JOURNEY "Back in the National Consciousness"

[perryfaithful]

http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_7826224


Paul Liberatore: An incredible journey for band's new frontman
Paul Liberatore
Article Launched: 12/27/2007 11:52:55 PM PST


Arnel Pineda of Quezon City, the Philippines, is the new lead singer of Journey. He was discovered by guitarist Neal Schon, who saw some Internet clips of Pineda singing in a Manila cover band. Recently he spent a few weeks in Marin while recording with Journey at the Plant in Sausalito. (IJ photo/Alan Dep)
I heard through the grapevine a few weeks ago that the members of Journey were in the Plant Studio in Sausalito recording a new album with a new lead singer.
My source told me the erstwhile superstars were also re-recording their classic '80s hits, trying to make them sound as close as they can to the originals, which had been sung in Journey's heyday by the golden-voiced Steve Perry, the estranged frontman who exited the band in the mid-'90s, not on the best of terms.

Since Perry split, it's been a revolving door for Journey vocalists. The previous one, Jeff Scott Soto, was reportedly fired last summer after a brief stint. He'd taken over from Steve Augeri, who dropped out in 2006 with voice problems after about eight years with the band.

Those anthemic Journey power ballads, sung by Perry in his operatic tenor, have been known to shred vocal chords, and it takes an extraordinary talent to be able to sing them. Finding a lead singer for this band is not something you look for on craigslist.

All of this would hardly matter if Journey were a mere '80s nostalgia act. But the once-mighty stadium rockers have suddenly become au courant, thanks to some mobsters from New Jersey.

When "the Sopranos" final episode made pop

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culture history in June, ending with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," the band found itself back in the national consciousness, positioned for a comeback.
Needless to say, this was not a good time to be without a lead singer.

Rumors had been rife among Journey fans that Perry would return to the fold (he'd shown an intense interest in how "Don't Stop Believing" would be used in "the Sopranos" swan song), but he adamantly denied the reunion speculation, insisting on Fanasylum.com that he had "no such plans whatsoever."

Then, in early December, a short time after I'd heard that Journey was holed up in the recording studio, the band announced on its official Web site, journeyband.com, that it had hired Arnel Pineda, "the Steve Perry of the Philippines," as its new lead singer.

Journey has a history of rags-to-riches frontmen. Perry was plucked from a construction job in a Central Valley farm town, for example, and Augeri was working in a Gap store when he got the call. Now we have Pineda's Internet-age Cinderella story.

Even he hasn't wrapped his head completely around it.

"Who in their right mind would believe they would call someone like me, in the Philippines?" the boyish, 40-year-old told me when I reached him in his Mill Valley hotel room last week. "This is Journey. They are superstars in the music business."

I caught up with Pineda hours before he was to get on a plane for the long flight back to his home in Quezon City. He had been in Marin for seven weeks, singing nearly every day, learning an album's worth of new songs and reworking the old hits, which the band facetiously calls "the dirty dozen."

When I spoke to him, he was hoarse from a cold he said he hadn't been able to shake, insisting it hadn't affected his singing voice.

And what a remarkable voice.

"He's got the legacy sound and then some," said Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain, speaking from his home in Novato. "He's blessed with tons of emotion and soul, stuff you can't teach. He's a find."

Journey guitarist Neal Schon, who wants the band to get back to what it used to sound like in the Steve Perry era, gets the credit for finding Pineda.

"I was frustrated about not having a singer," he said. "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 his tenacity paid off when he stumbled on a video of Pineda singing Journey's hit "Faithfully" with a Filipino cover band called the Zoo.

"After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I'd heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true," he said. "I thought, 'He can't be that good.'"

Schon fired off an e-mail to Pineda, but the singer dismissed it out of hand, thinking it was a prank.

"My friend Noel picked up the e-mail and told me it was from Neal Schon," he recalled. "I told him it was a hoax. How could you believe such a thing?

"But my friend persuaded me. He said, 'What would it hurt to give it a shot? Send him one e-mail back. Ask him if he really is Neal Schon.' Since he's my friend, I said, 'OK, OK.' I sent a short e-mail and left my cell phone number. I challenged him to a chat. If he was really Neal Schon, I would know."

Ten minutes later, Schon called.

"I told him, 'I don't think you're Neal,'" Pineda recalled, amused. "He was laughing his ass off. It took two minutes for him to convince me."

After getting him a work visa, the band flew Pineda to Marin in August for an audition. It didn't take long for Pineda to prove that he really is as good as Schon had hoped. "Right off they told me I had the gig," he said.

Two months later, he returned to record 11 new songs he had never sung with the band before.

