August 22, 2014: So, you saw the agenda for our final Journey Past & Present 2005 meeting. What was the end result? Well, here are the minutes from that meeting. (Yes, we took minutes and recorded them. This was serious business folks!) You'll notice several tasks for Cheryl to do upon her trip to LA and the House of Blues. At the time, there were several Soul SirkUS concerts the week before JPP2005 in Hollywood. Cheryl was planning to attend the one at the House of Blues and thus able to do some advance work for us. Deen Castronovo got seriously ill and the Soul SirkUS concerts had to be postponed. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While it was disappointing that we didn't get to go to those shows when we planned and Cheryl was unable to do the final LA scouting, we had so many things to do before that trip to LA that two or three concerts probably would have put all of us in the hospital. (That's not a particularly large exaggeration either, every member of the committee was sick upon returning from Hollywood!)
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Shew... long meeting, lots of notes. I've put a To Do list at the end, but I may have forgotten some things so feel free to add to it. Rob, in particular the program notes -- I was busy flipping pages around and didn't jot too many notes. As always, comments, changes, and additions welcome.
Sunday, January 2, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (PST); Teleconference
Committee members present: Mary Ann Bohne, Emerson Dong, Darla Ellis, Leslie Forsythe, Michelle Murray, Rob Rennert, Cheryl Simien, & Leslie White
I. JPP Agenda
A. Wednesday -- prep work
1. Who arrives when?
-- Mary Ann: lands 11:30 a.m. LAX
-- Cheryl: Approx 1:00 p.m. via Burbank
-- MNM: Approx 2:00 p.m. via car
-- Darla & Emerson: Approx 2:00 p.m. via car
-- Leslie W.: Approx 5:00 p.m. via car/Anaheim
-- Rob: lands 10:15 p.m. LAX (pending attending)
-- Leslie F.: Arrives Thursday morning via Burbank
2. What needs to be done?
-- Assemble goodie bags
B. Thursday -- registration 4-10 p.m.
1. Schedule committee members to work reg table
-- 2-hour shifts, 2 committee members per shift.
-- Informal dinner at many restaurants at H&H complex
2. How to handle auction/raffle
-- Recruit volunteers to sell raffle tickets at registration table (2-hour shifts)
-- MNM post-meeting thought: Need to be there to set up BEFORE 4:00.
3:00 for committee??
-- Cheryl & Darla to investigate "big ticket" item for silent auction
(extra $$ for overhead?)
C. Friday -- BIG DAY
1. Overall Timeline
-- 8-9:30 a.m. = Continuing registration (if necessary)
-- 10-11 a.m = Travel to Star Ceremony (on their own)
-- 11:30-12:30 = Star Ceremony (length approx.)
-- 12:30-1:00 = Travel to Star Party (on their own)
-- 1-4 = Star Party at the Highlands
-- 4-6:30 = free time
-- 6:30-6:45 = load buses
-- 6:45-7:15 = Travel to House of Blues
-- 7:15-11 = Concert (end time approx.)
-- 11-11:30 = Return to Renaissance Hotel
2. How to handle star ceremony
a. Getting Fans to/from
-- Fans are on their own getting to the ceremony
-- MNM still concerned about losing people. While I know it will be
impossible to troop everyone down at once AND knowing people
are going to go early since we don't have a reserved spot, something
bothers me about this scenario. Also, like the idea of having the whole
group in one spot like in SF.
b. Getting good spots for 145 people
-- Unless Hollywood Chamber of Commerce changes their mind about a
roped off area, hope for the best.
3. How to handle reception
-- We didn't address this (at least not in my notes) MNM concerned about
getting fans in to club on time. Band may not be there long and late
arrivals will not be happy if the band leaves before they arrive.
-- We need to have a committee member (or two) at the door checking
people in as they arrive.
-- Any committee members arriving early to check on set up?
4. Travel to HOB
-- If attendees miss the bus, they will not get in with the rest of the group.
-- Item not discussed = assigning bus numbers to attendees so we can
track them. MNM to do using roommate list as basis for grouping people.
No other concerted effort to keep specific groups together -- part of the
objective is to meet new people! Committee members will be split up by
room = MNM/Leslie W./Mary Ann; Darla/Emerson/Rob;
Cheryl/Leslie F./Cat to track bus loads.
