Why never JSS??

[The_Noble_Cause]

JSS, like Foreigner's Kelly Hansen, can sing and is a frontman that kicks the rest of the band into high gear. Arnel is a tremendous singer and little else.

You have to be KIDDING... You don't credit AP for having an energetic stage presence, or a solid connection with the band and audience during a show?

You're crazy. Arnel can barely speak english in-between songs. Awful frontman. Awesome singer tho.

[steveo777]

I'm gonna say this and folks don't take this the wrong way, but when people start putting shit in the wrong forums little wars begin. An Arnel thread got dropped into the Steve Perry forum the other day and this JSS topic should have been posted in the JSS forum. Everyone is loyal to their artist and Andrew knows this. That said, wrong forum threads are allowed to escalate and become personal attack fests when all it would have really taken was some proper forum house keeping. Oh, and yeah, we have a responsibility too, to post in the proper forums.

[Gideon]

JSS, like Foreigner's Kelly Hansen, can sing and is a frontman that kicks the rest of the band into high gear. Arnel is a tremendous singer and little else.

You have to be KIDDING... You don't credit AP for having an energetic stage presence, or a solid connection with the band and audience during a show?

You're crazy. Arnel can barely speak english in-between songs. Awful frontman. Awesome singer tho.

I'd say Arnel's skills as a frontman are akin to his skills as a singer: Energetic, strong, raw, but they lack polish and refinement. I'd still consider him a good frontman, though.

[steveo777]

JSS, like Foreigner's Kelly Hansen, can sing and is a frontman that kicks the rest of the band into high gear. Arnel is a tremendous singer and little else.

You have to be KIDDING... You don't credit AP for having an energetic stage presence, or a solid connection with the band and audience during a show?

You're crazy. Arnel can barely speak english in-between songs. Awful frontman. Awesome singer tho.

I'd say Arnel's skills as a frontman are akin to his skills as a singer: Energetic, strong, raw, but they lack polish and refinement. I'd still consider him a good frontman, though.

I'd say he's coming along.

[Gideon]

I agree with TNC that Hansen's influence is pretty strong here. He's learning.

[Don]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that, to a great extent Foreigner is just as much his band and really a vehicle for his moment when he's out there under the lights.

[Monker]

I'll give it a shot.

The story as far as I'm aware goes something like:

JSS was named lead vocalist, they recorded Winds Of Freedom. The song wasn't all that good and supposedly JSS didn't have good writing chemistry with Schon and Cain and wanted a vocalist that had more of the legacy Journey sound. So without saying a word Schon and Cain started looking for a new vocalist while JSS was touring with Talisman and found Jeremy and then once again changed their mind and ditched him and went with Arnel. All this while JSS didnt know they were looking for a replacement.

There have been numerous rumors as to why he was let go, but as the most logical is what I've wrote above. Although I would believe some of the rumors swirling around. Also JSS according to a recent interview with Castronovo "wanted a law suit" against the band, but lost. JSS denied that. It's really an unforunate mess (no pun intended from JSS's last solo album), but it's what happens. IMO it's for the better for music lovers of JSS because I think he'd have blown his voice out a lot quicker than Arnie will because on the Reno boot that was put up a lil while back JSS seemed to be straining a bit on some of the songs they were performing.

I still think the Wal-mart deal was coming down, and JSS just could not do the rerecords as well as they had hoped...So, they started looking for somebody who could do those songs much closer to the original version. I think it was a combination of that, chemistry with the band, and the fans mixed reaction to JSS.

[Gideon]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that, to a great extent Foreigner is just as much his band and it's his moment when he's out there under the lights.

I'd imagine Jones is very different from Neal in that regard, though.

[steveo777]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that this is his band and his moment when he's out there under the lights.

A cultural difference that Arnel may never be able to overcome? He gets a pass on that from me.
Arnel makes up for that in spades by just being who he is. Understandably, most folks here don't get that.

[Don]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that, to a great extent Foreigner is just as much his band and it's his moment when he's out there under the lights.

I'd imagine Jones is very different from Neal in that regard, though.