"I only learned them when I arrived here," he said. "They didn't give me an advance tape, so it was even harder. There was a lot of pressure. Sometimes I didn't sleep. There were days I only slept two or three hours and I still had to learn the songs and record them."

Since English is Pineda's second language - his first is Tagalog - he worked on phrasing and diction with an accent reduction coach.

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

"When there were rumors about me joining Journey, there was a lot of that," Pineda told me. "One of the worst things I read on a fan messageboard said that Journey is an all-American band and it should stay like that. But I don't care. I just say, 'Hey, grow up.'"

In this era of globalization, having a nonAmerican fronting a classic American band like Journey is an invigorating development that gives the band a new look and the possibility of expanding its fan base among Filipinos and Asians.

"We've become a world band," Cain said. "We're international now. We're not about one color. I kind of like the whole idea of having a singer like him. It's exotic."

Pineda will be back in Marin by in late January or early February for two weeks of rehearsals before a concert in Santiago, Chile, and a couple of shows in Vegas in March that will be filmed for a live DVD. This summer, the band tours the U.S. and then heads to Europe. The new album is due in the spring.

From Pineda's perspective, he's not trying to be Steve Perry, one of his idols, but he's trying to sound as much like him as he can.

"We have to make sure the hard-core fans will be satisfied listening to the songs," he said. "They're so used to Steve Perry's voice, so we have to be really close to how Steve Perry has done it. That's the hardest part.

"Anytime Steve Perry wants to walk in, I would be glad to step out," Pineda added. "It's his right. It's his band. I'm just here to celebrate the legacy of Journey."

Paul Liberatore can be reached at liberatore@marinij.com

[wildone]

From Pineda's perspective, he's not trying to be Steve Perry, one of his idols, but he's trying to sound as much like him as he can.

"We have to make sure the hard-core fans will be satisfied listening to the songs," he said. "They're so used to Steve Perry's voice, so we have to be really close to how Steve Perry has done it. That's the hardest part.
Isn't that another way of saying"TRIBUTE BAND"?well next year looks like there's going to be alot of fun in it!!

[Enigma869]

Finding a lead singer for this band is not something you look for on craigslist.

Close enough...eBay, craigslist, youtube!!!!!! In any event, interesting article. I'll tell you this...there is no question after reading that article that Cain and Schon NEVER had any intention of keeping Jeff Scott Soto on board. Schon has used the line about being "frustrated not to have a singer" on numerous occasions, so I guess Jeff wasn't the singer he envisioned. Not to mention, they pluck this guy off of youtube, and they're already planning on recording a live DVD???? Am I the only one surprised by this? Listen, I'll be happy to add another Journey DVD to my collection, but I'm just a little surprised that they're already going public with all these plans.

On another note, I think it's a VERY good thing that Arnel is getting some coaching to assist him with his diction. It's really not a race issue, for me, and never has been. You just can't expect fans to accept ANYONE who is singing, in some cases, 30 year old classics, and not annunciating the words to the song correctly! In my opinion, that wouldn't fly with ANY band, let alone a band with the legacy of Journey. I think the guy has a VERY powerful voice, so it will be interesting to see if it's powerful enough to stand up to the rigors of the road that these guys put themselves through, night after night!



John from Boston

[Perrydise]

The movie never ends, it just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on

[NealIsGod]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this, PF.

[Red13JoePa]

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

Sensationalism bullshit.

[AR]

"When there were rumors about me joining Journey, there was a lot of that," Pineda told me. "One of the worst things I read on a fan messageboard said that Journey is an all-American band and it should stay like that. But I don't care. I just say, 'Hey, grow up.'"

No Arnel, you grow up - midget karoake singer. Grow a few feet, learn some stage moves and command an audience.

I believe Jeff Scott Soto is Puerto Rican. You never heard me or others once make an issue of it. He is a true rock frontman while you are merely a parrot who isn't tall enough to even get on the rides at the state fairs you'll be playing.

You are just an odd little person who can't pronounce the words and you'll look idiotic fronting this aging band of losers.

[Rip Rokken]

Cool article... very interesting.

[Jeremey]

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

WTF?!? This makes it sound like the hiring of Pineda over me was the specific motive for a racist backlash. That just reads way too fucked up.

[Red13JoePa]

The guy's email is right there for those that care to tell him he's full of shit.

[Jeremey]

It didn't take long for Pineda to prove that he really is as good as Schon had hoped. "Right off they told me I had the gig," he said.

Boy does that sound familiar...

[bluejeangirl76]

It didn't take long for Pineda to prove that he really is as good as Schon had hoped. "Right off they told me I had the gig," he said.

