The Storm

[Monker]

And, earlier in the same video, Steve Smith talks about the fact that he was doing studio work and that his band, "Vital Information" was now touring....so there was a downside to the reunion, too. All of that had to be put on hold. He also talked about the frustrations of waiting for Perry to make a decision on his hip.

That doesn't change anything I said.

I didn't say it did. It puts into context of the totality of what Steve Smith was saying in that interview...which is repeating everything I have already said in this conversation.

When the brotherhood reunited against all odds, he bailed.

LOL. There hasn't been a true "brotherhood" in Journey since Gregg Rollie left. It has been nothing but a power struggle; between Herbie and Perry, and Perry and Journey...and now between Schon and Cain.

The very fact that you say "reunited" means that Steve Smith didn't bail on Journey, but Journey bailed on Steve Smith. He was flat out NOT INTERESTED in pop rock bands. That is where he was at that point in time. After being fired, he left Journey and rock behind and built a new career in Jazz. IMO, I doubt VERY MUCH he would have stayed in Journey past a TBF tour...he was not into pop/rock music as his career path. As he said, he set aside a certain amount of time to do the Journey reunion. When that time was up, he went back to Jazz. The Arrival version of Journey wasn't going to change that.

What you are not accepting is that Steve Smith did not move on from Journey in 1998. He moved on from Journey in 1986 and built a successful career in Jazz. Again, earlier in the same video Steve Smith says that he looks back and sees that that entire time in Journey he was really still learning...alluding to his following career in Jazz. His loyalties were to Jazz, not to Journey. He didn't need Journey, as Ross did, for example....he was doing fine without Journey. He wouldn't even tour or become a member of The Storm...of course he's not going to do it in the aftermath of TBF....and delay his Jazz career even longer.

I don't care.

Then you are in denial of reality.

Once Schon and Cain has successfully rebuilt Journey, he came back on-board.

Wow, that is just not true again.

Journey's post-Perry peak was a long time ago. By the time Steve Smith toured with them, they were a touring band and a Vegas residency act. They never record. Eclipse was a hard belly-flop. They are wrought with scandal; between Schon's future ex-wife, Jonathan and his future ex-wife and their religious beliefs, and Dean's drug addiction scandal. By the time Steve Smith joined, they were falling down the mountain and trying to not injure their hips. Lately, Neal has been so frustrated with the rest of the band that he had to start his own version of Journey to keep himself satisfied.

When they were touring theaters and Augeri was receiving death threats, he was nowhere to be found.

Sure he was. From his webite:
From 1998-2005 Smith produced and played on 16 electric jazz albums for the Tone Center label with a revolving cast of talented players including Dave Liebman, Frank Gambale, Stu Hamm, Tom Coster, Larry Coryell, Jerry Goodman, Howard Levy, Steve Marcus, Scott Henderson and Victor Wooten. In 2009 Tone Center release a compilation album called: The Best of Steve Smith-The Tone Center Collection. In 2004 Steve toured with Soulbop, and all-star funk-jazz group featuring Bill Evans, Randy Brecker, David Kikoski, Victor Bailey and Hiram Bullock. In 2005 the group released an album entitled Soulbop Band Live.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I didn't say it did. It puts into context of the totality of what Steve Smith was saying in that interview...which is repeating everything I have already said in this conversation.

You are attempting to speak on Smith's behalf. I am just dealing with facts. After The Sopranos, Glee, and Arnel massively revived the band's popularity, Smitty agrees to tour. When they were first starting out again and doing the hard work, he declined. If they were still touring county fairs with Augeri on his last vocal chord, would he be there? The answer is NO.

There hasn't been a true "brotherhood" in Journey since Gregg Rollie left. It has been nothing but a power struggle; between Herbie and Perry, and Perry and Journey...and now between Schon and Cain.

Given the hurdles they faced, I think the Augeri years were very much a brotherhood.