You just have to listen to the interviews with Neal and Mick together on UK radio to validate that. Mick definitely has that Brit mannerism and a laid back persona when he talks were, as Rick said the other day, Neal can get a bit verbose if you don't keep him reeled in.

[Gideon]

You just have to listen to the interviews with Neal and Mick together on UK radio to validate that. Mick definitely has that Brit mannerism and a laid back persona when he talks were, as Rick said the other day, Neal can get a bit verbose if you don't keep him reeled in.

I'm not even referring to verbosity and public disposition, but with regards to power. Dan made a credible argument for Neal being a lot more humble than some give him credit for, especially with regards to Arnel, but I think Schon's made it abundantly clear that he'll never again be under the thumb of a lead singer. Jones seems to have no such compunctions.

[Don]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that this is his band and his moment when he's out there under the lights.

A cultural difference that Arnel may never be able to overcome? He gets a pass on that from me.
Arnel makes up for that in spades by just being who he is. Understandably, most folks here don't get that.

That though is why we consider these guys entertainers and what makes a live show different than simply listening to the CD. The guy is a bit of a shadow on stage, is it any wonder that four years in many people still don't know his name? When you are out there, your duties are also as one of the band's pitchmen to sell your product. Whether he likes it or not, Arnel has to find a way to do that to be considered a bonafide frontman. It's his job.

[Don]

You just have to listen to the interviews with Neal and Mick together on UK radio to validate that. Mick definitely has that Brit mannerism and a laid back persona when he talks were, as Rick said the other day, Neal can get a bit verbose if you don't keep him reeled in.

I'm not even referring to verbosity and public disposition, but with regards to power. Dan made a credible argument for Neal being a lot more humble than some give him credit for, especially with regards to Arnel, but I think Schon's made it abundantly clear that he'll never again be under the thumb of a lead singer. Jones seems to have no such compunctions.

No argument here. Every indication points to Schon being a little tough guy who's not afraid to speak his mind. It's just something that Herbie seemed to keep him in check with during their years together, at least publicly.

[steveo777]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that this is his band and his moment when he's out there under the lights.

A cultural difference that Arnel may never be able to overcome? He gets a pass on that from me.
Arnel makes up for that in spades by just being who he is. Understandably, most folks here don't get that.

That though is why we consider these guys entertainers and what makes a live show different than simply listening to the CD. The guy is a bit of a shadow on stage, is it any wonder that four years in many people still don't know his name? When you are out there, your duties are also as one of the band's pitchmen to sell your product. Whether he likes it or not, Arnel has to find a way to do that to be considered a bonafide frontman. It's his job.

I get that. Arnel is not a salesman, or maybe he is. He managed to pull his family out of poverty. Maybe it was him, maybe it was a power that rewarded him for his efforts. Believe what you want, but I believe that he gives so unconditionally that he gets rewarded in ways he never dreamed of.

[Don]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that this is his band and his moment when he's out there under the lights.

A cultural difference that Arnel may never be able to overcome? He gets a pass on that from me.
Arnel makes up for that in spades by just being who he is. Understandably, most folks here don't get that.

That though is why we consider these guys entertainers and what makes a live show different than simply listening to the CD. The guy is a bit of a shadow on stage, is it any wonder that four years in many people still don't know his name? When you are out there, your duties are also as one of the band's pitchmen to sell your product. Whether he likes it or not, Arnel has to find a way to do that to be considered a bonafide frontman. It's his job.

I get that. Arnel is not a salesman, or maybe he is. He managed to pull his family out of poverty. Maybe it was him, maybe it was a power that rewarded him for his efforts. Believe what you want, but I believe that he gives so unconditionally that he gets rewarded in ways he never dreamed of.

You're bringing up stuff that has nothing to do with the music though. It doesn't matter if he is a great human being when it comes to being a great frontman. You're basically saying he gets a pass for this and for that because of his past trials.
That's like giving the kid who finished fifth in a race the blue ribbon because he was raised by his grandparents; lowering the bar, thus cheapening the victory.