5. Concert
-- HOB expecting us to arrive no later than 7:15
-- We should be let in approx 7:40
-- Main doors open 8:00
-- Concert starts approx 9:00
6. Return from HOB
-- 5 hours of bus time, period. Let attendees know if they miss the return
bus (or want to stay late) they will be responsible for their own
transportation back to hotel.
II. Reception Issues
A. Speech(es) at the Reception
-- MNM to do Welcome to JPP. Committee members on dais (or near mic stand
as the case may be) at same time
-- Present band with gifts. (Might help with that photo op we must have.)
B. Menu
-- Polls closing today. Run-off for desserts
C. Band & Band Guests
-- Design/print tickets for band and band guests. Give to Cat and/or JT to give
to band to give to friends and family they want at the reception. 50?
III. Budget Issues
A. Budget status report
-- Good news! Found another tweaked number when I looked at it again when
I got home. We now have a $30 surplus rather than a $150 shortfall.
-- Only budget items available to "tweak" are program, passport, & video and
not much wiggle room there
-- I calculated today's teleconference at $108 (4 participant numbers x 180
minutes x $0.15 per minute). Including the $55 from the last teleconference
that's $163.00 on my Visa bill. Applied the $55 towards my deposit, but we
may be cash strapped if that's the case. Will transfer full $215 registration
from my personal account into JPP Checking account today and will apply
the $163 to my "eat it" funds. If we have enough cash at the end of all
expenses, I will ask for at least partial reimbursement.
B. Band Gifts
-- Cost is approximately $400 ($371 including tax, but adding one additional
and may have some name overage costs.) MNM will come up with estimate
for fundraising.
-- MNM to post to attendee list fiscal scenario for band gifts and ask for
donations to the cause. Include link to photo of star and text to be printed on
front.
-- Add a gold foil sticker to front that says "Presented by Journey Past &
Present Committee & Attendees" (or words to that affect). HOW to do this??
-- MNM thought on the way home -- buy gift bags & tissue paper to pack.
Small gift cards?
IV. Status Reports
A. Program
-- Reviewed page by page. Rob has notes.
-- Emerson to get captures of Rolie, Dunbar, Jackson & Baird for film strips
page.
B. Passports
-- Change 1 autograph page to map/directions page
-- Add Schon Girls bowling & Rock Walk field trip times
C. T-shirts
-- Waiting to sign off on proof. Delivery on time expected
D. Goodie Bags
-- Purchased goodie bags look like Hefty bags. Leslie F. to investigate
alternatives
E. Lapel pins & magnets
-- Magnets arrived safe and sound in So. Cal. No horrendous problems
-- Lapel pins on order
F. Buses
-- MNM to send payment/confirmation this week
G. Highlands
-- MNM to confirm with Margaux -- menu, band access, etc.
-- Cheryl to take Cat to see club in LA next weekend
H. Hotels
-- Room requirements met
-- Leslie F. to make final arrangements on signage, registration, & bus pick up
V. Other Issues
A. Minors and the concert?
-- No flexibility on the 18+ rule
-- Cheryl to investigate diligence of ID check next weekend
B. Videotaping
-- Ceremony: Need/want press pass(es) for camera set up. Emerson to call
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce re: details and technical requirements.
-- Highlands: Have permission to film
-- House of Blues: Ask permission from band AND HOB to film for posterity. If
band says OK, see if they'll pick up some of the video tape expense.
-- Emerson to confirm equipment rental costs
C. Things to do on Saturday
-- Schon Girls Bowling
-- Field Trip to Rock Walk. (Walking Tour?? -- just a post meeting thought. Find
an interesting route.)
-- Cheryl to find out what's happening in LA that night if possible while at
Soul SirkUS.
D. Rock Walk
-- See above
E. Tasks for Cheryl's trip to LA
1. HOB scout out
-- ID
-- Soundboard set up
-- Where to line up/pre-show access
-- Where to have bus pick up/drop off (MNM thought on drive home)
-- Dress code, general environment
2. What's happening in LA on Saturday?
-- Who's playing at clubs?
-- Other items of interest?
F. What to wear when.
-- Registration = JPP T-shirts and ID badges ("Committee" on badge)
-- Star Ceremony/Reception = business casual
-- Concert = Comfy!