The very fact that you say "reunited" means that Steve Smith didn't bail on Journey, but Journey bailed on Steve Smith. He was flat out NOT INTERESTED in pop rock bands. That is where he was at that point in time. After being fired, he left Journey and rock behind and built a new career in Jazz. IMO, I doubt VERY MUCH he would have stayed in Journey past a TBF tour...he was not into pop/rock music as his career path. As he said, he set aside a certain amount of time to do the Journey reunion. When that time was up, he went back to Jazz. The Arrival version of Journey wasn't going to change that.

Again, you are speaking on Smith's behalf. I am dealing with facts.

Wow, that is just not true again.

Journey's post-Perry peak was a long time ago. By the time Steve Smith toured with them, they were a touring band and a Vegas residency act. They never record. Eclipse was a hard belly-flop. They are wrought with scandal; between Schon's future ex-wife, Jonathan and his future ex-wife and their religious beliefs, and Dean's drug addiction scandal. By the time Steve Smith joined, they were falling down the mountain and trying to not injure their hips. Lately, Neal has been so frustrated with the rest of the band that he had to start his own version of Journey to keep himself satisfied.

Now you are attempting to argue that Smitty willingly joined a dysfunctional, corrupt, and unpopular band. Some Smith fan you are.

[Monker]

I didn't say it did. It puts into context of the totality of what Steve Smith was saying in that interview...which is repeating everything I have already said in this conversation.

You are attempting to speak on Smith's behalf.

All I did was put your quote in context....and it ends up looking no different than every other interview I have ever on this subject.

I am just dealing with facts.

You are only dealing with the facts that back up your desired reality...and discard the rest, and discard the true reality along with it. Pretty much like a Perryloon would have done 20yrs ago.

After The Sopranos, Glee, and Arnel massively revived the band's popularity

Yeah, with Revelation and such...but, as I said, that was YEARS prior to Steve Smith joining. You are talking almost an entire DECADE later.

Smitty agrees to tour.

Yeah, years after even Eclipse was released and bombed. When Steve Smith joined, they were years and years past their peak.

When they were first starting out again and doing the hard work, he declined. If they were still touring county fairs with Augeri on his last vocal chord, would he be there? The answer is NO.

It doesn't matter who was singing, unless it was a full reunion, the answer would be NO. That is where he was at that time....it's just a fact, stated and restated by Steve Smith in multiple interviews.

There hasn't been a true "brotherhood" in Journey since Gregg Rollie left. It has been nothing but a power struggle; between Herbie and Perry, and Perry and Journey...and now between Schon and Cain.

Given the hurdles they faced, I think the Augeri years were very much a brotherhood.

No "brother" would put Steve Augeri out there as a scapegoat the way Journey did. A band of brothers would have given him an extended break after the Anniversary tour. They completely abused him, and then blamed him for all of their troubles while acting innocent.

The very fact that you say "reunited" means that Steve Smith didn't bail on Journey, but Journey bailed on Steve Smith. He was flat out NOT INTERESTED in pop rock bands. That is where he was at that point in time. After being fired, he left Journey and rock behind and built a new career in Jazz. IMO, I doubt VERY MUCH he would have stayed in Journey past a TBF tour...he was not into pop/rock music as his career path. As he said, he set aside a certain amount of time to do the Journey reunion. When that time was up, he went back to Jazz. The Arrival version of Journey wasn't going to change that.

Again, you are speaking on Smith's behalf. I am dealing with facts.

Those are facts. Just because you deny them does not change that. This argument is 20+ yrs old and I don't have those interviews on hand any longer because I have stayed out of these arguments for so long. But, it is in the BTM, the Modern Drummer interview, and a LOT of other interviews. It is established fact.

Now you are attempting to argue that Smitty willingly joined a dysfunctional, corrupt, and unpopular band. Some Smith fan you are.

Not exactly. I am saying that the post-Perry peak ended almost 10yrs before Steve Smith joined the band. Yes, they are dysfunctional and corrupt, they are a popular touring band that never records an album. That is what Steve Smith joined.

[The_Noble_Cause]

All I did was put your quote in context....

I posted a link to the entire hr+ episode of BTM. The context was already provided.

