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THE JOURNEY ZONE
http://www.journey-zone.com
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The News
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Latest Journey News
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Click HERE for the Journey Zone News Archive
Some particularly noteworthy archived articles:
Decmber 5, 2007: Journey Welcomes Arnel Pineda with "Open Arms" to their Family as the Band's New Lead Singer
June 12, 2007: Journey Announces Departure of Jeff Scott Soto
Decmber 19, 2006: Journey Names Jeff Scott Soto Official New Lead Singer
February 11, 2005: Still They Ride, by Dan Reines, SFWeekly
January, 2005: Journey Unveils Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Steve Perry Attends, by the Associated Press
August 17, 2003: Faithfully, a Look Back in Wonder, by Mike Wise, The New York TImes
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Latest Journey News
Compiled by the Journey Zone Staff
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22 November, 2011
Planet Rock Auctions Neal Schon signed Pure Marshall DAB radio for charity
Planet Rock is auctioning 18 rock star signed Pure Marshall DAB radios as part of its Movember campaign. To bid for Neal Schon’s signed radio go to www.planetrock.com/mo
The auction finishes 4pm on the 28th November.
21 July, 2011
From Monica Goldenberg of the Fans First Coalition:
As a fan of Journey, I thought you might be interested in learning that they have signed on as part of the Fans First Coalition, a new group dedicated to protecting fans from deceitful ticketing practices, and in checking out the Coalition website: http://www.standwithfans.org.
In recent months, there has been an increase in the number of direct fan complaints and media coverage documenting fans experiences and how they fell victim to scalpers and unsavory business practices. Together, the Coalition members are taking a stand to improve the ticket-purchase experience for fans.
Along with other artists, band mangers, sporting teams and venues around the country, Journey has committed to ensuring that fans have greater access to reasonably-priced tickets and enhanced protection against fraudulent business practices. The Coalition was formed to combat this growing problem, as far too many ticket-buyers are being misled by scalpers who do not act in the fans’ best interest.
I hope you’ll consider sharing the news of Journey’s involvement with the Coalition and the link to http://www.standwithfans.org with your fellow fans on The Journey Zone. You can also join the Coalition conversation on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/standwithfans) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/standwithfans).
28 June, 2011
"4 Years Ago Today...", by Ross Muir
Well, yesterday, but I'm 24 hours late, sorry.
Expiry of Non-Disclosure Agreements must be in the air or something...Jeremey Hunsicker has just posted a nice candid summary of his audition and rehearsal weeks with Journey and the confirmation he was offered the job. [See below for full text.]
Jeremey and I talked about maybe doing a Q&A on this on the Fabbers site a few months back but, in retrospect, that would have come over a little 'Nyah Nyah Nah-Nah Nyah' and me or the site calling JRNY out again (for the umpteenth time). Been there, done that, wrote the real Untold Story. This is a much cleaner clear-the-air way to go.
And nice to see it corroborates a lot of what I wrote some 3 years back, including the references to the demo's of a couple of Revelation songs (I have copies of the songs with JH singing them, so this is all fact, not further fabrication) and the fact he wasn't just considered for the gig at the mic, he was indeed offered it.
And any JRNY related post that manages to incorporate the word "fabrication" in it somewhere gets a seal of approval from me.
Nice touch, Jeremey Frederick Hunsicker. I salute you.
Now go and buy his new single, 'This is Your Life' (yes, it does sound like them, yes, it does sound like him, but lovely lyric written about getting to watch his young family grow up) available on i-Tunes...or check it out on his site or on YouTube.
Full text of Jeremey Hunsicker's Blog entry, Four Years Ago Today:
Four years ago on this, the last Monday in June, my life was changed forever.
Sabrina and I had just flown back from San Francisco the night before, after an amazing week as the guests of Journey. I had spent the week rehearsing with the band, touring the beautiful San Francisco and Marin wine country. I had dined with rock and roll royalty, men who had the power to change lives with a single phone call, and with no more thought than it took to order Chinese carry out.
After a performance at Journey’s warehouse for Irving Azoff, the band’s management, friends, and family, we dined at a great restaurant in downtown Healdsburg CA (the name escapes me). I spent the evening talking with a great member of the band’s team, an listening to Neal and Irving trade stories and rumors about the other bands Irving was working with.