G. Requests for goodies from cancellations -- specifically DVD.
-- Only 2, so go for it.
H. New Business (dear god, no!)
-- Include Randy Jackson in star award, just in case he shows.
TO DO LIST
1. Prepare registration table schedule
2. Prepare flier of miscellaneous information (e.g. Schon girls bowling, entrance to the Highlands, bus loading procedures.)
3. Recruit volunteers for raffle table
4. MNM to prepare welcome speech
5. Design & print guest passes for "reception only" people (band guests)
6. Finalize menu/Reception issues
7. Order band gifts, pray for funds
8. MNM to send email for donations
9. Purchase/design gold foil stickers for band gifts
10. Finalize program & order by 1/9/05
11. Finalize passports & order by 1/9/05
12. Receive pending orders (T-shirts & lapel pins)
13. MNM to confirm buses
14. Prepare bus assignments
15. Notify those traveling with minors of possible complications (pending Cheryl's investigation at HOB)
Monday, January 31, 2005
Sunday, January 30, 2005
JPP Meeting Agenda
August 21, 2014. More fun from the computer archives. Planning our Journey Past & Present events was like taking on a second job, and we treated our meetings as we would meetings for our paying jobs. Leading up to the events was always the busiest time and finalizing the details was crucial; here's the plan and agenda for our final team meeting before JPP2005 in Hollywood.
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Meeting is scheduled to happen 10:00 a.m. PT on Sunday, January 2. Darla, Emerson, Leslie F., & I will meet at my office and use the conference room. Cheryl & Mary Ann have confirmed call ins. Leslie W. is probable call-in. No response from Cat or Rob. Here's what we're looking at for an agenda based on the notes from the last few days. Some of these will obviously overlap one another, but I think I've grouped things in a reasonable order.
I. JPP Agenda
A. Wednesday -- prep work
1. Who arrives when?
2. What needs to be done?
B. Thursday -- registration 4-10 p.m.
1. Schedule committee members to work reg table
2. How to handle auction/raffle
C. Friday -- BIG DAY
1. Overall Timeline
2. How to handle star ceremony
a. Getting Fans to/from
b. Getting good spots for 145 people
3. How to handle reception
4. Travel to HOB
5. Concert
6. Return from HOB
II. Reception Issues
A. Speech(es) at the Reception
B. Menu
C. Band & Band Guests
III. Budget Issues
A. Budget status report
B. Band Gifts
IV. Status Reports
A. Program
B. Passports
C. T-shirts
D. Goodie Bags
E. Lapel pins & magnets
F. Buses
G. Highlands
H. Hotels
V. Other Issues
A. Minors and the concert?
B. Videotaping
C. Things to do on Saturday
D. Rock Walk
E. Tasks for Cheryl's trip to LA
1. HOB scout out
2. What's happening in LA on Saturday?
F. What to wear when.
G. Requests for goodies from cancellations -- specifically DVD.
H. New Business (dear god, no!)
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Meeting is scheduled to happen 10:00 a.m. PT on Sunday, January 2. Darla, Emerson, Leslie F., & I will meet at my office and use the conference room. Cheryl & Mary Ann have confirmed call ins. Leslie W. is probable call-in. No response from Cat or Rob. Here's what we're looking at for an agenda based on the notes from the last few days. Some of these will obviously overlap one another, but I think I've grouped things in a reasonable order.
I. JPP Agenda
A. Wednesday -- prep work
1. Who arrives when?
2. What needs to be done?
B. Thursday -- registration 4-10 p.m.
1. Schedule committee members to work reg table
2. How to handle auction/raffle
C. Friday -- BIG DAY
1. Overall Timeline
2. How to handle star ceremony
a. Getting Fans to/from
b. Getting good spots for 145 people
3. How to handle reception
4. Travel to HOB
5. Concert
6. Return from HOB
II. Reception Issues
A. Speech(es) at the Reception
B. Menu
C. Band & Band Guests
III. Budget Issues
A. Budget status report
B. Band Gifts
IV. Status Reports
A. Program
B. Passports
C. T-shirts
D. Goodie Bags
E. Lapel pins & magnets
F. Buses
G. Highlands
H. Hotels
V. Other Issues
A. Minors and the concert?
B. Videotaping
C. Things to do on Saturday
D. Rock Walk
E. Tasks for Cheryl's trip to LA
1. HOB scout out
2. What's happening in LA on Saturday?
F. What to wear when.
G. Requests for goodies from cancellations -- specifically DVD.
H. New Business (dear god, no!)
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Journey Trivia Questions
August 19, 2014
As I keep digging through my archives of STUFF from the crazy Journey adventures, I keep finding all sorts of things like this list of trivia questions assembled for JPP2005. Take a shot at the answers!
