Castronovo was singing the signature ballads during last year's tour with Def Leppard, and still sings a couple live ("Mother Father," "Keep On Runnin'"). Vocal interplay is one of the core elements to Journey's sound, from their early back and forth between Steve Perry and Gregg Rolie on through recent years where everyone has gotten into the game and grown as singers."It was thrown to me, basically. Stevie [Augeri] was having a rough night and they said, 'Try this and this...' So, it fell into my lap and developed into 'Deen, you're singing this every night.' But let me tell you as much as I love singing, I don't love singing! It's hard. You've got to be Steve Perry Jr. You've got to be that good or they will crucify you," says Castronovo, pointing out the ghost in the room with Journey – the absence of the lead singer that helped put them on top of the charts. "I was lucky, dude, I never got crucified. I was very fortunate. Steve [Augeri] would get crucified every night. Jeff would get crucified every night. So, I'm just thankin' Jesus, man. [Perry's legacy] is daunting. Steve Perry is and was and always will be my favorite singer. I'm a metal drummer and I still think Perry is untouchable. Arnel is amazingly similar and can stand on his own two feet, especially with the new stuff, where he sounds fantastic. But Perry was like a god to me. Still is really."
Steve's comeback album?
posted by Jas, 07/24//08
Hey everyone how's your summer so far? good I hope, me, I've been busy with Linkin Park and their Projekt Revolution tour that I forgot to check on Steve but thanks to Casey who alerted me about recent articles that mention Steve. The Examiner has an article about British rocker Rob Dickinson, must admit I don't know who he is but I do know his cousin, Bruce Dickinson who is Iron Maiden's vocalist (one of my all time favourite bands), anyway, the article mentions that Rob has been writing songs for Steve's comeback album and People magazine recently talked to Randy Jackson about the new Journey singer, Arnel Pineda and he too mention that Steve is working on something.
Who better than Randy Jackson to judge Arnel Pineda, the controversial choice for new lead singer of the legendary rock band Journey? Not only is Jackson a judge on American Idol, but for two years he also played bass for Journey. His verdict on Pineda, who has come from relative obscurity to fill the formidable shoes of former frontman Steve Perry? A big thumbs up – with a footnote."The guy can sing, he's great," says Jackson. "But no one ... no one will ever be Steve Perry. He's one of the greatest singers to ever grace the microphone." Jackson visited the studio during work on the album. "I heard a few songs," says Jackson. "I think they're doing really well." As for ex-Journeyman Perry, "He's doing his thing," says Jackson. "Steve's fine. I actually had lunch with him about a month ago. He's working on hot stuff, too."
And a writer for the Huffington Post wrote about his Journey obsession after discovering the similarities between Steve and Sam Cooke.
I then hit the Web to find out just how many people had made the same discovery as the authors of the Times article. I felt like I had slipped through a wormhole into a bizarre parallel universe as I read blog after blog and fan site after fan site that said, essentially, oh, of course, EVERYONE knows Sam Cooke is one of Steve Perry's biggest musical influences, and their melismatic phrasing is almost exactly the same. How had I been kept in the dark for so long? And the question that haunted me: If Sam Cooke was one of the all-time great soul singers, and Steve Perry sounded like Sam Cooke, did that make Steve Perry a great soul singer, too? I went back to 8th grade algebra for the answer. If A=B and B=C, then A=C. No doubt about it. Full article.
The Ultimate Cheesy Ballad Playlist
posted by Jas, 06/03//08
Journey's 'Dont' Stop Believin' and 'Open Arms' are featured on Entertainment Weekly's ultimate cheesy ballad playlist.
Journey's ''Don't Stop Believing.'' The most shameful part is that it's on my ''Super Duper Motivation'' playlist for the days I need inspiration to finish a run. - KarenClearly, there can only be one choice, by the Undisputed Velveeta Kings of Cheesy/Good: ''Open Arms'' by Journey. You all know when Steve Perry (pictured) kicks in to the chorus with the ''And now I turrrrrrrrrnnnn to youuuuuuuuuu.......with oooooooooopen arms.....,'' you choke up a little!!! In fact, if you don't, you might actually be lacking a soul. You should really look into that. - Hutchy
Interview with Journey
posted by Jas, 06/02//08
CBS News has an interview with the current Journey line-up with some comments about Steve. NY Times has a review of "Revelation" the new Journey album coming out this week, it contains 11 new songs, 11 old songs and a live DVD. CD is available exclusively at Wal-Mart and JourneyMusic.com
Valory remembers Journey in its stone-washed denim, pin-up prime, selling out stadiums and scoring eight multi-platinum albums … all on the soaring tenor of singer Steve Perry. But when Perry needed a hip replacement in 1996, the band says it waited well over a year for him to have surgery. When he didn't, they replaced him. It was a split that remains painful, says Schon."I've been trying to call him for a long time and he just does not wanta speak. And so we go through channels. We have to go through attorneys, which is really a drag. I'd love to just be able to pick up the telephone and say, 'Hey how ya' doin'? Are you comin' with new music?' I'd love to hear his voice again." And Journey's fans treasured Perry's voice, too. The two other lead singers who joined in the past decade never captured the Perry magic.
How hardcore fans receive this new Journey remains to be seen, especially those for whom Steve Perry will always be the voice. "He set the bar high," Valory said. "He's left us with a very highly-valued legacy of music. And the way I think we all feel now is, we have someone to honor that with." And their Filipino frontman's not just singing those Journey songs, he's living them. "Just don't give up," Pineda said. "I mean, don't stop believin'."
Foolish, Foolish Throat: A Q&A with Steve Perry
posted by Jas, 05/30//08
Bill reports that GQ magazine has posted a new Q&A session with Steve and also an interview with Neal a few days after.
Steve Perry mention
posted by Jas, 05/05//08
Jim reports that Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor on Smallville, is leaving the show. He mentions Steve Perry in his farewell letter.
Herbie Herbert: One Man's Journey
posted by Jas, 03/31/08
Melodic Rock has a long interview with Herbie Herbert where he talks about Journey and Steve whom he has not much nice things to say about. After reading the interview head over to the MR board to read a response from Cyndy and Lora from Fan Asylum. Lora mentioned that they met Steve recently and he had played them some recent demos he's been working on but there are no confirmed plans to the songs.