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Journey's lead singer found in the Phillipines

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I know that makes it sounds like Steve Perry was lost somewhere in Manila, but no. Apparently, Journey have been on the hunt for a new singer because the public demands it. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s the press release I got today (which, like me, is way late to the game but I can’t resist an easy post these days so here we go):

JOURNEY WELCOMES ARNEL PINEDA WITH “OPEN ARMS” TO THEIR FAMILY AS THE BAND’S NEW LEAD SINGER

Proving that Journey is incapable of issuing a press release without a bad pun.

After much speculation…the wait is finally over.

Who was speculating? I mean, I wrote a whole post on the last guy who left and even I stopped thinking about it after I hit the Publish Post button.

JOURNEY–Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums)–is proud to introduce fans all over the world to their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda (“pin-eh-da”). He replaces Jeff Scott Soto, who parted ways with the band earlier this year after stepping in for Steve Augeri, who had to leave the band in 2006 for medical reasons.

Arnel hails from Quezon City in the Philippines and has been singing Journey songs–in addition to original material–with his band, The Zoo, for the past couple of years in clubs all over his homeland. Joining the legendary band is a dream come true for him.

Now, you’re probably saying “They couldn’t find anyone in the U.S. who could be their lead singer?” The answer is yes. I think they just couldn’t find anyone in the U.S. willing to be their lead singer. So they went the Judas Priest route and plucked a guy from cover band obscurity.

Speaking of, this is The Zoo:

The fact that I can hear only two people clapping during the performance notwithstanding, I’d give the guy a 7, with 10 being Steve Perry and 1 being a drunk frat boy singing karaoke at Trader Todd’s after a Cubs game who intersperses drunken “Fuck yeaaaah”s every half a verse. I was going to go with an 8 but he needs to work on the “Woaaaaah”-derived aspects of his vocals. The band I’d give a 3 so I am pretty sure Arnel is not looking back.

“It’s so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world.

“But singing with Journey will be fun, too.”

“It’ll be a lot of hard work on my part and I’m actually looking forward to the scrutiny I’ll get from the hardcore JOURNEY fans. I know they’ll expect me to sound exactly like ‘the voice’ (Steve Perry), but that will never happen. I know there’s only one Steve Perry in this world.”

Yes, and even he is saying “C’mon dude, ‘the voice’? That’s a bit much.”

When it was time for JOURNEY to look for a new lead singer, the internet came to their rescue. Guitarist Neal Schon wanted someone new to the music business…

…so that person would be unfamiliar with how royally screwed he was going to get…

…so he turned to YouTube. After finding Arnel singing “Faithfully,” he knew he had found the perfect frontman.

So Neal Schon used the exact same method I did five minutes ago to find a performance by Journey’s new lead singer.

“I was frustrated about not having a singer,” explains guitarist Neal Schon, “so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours.

Although apparently Neal is far less efficient than I am.

“I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. [snip] Arnel doesn’t sound synthetic and he’s not emulating anyone.”

Um, dude was in a cover band. He made his living by at least somewhat emulating everyone.

“I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night…”

God, what a rough 12 hours that must have been.

“…but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter.”

This seems overly paranoid on Pineda’s part, but I suppose if you are covering Journey songs every night, you’re expecting one of your friends to call you and say “Hi, this is Neal Schon and I want you to be the new lead singer of Journey” on a daily basis.

Arnel Pineda picks up the story: “My friend Noel picked up the message on YouTube and told me it was from Neal. I thought it was a hoax so I ignored it. Noel said, ‘what if it really was Neal and he wanted to offer you the chance of a lifetime?’ So I e-mailed Neal back and the rest is history.”

Well, not yet. But I’m giving it about six months before this is “history.”

JOURNEY is currently working on a new album with legendary producer Kevin Shirley, which they hope to release by spring/summer 2008. Details will be announced early next year.

If by “legendary” you mean “has produced some legendary bands’ lesser albums, then yes, legendary. Kevin Shirley appears to be the guy you go to at the end of your career which…seems about right in this case.

From the archives, vol. 3: The unwinnable argument

Music,

I know I’m not the only person who feels like this, but when your job is to work with a computer all day, sometimes the last thing you want to do at night is work with a computer, even if your job keeps you so busy that you really ought to be spending some time at home reading blogs and otherwise taking the temperature of the Internet so you can keep up with your chosen profession, which you’re not able to do at work because you have So Much To Do.

Of course, this also makes it difficult to blog regularly. But luckily, I have a wealth of short, punchy blog material from my days at Chicagoist, just aching to be lazily re-posted here.