1. Which member(s) of Journey performed at Woodstock?
2. What year did Journey form?
3. What was the band’s original name?
4. Which band associate suggested the name Journey?
5. For most of their career, who was Journey's manager?
6. Who are the two artists responsible for the famed scarab logo and what other San Francisco band's emblem are they known for?
7. Where did Journey perform their first concert? (venue)
8. Who grew up across the street from the Zildjian cymbal factory?
9. Who said "What I changed about Journey is I started writing about the people that cared about the band?"
10. Who played in the band Tyketto?
11. Original Journey drummer Prairie Prince contributed to which album?
12. When and where did Aynsley Dunbar make his debut with Journey?
13. What did Steve Perry work as in Los Angeles while trying to break into the music scene?
14. When and where was Steve Perry's debut with Journey?
15. What was the first song Steve Perry wrote with Neal Schon after joining the band Journey?
16. “Wheel in the Sky” was based on a poem written by which person?
17. Which member(s) of Journey was pilfered from an opening act?
18. What was Journey's first Top 20 single?
19. Which album did Neal Schon’s father help with by creating and playing the string instruments?
20. Which keyboardist is credited on “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love)”?
21. When and at what event was Jonathan Cain's debut with Journey?
22. Which Journey album stayed on the Billboard charts for more than 100 weeks?
23. What was Journey's first Top 10 single?
24. Which Bryan Adams song did Steve Smith play drums on?
25. Who recorded an album with Sammy Hagar?
26. Who got down on his knees and asked Journey to extend the Escape Tour?
27. What was Journey's highest charting single and how high did it get?
28. What song from Frontiers was previewed during the Escape Tour?
29. Which two songs were last minute additions to Frontiers and which songs did they replace?
30. What did Steve Perry’s shirt say in the music video for “Separate Ways”?
31. What year did the Raised on Radio tour begin?
32. What song did Jonathan Cain describe when he said, “This was kind of self-therapy”?
33. What was the only video release from Trial by Fire?
34. Which Journey song had the longest run on the Billboard Top 100 songs?
35. What is the bonus track on the Japanese version of Trial By Fire?
36. When and where did Steve Augeri & Deen Castronovo debut with Journey?
37. Which song off Arrival was previously released on a solo album as an instrumental?
38. Which song off Arrival began as an introduction to "Wheel in the Sky"?
39. Who makes the comments at the end of "Nothing Comes Close"?
40. Where was the Journey 2001 DVD filmed? (venue)
41. What song does Neal play as part of his solo on the 2001 DVD?
42. In April 2003, Journey was inducted to the Bammies Walk of Fame. What is "Bammies" short for?
Journey Goes Hollywood!
43. Which movie featured the song "Only the Young?"
44. Which movie featured the song "Ask the Lonely"?
45. What song is featured in The Last American Virgin?
46. Which movie featured the song "Any Way You Want It"?
47. Which movie featured the song "Remember Me"?
48. Which movie featured the songs "Only Solutions" and "1990s Theme"?
49. Which movie featured the song "After the Fall"?
50. What song is featured in White Water Summer?
Based on what I've found so far in the archives, this was just half of the questions we came up with for the trivia section of our JPP2005 program. If I find the others, I'll post them too.
You will find the answers below. I took the quiz before I found the answers and got 40 of them right. Also, for the record, when I pulled together this set of trivia questions I had multiple sources for both the questions and answers. I can't remember now where I got them all from, but I'm sure I've got the sources in a file somewhere!
Trivia Answers:
1. Gregg Rolie
2. 1973
3. The Golden Gate Rhythm Section
4. John Villanueva
5. Walter "Herbie" Herbert
6. Stanley Mouse & Alton Kelley. They also designed the skull and roses logo for The Grateful Dead.
7. Winterland (San Francisco)
8. Steve Smith
9. Jonathan Cain
10. Steve Augeri
11. Raised on Radio (he designed the album cover)
12. February 5, 1974 at the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco)
13. Sound engineer
14. September 28, 1977 at the Old Waldorf in SF (the liner notes to Time3 list the date as October 28, 1977, however I have a copy of the concert review from the San Francisco Chronicle that confirms the September 28 date. Ironically, both the review and liner notes were written by SF music critic Joel Selvin.)
