First time you heard 'em

[hoagiepete]

A buddy and me were squeezed in the backseat of his older brother's friend's Barraccuda. It was Summer of 1979 I believe although it might of been 78. I was between my Jr & Sr year in HS and we were driving around doing things we weren't supposed to be doing. Sorry Mom. The guy had a great stereo and they cranked up Wheel in the Sky, loud. I was scared to death we would get stopped because of the loud stereo and they would bust us because we were consuming Millers in the clear glass bottle. Immediately liked the entire album (8 track). I raved about it so much, they gave me the tape to take home.

Got Evolution and caught them on the Midnight Special. The rest is history.

First concert was Departure tour in the summer of 1980. Still my favorite concert of all time. UNBELIEVABLE. Perry treated Salina KS like it was Madison Square Garden. He sounded great, even snuck back on drums, Smith drum solo kicked ass (ala Captured), Rolie on the B3 and Neal's fretwork blew me away. Man oh man.

[Greg]

Around 1985. I was 10 years old, listening to the radio. They played Separate ways (which wasn't being played very often anymore since it had been out for a couple of years) and I was blown away by that song. While I had heard Open Arms and Don't Stop Believing before, it never registered with me that was the same band, of course I was a kid back then and didn't care as much. But, after listening to Separate Ways that one time, I HAD to know all about this band. I later realized my oldest brother had Raised on Radio on cassette. So, I "borrowed" it in hopes of finding Separate Ways on it (he had told me who did the song and that he had Journey on cassette.) Of course, wrong album, but I eventually found a copy of Frontiers a year later.

[NoMoreTails]

A friend had Infinity, loved Neal's playing and liked Gregg's voice but the shrill chick voice took some time to grow on me.

[RumTumJM]

Keep in mind, I'm 23.

It must have been around 2003 or 2004, my mom suggested I check Journey out, because I'd like them. So I hopped on Napster (I have BOUGHT all the albums since), and downloaded a bunch. The one song I recognized was Any Way You Want It (because it was featured in a car commercial). Beyond that, Lights rung a bell.

Ironically, none of the songs interested me (Don't Stop Believin' & Who's Cryin' Now included). So I just kept listening to Any Way You Want It.

The rub: I remember being at Best Buy within the next month. EVEN THOUGH I had the previously described feelings towards the music, I still bought a 2 CD, Essential Journey set. Kinda ridiculous sounding in hind-sight.

Had I not bought that CD & listened to it, I would have never grown to love the band like I do today.

[JRNYMAN]

It was my senior year in high school. I went into a Peaches record store and an employee had put the whole album on to play over the sound system. After 3 songs had played while I was looking through the racks for something else, I went up to the counter and asked what band they were playing and I purchased Infinity and forgot all about whatever it was I initially went to the store to get.

Peaches... Wow! I forgot all about them. I remember everyone had those peach crate album boxes. Every once in a while I'll see one (garage sale, working at a client's home, etc.) and it brings back so many memories.

The crates were so cool! Everyone I knew had them. I had 4 album crates and 6 of the smaller cassette crates. I liked their graphic on the end. Haven't seen one in years. Brings back many memories for me too...good times and good music!

And they were seemingly indestructible too! You could use them as jack stands and they probably wouldn't break! When I moved out of my parents' house after high school and got my first apartment, I used one as a nightstand - just flipped it on its end, draped it with a bandana bearing the obligatory pot leaf, peace sign or paisley print, set a candle on it and voila.... furniture. If you had two of them, you damn near had a bedroom set!

Oh my gosh! I did the same thing except I drapped one with a Stevie Nicks type shawl with fringe. You are right, they were strong. I had friends who made bookshelves with them...one on either end, a board across the top and stacked a couple more, another board, etc. Dang good times. I wish I still had my car I drove to Peaches that day. 1970 Chevy Malibu in mint condition. Bought it off the original owner who had kept it garaged and drove it very little. Lots of chrome..mag wheels....all the guys at school wanted my car.

Holy Shit! I have almost the same story! The old lady that lived across the street from my parents died and her kids came to get all her stuff, settle her estate, etc. When I got home from school this one particular day, there was a 1970 blue Chev Malibu sitting in the driveway with a "For Sale" sign on it. It had been in her garage for years, never seeing the light of day. She and her husband who died years before she did, bought it new. This was my senior year of high school, 1981 and in the 11 years they owned it they amassed a whopping 50k miles. Other than the tires which were rotting off of it, the car was PERFECT in every way. The best part...? the "For Sale" sign listed the asking price of...... $500.00! I literally almost soiled myself, cried, and had a mini-stroke at the same time. 15 mins. earlier, I didn't know the car even existed but this discovery was potentially life changing and the only thing standing between me and the car was... well... I didn't have any money. Looking back now, I must have delivered the most convincing, important and mature speech in my young life up to that point because that night I was the owner. My parents also kicked in for tires and rims (Dunlop GT Qualifiers and American Racing 5-star rims, chrome of course, and I was fuckin' STYLIN!! That was in '81 so I believe the correct terms for what described me were, Rad, Solid, Bad!, Trippindicular, and the big daddy of them all... Bitchin! (Thank you Moon Unit Zappa for your contribution to the tapestry that is American pop culture! )

