first Journey exposure

[Journeyman2122]

When did you first start listening to Journey? What seperated Journey from the bands that you were listening too?

[jrnysc]

When did you first start listening to Journey? What seperated Journey from the bands that you were listening too?

1983 when Frontiers came out. I was 13. Their live sound is what made them different to me. Heard a live concert on the Westwood One Channel, and it sounded like a freakin cd. Have loved them since!!!

[JeremyP]

I became a fan in 1998 when I heard "Remember Me" on the Armageddon soundtrack and I've been a huge fan ever since.

[Andrew]

When did you first start listening to Journey? What seperated Journey from the bands that you were listening too?

I'll divulge a secret here....Journey never really had an impact in Oz, so my very first exposure to the band was in fact - Oh Sherrie - yes, the Perry solo number.

Once I heard that and scored Street Talk, I needed everything Perry there was....and hence forth I then needed everything Neal, which lead me to HSAS and Schon & Hammer etc...

[ohsherrie]

It was Infinity, but I didn't hear it first on the radio. I was way into the Bee Gees. When they were no longer played on the radio because of all the boycott BS I stopped listening to the radio. I was complaining to this guy at work about it and he gave me a cassett tape of Infinity. He said if I liked great vocals and harmonies I would love it. Needless to say, I did. I only became a real fan though with Escape, and then Street Talk completed the process of becoming a 'Loon.

[Cheri]

My mom actually had all their albums and I learned to appreciate them through osmosis. Not a very good fan, though, because I didn't support them after Steve Perry left. I passed on many opportunities to see them in concert until this year. Now the future looks bright and I'm sure I'll support them no matter what. (Unless the BTers are right and Steve A is coming back)

[junky]

I first heard Look Into The Future on the radio in 1976. Neal's guitar and Rolie's voice were magic to my ears.

When Perry joined, I heard an edited version of Wheel In The Sky on the radio (faded out before the guitar solo) and while I enjoyed the new vocals, I was dissapointed by the pop song structure and lack of a guitar solo.

I went and saw them a few months later and Perry blew me away. I nearly fainted when I heard Winds Of March and Patiently. The Rolie / Schon sound that I loved was taken to a whole new level. Of course, I bought Infinity and was happy to hear that the guitar solos were still there and the band that I loved was heading in a fresh new direction with one of the best vocalists I had ever heard. Perry changed my life.

[Melissa]

As a kid, parents liked Journey too. But I was a bad fan too, didn't follow them with Augeri, last album I bought was Trial By Fire when it came out...until a few days ago, broke down & bought Generations for Deen's singing on it only.

[Chevypv]

Well, according to my parents my first exposure was in the womb... So I really dont know for sure, ive been a Journey fan since the day I was born....

[larryfromnextdoor]

As a kid, parents liked Journey too. But I was a bad fan too, didn't follow them with Augeri, last album I bought was Trial By Fire when it came out...until a few days ago, broke down & bought Generations for Deen's singing on it only.

3/4's of it is really good , augeri hits a killer note at 4:04 of Knowing That I Love You... i enjoyed it more than others, i just hate the production...

[conversationpc]

The first Journey song I ever remember hearing was "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" back in '83. They kinda slipped off my radar after that until I bought the "Greatest Hits" album in '88. I listened to it quite a bit but then purchased "Escape" in the mid 90s and from there, I then purchased all the other Journey albums.

[Melissa]

As a kid, parents liked Journey too. But I was a bad fan too, didn't follow them with Augeri, last album I bought was Trial By Fire when it came out...until a few days ago, broke down & bought Generations for Deen's singing on it only.

3/4's of it is really good , augeri hits a killer note at 4:04 of Knowing That I Love You... i enjoyed it more than others, i just hate the production...

I haven't listened too well to the rest yet, was in the car, just skipped to "Never Too Late" to hear Deen, lol. Good song, I like it. I'll give the rest a listen eventually, lol. Augeri's voice just doesn't grab me though.

NO ONE'S voice grabs me though anyhow like JSS's does.
Except Perry of course, lol.

[Tom Jrnyfn]

First heard Journey on Am radio back in 75 or 76..Freshmen in HS..I kind of lost track of them until Infinity ..I thought to myself, "I've never heard anything like this".. I was hooked. Perry grew up about 30 minutes from where I live..He was and still is a legend here in the Central Valley.

[Blueskies]

Infinity was it!!! Journey fan for life after that!!!!

[Carrington]

First real time other than LovinTS on the radio was in my cousins custom van (remember those) and an Infinity on 8-track, "Wheel in the sky" was the song.......awesome yes, but that didn't really hook me, 80 and 81 with the release of Captured (my first Journey record), "The party's over" on radio, a school assembly (remember those too) where everyone went ape shit when the slide show started playing "Any way you want it" (year end slide show thing)......that opened my eyes to Perry and Journey, but I always thought to myself, "there's no way this guy can pull off those vocals live"?......

81' and the Escape tour, the one just released on DVD was my first Journey show.......and you know if youv'e seen it, the perfection that was them at that time, it had me stunned and amazed all night long and I've been hooked ever since....

[Shadowsong]

I was a late bloomer
Hadn't really noticed til "Faithfully"
then I had to have everything from that voice that so spoke to my heart!

[*Laura]

1983 - got an "illegal" audio casette which had 'Open Arms' on it.I was in awe because of the Voice.