15. "Patiently"
16. Diane Valory
17. Steve Smith (Montrose) and Jonathan Cain (The Babys)
8. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"
19. Dream After Dream
20. Tim Gorman
21. April 15, 1981 at the Bammies
22. Escape
23."Who's Crying Now"
24. "Heaven"
25. Neal Schon
26. Bill Graham
27. "Open Arms" reached #2 in 1982
28. "Separate Ways"
29. "Back Talk" and "Troubled Child" replaced "Ask the Lonely" and "Only the Young"
30. Rockabilly
31. 1986
32."Once You Love Somebody"
33. "When You Love a Woman"
34. "When You Love a Woman"
35. "I Can See It in Your Eyes"
36. June 8, 1998, Marin County Civic Auditorium (San Rafael, CA)
37. "With Your Love"
38. "Live and Breathe"
39. Jonathan Cain & Deen Castronovo
40. Mandalay Bay Events Center (Las Vegas)
41."From This Moment"
42. Bay Area Music Awards
43. Vision Quest
44. Two of a Kind
45. "Open Arms"
46. Caddyshack
47. Armageddon
48. Tron
49. Risky Business
50. "Be Good to Yourself"
0-10 -- Are you sure you're a Journey fan?
11-20 -- Newbie!
21-30 -- Still learning
31-40 -- Journey fan
41-45 -- Journey fanatic
46-50 -- Get off the internet, you're scaring the band.
As I keep digging through my archives of STUFF from the crazy Journey adventures, I keep finding all sorts of things like this list of trivia questions assembled for JPP2005. Take a shot at the answers!
1. Which member(s) of Journey performed at Woodstock?
2. What year did Journey form?
3. What was the band’s original name?
4. Which band associate suggested the name Journey?
5. For most of their career, who was Journey's manager?
6. Who are the two artists responsible for the famed scarab logo and what other San Francisco band's emblem are they known for?
7. Where did Journey perform their first concert? (venue)
8. Who grew up across the street from the Zildjian cymbal factory?
9. Who said "What I changed about Journey is I started writing about the people that cared about the band?"
10. Who played in the band Tyketto?
11. Original Journey drummer Prairie Prince contributed to which album?
12. When and where did Aynsley Dunbar make his debut with Journey?
13. What did Steve Perry work as in Los Angeles while trying to break into the music scene?
14. When and where was Steve Perry's debut with Journey?
15. What was the first song Steve Perry wrote with Neal Schon after joining the band Journey?
16. “Wheel in the Sky” was based on a poem written by which person?
17. Which member(s) of Journey was pilfered from an opening act?
18. What was Journey's first Top 20 single?
19. Which album did Neal Schon’s father help with by creating and playing the string instruments?
20. Which keyboardist is credited on “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love)”?
21. When and at what event was Jonathan Cain's debut with Journey?
22. Which Journey album stayed on the Billboard charts for more than 100 weeks?
23. What was Journey's first Top 10 single?
24. Which Bryan Adams song did Steve Smith play drums on?
25. Who recorded an album with Sammy Hagar?
26. Who got down on his knees and asked Journey to extend the Escape Tour?
27. What was Journey's highest charting single and how high did it get?
28. What song from Frontiers was previewed during the Escape Tour?
29. Which two songs were last minute additions to Frontiers and which songs did they replace?
30. What did Steve Perry’s shirt say in the music video for “Separate Ways”?
31. What year did the Raised on Radio tour begin?
32. What song did Jonathan Cain describe when he said, “This was kind of self-therapy”?
33. What was the only video release from Trial by Fire?
34. Which Journey song had the longest run on the Billboard Top 100 songs?
35. What is the bonus track on the Japanese version of Trial By Fire?
36. When and where did Steve Augeri & Deen Castronovo debut with Journey?
37. Which song off Arrival was previously released on a solo album as an instrumental?
38. Which song off Arrival began as an introduction to "Wheel in the Sky"?
39. Who makes the comments at the end of "Nothing Comes Close"?
40. Where was the Journey 2001 DVD filmed? (venue)
41. What song does Neal play as part of his solo on the 2001 DVD?
42. In April 2003, Journey was inducted to the Bammies Walk of Fame. What is "Bammies" short for?
Journey Goes Hollywood!