[steveo777]

What differentiates Kelly the most from Arnel is that Hanson can project himself as an equal with Jones, whether it be on stage or during a media moment. With Arnel, it's almost like seeing who is going to pull his string after each question on the Television.
I haven't seen Arnel on stage since 2008 and will assume that he's come a long ways but I can't imagine that he dominates it like Kelly who gives the inpression that this is his band and his moment when he's out there under the lights.

A cultural difference that Arnel may never be able to overcome? He gets a pass on that from me.
Arnel makes up for that in spades by just being who he is. Understandably, most folks here don't get that.

That though is why we consider these guys entertainers and what makes a live show different than simply listening to the CD. The guy is a bit of a shadow on stage, is it any wonder that four years in many people still don't know his name? When you are out there, your duties are also as one of the band's pitchmen to sell your product. Whether he likes it or not, Arnel has to find a way to do that to be considered a bonafide frontman. It's his job.

I get that. Arnel is not a salesman, or maybe he is. He managed to pull his family out of poverty. Maybe it was him, maybe it was a power that rewarded him for his efforts. Believe what you want, but I believe that he gives so unconditionally that he gets rewarded in ways he never dreamed of.

You're bringing up stuff that has nothing to do with the music though. It doesn't matter if he is a great human being when it comes to being a great frontman. You're basically saying he gets a pass for this and for that because of his past trials.
That's like giving the kid who finished fifth in a race the blue ribbon because he was raised by his grandparents.

Sure, Don, just dumb it all down to another level. I don't have a response.

[Rip Rokken]

JSS, like Foreigner's Kelly Hansen, can sing and is a frontman that kicks the rest of the band into high gear. Arnel is a tremendous singer and little else.

You have to be KIDDING... You don't credit AP for having an energetic stage presence, or a solid connection with the band and audience during a show?

You're crazy. Arnel can barely speak english in-between songs. Awful frontman. Awesome singer tho.

That's absolutely ridiculous, lol.

[annie89509]

It's obvious to all AP tries very hard to give everyone a good show. Under the circumstances, I think he's doing an outstanding job. Can't please everyone...

[onmyjrny]

I think it is fair to say Arnel has improved tremedously since the early shows. He kinda got thrown into the deep end without a life preserver at first and I imagine it turned a bunch of people off from him.

Watching some of the recent clips though, I agree with Annie. He is trying hard and it shows.

[donnaplease]

I'm gonna say this and folks don't take this the wrong way, but when people start putting shit in the wrong forums little wars begin. An Arnel thread got dropped into the Steve Perry forum the other day and this JSS topic should have been posted in the JSS forum. Everyone is loyal to their artist and Andrew knows this. That said, wrong forum threads are allowed to escalate and become personal attack fests when all it would have really taken was some proper forum house keeping. Oh, and yeah, we have a responsibility too, to post in the proper forums.

Apples and oranges, dude. JSS was a member of Journey and therefore he is within the bounds of this forum. You might wanna tell that to those Arnel fans who post shit on SP/Journey videos on YT, though. Certainly, SP fans do the same on Arnel/Journey videos, but that is a little different in that Arnel comes after SP and is being compared to him as Arnel is singing SP originated songs.

[Rip Rokken]

I think it is fair to say Arnel has improved tremedously since the early shows. He kinda got thrown into the deep end without a life preserver at first and I imagine it turned a bunch of people off from him.

Watching some of the recent clips though, I agree with Annie. He is trying hard and it shows.

I'm not sure the most recent clips would be the best examples - he's still recuperating from his fall, and can't jump or run around quite like he normally would.

[perryswoman]

I think it is fair to say Arnel has improved tremedously since the early shows. He kinda got thrown into the deep end without a life preserver at first and I imagine it turned a bunch of people off from him.

Watching some of the recent clips though, I agree with Annie. He is trying hard and it shows.

I'm not sure the most recent clips would be the best examples - he's still recuperating from his fall, and can't jump or run around quite like he normally would.

Wow that sucks! When did he fall? I think coming from the Phillipines his English is fine and he's doing better than many people from the US are. How many us citizens could pull it off in the Phillipines? Not many I don't think.

[Gideon]

I think it is fair to say Arnel has improved tremedously since the early shows. He kinda got thrown into the deep end without a life preserver at first and I imagine it turned a bunch of people off from him.

