Lerxst101 wrote:I let Kevin Shirley know about the latest rumors. He just asked me to post the following:
Tom,
Thanks for the email.
A quick reply from my phone - forgive the brevity.
Feel free to post this if you wish.
Neal and Jon called me and asked me in November to check out a couple of new songs, for an upcoming and possible project with Journey.
I went to San Francisco to assess the new Journey and check out the material. I am so swamped, have a new baby and I did not want to be involved if it wasn't focused and great. I thought I'd be there for 2 days. First, I was stunned at Arnel, who is a monster vocalist. He is the real deal. Just phenomenal. Its true they found him on YouTube. Next I heard the songs. I am always in awe of Jonathan Cain as songwriter/producer and together with Neal, who adds the rock element, they are one of the great songwriting partnerships. Its true they don't always see eye to eye musically, but the combination is magic. We spent a while talking and seeing where they were at. I have been brutally honest with them, and was not interested in being any part of them being a nostalgia/tribute band, which could happen if their focus got lost, which it has been. Some of the songs were lacking direction which I, as an outspoken and brutal outsider, immediately pointed out and set about repairing. So I cut a couple of tracks - and have been school teacher/policeman-producer with them, and with all the shit out of the way, you have to hear them ignore their egos and me, and just play as Journey. All together in the studio. What a privilege to see all 5 of them playing together. They are fantastic. I am always cogniscent of the space Perry and Smith occupy in the sound and legacy, and won't let that be underplayed, and Deen and Arnel are brilliant musicians, and with a little focus the entire band has found their place again. This is stronger than Trial By Fire and sounds like Journey, but state-of-the-art. People always talk up upcoming material, but just wait. Its unbelievable. There's a full album of new material coming, but much more, too. Don't believe all you read - there is no one else but the band in the studio to hear the music (although we do have a Make-A-Wish kid coming in soon).
And that's the dirt from Las Vegas, where I am mixing seven new original songs. I head back to San Francisco after a quick visit to London, to see the Led Zep reunion, to finish off where we began. I can't wait, and you are going to love it!
Merry Xmas,
KS
That's awesome news. I can't wait to buy their new album and go to their concert. I'm all for new, original music as I've stated before and definitely NOT interested in re-recorded old Journey material. Let's move on and get some new tunes. I don't know why everyone here disses them so much over personnel changes. It's not like it never happened before. I'm sure there are still a ton of fans out there interested in Journey putting out new music. Too bad there are so few of them posting on this board. It's a minefield over here for Journey supporters.