JOURNEY - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

[chf34jmac]

Well let's see since scarabgator eluded to AP's humbleness. What the fuck did you expect him to say? "Steve Perry fucking blows goat cock and I can sing rings around him!" Yeah I'm sure that would go over really well with the fan base.

[larryfromnextdoor]

It's a press release for God's sake. What are you all expecting it to say? That they're all really miserable and are dreading playing live with this weird foreign guy next year?

matt you dont understand,, I thought i was talking to the guy today ,, UGH!!!

[mick]

Although I wish Journey would have given Tony Harnell or Jason Kelty a shot, I'm glad a decision has been made. With a little performance coaching, vocal coaching and a band that can play in time and play the songs right, I think he will do a good job. I just hope that they don't destroy his voice by touring to much like they did Steve A. Now that the announcement has been made, maybe Steve A will reappear soon. It's always great to see an underdog get a shot. Good luck Arnel!!!

[m]

curious that only AP had the class to mention the elephant in the room...

i know i'm picking,...

but, again, this all just proves that SP IS Jrny.

all their, "there was a jrny before, they'll be a jrny after.... " crap was just that....
they've done the opposite of making a statement that Jrny is more than SP, bc
they don't have the balls to try and make it without a direct reference to him.

all they need now -'81 tour uniforms..

...bitter much

[larryfromnextdoor]

Thank you for the news Andrew, I'm sure you've had a headache
or two over it.
I hope the cyber sea's ahead for you are calm and sunny.
Good to read that new music is in the works, that may please some of
the die hard fan base.

I still have no words that I can form in a friendly manner for Neal Schon
but I will offer up congrats and good luck to Mr Pineda.

2 things made me laugh today,, one was the thought of Neal one finger typing to Arnel .. that was most likely a lengthy conversation."i like to get off,, and i like to play,, sometimes i like to play,, then i like to get off.. his chords, his vocal chords.. and hes a funny guy" ................... and the other i dont remember..

[ScarabGator]

Well let's see since scarabgator eluded to AP's humbleness. What the fuck did you expect him to say? "Steve Perry fucking blows goat cock and I can sing rings around him!" Yeah I'm sure that would go over really well with the fan base.

dude, do you have a hard on for me???

[chf34jmac]

You were the one that brought it up earlier in the thread not me.

[nutz4Neal]

Okey doke, so here we go..The Wheel in the Sky Keeps on Turning..looking forward to this new Journey.

[Journey69]

“I was frustrated about not having a singer,” explains guitarist Neal Schon, “so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted.

That's what it has come to...finding a singer on youtube...

Who gives a shit.. What if the guy was on American Idol..Would that make you feel better.. Where did Perry come from..The guy was fricken nobody.. All it ever takes is a shot.. How was the guy going to get one in the phillipines..Seriously,were do these people come from?

[Ms_M]

Thanks, Donna. Just what I needed.

[cudaclan]

Reminds me of Groundhog Day and Rock Star combined.

[donnaplease]

Reminds me of Groundhog Day and Rock Star combined.

LMAO!!!!

[Lora]

curious that only AP had the class to mention the elephant in the room...

[fightingilliniJRNY]

Glad it's finally announced. I'll be supporting the new Journey. But I found it hilarious that the press mention actually paints the picture of Neal saying "hmm...we need a singer. Let me check the first natural place to look. YouTube!" Why would they put that in the press release???

But anyway, welcome Arnel. I'm curious to see what is written when major outlets pick up this story. Probably won't be all that kind to Journey...

[Matthew]

But I found it hilarious that the press mention actually paints the picture of Neal saying "hmm...we need a singer. Let me check the first natural place to look. YouTube!" Why would they put that in the press release???

.

I think they're trying to be hip...

[fightingilliniJRNY]

But I found it hilarious that the press mention actually paints the picture of Neal saying "hmm...we need a singer. Let me check the first natural place to look. YouTube!" Why would they put that in the press release???

.

I think they're trying to be hip...

Maybe so. Sounds ridiculous actually in the press release, though.

[treetopovskaya]

what arnel said really goes without saying. it's cool that he is also a journey fan... and did he really refer to sp as "the voice"? i LOVE that! }=C) he seems like a nice guy... wish him much luck. neal & co better be good to him.

ugh... i would REALLY love to see arnel live... but not if i have to do that by also putting money in certain peoples pockets.

*sigh*

maybe he'll do some solo gigs.

THANKS ANDREW!! }:C))

curious that only AP had the class to mention the elephant in the room...

[Rip Rokken]

what arnel said really goes without saying. it's cool that he is also a journey fan... and did he really refer to sp as "the voice"? i LOVE that! }=C) he seems like a nice guy... wish him much luck. neal & co better be good to him.

