think they couldn't go on if they had to change frontmen, if the frontman in question was really deeply rooted in the legacy of Journey. Augeri was never more than a generic guy up there singing the Perry songs to nostalgic audiences except to a relatively small portion of their concert attendees.
Oh well, I don't mean to harp at you about it.
I'm just glad Neal found Jeff and now knows there is a future if they can just get out of the legal mess. I know you can't answer all the questions, I'm just venting my frustrations. 
