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Lish Dish: Don't Stop Believing…
2008-06-11
 Are you a Journey fan? You know, the power ballad rock group of the 70's, 80's and 90's. Well, being a child of the 80's, they're all I ever heard on the radio. I was never really a fan of them in high school or maybe it was just that everyone else was and I wanted to be different. That happened with me a lot. If there was a huge ruckus about some band, I generally turned the other ear and listened to "my own music" LOL, God, you couldn't pay me to be a teenager again.
Today, however, I've changed my opinion of Journey. With the addition of their new front man, Arnel Pineda, I have found myself listening to them more than I ever have. Maybe it's his voice sounding eerily like Steve Perry's, maybe it's his own showmanship or maybe I'm just rooting for him to live his dream. His own story of living in the Philippines, losing his mother (who taught him to sing) at twelve years old and living in the streets with only a biscuit in his pocket to live on for a few days really struck a chord within me. He was a singer in many bands and his latest, Zoo Band, performed cover songs of Journey, Aerosmith and the like. He sang some Journey tunes and his friend Noel Gomez put them up on You Tube. Neal Schon, guitarist of Journey went online looking for talent and saw Arnel's performances. After finally convincing Arnel that his email was not a hoax, contacted him to see if he'd like to audition to be the new lead singer of Journey - after a 2 day audition, Arnel got the gig. I mean, come on, what an amazing story!
Close Your Eyes and Listen - Amazing!
They just released their new CD, Revelation, on June 3rd. It's a 3 CD/DVD set that I do believe I will be buying. 1 CD is their new work, 1 CD is 11 re-recorded classics (which I can't wait to hear) and a DVD concert from Las Vegas from this past spring.
Just for Good Measure, Listen to This One Too!
Some Journey purists may not be as ecstatic with having someone who sounds like Perry take his spot, but Pineda's voice, though damn close, has its own sound, which I find really awesome. He's really adorable, too. Some have gone so far as to post racist/ethnic remarks about his "brown skin" not being part of a true American band. I know it shouldn't, but shit like that really surprises and shocks me. Can we not see people being different as a good thing? God, if we all looked and acted alike how boring our lives would be. But, being in the GLBT community, I know I'm preaching to the choir.
And speaking of Steve Perry, where is he? What happened to him? According to their bass player, Ross Vallory, Steve needed a hip replacement and after a year of waiting and he still hadn't had the surgery, they replaced him. After 20 years as friends and performing in the same band, Neal Schon can't even contact him without going through an attorney. So sad! Whether Steve and Neal have bad blood obviously is of no consequence to the future of Journey. They have indeed found new life with Arnel Pineda and, in me, a new fan.
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