43. Which movie featured the song "Only the Young?"
44. Which movie featured the song "Ask the Lonely"?
45. What song is featured in The Last American Virgin?
46. Which movie featured the song "Any Way You Want It"?
47. Which movie featured the song "Remember Me"?
48. Which movie featured the songs "Only Solutions" and "1990s Theme"?
49. Which movie featured the song "After the Fall"?
50. What song is featured in White Water Summer?
Based on what I've found so far in the archives, this was just half of the questions we came up with for the trivia section of our JPP2005 program. If I find the others, I'll post them too.
You will find the answers below. I took the quiz before I found the answers and got 40 of them right. Also, for the record, when I pulled together this set of trivia questions I had multiple sources for both the questions and answers. I can't remember now where I got them all from, but I'm sure I've got the sources in a file somewhere!
Trivia Answers:
1. Gregg Rolie
2. 1973
3. The Golden Gate Rhythm Section
4. John Villanueva
5. Walter "Herbie" Herbert
6. Stanley Mouse & Alton Kelley. They also designed the skull and roses logo for The Grateful Dead.
7. Winterland (San Francisco)
8. Steve Smith
9. Jonathan Cain
10. Steve Augeri
11. Raised on Radio (he designed the album cover)
12. February 5, 1974 at the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco)
13. Sound engineer
14. September 28, 1977 at the Old Waldorf in SF (the liner notes to Time3 list the date as October 28, 1977, however I have a copy of the concert review from the San Francisco Chronicle that confirms the September 28 date. Ironically, both the review and liner notes were written by SF music critic Joel Selvin.)
15. "Patiently"
16. Diane Valory
17. Steve Smith (Montrose) and Jonathan Cain (The Babys)
8. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"
19. Dream After Dream
20. Tim Gorman
21. April 15, 1981 at the Bammies
22. Escape
23."Who's Crying Now"
24. "Heaven"
25. Neal Schon
26. Bill Graham
27. "Open Arms" reached #2 in 1982
28. "Separate Ways"
29. "Back Talk" and "Troubled Child" replaced "Ask the Lonely" and "Only the Young"
30. Rockabilly
31. 1986
32."Once You Love Somebody"
33. "When You Love a Woman"
34. "When You Love a Woman"
35. "I Can See It in Your Eyes"
36. June 8, 1998, Marin County Civic Auditorium (San Rafael, CA)
37. "With Your Love"
38. "Live and Breathe"
39. Jonathan Cain & Deen Castronovo
40. Mandalay Bay Events Center (Las Vegas)
41."From This Moment"
42. Bay Area Music Awards
43. Vision Quest
44. Two of a Kind
45. "Open Arms"
46. Caddyshack
47. Armageddon
48. Tron
49. Risky Business
50. "Be Good to Yourself"
0-10 -- Are you sure you're a Journey fan?
11-20 -- Newbie!
21-30 -- Still learning
31-40 -- Journey fan
41-45 -- Journey fanatic
46-50 -- Get off the internet, you're scaring the band.
Friday, January 28, 2005
January 26, 2005: My Favorite Piece of Journey Memorabilia
One of the problems we encountered when planning the reception for JPP2005 in Hollywood was the number of guests the band planned to invite to the reception. Each band member was to invite 10 guests. This was more than we had planned for and put a strain on our budget, but we made it work. Then we got a message from Cat on behalf of band management. Steve Augeri had a guest list of 30 people. Fortunately before we could stroke out at how to arrange for food for 20 more people, Steve generously offered to pay the additional cost. While it felt a little weird to accept, the financial situation required us to say yes. As treasurer, I was to get a check from Steve via Cat while we were in Hollywood. Due to the hectic schedule, that didn't happen. What did happen was SO much better. Steve mailed a check and a thank you note to my home. Talk about the coolest piece of mail I've ever received. I scanned the letter and shared it with the rest of the committee. The original is in my scrapbook collection.