I'd tell him, "Be Good To YOURSELF"!

But you are right about what he said -- check it out:

“It’s so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world. It’ll be a lot of hard work on my part and I’m actually looking forward to the scrutiny I’ll get from the hardcore JOURNEY fans. I know they’ll expect me to sound exactly like ‘the voice’ (Steve Perry), but that will never happen. I know there's only one Steve Perry in this world.”

I think it's pretty obvious that he's aware of all the discussion here and that this was aimed directly for our benefit. Maybe he's even read some of it himself.

[conversationpc]

He replaces Jeff Scott Soto, who parted ways with the band earlier this year after stepping in for Steve Augeri

Ummm...No, he did not "part ways" with the band. They fired him without being men enough to personally contact Jeff. They should have at least phoned the guy, if not waited for him to return to Europe and had a face to face with him.

But he is that good, he’s the real deal and so tremendously talented.

This is the same kind of thing he said about Jeff and we all know how that turned out, don't we?

Schon agrees, “We feel reborn. I think there’s a lot of chemistry between the five of us. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it’s escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone’s so stoked about it.”

Sounds like they dug up tapes of statements from the past and just read from cue cards.

I'm happy for Arnel. I hope he enjoys himself and he is obviously immensely talented. I'm looking forward to hearing how he does but this whole thing just still makes me laugh and sigh at the same time.

[perrylover52]

Thanks Andrew for posting the press release. However, I'm still going to wait until something they do is on the radio and I've listened to it that way. I'm guessing it will be a long wait, and I'm not going to be sitting by the radio waiting for it either.

[Just Mindy]

YAY

[venomnation]

Okay, I'm as much a journey fan as the rest of us. I've actually quite enjoyed each era of the band, and Bought "Arrival" the day it came out. I was much looking forward to the Soto era, but knew it would eventually falter. Having said that, the following is all in good fun, but I had to do it......just for fun.


JOURNEY WELCOMES ARNEL PINEDA WITH "OPEN ARMS, AND PUPPET STRINGS":

Official Press Release / After much speculation…the wait is finally over. Again. the two hundred and forty fourth incarnation of the band that once could have passed for Journey, but now just uses the name to sell tickets to people in their fifties...--Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums)--is proud to introduce fans all over the world to their sixty seventh lead singer, Arnel Pineda. Pineda is three-foot-two, weighes 104 pounds, speaks no english, and is sixty-seven years old, making him the youngest member of the band. Pineda replaces Jeff Scott Soto, the replacement singer they SHOULD have kept, the only singer they ever had besides Steve Perry that actually had talent besides sounding like Steve Perry....who parted ways with the band earlier this year after stepping in for Steve Augeri, the forty-fifth lead singer for the band, who had to leave the band in 2006 for what the BAND said was medical reasons, but it was later revealed that he actually received death threats from the Steve Perry fan club members. Steve Augeri initially replaced Steve Perry, who also left the band for medical reasons, his actually legitimate and understandable, but even as he was the most popular and talented singer for the band, he still wasn't the original lead singer, rather a replacement for what we THINK was the lead singer, Gregg Rolie, but can't guarantee that, because they keep changing the story and their lead singer more often than they change their underwear.
.
Arnel hails from Quezon City in the Philippines and has been singing Journey songs--in addition to original material--with his band, The Zoo, for the past couple of years in clubs all over his homeland. Joining the legendary band is a dream come true for him, as it was for the two hundred and forty three musicians before him.

"It's so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world. It'll be a lot of hard work on my part and I'm actually looking forward to the scrutiny I'll get from the hardcore Journey fans. I know they'll expect me to sound exactly like 'the voice' (Steve Perry), but that will never happen. I know there's only one Steve Perry in this world." With that statement, a fan yelled "Perry Rocks, You Suck" and took a failed attempt on Pineda's life before being taken down by Castronovo with a ninja drumstick.

When it was time for Journey to look for a new lead singer, the internet came to their rescue. It was fairly easy to find a singer via the internet, as most fans of the band are in their sixties, and don't use the internet, so there was very little traffic. Guitarist Neal Schon said he wanted someone new to the music business, because he wanted a person with a clean slate and a clean mind, so he could brainwash them properly. "Any thinking on his own part" said Schon, referring to Pineda, will result in him being locked in a cage for 'time-outs. Being from the Phillipines," continued Schon, "Arnel knows all about that". Schon said he turned to YouTube. After finding Arnel singing "Faithfully," he knew he had found the perfect frontman, speaking very little english, andn having an obvious affinity for working with small crowds, which is generally what Journey draws now.