You are only dealing with the facts that back up your desired reality...and discard the rest, and discard the true reality along with it. Pretty much like a Perryloon would have done 20yrs ago.

Smith's jazz career doesn't discount anything I said. Joining the post-TBF lineup would have been a gamble. Joining the Arnel lineup is a safe bet. The other guys did the work to rebuild this thing.

Yeah, with Revelation and such...but, as I said, that was YEARS prior to Steve Smith joining. You are talking almost an entire DECADE later.

The Arnel lineup in 2019 is still much more of a surefire successful entity than the Augeri years starting out.

Yeah, years after even Eclipse was released and bombed. When Steve Smith joined, they were years and years past their peak.

Now you are comparing Eclipse sales to the early Augeri years. They didn't even have a Sony deal for a new record with Augeri initially. They had to first prove themselves on the road.

It doesn't matter who was singing, unless it was a full reunion, the answer would be NO. That is where he was at that time....it's just a fact, stated and restated by Steve Smith in multiple interviews.

I really don't care about his motives for not joining the post-TBF lineup. I've read all the same interviews you have.

No "brother" would put Steve Augeri out there as a scapegoat the way Journey did. A band of brothers would have given him an extended break after the Anniversary tour. They completely abused him, and then blamed him for all of their troubles while acting innocent.

This is a huge generalization. Most band members wouldn't even publicly comment on Augeri's issues.

Those are facts. Just because you deny them does not change that. This argument is 20+ yrs old and I don't have those interviews on hand any longer because I have stayed out of these arguments for so long. But, it is in the BTM, the Modern Drummer interview, and a LOT of other interviews. It is established fact.

Is it a fact that Smitty had an established jazz career? Yes.
Is it a fact that he re-joined Journey again only after it had proven itself to be a successful cash cow? Yes.

[Monker]

All I did was put your quote in context....

I posted a link to the entire hr+ episode of BTM. The context was already provided.

Yes, and then you said to jump to a certain point at the very end of the video to listen to a specific comment...which takes it out of the context of the whole. In addition, even you admitted it was a vague comment. My point is that if you put it into context of everything else he said in the BTM that it makes perfect sense why he said it. He was simply not interested in Journey without the reunion aspect, and he wanted to get back to Jazz.

You are only dealing with the facts that back up your desired reality...and discard the rest, and discard the true reality along with it. Pretty much like a Perryloon would have done 20yrs ago.

Smith's jazz career doesn't discount anything I said. Joining the post-TBF lineup would have been a gamble. Joining the Arnel lineup is a safe bet. The other guys did the work to rebuild this thing.

It may not discount it but what you are stating are NOT the motives that Steve Smith himself has stated - repeatedly. Post something where he said he did not join the Arrival Journey because it was "a gamble" or "too tough" or whatever. As far as I know, he has never said such things...and you are just making it up.

Yeah, with Revelation and such...but, as I said, that was YEARS prior to Steve Smith joining. You are talking almost an entire DECADE later.

The Arnel lineup in 2019 is still much more of a surefire successful entity than the Augeri years starting out.

Now you are taking my words out of context. Journey was NOT at their post-Perry peak when he joined which was my point. That is also just a simple fact.

Yeah, years after even Eclipse was released and bombed. When Steve Smith joined, they were years and years past their peak.

Now you are comparing Eclipse sales to the early Augeri years.

Reread what you quoted above...I did not even mention Augeri's name. You are the one who keeps comparing Augeri vs. Arnel.

My point in the last two quotes above is when Steve Smith came back, they were nearly 10yrs past all these things you mentioned. I was comparing it more to Revelation...which saw the last platinum album and all the benefits from the things you mentioned. Eclipse bombed after that and they have not released anything new since then, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. Journey is a band that has success touring and as a Las Vegas residency band...and that is all.

I really don't care about his motives for not joining the post-TBF lineup.

So, you say he didn't join because of blah, blah, blah....and you really don't care about it. That makes no sense at all.