Boy does that sound familiar...

Yeah no kidding. They should save themselves the trouble and just start handing out cards that say that.

This made me laugh:

"Who in their right mind would believe they would call someone like me, in the Philippines?"

Well, no one in their RIGHT mind, but clearly that's not where Schon and Cain are, so... yanno.

[conversationpc]

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

"When there were rumors about me joining Journey, there was a lot of that," Pineda told me. "One of the worst things I read on a fan messageboard said that Journey is an all-American band and it should stay like that. But I don't care. I just say, 'Hey, grow up.'"

What a load of crap. There's not a thing wrong with wanting Journey to stay an all-American band. Instead of complaining about it, he needs to shut the pie hole and prove that he's the man for the job. Besides that, as AR said, Jeff is from Puerto Rico and there was nothing remotely close to racism even mentioned over his hiring.

[StevePerryHair]

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

"When there were rumors about me joining Journey, there was a lot of that," Pineda told me. "One of the worst things I read on a fan messageboard said that Journey is an all-American band and it should stay like that. But I don't care. I just say, 'Hey, grow up.'"

What a load of crap. There's not a thing wrong with wanting Journey to stay an all-American band. Instead of complaining about it, he needs to shut the pie hole and prove that he's the man for the job. Besides that, as AR said, Jeff is from Puerto Rico and there was nothing remotely close to racism even mentioned over his hiring.

Jeff isn't from Puerto Rico. He was born in NY, which makes him American, which he also would still be American even if BORN in Puerto Rico, since it is part of the US territories. If you want to get technical.

[bluejeangirl76]

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

"When there were rumors about me joining Journey, there was a lot of that," Pineda told me. "One of the worst things I read on a fan messageboard said that Journey is an all-American band and it should stay like that. But I don't care. I just say, 'Hey, grow up.'"

What a load of crap. There's not a thing wrong with wanting Journey to stay an all-American band. Instead of complaining about it, he needs to shut the pie hole and prove that he's the man for the job. Besides that, as AR said, Jeff is from Puerto Rico and there was nothing remotely close to racism even mentioned over his hiring.

Yeah I know - that quote irked me too. Whatever dude - we're all a bunch of racists then... fine... prove you should be fronting Journey then, just like your predecessors had to (or WOULD have had to if they'd been given the PROPER chance... ).

[Greg]

Once again, the media (not you Andrew) throws everything completely out of context. Myself personally, my biggest gripe with Arnel was his diction. At least he is working with a diction coach now. I don't see that as a racial thing. Heck, I was a tenor in my school's top choir, yet even I'd need a diction coach to phrase things exactly like thems Calefornins....LOL!!



Which, to me, makes Jeremey even more impressive since he comes from my general area....

[jrnychick]

Once again, the media (not you Andrew) throws everything completely out of context. Myself personally, my biggest gripe with Arnel was his diction. At least he is working with a diction coach now. I don't see that as a racial thing. Heck, I was a tenor in my school's top choir, yet even I'd need a diction coach to phrase things exactly like thems Calefornins....LOL!!



Which, to me, makes Jeremey even more impressive since he comes from my general area....

My ONLY gripes with Arnel are diction and stage presence. In the clips I have heard, his voice sounds great but he clearly has an accent. I don't care where he is from or what he looks like. I am hoping that the Youtube clips don't do him justice in terms of stage presence. A vocal coach can help with diction, but it seems that stage presence is either something you have or you don't. I think SP, SA, and JSS all had/have it. Arnel has yet to prove himself to Journey's fanbase.

[AR]

All I know that stage presence matters. This guy doesn't have the look. He can parrot most of the notes, but it makes Journey look no better than Rock Star INXS, American Idol, and that kind of thing.

Led Zeppelin they are not. They have NO legacy anymore. Just a little parrot supposedly plucked off of you tube who my turds are taller than.

Stand there little man and parrot the songs as best you can.

It used to be that voice, look and stage presence mattered. Now you criticize it and you get labeled "racist". Ok, fine - let's go there then. Suppose a really short white Polish guy tried out for Journey? He had perfect pitch but a bit of a lisp. The guy just stands there and it looks silly, but he does hit the notes. I'd be no less critical. And I might even make a joke about him too. Especially to equate it to Neal's lack of intelligence. I just can see it now.

AR: "What Neal, did you have to hire some dumb Pollack so you could actually have someone to cover for your ignorance?"

That would be a joke really directed at Neal. Does it mean I really think this fictitious lead singer is really stupid? Not at all - but it’s a shot at Neal for sure based on a perceived stereotype. Humor is not always nice. In fact it almost never is. Sorry to inform some of you politically correct Arnelians out there reading in exile. (They know who they are.)

No difference with any of the Arnel jokes - none. Throwing "racist" around is lazy. Grow some skin people. Those tossing that term around are probably the hypersensitive idiots that had half the good Bugs Bunny cartoons cut to pieces because they might OFFEND someone. Everyone just needs to be a victim. Also every other country or culture seems to be allowed to have national pride but the United States or nationalities that happen to be predominantly Caucasian.

Also just for the record, I'm of Polish decent and I’m going to read what I typed backwards so I can understand what I just said.

[Jeremey]

Besides, no one said Journey was an All-White band and should stay that way. They said "all american" band, which is nationalism, not racism. Get a dictionary. Geez.

[bluejeangirl76]

All I know that stage presence matters. This guy doesn't have the look. He can parrot most of the notes, but it makes Journey look no better than Rock Star INXS, American Idol, and that kind of thing.

Exactly.

Besides, no one said Journey was an All-White band and should stay that way. They said "all american" band, which is nationalism, not racism. Get a dictionary. Geez.

Excellent point. If we're going to be accused of something, at least accuse us of the right thing.

[stevew2]

I like the part where Fag Friga says "I like the idea, it is exotic {he meant erotic} That little guy had to stay up and sing with hardly any sleep. They definetly found there boy. Welcome to the Journey sweatshop Arnel. I hope you gave 2 weeks notice to your construction boss,you need that job by mid summer

[Rip Rokken]

Myself personally, my biggest gripe with Arnel was his diction. At least he is working with a diction coach now.

I figured that would happen, and was glad to see it mentioned. That was always a variable to me, how they would deal with the accent that peeked thru during his singing.

[Gin and Tonic Sky]

http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_7826224


When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

"When there were rumors about me joining Journey, there was a lot of that," Pineda told me. "One of the worst things I read on a fan messageboard said that Journey is an all-American band and it should stay like that. But I don't care. I just say, 'Hey, grow up.'"


"We have to make sure the hard-core fans will be satisfied listening to the songs," he said.

WTF? He says that he realises that they have to keep the hard core fans happy, in the same breath that he is unfairly throwing mud at a message board which is comprised of the World's morst hard core Journey fans. How smart is that.

How about tuning the other cheek, an olive branch if hes unhappy with us? Aint gonna cost the boy anything and it might do him some good.

Perry Augeri and Soto all kept their mouths shut when they joined the band - until they had won over fans with their talents. This guy ought to do the same. Bad start, this guy ought to take PR lessons from someone other than his band mates!! Hes now got a bigger hole to dig out of with me.

[Rockindeano]

WOW!

This is undoubtedly the very first thread in 5 years, where I absolutely cannot say a word here. Argh!

[wildone]

WOW!

This is undoubtedly the very first thread in 5 years, where I absolutely cannot say a word here. Argh!

Deano are you getting old?what the fuck is up with that?!?!?

[Greg]

Besides, no one said Journey was an All-White band and should stay that way. They said "all american" band, which is nationalism, not racism. Get a dictionary. Geez.

Exactly!!!!!! I was thinking the same thing, but figured someone bound to have brought that up before. I mean heck, if it was a racial thing, Journey would've lost fans when Randy Jackson came on board.

[Behshad]

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

WTF?!? This makes it sound like the hiring of Pineda over me was the specific motive for a racist backlash. That just reads way too fucked up.

Jeff moved on, why cant you !?:)

[Arkansas]

Racism? Just wait 'til they get down here in the great American south. Every redneck country boy & his Ford truck will be at all the state fairs. When they see Journey play - and they will because their aging wives will demand it - they'll be saying things a whole lot worse than anything on this board. If the new guy is telling us to 'grow up' (not a good PR move), he'll be crying like a baby when he gets on the American road. I wonder if they plan to play the Buffalo Chip at Sturgis. Talk about feeding AP to the wolves.


later~

[Lori Jo]

Once again I say, "Welcome, Arnel!!" I cannot wait to see you in concert and buy the DVD that is going to be filmed! That goes for my son, too, and even my husband tells me he wants to come see you in concert! Great things are ahead for you.

[Jeremey]

When he was hired over a singer from a Journey cover band, he also had to learn to deal with an undercurrent of racism among some Journey fans.

WTF?!? This makes it sound like the hiring of Pineda over me was the specific motive for a racist backlash. That just reads way too fucked up.

Jeff moved on, why cant you !?:)

Oh boo hoo, wah wah wah....Woah is me....

Go fuck yourself dickhead,.