The following is a post I was reminded of this weekend, while I was at a wedding. I think it’s pretty obvious as to why. Notes follow.
——-
With all the Lollapalooza hullabaloo yesterday, I missed the chance to put in my* two cents into an argument that Richard Roeper started. It’s an argument guaranteed to inflame any barroom in the city when you include just three little words: “…of all time.”

Confusing popularity with quality, Roeper argues that “Sweet Home Alabama” is the “greatest rock and roll song of all time.” His anecdotal proof: its inclusion in a NASCAR video game; its use in a concert by the Duff sisters and a recent movie trailer; and the joy it brings to drunken barroom patrons. What? No mention of its status as a top karaoke pick?

To be fair, Roeper also cites Skynyrd’s “killer” guitar work and ballsy vocals (no argument there) as well as its catchy chorus (so does this make “Since U Been Gone” the 2nd greatest rock song?**). But then it’s back to the movies with Roeper alleging the song’s cultural weight can be confirmed because it was in…Con Air! If countless appearances in the cultural zeitgeist make a song great then ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to nominate James Brown’s “I Feel Good.”

*crickets chirping*

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

We generally worship the ground Roeper walks on*** (his column this week on jerky behavior in bathrooms had guys all over Chicago nodding their heads in agreement) but I thinks he’s got it wrong here. Does “Sweet Home Alabama” kick ass? Hell yeah it does.**** Does that make it the greatest rock song of all time? Well, no. There are plenty of songs that can get a room full of drunks singing in full voice but it’s going to be a while before you see Journey***** or REO Speedwagon getting a call from the Hall of Fame.

But Roeper’s right: The Greatest Rock and Roll Song Of All Time should kick ass. It should have universality to it as well. All people should be able to rally behind its lyrics which have survived time and tide and stand apart from politics or current events. It should be perfect for any occasion be it live concert, baseball game or bar mitzvah.

And that is why AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” is the Greatest Rock and Roll Song Of All Time.

* Chicagoist fans will note that I stripped out the collective Chicagoist “we” here. My name is Our Man In Chicago, and I approved this message.

** It doesn’t, though “Gone” would easily make my top 100.

*** This was true at the time I wrote it, but isn’t now. Between the books and his work on Ebert & Roeper, his column’s suffered for quality. But I’ve been pretty much done with him since he idiotically railed against the Dove campaign for “real beauty.” This post pretty much says it all. I’m not entirely sure which parts of it are mine, and which are Erin’s though I distinctly remember writing the Herb Tarlek line. Actually, the whole thing’s pretty ironic considering all the railing she does about the Sun-Times. Let that be a lesson, kids: insulting a potential employer can lead to $$$.

**** It does, even though it probably wouldn’t make my top 100.

***** This was true at the time I wrote it, and still is now. Every time I hear “Don’t Stop Believin'” I wonder what it is The Lovin’ Spoonful has that Journey doesn’t.

Press release of the day: Striking While The Iron Is Hot category

Music,

Kudos to Journey’s publicist for her excellent timing. Issuing this on the heels of the Sopranos finale, which ended with the strains of “Don’t Stop Believing” is a brilliant move. I hope she treated herself by leaving early for the day, after a long lunch. Because honestly: raise your hand if you even knew Steve Augeri had been replaced as lead singer of Journey. Hell, raise your hand if you thought Steve Perry was still the lead singer of Journey. Steve Perry certainly seems to.

Also, can we get a moratorium on the use of the phrase “no pun intended” when clearly a pun was intended?

JOURNEY ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF JEFF SCOTT SOTO

June 12, 2007 — Journey has parted ways with their recently named lead singer Jeff Scott Soto. Jeff’s first appearance with Journey was July 7, 2006 in Bristow, VA. He had been filling in for Steve Augeri, who had to leave the tour shortly after it began on June 23 due to illness. Jeff’s last performance was May 12, 2007 in Leesburg, VA.

According to guitarist Neal Schon, “We appreciate all of Jeff’s hard work and we can’t thank him enough for stepping in when Steve Augeri got sick last year. He did a tremendous job for us and we wish him the best. We’ve just decided to go our separate ways, no pun intended. We’re plotting our next move now.”

Keyboardist Jonathan Cain continues, “We were lucky to have a friend who was already a Journey fan step in on a moment’s notice during the Def Leppard tour to help us out. Jeff was always the consummate professional and we hope that he remains a friend of the band in the future. We just felt it was time to go in a different direction.”

Journey–Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards) and Deen Castronovo (drums)—is taking the rest of 2007 off to spend time with their families, write new songs and map out plans for 2008.