Watching some of the recent clips though, I agree with Annie. He is trying hard and it shows.

I'm not sure the most recent clips would be the best examples - he's still recuperating from his fall, and can't jump or run around quite like he normally would.

I'm surprised he hasn't been injured more often.

[Infinity Vocalist 2010]

I think it is fair to say Arnel has improved tremedously since the early shows. He kinda got thrown into the deep end without a life preserver at first and I imagine it turned a bunch of people off from him.

Watching some of the recent clips though, I agree with Annie. He is trying hard and it shows.

I'm not sure the most recent clips would be the best examples - he's still recuperating from his fall, and can't jump or run around quite like he normally would.

I'm surprised he hasn't been injured more often.

He almost went for a header in Toronto, too. Tripped over a wire by stage left and flailed about, but corrected himself and hopped over a speaker. It was damn close.

[Michigan Girl]

when people start putting shit in the wrong forums little wars begin.
Oh, and yeah, we have a responsibility too, to post in the proper forums.

[onmyjrny]

I think it is fair to say Arnel has improved tremedously since the early shows. He kinda got thrown into the deep end without a life preserver at first and I imagine it turned a bunch of people off from him.

Watching some of the recent clips though, I agree with Annie. He is trying hard and it shows.

I'm not sure the most recent clips would be the best examples - he's still recuperating from his fall, and can't jump or run around quite like he normally would.

I didn't know he fell...what happened? I was referring to clips I have seen from shows earlier this year.

I would be okay with him not running around quite so much though. He can give an energetic performance without doing laps around the stage.

[wednesday's child]

I didn't know he fell...what happened? I was referring to clips I have seen from shows earlier this year.

Journey's energetic little frontman?
With a degenerative bone condition, he took a fall while hiking in Hawaii.
Hip surgery rumored but not scheduled.

[SF-Dano]

I'll give it a shot.

The story as far as I'm aware goes something like:

JSS was named lead vocalist, they recorded Winds Of Freedom. The song wasn't all that good and supposedly JSS didn't have good writing chemistry with Schon and Cain and wanted a vocalist that had more of the legacy Journey sound. So without saying a word Schon and Cain started looking for a new vocalist while JSS was touring with Talisman and found Jeremy and then once again changed their mind and ditched him and went with Arnel. All this while JSS didnt know they were looking for a replacement.

There have been numerous rumors as to why he was let go, but as the most logical is what I've wrote above. Although I would believe some of the rumors swirling around. Also JSS according to a recent interview with Castronovo "wanted a law suit" against the band, but lost. JSS denied that. It's really an unforunate mess (no pun intended from JSS's last solo album), but it's what happens. IMO it's for the better for music lovers of JSS because I think he'd have blown his voice out a lot quicker than Arnie will because on the Reno boot that was put up a lil while back JSS seemed to be straining a bit on some of the songs they were performing.

I still think the Wal-mart deal was coming down, and JSS just could not do the rerecords as well as they had hoped...So, they started looking for somebody who could do those songs much closer to the original version. I think it was a combination of that, chemistry with the band, and the fans mixed reaction to JSS.

LOL. It has been a long time since I agreed with you on something, but I do with this. The Wal-mart mandated re-records combined with personality clashes spelled the end for the brief JSS - Journey union.

I wonder if there was this much discussion and division when Perry replaced Fleishman back in the day. Thank goodness there was no internet then. LOL.

[onmyjrny]

I didn't know he fell...what happened? I was referring to clips I have seen from shows earlier this year.

Journey's energetic little frontman?
With a degenerative bone condition, he took a fall while hiking in Hawaii.
Hip surgery rumored but not scheduled.

I think you are having a flashback to another time....

[jihavoh]

I've personally loved every singer that Journey has had. I get JSS didn't have the sound they were quite looking for, but he brought a lot of energy and personality that none of the others could touch. I took my wife to her first Journey concert and she couldnt have cared less she wanted to see Def Leppard. She left the venue a Journey fan that night and it was mostly due to JSS. They should of at least done an album with him to see how it went. I could easily have seen him on an Eclipse type CD and been better for it. Oh well...at least we still have the Soul Sirkus CDs =)