"I was frustrated about not having a singer," explains guitarist Neal Schon, "so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, 'he can't be that good.' But he is that good, he's the real deal and so tremendously talented. Arnel doesn't sound synthetic and he's not emulating anyone. I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter. Having nearly Three hundred singers in this band , it gets a little difficult to contact anyone and say "hey, wanna try out" because everyone thinks its a big joke, much like my career is now, and this band soon will be.

Arnel Pineda picks up the story: "My friend Noel picked up the message on YouTube and told me it was from Neal. I thought it was a hoax so I ignored it. Having seen thousands of people in the band, I figured they'd SURELY retire with SOME dignity. But...Noel said, 'what if it really was Neal and he wanted to offer you the chance of a lifetime?' So I e-mailed Neal back and the rest is history, much like any aspirations or career goals I had.

"Arnel brings a soulful and passionate voice to Journey," continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "His personality is very well-suited to our music. He can't speak for himself, so he'll fit our puppet role well. He's a sincere, authentic person with a great smile and a big heart, which is something we could never convince Soto to be, because he had a mind of his own. I think fans are really going to love him. Arnel's soaring tenor, Journey returns to our heritage sound, like we have many times before, but we think it'll last longer than two weeks this time. "

Schon agrees, "We feel reborn. And by "reborn" I don't mean 'renewed"...I mean....all slimy and covered in stuff we can't identify. I think there's a lot of chemistry between the five of us, but that could be the prescription medication. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it's escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material that we'll never be able to pull off live...much like Augeri. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone's so stoked about it. We feel very fortunate to have found Arnel."

Journey is currently working on a new album with legendary producer Kevin Shirley, which they hope to release by spring/summer 2008. Details will be announced early next year, followed by the album release. The band then plans to tour through the summer, fire Pineda, start new rumors about Steve Perry coming back....then eventually fade into obscurity for another six months....before they find another singer and start all over again.

[jrnyfan74]

I wish Arnel luck...but there is no way I will ever go to another Journey concert again. The only thing these guys could have done to salvage their legacy at this point was reunite with Perry. If Perry refused, then they needed to retire.

[brywool]

Cain: "His personality is very well-suited to our music. He's a sincere, authentic person with a great smile and a big heart. "

Great... he's done for.
Arnel, watch your back.
You know how sincere and authentic schon and cain are...

All of this, and still no announcement on their (cough, cough) "web site"

Journey management: Get your act together.

I think Arnel will be good for the band soundwise. I hope the others don't wreck it for him.

[brywool]

continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain....With Arnel’s soaring tenor, Journey returns to our heritage sound.”

This speaks volumes to me about why Jeff was dropped. Cain wanted a Tenor voice to sing their hits and he wasn't happy with Jeff's deeper sound.

Curious to see what the new music sounds like, but I won't buy anything without hearing samples first. 30 second clips should be fine guys. Post 'em.

THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID AT THE TIME JSS WAS LET GO...

[RedWingFan]

"Any thinking on his own part" said Schon, referring to Pineda, will result in him being locked in a cage for 'time-outs. Being from the Phillipines," continued Schon, "Arnel knows all about that".

"Arnel brings a soulful and passionate voice to Journey," continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "His personality is very well-suited to our music. He can't speak for himself, so he'll fit our puppet role well.

Schon agrees, "We feel reborn. And by "reborn" I don't mean 'renewed"...I mean....all slimy and covered in stuff we can't identify.

I don't know who you are but this was hilarious!!!

[Crazie Scarab]

NOthing about the classics rerecordings?

Not yet. As stated yesterday, the focus will be on new material, which is cool....but it will have to be stonkingly bloody good material!!!!

That's a full on understatement! Thanks for the news, Andrew. However, I do not find myself too excited about it. YAWN..

[Lora]

what arnel said really goes without saying. it's cool that he is also a journey fan... and did he really refer to sp as "the voice"? i LOVE that!

I am doubtful that any of those quotes actually came from a member of the band. It is possible but their publicist gets paid to write that stuff.

[Saint John]

"Any thinking on his own part" said Schon, referring to Pineda, will result in him being locked in a cage for 'time-outs. Being from the Phillipines," continued Schon, "Arnel knows all about that".

"Arnel brings a soulful and passionate voice to Journey," continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "His personality is very well-suited to our music. He can't speak for himself, so he'll fit our puppet role well.

Schon agrees, "We feel reborn. And by "reborn" I don't mean 'renewed"...I mean....all slimy and covered in stuff we can't identify.

I don't know who you are but this was hilarious!!!

There was some funny shit in there.

[bluejeangirl76]

Schon agrees, "We feel reborn. And by "reborn" I don't mean 'renewed"...I mean....all slimy and covered in stuff we can't identify.

Okay, I was chuckling and having a good time reading that thing until this ^.
That one sent me right over the edge and I think I might need new panties.

*looks in panties* Yep. I knew it. Brb.