'Don't Stop Believin'' a quest to replace Journey's Steve Perry
http://go.standard.net/movies/reviews/d ... teve-perry
Steve Salles, Standard-Examiner movie critic - March 8th, 2013
For many, the rock ’n’ roll band Journey is one of the greatest of all time. One survey has the group listed at No. 5. I’ve enjoyed their music over the years, but No. 5? Really?
Regardless, after lead singer Steve Perry retired, many thought the band was done. A couple of replacements stepped in, but they quickly burned out.
So, as told in “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey,” lead guitarist Neal Schon went on an exhaustive search in 2008 and on the Internet found a cover band in the Philippines that played Journey’s music. Lead singer Arnel Pineda caught his attention.
Within a few weeks, Arnel was brought to San Francisco for an audition and was, not unexpectedly, quite nervous. At first, the other band members thought Neal had made a mistake, but after a couple of days, they began to hear the real Arnel Pineda — and he was amazing.
Now, if this was just a story about Journey finding a new singer, I would say, so what? But this Arnel guy is one special human being. He’s humble, devoted to his family, eternally grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — and the band and fans have completely embraced him.
He may be a short, long-haired, energetic Filipino who struggles with English, but he has the heart and soul of a rock star, and a personality that is infectious. The band has new life because of him; I think fans will be delighted to see where he started and how far he’s come. It’s a toe-tappin’ good time.