Anyone see Journey's new lead singer?

[3-LockBox]

Not that most folks around here would care, but I'd been seeing this Filipino cover band called The Zoo over on YouTube for the last few months and thought that their singer was almost a dead ringer for Steve Perry (I was actually looking up Yes tunes at the time). Apparently Neal Schon thought so too, and offered the lead singer the vacant vocal spot in Journey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HjcC...eature=related

Here's Arnel Pineda singing Yes; not the best sound quality, but you get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOk8b...eature=related

[Finch Platte]

Not that most folks around here would care, but I'd been seeing this Filipino cover band called The Zoo over on YouTube for the last few months and thought that their singer was almost a dead ringer for Steve Perry (I was actually looking up Yes tunes at the time). Apparently Neal Schon thought so too, and offered the lead singer the vacant vocal spot in Journey.

Wonder why ol' Neal doesn't just kill himself. What an ordeal.

fp

[ForeverAutumn]

We saw Journey several years ago with Steve Augeri fronting them (free tickets). This guy is just another cookie cutter Steve Perry wannabe. Sure, he's got a good voice but this is just the next incarnation of Neil Schon's Journey cover band.

I guess you've gotta put food on the table and if rehashing the same old songs pays the bills then go ahead and make a living, I say. But I'd have a lot more respect for Schon if he found someone with some creative input and branched out a little, wrote some new material...you know?

[3-LockBox]

I guess you've gotta put food on the table and if rehashing the same old songs pays the bills then go ahead and make a living, I say. But I'd have a lot more respect for Schon if he found someone with some creative input and branched out a little, wrote some new material...you know?

With bands like Genesis and The Eagles asking people for a week's pay to see them in concert (and getting it) you're going to see more and more of these glorified cover bands and oldies shows. People stopped caring about Journey years ago, but I guess if enough time goes by, you can over-romanticize anything.

Would it be different if Perry were dead? This Filipino dude is as close to Steve Perry as I've ever heard, but Perry had way better control. Sounds like Perry and Schon hate each other though, so that ain't hap'nin.

I'm sure there are dozens of older bands out there scrambling to put their bands back together and tour. I don't see any difference in Schon's attempts to clone Perry's voice than acts like Kansas and AC/DC trying to perform with guys whose voices are shot to hell. I like AC/DC and Kansas way better than Journey, but if I had a choice, I'd see Journey, because I couldn't take an entire concert of croaked vocals.

When Bad Company came out years ago with a new album, they had a lead singer half their age out front. Same with Styx. Same with Foreigner. I'm kinda numb to it now. But as you said, you gotta put bread on the table and if you could relive your youth while doing it, instead of working in a cubical or a ditch or behind a counter or (insert sh!tty job here), well...I'd pick relive my youth (provided of course I was a rockstar in a former life).

Hell, I'd see 'em for free too.

[Swish]

People stopped caring about Journey years ago, but I guess if enough time goes by, you can over-romanticize anything.

...I never cared about Journey. They had some obvious talent but the music was so...so...formulaic. I can't think of one song they did that I would ever care to hear again. Not one.

So there I was flipping through the gazillion cable stations I have and, who do I see but two old guys strumming a song from Air Supply. Lo and behold it was the two chumps (rich, old and happy chumps probably) that were/are Air Supply, shilling for some 'soft rock hits' record that obviously included some of their songs. Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water....

Swish

[Mr Peabody]

I still like Journey a lot. Every album from Escape backward is solid. I suspect Schon wanted a serious Rock band where Perry wanted to keep trying to chart commercial hits. It's funny that Steve Perry's first solo album sounded nothing like Journey and was successful but anything he done after that was a Journey knock off and flopped. From the little bit of material on the EP Red 13, I think Journey could still put out some viable material but it will definitely be an uphill journey to get exceptance. The song Close To The Edge is as strong as anything they have done in the past. When they parted ways with Algeeri, Schon commented they were looking for something different in a singer and go a new direction, apparently this isn't the case. I firmly believe finding another Steve Perry clone was the wrong move. He should have stuck with the new direction idea.

Anyone not familiar with the entire Journey catalog should check out Infinity and Departure for a sense of the less commercial sound. And if you are really adventurous take a listen to the first 3 Journey albums without Steve Perry. There is a nice compilation of those first 3 called In The Beginning if you can find it. Journey's sound really changed when Rollie left the band. Cain is a talented guy but he had deep ballad tendencies. Rollie seemed to keep a bit of the Progressive spice to the songs.

[3-LockBox]

The song Close To The Edge is as strong as anything they have done in the past.

Close To The Edge?

Whuh?

[3-LockBox]

What I find interesting is that the show Rockstar has opened a pandora's box...if this is successful, and the new guy is accepted as a Perry clone, then no lead singer's spot is secure, and rock bands will become like baseball teams in the way they change personel (ok, not really) but if you think YouTube is popular now, wait until every Tom, Dick and Harry wannabe gets wind of this. You can already mix and match most popular rock bands from the '70s, '80s, and '90s anyway, and not too many people will notice the difference. Look at what Chicago did in the '80s. Peter Cetera left, they replaced him with a clone, and their fanbase could care less, as long as the music was identifiable as Chicago.

[Finch Platte]

And if you are really adventurous take a listen to the first 3 Journey albums without Steve Perry. There is a nice compilation of those first 3 called In The Beginning if you can find it. Journey's sound really changed when Rollie left the band. Cain is a talented guy but he had deep ballad tendencies. Rollie seemed to keep a bit of the Progressive spice to the songs.

I've made a comp of the best songs from the first 3 discs. If anyone wants to check it out, let me know. It's good stuff. Really.

fp

"Deep ballad"?

[3-LockBox]

I've made a comp of the best songs from the first 3 discs. If anyone wants to check it out, let me know. It's good stuff. Really.

Me.

TIA

[ForeverAutumn]

What I find interesting is that the show Rockstar has opened a pandora's box...if this is successful, and the new guy is accepted as a Perry clone, then no lead singer's spot is secure, and rock bands will become like baseball teams in the way they change personel (ok, not really) but if you think YouTube is popular now, wait until every Tom, Dick and Harry wannabe gets wind of this. You can already mix and match most popular rock bands from the '70s, '80s, and '90s anyway, and not too many people will notice the difference. Look at what Chicago did in the '80s. Peter Cetera left, they replaced him with a clone, and their fanbase could care less, as long as the music was identifiable as Chicago.

When we saw Journey with Augeri, the crowd was going absolutely wild. Hubby and I were wondering how many people in the crowd didn't even know that Augeri was not the original singer and we guessed that probably a large percent were unaware or just didn't care. Sad, really.

Although, to his credit, Augeri was a good front man and put on a great performance.

[Mr Peabody]

Close To The Edge is a song off the Red 13 EP.

FP, I hope Topaz is on your comp. You might have to re-do the comp and through in some Abraxas Pool.

[bobsticks]

Anyone remember Jeff Scott Soto who lasted roughly 5 minutes with Journey? I always wondered what led to his rather unceremoniuos release, perhaps his skeletons in the closet caught up?



Nah, from what was admittedly youthful recollection this was pretty much par for the course during the hair metal years...

...but this is unacceptable under any circumstance...



Don't they do any inquiries on these characters?

[Swish]

...but this is unacceptable under any circumstance...



Don't they do any inquiries on these characters?

I had to shut it down after only 10 or 15 seconds. Yikes!

Swish

[bobsticks]

I had to shut it down after only 10 or 15 seconds. Yikes!

Swish

Wha??...did the tranny look too familiar? Mebbe a previous significant other...