Is it a fact that he re-joined Journey again only after it had proven itself to be a successful cash cow? Yes.

No, it is a fact that he rejoined 9yrs after the great success had come and years after it had gone. Journey is nowhere near what they were during Revelation. Not even close.

It is just as truthful to say that he rejoined Journey after it became obvious they were in their twilight years and this is the closest to a full Escape reunion on tour that will ever be. In fact, the Facebook post seems to indicate that.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Yes, and then you said to jump to a certain point at the very end of the video to listen to a specific comment...which takes it out of the context of the whole.

It's the only part of BTM where Smitty specifically addresses not joining the new lineup.

In addition, even you admitted it was a vague comment. My point is that if you put it into context of everything else he said in the BTM that it makes perfect sense why he said it. He was simply not interested in Journey without the reunion aspect, and he wanted to get back to Jazz.

Maybe, maybe not. Why does it matter? Ultimately, he declined to join. According to BTM, he gave them an answer right over the phone.

It may not discount it but what you are stating are NOT the motives that Steve Smith himself has stated - repeatedly.

I don't care about his motives. He didn't join. Period.

Post something where he said he did not join the Arrival Journey because it was "a gamble" or "too tough" or whatever. As far as I know, he has never said such things...and you are just making it up.

I never said that Smitty said that. It's just a fact that Journey 2019 is much more enticing from a business standpoint than Journey 1998.

Now you are taking my words out of context. Journey was NOT at their post-Perry peak when he joined which was my point. That is also just a simple fact.

During their post-Perry peak, Deen hadn't been kicked out yet, so I'm not sure what your point is. At that time, there was no opening for Smitty.

Currently, Journey 2019 is in much better shape than Journey 1998. According to Cain, promoters wouldn't even book them. They ultimately had to get a colleague to put up $1 million dollars of his own money.

Reread what you quoted above...I did not even mention Augeri's name. You are the one who keeps comparing Augeri vs. Arnel.

Because you keep pretending that joining Journey in 1998 is the same as joining now in 2019. It's not. Not even close.

My point in the last two quotes above is when Steve Smith came back, they were nearly 10yrs past all these things you mentioned. I was comparing it more to Revelation...which saw the last platinum album and all the benefits from the things you mentioned. Eclipse bombed after that and they have not released anything new since then, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. Journey is a band that has success touring and as a Las Vegas residency band...and that is all.

Again, they already had a drummer during Revelation and Eclipse. Would Smitty have joined if Deen went to rehab as Revelation burned up the charts? Who knows? Who cares?

No, it is a fact that he rejoined 9yrs after the great success had come and years after it had gone. Journey is nowhere near what they were during Revelation. Not even close.

Again, they already had a drummer during Revelation.

It is just as truthful to say that he rejoined Journey after it became obvious they were in their twilight years and this is the closest to a full Escape reunion on tour that will ever be. In fact, the Facebook post seems to indicate that.

Nothing you say will change the fact that Cain, Schon, & Valory got their hands dirty, faced numerous detractors/obstacles, and brought Journey back.
Smitty declined. I don't fault him for that. It is what it is.

[kgdjpubs]

I wish I could find the interview link, but Steve Smith game a fairly detailed answer about his involvement in the TBF reunion. Basically, he said he'd do it for the fans, and if everyone else was onboard, he wouldn't be the one to hold up the reunion. There was also some amount of interest on his part of seeing how his current drumming style would mesh with the band, as he had a far more experienced background compared to the 80s. I remember a comment where he went back and listened to a lot of the influences of the band members so that when Perry would want a beat similar to this song, and now he could duplicate it as opposed to just a shot in the general direction. That said, he was very clear that Vital Information and such was his focus, and once TBF and the associated tour were done, he would go back to his band regardless of what happened with Journey as his heart was in jazz and not rock at that point in time. Once it became obvious that there wasn't going to be a TBF tour, he considered his commitment fulfilled and was gone. Obviously, his mindset changed at some point between 1998 and 2015.

[Art Vandelay]

I wish I could find the interview link, but Steve Smith game a fairly detailed answer about his involvement in the TBF reunion. Basically, he said he'd do it for the fans, and if everyone else was onboard, he wouldn't be the one to hold up the reunion. There was also some amount of interest on his part of seeing how his current drumming style would mesh with the band, as he had a far more experienced background compared to the 80s. I remember a comment where he went back and listened to a lot of the influences of the band members so that when Perry would want a beat similar to this song, and now he could duplicate it as opposed to just a shot in the general direction. That said, he was very clear that Vital Information and such was his focus, and once TBF and the associated tour were done, he would go back to his band regardless of what happened with Journey as his heart was in jazz and not rock at that point in time. Once it became obvious that there wasn't going to be a TBF tour, he considered his commitment fulfilled and was gone. Obviously, his mindset changed at some point between 1998 and 2015.

Yep, I remember that interview. I want to say it was Modern Drummer.

[hgwy407]

After reading KC's right wing nut job twitter I felt dirty and needed to be reminded of how great a singer he is. I was very happy to find this live concert I'd never seen before. Quality isn't great, but wow, that band were good.


https://youtu.be/EO-8Z0AOhs0

I guess you want to throw insults out there but don’t want to support your point of view, or perhaps take criticism yourself for your views, by not posting a link to said article?

[kgdjpubs]

I wish I could find the interview link, but Steve Smith game a fairly detailed answer about his involvement in the TBF reunion. Basically, he said he'd do it for the fans, and if everyone else was onboard, he wouldn't be the one to hold up the reunion. There was also some amount of interest on his part of seeing how his current drumming style would mesh with the band, as he had a far more experienced background compared to the 80s. I remember a comment where he went back and listened to a lot of the influences of the band members so that when Perry would want a beat similar to this song, and now he could duplicate it as opposed to just a shot in the general direction. That said, he was very clear that Vital Information and such was his focus, and once TBF and the associated tour were done, he would go back to his band regardless of what happened with Journey as his heart was in jazz and not rock at that point in time. Once it became obvious that there wasn't going to be a TBF tour, he considered his commitment fulfilled and was gone. Obviously, his mindset changed at some point between 1998 and 2015.

Yep, I remember that interview. I want to say it was Modern Drummer.

Probably was. It would make sense. I remember a lot of the questions and answers were geared technically towards a drumming audience.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I guess you want to throw insults out there but don’t want to support your point of view, or perhaps take criticism yourself for your views, by not posting a link to said article?

He's referring to KC's twitter. KC has become something of a right wing fanatic. And hey, that's OK. Kevin is a smart guy and entitled to his views.

https://twitter.com/kevinchalfant?lang=en

[Aaron]

I'm running on memory here (take it with a grain of salt) but I only remember Journey and The Storm songs covered live. Chalfant was pretty dang good on Perry's parts with Rolie!

Did they play other Non-Storm songs live?
Like 707? Figuring they didnt do the Steel Breeze hit.
Or any other Journey songs?

Its amazing they pulled of two radio hits but still little album sales. Dont even think it went gold and peaked at 133.

[kgdjpubs]

I'm running on memory here (take it with a grain of salt) but I only remember Journey and The Storm songs covered live. Chalfant was pretty dang good on Perry's parts with Rolie!

Did they play other Non-Storm songs live?
Like 707? Figuring they didnt do the Steel Breeze hit.
Or any other Journey songs?

Its amazing they pulled of two radio hits but still little album sales. Dont even think it went gold and peaked at 133.

They did Just the Same Way and Anytime with Rolie and Chalfant. Rolie also did Black Magic Woman. The rest was from the debut album. No 707. No Steel Breeze. Nothing from the 2nd Storm album as the band was disbanded by the time the album was finally released three years after it was recorded--Chalfant did perform a few of those songs solo several years later.

All the setlists that I've seen were supporting Bryan Adams. If they ever did a headline show, I've never seen a setlist for that.

[Abitaman]

Saw the Storm tour with Adams. Both put on a really good show. KC is a great vocalist and can command the stage.