Journey Extends Summer Tour Dates but We Still Miss Steve Perry
August 3 , 2009 – In the summer of 1997 Steve Perry reunited as lead singer of journey but injured his hip and needed a replacement. Steve was thinking a hip replacement while the band was thinking of replacing him. That’s the easy version of Steve Perry not being in Journey. The complicated rendition probably includes lots of bad-blood that comes with success, alcohol, drugs and non-stop touring.
Though the band continues to draw huge crowds and their reputation has actually improved much of that comes from the fruits of their earlier work and that included Steve Perry and drummer Steve Smith. Is it Journey without them? Considering Perry sang all their big hits it’s questionable.
Steve Perry talked to journalist Mitch Lafon a few years ago and talked about the bands last real reunion in 1995. “I put a lot of effort in trying to put Journey back together for the ‘Trial by Fire’ era and I worked hard with those guys so that we would keep our original integrity and write some good music and we did. Then I had that hip problem and it crashed on me. I had to go have surgery. There were some mistakes made and they checked out a few singers and they got tired of sitting around and one thing lead to another and we split again...”
Losing the main front man of the band was tough especially when Perry was replaced by sound-alikes and in a few cases guys who actually looked like him. In came singer Steve Augeri formerly of Tyketto and Tall Stories. He was gone in 2006, the official reason was throat/vocal problems. He was replaced in 2006 with Jeff Scott Soto from Talisman but he only lasted a year. His replacement was hired Filipino singer Arnel Pineda. Guitarist Neal Schon actually discovered him while surfing on YouTube. Pineda is a great singer but he’s no Steve Perry.
In that interview with Lafon Perry talked about his frustration on the band never getting the respect they deserved. He had just worked on the release of Journey live DVD “Live in Houston – 1981 Escape Tour.” The whole experience of working on the DVD was painful for Perry considering her wasn’t in the band anymore.
“We were great together and then I'm dragged through the people who thought we weren't great and who used to belittle us in the press and I thought 'fuck them too'. How can that be fucked up? We were great! See you assholes... you know what I mean? We weren't fucked up – you used to tell us we were faceless and corporate and all these horrible things and all we were trying to do was keep our focus and play what we loved. Now, I'm looking back at it for the first time as a person in the audience... I'm not in the band and it's been years since I've been in the band. It's been years since I've been on that stage. I'm an older guy and this young kid up there on that stage believed in what he believed in and damned if it wasn't pretty good and I got emotional about it. I just felt vindicated. I really felt vindicated for my beliefs and my faith and my tenacity that I got such a bad rep for... it's just that I was NOT going to lay down. Betty Davis said “if you have a bad reputation – you must be doing something right.”
Journey with Pineda as lead vocalist just finished touring Europe and the band has just announced more North American dates starting in Bossier City on August 4th and winding down on Sept.30 in Oklahoma City, OK. Steve Perry please call home. – by John Beaudin
August 2009
4 - Bossier City, LA - CenturyTel Center
5 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
7 - Thackerville, OK - WinStar Casino
8 - Memphis, TN - Mud Island Amphitheatre
16 - Indianapolis, IN - Indiana State Fair
18 - Rockford, IL - Rockford Metro Centre
20 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
21 - Louisville, KY - State Fair
23 - Des Moines, IA - State Fair
25 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
26 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
29 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
31 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veteran Memorial Coliseum
September 2009
2 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
4, 5 - Atlantic City, NJ - The Borgata
7 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
9 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena
10 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center
12 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
13 - Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theatre
15 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Coliseum
16 - Pikeville, KY - Eastern Kentucky Expo Center
18 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
19 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
21 - Pensacola, FL - Pensacola Civic Center
23 - Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
24 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live
26 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena
27 - Beaumont, TX - Ford Pavilion
29 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center
30 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre |