Journey's new lead singer is Pinoy

[overdrayv]

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

December 5, 2007 -- After much speculation…the wait is finally over.

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

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

“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. 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. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, ‘he can’t be that good.’ But he is that good, he’s the real deal and so tremendously talented. Arnel doesn’t sound synthetic and he’s not emulating anyone. I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter.”

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.”

“Arnel brings a soulful and passionate voice to JOURNEY,” continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain. “His personality is very well-suited to our music. He’s a sincere, authentic person with a great smile and a big heart. I think fans are really going to love him. With Arnel’s soaring tenor, Journey returns to our heritage sound.”

Schon agrees, “We feel reborn. I think there’s a lot of chemistry between the five of us. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it’s escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone’s so stoked about it. We feel very fortunate to have found Arnel.”

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.

http://www.journeymusic.com/index2.html

[baludoy]

ok iyong storya ni arnel pineda ah, pang cine!

hopefully, maitaas niya ang bandila ng mga pinoy na mang-aawit

[artpogi]

he's a friend of my officemate, here's one amateur video of one of their gigs at Baga Verde yata, nice voice

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fgVQQnImaQ"]YouTube - Survivors - Eversince The World Began (The Zoo)[/ame]

[sherwintommy]

magaling talaga si arnel.....parang movie nga ang lifestory nya,,ala ROCKSTAR....galing....PINOY ata YAN....

[CVT]

Ang galing ng Pinoy!

Go Arnel! Make the Filipino nation proud!

(Walang take2, ha?)....

4707:santas:

[awing]

One of my favorite band...

Go Pinoy!

We are Proud of you Arnel Pineda!

[n2knee]

eto pa ang isa....Faithfully

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HjcCzgCCX0"]YouTube - Journey - Faithfully (Cover by The Zoo)[/ame]

[baludoy]

ang sagwa ng mga ibang comments ng ibang mga kano dun sa youtube

[mazingerZ]

Di pa kayo nanibago, they still could not believe that pinoys could be better than them. . .

[CVT]

ang sagwa ng mga ibang comments ng ibang mga kano dun sa youtube

Marami kasi sa kanila,- sintunado (wala sa tono) at wala sa tiyempo ang pagkanta, (o pagtula kaya?)....:peace:

4808:santa:

[overdrayv]

Festival de Viña del Mar 2008, Chile (2-21-2008)
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrCpbMSgt5Q"]Journey - Don't Stop Believin'[/ame]

[Memphis Raines]

WOW MAGIC-SING! Walang kasing galing!

He is going to be larger than life!







*Di kaya anak siya ni Amado Pineda? taga QC rin yun di ba?*

[ruelsdcz]

magaling talaga po yan...sikat na sikat din po cya dito sa Olongapo with AMO band. Sila po ang nagpasikat ng CALJAM club dito. Late 80s un kci dito pa ung mga U.S. serviceman na nagkakagulo pag cya na ang nasa stage esp. pag ung palagi nila last song na "FINAL COUNTDOWN" by europe.

[Camgen6]

More than American Idol.

[kimpOy]

this is what journey wants... RAW talent at importantly wala pang ere sa utak...
even arnel is star struck sa ka-band nya... and kahit minsan sintunado.. im sure they will give a singing coach... sigurado kapag nag tour sa america yan it will a massive success given the hype plus mga filipinos na dun na gustong manood...

[xoom]

AWESOMEEEEE!!!! some people are saying that he has some gender-bender issues, but the heck, if i have a voice like that, you can call me a sha-la-la clone and drool with envy watching me on stage with all the gorgeous girls adoring me like god adonis

BTW, what ever happened to Steve Perry?

[Dekra]

There's actually a very interesting side story to all of this....


I got this email just before the Christmas holiday. It was forwarded by a friend who used to work the visa windows at the US embassy here. It appears quite long, but please read through all of it. Anyone of you who has ever tried to apply for a US visa in the Philippines is very familiar with this process. All of you who have sat behind that plate glass window having those application papers shoved over to you are well aware of the tremendous amount of incredulous story lines being fed to you.

You will find this incredibly amusing and for the right reasons....


Subject: Funny story.....
....and apparently true....

From an A-100 colleague... .

I have a nice holiday story to share: (Apologies to Snider who's now heard this 14 times, but hey, your stories aren't getting any newer.)

Months ago a band shows up at my window. It was Lemons and Oranges, or something fruity. Asked why they would play a concert in Seattle. They claimed some following there. I asked about their music; looked at their posters, CDs, etc. At the end of the interview, they were saying, "come out and see our show tonight." This invite was probably due to my withering questioning, and since they thought they were hot stuff, pride was wounded, etc. etc. It turned out that the venue is actually on the way home from the Embassy, only ten minutes away. So I says, "I can't take any free tickets yada yada yada but maybe I'll pop in."

It was a Friday. I went with two LES. We got a table, ordered some beer, fried chicken and so on. The opening band comes on. They were called "Zoo"--this I'm sure of, since I'm from Kalamazoo, the name stuck. The Zoo starts rocking out to 70/80s tunes, like Foreigner, Night Ranger, etc. But the coup de grace was indisputably when they busted out Journey. I mean, the singer was not just good--95% of all Filipinos are good singers--he was really dern good. I couldn't shut up about it. I was telling anyone who would listen, "Dude, not only does this guy have pipes, and range, he's got perfect pitch. He has only missed a few notes on some of the hardest power ballads in schlock n roll history." The LES grudgingly agreed, but they've been desensitized to the regular displays of amazing karaoke you get in Manila, so maybe they were just humoring me.

Since I'm from Michigan, I had an older brother who sported a mullet and wore softball t-shirts. His first 8-track was Styx. Ted Nugent is referred to simply as the Nuge, or Uncle Ted. The Silver Bullet invokes Bob Seger not Coors. In short, I'm qualified to judge this kind of thing. The performance was poignant for me... Images of Camaros and pegged jeans danced in my head... definitely surreal. Then.. then!... Lemons and Oranges comes on and, frankly, they were a bit of a let down. I mean, their music was Edie Brickel / Natalie Merchantesque. And that's fine --it has its place-- but let's be clear: it is a metaphysical transgression to go from Journey's "Separate Ways" into Lisa Loeb's "Stay..."

The next week I'm sitting at an NIV window next to a soon-to-be legend of an officer name Singer. Singer and I were doing FMJs and so we would trade off regular NIV applicants occassionally so that we got fair share of student visas. Singer loves the three things: the FAM, movie quotes that might cost him an EEO violation someday, and cases that make sense. Things that don't make sense, make Singer an unhappy man.

I hear Singer say, "Journey? The band Journey?" He flips through papers. He sounds unhappy.

I butt in: "What's that all about?"

He turns off his mic and looks over at me. "I don't know. This guys says he's going to try out for Journey."

I'm puzzled. "Journey? The band Journey?"

Singer goes, "That's what I just said, [EXPLETIVE]!"

"Great, another nutjob. I'll take it." Singer takes my student, I take the nutjob.

I look over his stuff and say "purpose of travel?" and all that. I start to scrutinize more carefully and realize its the guy I saw from the night before.

"Hey, does your band at Bagaberde?.. ."

He confirms and he goes on to tell me the story of how he uploaded some clips of his band that he recorded to YouTube and contacted Journey's manager, having heard they were looking for a new singer. He says they called him up and invited him to the U.S. to try out. Given the malarkey you get at a Manila NIV window, this story only got points for being original. He produced some flimsy emails and letters, etc.

So I go, in my best dubious voice, "Yeah? let's hear Wheels in the Sky!"

He belts it out for the whole waiting room and for the staff to hear (I made sure to take off my headset and let the speaker play it because what I was really doing was covering my butt).

I said, "Look sir, there isn't a person in this Embassy who would believe that story-- going to try out for Journey!-- not a soul would believe that. Except for me. I saw you sing last Friday and I couldn't shut up about how your vocals were perfect Steve Perry.

So I tell you what. I'm giving you that visa. You're going to try out. And you're going to make it...."

And the rest is rock n roll history, my friends:

Happy holidays

http://www.journeymusic.com/ index2.html

[bmdabalyu]

this is what journey wants... RAW talent at importantly wala pang ere sa utak...
even arnel is star struck sa ka-band nya... and kahit minsan sintunado.. im sure they will give a singing coach... sigurado kapag nag tour sa america yan it will a massive success given the hype plus mga filipinos na dun na gustong manood...

FYI
just finished their successful european tour last month. US tour started in denver july9th, then utah on the 11th, nevada on the 12th all SOLD OUT!!! they're performing tonite at san diego w/c is almost sold out. They'll be at Irvine, ca tomorrow (w/c i'm going) and that one is already sold out!

i've heard that journey will have a concert there in pinas as part of their asian tour once US tour is done. journey fans have embraced arnel as the new lead singer, including the die hard fans of steve perry (former lead singer). just wondering, na-release na ba dyan yung bago nilang album 'Revelation'?