I had it for about 3 years before I blew up the engine racing it on Friday nights. It had a 350 and was completely stock and was still fast as Hell! God, I loved that car. Good times!

Great story! and funny! Hey, I had those same rims on mine, I think.. they were 5 star chrome, anyway! My Malibu was forest green with a black top and got it for $700! which was an awesome buy since mine was only 8 years old at the time. I have to admit, I had a lead foot too back then and couldn't resist when someone pulled up and revved at a stop light. I watched the light like a racing tree and put the pedal to the metal! Mine was stock too, but fast! Yep, that model car was definitely rad....and made us drivers bad for sure!

Some of the fondest and best memories I have of listening to Journey took place in that car. Escape came out later that year and by then I had saved enough money to add a sweet stereo system. And looking back now, the car audio technology wasn't even in the same league as today's equipment and various freq enhancers, (subwoofers, etc.) but I still managed to throw a lot of sound from the car. I had a Pioneer SuperTuner 3, a 12 ch. graphic EQ, an active power booster and 4 6x9 Pioneer speakers (can't remember the watts on those but they were more than capable of rocking!) Every time I got into my car, it was like a rolling concert! And in case you were wondering ( and I'm sure you weren't ) Yes I had a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror, a sticker on the dash that read, "Ass, Gas or Grass... NOBODY rides for Free!" a pine tree-type air freshener but mine was a pot leaf and finally, the necessary and required fake soda can wraps that you put around your beer can so nobody would know! God... looking back, it's a wonder some of us are still alive!

[Archetype]

Classic Rock's Main Event tour in 2003. I went for Styx and didn't know who Journey was but decided to stick around for them. I was also exposed to REO Speedwagon for the first time at this concert

That tour took place in 2005.

Calssic Rock's Main Event with Journey/Styx/REO Speedwagon definitely took place in 2003. July 15th at the HSBC Arena for me

Read some reviews of this great 2003 tour

[JRNYMAN]

Classic Rock's Main Event tour in 2003. I went for Styx and didn't know who Journey was but decided to stick around for them. I was also exposed to REO Speedwagon for the first time at this concert

That tour took place in 2005.

Calssic Rock's Main Event with Journey/Styx/REO Speedwagon definitely took place in 2003. July 15th at the HSBC Arena for me

A thousand apologies!! I had a serious brain fart there for a minute. Even though you clearly wrote "Calssic Rock's Main Event ", my mind saw 30th Anniversary/Generations tour.

[Jubilee]

Hmm...LTS is the first Journey song I can remember hearing. It was in October of 1979(?). I was a freshman in high school, and I remember staying after school to help with the homecoming floats...you know, weaving that tissue paper through chicken wire, or what ever it was, while the radio blasted one of our local top 40 stations. It must have been close to 5 or 6 pm, because I remember it was getting dark. I lived out in the pucks, (that's waaay past the suburbs, for those of you who don't know), and our school sat right next to an apple orchard. At some point, one of the upperclassmen boys came in with one of those paper grocery bags filled with apples from the orchard next door, and he starts tossing them around to everyone (cause it's getting close to dinner time, and being teenagers, we were starving). Anywho, every time I hear LTS it reminds me of cool autumn nights & the smell of fresh crisp Jonathan apples...Mmmm. Oddly, of all the songs that must have played on the radio that night, LTS is the only one that I can recall.

[Blueskies]

It was my senior year in high school. I went into a Peaches record store and an employee had put the whole album on to play over the sound system. After 3 songs had played while I was looking through the racks for something else, I went up to the counter and asked what band they were playing and I purchased Infinity and forgot all about whatever it was I initially went to the store to get.

Peaches... Wow! I forgot all about them. I remember everyone had those peach crate album boxes. Every once in a while I'll see one (garage sale, working at a client's home, etc.) and it brings back so many memories.

The crates were so cool! Everyone I knew had them. I had 4 album crates and 6 of the smaller cassette crates. I liked their graphic on the end. Haven't seen one in years. Brings back many memories for me too...good times and good music!

