January 21, 2005 -- a Journey for the ages
January 21, 2005 will go down as one of the greatest moments in rock music history.
The San Francisco-based rock group Journey, who produced some 75 million albums over a career now in its 4th decade of existence, was honored in Hollywood yesterday with a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. And it was indeed a moment to remember for everyone who was there to see it for many reasons.
Ten current and former members of Journey were present for the unveiling of the star on the walk of fame, presented of course by the honorary mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant. Among those present were the Fab Five that shot Journey up to the top of the rock world in the 1980s: Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon, Ross Valory and Steve Smith -- the first time these five appeared together in almost a decade.
Also there were Journey's current lead vocalist Steve Augeri and current drummer Dean Castronovo, as well as former members Robert Fleischmann, George Tickner and Aynsley Dunbar.
The only major Journey member that was not there, unfortunately, was Gregg Rolie, who is at the moment the ONLY Journey member in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Santana. Rolie was unable to attend the ceremonies from what I understood due to prior commitments, but did release a statement regarding Journey's induction into Hollywood's eternal history.
Other former memebers of Journey that were not present were Prairie Prince, Mike Baird, Randy Jackson, and the late Larrie Londin. The latter three were studio musicians mostly filling in for Valory and Smith in the mid-1980s, with Jackson (now a judge on American Idol) and Baird touring with them in 1986. And lastly, their famed manager, Walter "Herbie" Herbert was not there either. Somewhere, Herbert must have been smiling to see most of these guys together in Hollywood.
A lot of great things happened on this historic day. Having three current or former lead singers together (Perry, Augeri and Fleischmann) is truly one for the ages. Seeing Perry there following all kinds of rumors and speculation of whether or not he would be there is certainly another, as if Perry was a member of The Beatles. But most importantly, the animosity between Perry and his former band mates appear to be over, and there is talk of Perry possibly returning in some capacity or another, as a songwriter and/or part-time vocalist sharing those duties with Augeri in the same way Boston handled having two lead vocalists. The same holds true for Steve Smith and Gregg Rolie as well.
But that of course is up to Perry to decide whether or not he wants to return to Journey. Perry did not perform with his band mates during the House of Blues performance, however, which is fine. Robert Fleischman did perform with Journey for a couple of songs at the House of Blues with Steve Augeri, and he tore the house down. Steve Smith also performed with Journey, as did Aynsley Dunbar.
I have a message for all of you in Journey: do whatever you can in working out your differences and get back to becoming what you have been for the past 25 years or so. Time does heal old wounds, and trust me, you guys are not getting any younger either -- in fact, most of these guys are already in their 50s (Perry, who is celebrating a birthday today, is 56, Schon will be 51 in February, Rolie will be 58 in a few weeks).
I see good things to come for Journey...including all of its current and former band mates. Eventually these guys will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It will happen sooner or later.
Top that off with USC's championship awards ceremony on campus, and it was indeed a wonderful day in the City of Angels... seeing two legendary traditions honored today: Journey, and the University of Southern California's football team.
Enjoy the weekend, friends... time for me to get going for a while. =)
The San Francisco-based rock group Journey, who produced some 75 million albums over a career now in its 4th decade of existence, was honored in Hollywood yesterday with a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. And it was indeed a moment to remember for everyone who was there to see it for many reasons.
Ten current and former members of Journey were present for the unveiling of the star on the walk of fame, presented of course by the honorary mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant. Among those present were the Fab Five that shot Journey up to the top of the rock world in the 1980s: Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon, Ross Valory and Steve Smith -- the first time these five appeared together in almost a decade.
Also there were Journey's current lead vocalist Steve Augeri and current drummer Dean Castronovo, as well as former members Robert Fleischmann, George Tickner and Aynsley Dunbar.
The only major Journey member that was not there, unfortunately, was Gregg Rolie, who is at the moment the ONLY Journey member in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Santana. Rolie was unable to attend the ceremonies from what I understood due to prior commitments, but did release a statement regarding Journey's induction into Hollywood's eternal history.
Other former memebers of Journey that were not present were Prairie Prince, Mike Baird, Randy Jackson, and the late Larrie Londin. The latter three were studio musicians mostly filling in for Valory and Smith in the mid-1980s, with Jackson (now a judge on American Idol) and Baird touring with them in 1986. And lastly, their famed manager, Walter "Herbie" Herbert was not there either. Somewhere, Herbert must have been smiling to see most of these guys together in Hollywood.
A lot of great things happened on this historic day. Having three current or former lead singers together (Perry, Augeri and Fleischmann) is truly one for the ages. Seeing Perry there following all kinds of rumors and speculation of whether or not he would be there is certainly another, as if Perry was a member of The Beatles. But most importantly, the animosity between Perry and his former band mates appear to be over, and there is talk of Perry possibly returning in some capacity or another, as a songwriter and/or part-time vocalist sharing those duties with Augeri in the same way Boston handled having two lead vocalists. The same holds true for Steve Smith and Gregg Rolie as well.
But that of course is up to Perry to decide whether or not he wants to return to Journey. Perry did not perform with his band mates during the House of Blues performance, however, which is fine. Robert Fleischman did perform with Journey for a couple of songs at the House of Blues with Steve Augeri, and he tore the house down. Steve Smith also performed with Journey, as did Aynsley Dunbar.
I have a message for all of you in Journey: do whatever you can in working out your differences and get back to becoming what you have been for the past 25 years or so. Time does heal old wounds, and trust me, you guys are not getting any younger either -- in fact, most of these guys are already in their 50s (Perry, who is celebrating a birthday today, is 56, Schon will be 51 in February, Rolie will be 58 in a few weeks).
I see good things to come for Journey...including all of its current and former band mates. Eventually these guys will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It will happen sooner or later.
Top that off with USC's championship awards ceremony on campus, and it was indeed a wonderful day in the City of Angels... seeing two legendary traditions honored today: Journey, and the University of Southern California's football team.
Enjoy the weekend, friends... time for me to get going for a while. =)
posted by Robert @ 7:39 AM
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