[v6dreamer]

Pictures of Journey with Jimmy Page & Chris Squire at the london gig.


more pictures available here.

Picture of Ross and Joe Elliott at Arrowfest in Holland.
more pictures available here.

June 12, 2008 -- JOURNEY is featured in the June 23rd issue of People Magazine. Here is a link to People and a video clip of Journey.

JOURNEY’S ‘REVELATION’
SELLS MORE THAN 104,000 UNITS IN DEBUT WEEK

Three-Disc CD/DVD Package Exclusively Available at Wal-Mart Stores

June 10, 2008 -- JOURNEY’s new three-disc CD/DVD package REVELATION has sold more than 104,000 copies in its debut week according to Wal-Mart Stores, marking the band’s biggest first week’s sales since 1996’s TRIAL BY FIRE. Released June 3, REVELATION is being sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club in North America, Walmart.com and Samsclub.com, and Journey’s official website, Journeymusic.com. REVELATION’s first week’s sales marks a 1400% increase over the band’s 2005’s first week’s sales of GENERATIONS.

"We are thrilled with the early success of Journey's ‘Revelation’ music project, and clearly our customer is excited about it too,” said Jeff Maas, Divisional Merchandise Manager, Entertainment, Wal-Mart U.S. “We believe that if we continue to find innovative products, priced to showcase the value, our customers will show their excitement by purchasing the product. Journey has been great to work with and clearly this reflects a win for them and for our customer.”

The first disc consists of 11 new songs, the second is filled with 11 re-recorded classics, and the third is a live, in-concert DVD. All of the music on REVELATION was produced by Kevin Shirley (who previously worked with JOURNEY on their Platinum-certified TRIAL BY FIRE album).

REVELATION marks a new chapter in the legendary career of multi-Platinum rockers JOURNEY, thanks to two singles at Rock and AC radio (“Never Walk Away” and “After All These Years”) and rave reviews, including the New York Times who hailed: “…the band seems to have taken rock vitamins: it feels alive.”

JOURNEY--Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums) and Arnel Pineda (vocals)—is currently on a European tour through June 28. They’ll start a massive summer U.S. tour with special guests Heart and Cheap Trick on July 9 in Denver, CO.

Exciting News!! ILAA VIP 5* tickets now include a Meet & Greet with the band, a photo op (done in groups) and one of your items autographed. This is your once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet with Journey members while experiencing the best party of your life! Click Here For Tickets!

SET TO LAUNCH THIS SUMMER’S HOTTEST TOUR
ALONG WITH HEART AND CHEAP TRICK
STARTING JULY 9 IN DENVER

March 26, 2008 – Three legendary rock bands are teaming up for what is sure to be the tour of the summer. JOURNEY, Heart and Cheap Trick are heading out on the concert trail starting July 9 in Denver, CO through October 4 in Albuquerque, NM. Fans should check local listings for on-sale dates, which begin Saturday, April 5.JOURNEY--Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums) and new lead singer Arnel Pineda—is hitting the road to promote REVELATION, the highly anticipated three-disc CD/DVD package set for release June 3 exclusively at Wal-Mart stores in North America.

March 11, 2008 -- A new chapter in the legendary career of multi-Platinum rockers JOURNEY--Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums) and Arnel Pineda (vocals).

The New Journey



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

December 5, 2007 -- After much speculation…the wait is finally over.
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.
“It’s so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world. 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.”
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 he turned to YouTube. After finding Arnel singing “Faithfully,” he knew he had found the perfect frontman.
“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. 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. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, ‘he can’t be that good.’ But he is that good, he’s the real deal and so tremendously talented. Arnel doesn’t sound synthetic and he’s not emulating anyone. I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter.”
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.”
“Arnel brings a soulful and passionate voice to JOURNEY,” continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain. “His personality is very well-suited to our music. He’s a sincere, authentic person with a great smile and a big heart. I think fans are really going to love him. With Arnel’s soaring tenor, Journey returns to our heritage sound.”
Schon agrees, “We feel reborn. I think there’s a lot of chemistry between the five of us. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it’s escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone’s so stoked about it. We feel very fortunate to have found Arnel.”
JOURNEY is currently working on a new album with legendary producer Kevin Shirley, which they hope to release by spring/summer 2008.



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[The10thBEE]

I'm going to watch JOURNEY, HEART, & CHEAP TRICK concert tonight...July 15, 2008 in San Diego, California! I'll be seating 3rd row seat, middle center orchestra. Sino may gusto ng concert pix?