The next day, Sabrina and I were escorted around the Bay area as the band had a business meeting to decide on whether to move forward with me in the lead singer position. One of the highlights of the trip was a side tour of Pixar studios, during the preparations for the release of Ratatouille. We sat at John Lassetter’s desk, saw Steve Jobs’ (abandoned) office, and went into the animators’ studios, where each office was a customized “set” of the animator’s own creation. Some were gingerbread houses, some were 1940's style bars, some were French cafe and noir movie theaters. It was pretty amazing.
The next day I met privately with the band and their management, where I was offered the job with Journey. While their management denies this ever took place (when contacted by places like The Washington Post), it’s a total fabrication to prop up the story of finding Arnel – that is still being peddled to media even today during promotion for their new CD.
I’ll make this clear for emphasis: during that meeting I was offered the job to sing for Journey. Any other way of double-talk by the band and their management is, to be certain, a lie.
After talking with Sabrina the night before and exploring all of the implications of such, I was prepared and did accept the job on the spot. The offer didn’t come without a few conditions on both sides, but the agreements were made amongst us all, and we spent the remainder of the next two days working on songs that would eventually become the Revelation CD, finishing the songs “Never Walk Away” and “Where Did I Lose Your Love.” In fact my demos were learned by Arnel for the recording of both songs, right down to his replicating my mispronunciation of a word during the demo of WDILYL.
So we flew home, lives surely about to change forever. Quinn was due in September, and I was to live off a five figure monthly stipend to commute back and forth to SFO and finish the record. When touring began in February I’d begin a five figure weekly salary with bonuses, in addition to my publishing and work for the Wal Mart CDs.
So it was four years ago this day that I spent the day on the phone with Jon Cain, the accountants, the management, the lawyers, working out the details of the above paragraph. Mid afternoon, things were done. I would spend the next phase of my career as a millionaire rock star, leaving my life as a college educated suburb living white collar sales rep, raising my family on the road. Securing my children’s future financially and bringing them up in a way I never dared to dream as a child.
Jet lagged, giddy, nervous, Sabrina and I finally took a nap that afternoon. I was awakened not three hours later by the phone.
It was Journey’s management. Neal had gotten cold feet. He wanted to wait. “Let’s talk again later this year,” was the word. Neal, who had exhibited a few nasty personality traits during my visit, was not a guy I was going to pin my hopes on.
Nobody in the band or management could explain Neal’s action. Cain didn’t even know the call had taken place. I thought about this day for years after. Laying awake at night, every night. Watching the creation of the story of Journey’s new singer, found homeless in the Philippines. He lived out of a car! He barely spoke English! Management thought Neal was crazy, but according to Neal he had spent TWO WHOLE DAYS (!) on YouTube and was ready to give up! Never mind the fact that Arnel’s management had put multiple videos of his as comments on my Frontiers videos during that month (he shouldn’t have been too hard to find, LOL!).
The story was told and sold. In the space of a few hours on this day four years ago, I was promised the world – millions, a life I never dared dream of for my family. And on one man’s whim, it was jerked right away.
I wasn’t going to play the game. I walked away. Ironic, that sounds real similar to the title of the song I co wrote, the song that got me my platinum record. “Welcome to the music business,” is what I was told by John Baruck that day. Seemed a callous thing to say at the time, but he was right.
You play the game or the game plays you.
I’m releasing my own CD this summer, “Every Little Thing.” And I’m making it in part as a response to that challenge. Make it in the music business, play the game. But now I’m making it on my terms. Sure, I’ll be selling it while singing Journey songs. Big deal. Sure, it won’t sell but a few hundred copies, if I’m lucky. Welcome to the music business, right?
One thing is for sure. I couldn’t have made this record without Journey. Without Neal Schon and his bipolar approach to career management. For that I’m grateful. Cause it’s a record I’m proud of, and a record my FRIENDS AND FAMILY helped me make. A record I couldn’t have made at any other time in my life.
Four years ago today, I became a prince and a pauper within a matter of hours. Welcome to the music business.
Last Updated 29 December, 2011 (DHG)
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