And they were seemingly indestructible too! You could use them as jack stands and they probably wouldn't break! When I moved out of my parents' house after high school and got my first apartment, I used one as a nightstand - just flipped it on its end, draped it with a bandana bearing the obligatory pot leaf, peace sign or paisley print, set a candle on it and voila.... furniture. If you had two of them, you damn near had a bedroom set!

Oh my gosh! I did the same thing except I drapped one with a Stevie Nicks type shawl with fringe. You are right, they were strong. I had friends who made bookshelves with them...one on either end, a board across the top and stacked a couple more, another board, etc. Dang good times. I wish I still had my car I drove to Peaches that day. 1970 Chevy Malibu in mint condition. Bought it off the original owner who had kept it garaged and drove it very little. Lots of chrome..mag wheels....all the guys at school wanted my car.

Holy Shit! I have almost the same story! The old lady that lived across the street from my parents died and her kids came to get all her stuff, settle her estate, etc. When I got home from school this one particular day, there was a 1970 blue Chev Malibu sitting in the driveway with a "For Sale" sign on it. It had been in her garage for years, never seeing the light of day. She and her husband who died years before she did, bought it new. This was my senior year of high school, 1981 and in the 11 years they owned it they amassed a whopping 50k miles. Other than the tires which were rotting off of it, the car was PERFECT in every way. The best part...? the "For Sale" sign listed the asking price of...... $500.00! I literally almost soiled myself, cried, and had a mini-stroke at the same time. 15 mins. earlier, I didn't know the car even existed but this discovery was potentially life changing and the only thing standing between me and the car was... well... I didn't have any money. Looking back now, I must have delivered the most convincing, important and mature speech in my young life up to that point because that night I was the owner. My parents also kicked in for tires and rims (Dunlop GT Qualifiers and American Racing 5-star rims, chrome of course, and I was fuckin' STYLIN!! That was in '81 so I believe the correct terms for what described me were, Rad, Solid, Bad!, Trippindicular, and the big daddy of them all... Bitchin! (Thank you Moon Unit Zappa for your contribution to the tapestry that is American pop culture! )

I had it for about 3 years before I blew up the engine racing it on Friday nights. It had a 350 and was completely stock and was still fast as Hell! God, I loved that car. Good times!

Great story! and funny! Hey, I had those same rims on mine, I think.. they were 5 star chrome, anyway! My Malibu was forest green with a black top and got it for $700! which was an awesome buy since mine was only 8 years old at the time. I have to admit, I had a lead foot too back then and couldn't resist when someone pulled up and revved at a stop light. I watched the light like a racing tree and put the pedal to the metal! Mine was stock too, but fast! Yep, that model car was definitely rad....and made us drivers bad for sure!

Some of the fondest and best memories I have of listening to Journey took place in that car. Escape came out later that year and by then I had saved enough money to add a sweet stereo system. And looking back now, the car audio technology wasn't even in the same league as today's equipment and various freq enhancers, (subwoofers, etc.) but I still managed to throw a lot of sound from the car. I had a Pioneer SuperTuner 3, a 12 ch. graphic EQ, an active power booster and 4 6x9 Pioneer speakers (can't remember the watts on those but they were more than capable of rocking!) Every time I got into my car, it was like a rolling concert! And in case you were wondering ( and I'm sure you weren't ) Yes I had a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror, a sticker on the dash that read, "Ass, Gas or Grass... NOBODY rides for Free!" a pine tree-type air freshener but mine was a pot leaf and finally, the necessary and required fake soda can wraps that you put around your beer can so nobody would know! God... looking back, it's a wonder some of us are still alive!

I remember those stickers and air fresheners! I didn't put a sound system in that car, heck, I was too podunk after buying it I couldn't even add an air freshener! I've never been one to ask for things so no parental assistance for me, had to buy it myself so I was broke! Hey, I did hang a pair of fuzzy dice in one car I had, though. It was a 1969 Mustang that I bought in the late 90's and sold just a couple of years ago. It was candy apple red so black fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview suited it well.
You sure are right about that! It is a wonder we made it through some things we've done. I figure I must have a guardian angel that showed up in the nick of time when I've acted a fool!

[Lerxst101]

Summer of '80, I believe. Went to a friend's house after early morning workout for high school football. He wanted me to hear some music he'd been really into of late. He played a cut from a different group first, but then he put on Infinity and said, "You've got to hear this guy's voice." Proceed to play FTW/A and then Winds of March. I was blown away. By the time I graduated, I was known as the biggest Journey fan and one of biggest Rush fans. To this day, classmates tell me that they still think of me when they hear a Journey tune.

[JRNYMAN]

To this day, classmates tell me that they still think of me when they hear a Journey tune.

Have heard that one several times myself over the years. I never get tired of hearing that one either!

[2OfHearts]

LTS ~ I was a senior in high school

[Gideon]

"Stone In Love" from Escape ca. 2001. I was hooked for life.

[VirgilTheart]

Well, I'd heard "Don't Stop Believin'" every now and then on the radio, but never really paid much attention to the song. One day though, right when I was starting high school (this would be 2007), I heard the song enough times to finally ask my mom, "Who is this?" And Mom laughed and replied, "It's Journey."

So naturally I asked her if they were still around, and she frowned and replied, "No I don't think so. Their singer got throat cancer and stopped singing."

... Oh how misinformed some folks can be.

I did looked them up later that day whe to see that the band was still around, just without the fabled Steve Perry, who naturally did not have throat cancer. But when I mentioned to my dad that the band was surprisingly still around, he replied, "Meh. It's probably just one of the guys from the good 'ol days with less-known bandmates now. Probably not worth seeing." That said, after that conversation, I forgot all about Journey for months.

Then one fateful day in February/March 2008, I randomly decided to look up the band on YouTube, and as I was typing up "Journey Don't Stop Believing", one of the suggested searches said "Journey Don't Stop Believing 2008". I thought to myself, "Probably will be good for laughs..." So I clicked on the suggested search and clicked this video with a young looking Asian man holding a microphone. As the video began, I busted a gut laughing, thinking "Oh how right Dad wa-"

And before I could finish my thought, I heard Arnel Pineda's voice for the first time. And naturally, being the immature teenager I was, I gaped in silence for a few moments before yelling to my mom, "MOM LOOK! JOURNEY'S BACK AND THEY HAVE AN ASIAN DUDE AS THEIR SINGER THAT SOUNDS JUST LIKE STEVE PERRY!!!"

After that, I looked up the story behind the new singer and was excited to hear they had a new alum coming out that summer, and ended up buying Escape and Frontiers to get myself more familiar with the band's music. And as I waited over those months, I noticed that despite my initial proclamation to my mom, as well as what the media was clamoring, Arnel had a different voice than Steve Perry. And personally, I preferred Arnel's voice.

And then Revelation came out and I bought it on release date, and listened to the whole album. I've said in the past that this current lineup is the Journey that I personally relate to, since it's my time. So to me, hearing Revelation for the first time was in a way the first time I really heard Journey.

[escapefan]

My mom introduced them to me in 78. She loved Perry's voice... Been hooked ever since. I was 19 at the time and have worn out so many CD's since. Still have all my original LP's though! Have since gotten into all of their solo work too. Never seen them live though... Changing that this year at the PHX concert...

[SilvioRodrigues]

DSB was a hit in Brazil in 81/82. I was only 8/9 at that time but my older sister used to listen to the radio all day long. I remember the videos, especially the live ones from ROR, but at that time I was deep envolved with heavy metal, so I didn't pay attention. In 1998, I was doing a compilation of songs to run on cassete tapes, and after hearing DSB in a radio station again I started to look for a Journey album to buy, so I bought Greatest Hits Live. It was the ignition point...DSB was the first song, but STILL THEY RIDE changed my life...

[Deb]

DSB was a hit in Brazil in 81/82. I was only 8/9 at that time but my older sister used to listen to the radio all day long. I remember the videos, especially the live ones from ROR, but at that time I was deep envolved with heavy metal, so I didn't pay attention. In 1998, I was doing a compilation of songs to run on cassete tapes, and after hearing DSB in a radio station again I started to look for a Journey album to buy, so I bought Greatest Hits Live. It was the ignition point...DSB was the first song, but STILL THEY RIDE changed my life...

GREAT song! Still They Ride and Only The Young are my all-time favorites of Journey's.

LOL, I've been known to randomly break out a..........."Jessiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiides.......through the niiiiiiight". Haha I know of at least a couple MR friends that can vouch for that. Now if I could only sing......

[separate_wayz]

My brother bought the Infinity album in 1979 and told me "you gotta hear this song, Wheel in the Sky!" Thought it was absolutely amazing, very melodic and very unlike most other rock that played on FM radio. He then emphatically told me not to go in his room and borrow it. So, of course, I did. Snuck in my brother's room, borrowed the album, brought it back to my room, put it on the turntable .... and scratched it.

Took a pounding for that one.

[Blueskies]

My brother bought the Infinity album in 1979 and told me "you gotta hear this song, Wheel in the Sky!" Thought it was absolutely amazing, very melodic and very unlike most other rock that played on FM radio. He then emphatically told me not to go in his room and borrow it. So, of course, I did. Snuck in my brother's room, borrowed the album, brought it back to my room, put it on the turntable .... and scratched it.

Took a pounding for that one.