All through the 80s I had to buy their music from bootleggers,and Journey was rare merchandise.
I had only 6 Journey songs in my collection thanks to the communist idiots.
Those songs were the soundtrack of my youth...

Lost track of them after 1989,but rediscovered the band in 2002 and went to the Journey College.

I caught up with everything.And then some.

[Matthew]

Journey didn't make an impact in the UK - although "DSB" and "Who's Crying Now" were minor hits in '81 - so I didn't see the light until 1986...when I heard "Be Good To Yourself" on a specialist rock show and taped it and played it over and over again and bought the 12" single (which had "Only The Young", "Stone In Love" and "Anyway You Want It" on it too)...and then the unbelievably superb ROR album...and all the other albums and solo projects too....and by '87 I was totally obsessed.

[NealIsGod]

Santa brought me E5C4P3 for Christmas back in 1982. Listened on headphones all night, over and over. Got the rest of the catalogue soon after.

[Crazie Scarab]

When did you first start listening to Journey? What seperated Journey from the bands that you were listening too?

It was sometime in the fall of 1978. Neal!

[Mark H]

Would have been about 84 and saw a movie with 'Open arms' in the soundtrack.. waited until the credits to see who it was and been a fan ever since. 20 odd years and a few flights to the US later, their still my favorite band although I follow many other AOR acts.

I would say its the quality of the songwriting and Neal's emotive playing that does it for me.

[jrnychick]

It was 1981 for me. I was 12, and had just started 8th grade. My brother and his girlfriend were going to take me to see Journey, but my dad ended up taking me and a couple of friends. (My friends' parents were wise enough to not let my brother be responsible for their daughters!) About a week before the show, I bought Escape so I would know some of the songs. The combination of that album and the concert got me hooked. I started buying everything Journey I could find. I literally spent most of my babysitting money on Journey.

[ArnelRox]

When did you first start listening to Journey? What seperated Journey from the bands that you were listening too?

1980. My cousin had Departure. I went nuts on it. Perry's voice was what got me. My Dad loved the album & thought Perry was the next coming of his favorite: Sam Cooke, but in a rock format. We also loved Neal's guitar. He took me out to look for more stuff & we got Infinity & Evolution. We were hooked. Sadly, my Dad died that year. Some of his last words were that Steve Perry fella is going places, keep listening to him & keep trying to sing like that, he's the best u will hear in ur lifetime. So far, he's been right.

[AR]

Any Way You Want It on the radio, then I had Departure on 8-track tape. Used to listen to it on the drive home from little league baseball in 1980.

[Sarah]

I've known about Journey my whole life but I didn't decide they were "cool enough" until I was 16.

Steve Perry's voice did it for me.

[whocares]

Infinity, but I knew I was hooked for sure, when I was at Virginia Beach and heard "The Party's Over". I wouldn't get out of the car until the song was over.

[Uncle heFTy]

Despite having heard Jeff sing some Journey stuff on his solo tour and being vaguely familiar with some of the more famous songs - I have to admit that my first real experience of Journey came on 5th November in Orlando, Florida as Jeff's guest - and to be honest at first listen it was as if I was listening for the first time (self-evidently), but I was slightly hooked. As a band they were damned good and the songs had the kind of hook that good songs ought to have. By the end of my second show (in Fort Lauderdale) I became a fan, not just of the music, but the people behind the music - the band, the crew and the fans.

I am looking forward to the UK with relish.

And the funny thing is that my liking of this band isn't overshadowed by what went before, but what is now.
Uncle heFTy

[Saint John]

Hard to pinpoint the exact year. Best guess would be 83, though. I really liked Separate Ways and Faithfully. Wasn't til I realized that this was the same group that sang DSB, SIL and WCN that I had to have everything. By that time, GH was out. I went through several cassettes and even two CD's.

[donnaplease]

I first heard LTS when I was in about 6th grade from a 'collection' album, and I HATED it!!! Of course then when I hit high school there was Open Arms, Faithfully, Stone in Love, and Separate Ways. One of my high school 'sweethearts' was a drummer and a huge Journey fan, so it kinda cemented it for me. I was a 'pop music' girl though, so in '86 instead of seeing the ROR tour, I went to Philadelphia to see WHAM!!!! What a dumbass, huh???!

I pretty much lost touch with them after graduation from HS, got into country music after I got married, and although I know that they sang "Remember Me" and it's on the Armageddon soundtrack, I'm not sure I'd know the song if I heard it on the radio today. Travis took me to see Journey a few years ago and I thought SA was pretty good, but saw him as an imitation of the 'real thing'. I didn't get interested in Journey again until a friend told me they were touring with Def Leppard this summer, and when I got on the internet to find out about concert dates, I found out about 'tapegate'. I've been fascinated with everything ever since.

Initially I went to all the Steve Perry sites, to find out as much as I could about him. My ultimate hope was that since the departure of SA, there would be a chance that SP would reunite with Journey. I have since come to the conclusion after talking with some of you that I probably won't see that dream come true, but I guess I have the next best thing in Jeff Scott Soto!!!! He knocked my socks off in Baltimore!!! After meeting Ross that weekend, I think he's one cool mutha too!!! I'm looking forward to new Journey material (and new SP material), and as much as I want to see them (both) relevant again, I would be satisfied with an album that is worthy of their name(s). I'm waiting...Patiently.