I'm still not sure what my favorite part of this letter is -- that the event was a "hugh" success or that their "hearts remain somewhere beyond the clouds." This was written six months before Generations was released with the song "Beyond the Clouds." I've wondered ever since was this a hint or an inspiration? Either way, I love it!
I'm still not sure what my favorite part of this letter is -- that the event was a "hugh" success or that their "hearts remain somewhere beyond the clouds." This was written six months before Generations was released with the song "Beyond the Clouds." I've wondered ever since was this a hint or an inspiration? Either way, I love it!
Thursday, January 27, 2005
January 21, 2005: Journey Past & Present Reception
Hollywood, CA
The Highlands Night Club
The Highlands Night Club
Every year as part of the Journey Past and Present gathering, we have had a lunch reception for our attendees. In 2001, that meant cramming 15 people into a hotel room and ordering a few pizzas and drinks. In 2005, with 150 attendees coming plus the band plus the band’s guests, we needed a bigger venue.
Using a hotel conference room was one consideration, but we didn’t think it really said Hollywood, much less rock and roll! So we looked in to alternative locations and found The Highlands nightclub right out the door from the hotel we were using, and just a block away from where Journey would be getting their star. Perfect!
On Friday, January 21, the JPP committee was the last of our group to arrive at the star ceremony, which meant the optimal viewing spots were long gone. Leslie White, Leslie Forsythe, and I stood at one end of the street with the hopes of being able to see something. I worked my way up to the barricades, but they stayed back a ways. Once the ceremony started, they decided to head back to the club to set things up – they couldn’t see, they couldn’t hear, so they’d just find out how things went later. (OOPS!)
I stuck around long enough to learn that Steve Perry had surprised us all and was at the ceremony and to hear the speeches by Neal, Ross, and Steve. I was so shocked by Steve Perry’s appearance, I kind of wandered away towards the club in a daze. I needed to recompose myself in order to help get everyone in place and prepare for my welcome speech.
I arrived at the Highlands where the Leslies had been setting things up and had gotten the phone calls about what they’d missed. The club looked fabulous. Tables were set up with white tablecloths and candles, the buffet out on the balcony was ready to go, and the finishing touches were nearly in place. I made a mad dash back to my hotel room to grab Arrival out of the CD player so it could be added to the rotation of Journey, Infinity, Departure, and Greatest Hits Live that would serve as the background music for the day. That’s when Darla called me and told me that Ross was trying to get Perry to come to the luncheon. There went my speech right out of my head again! (Alas, it was not to be.)
The fans started showing up about 12:30 and Leslie White and I directed them up to the club. Cheryl arrived to relieve me, and I dashed back upstairs about 12:45 to help make sure things were running smoothly inside the club and that everything was in place for our guests to arrive. The front 8 tables had been reserved for guests of the band, and a few of them had begun to arrive. Amber and Aja Schon were among the first guests to arrive, and the balloons we had on one side of the stage fascinated Aja. Neal’s daughter wants a balloon? I grabbed one out of the bunch – Neal’s daughter gets a balloon!
Rob was coordinating backstage with Caryn – periodically updating the rest of us on how many members of the band had arrived and how many more were expected. At 1:15 it was time to grab all the committee members and go backstage to get the guys. We headed back, only to be stopped by security! One of them went to get Aaron Dilks who said, yeah, we were okay! (Thanks Aaron!) We got to the room and made sure everyone was ready to go. Once we were ready, I led the committee on stage followed by the band.
This was the part I had been praying to get through in one piece. Addressing 250 people would have been fine if not for the 9 guys standing behind me! I breezed through the first part of my speech – welcoming everyone to our gathering. The second part was the one that had me literally shaking from head to toe.
Prior to our event, Leslie White suggested that the welcome speech was the perfect opportunity to explain why the JPP Committee does what we do. A great idea that kept me up that whole night with a million ideas spinning in my head. I knew I had to keep it short and I wanted to make sure it covered not just my thoughts, not just the committee’s thoughts, but was representative of what all Journey fans feel. A tall order for a 2-minute speech! What I finally came up with was this:
Why do we do this? Well, like any other fan, I could probably talk for hours on that subject – don’t any of you deny it, I’ve talked with many of you and the Journey conversations last a long time! But I found a great quote from Ross while doing research for our program. The quote was in the New York Times and Ross said, “We’re the music a lot of people graduated to, wound up in the back seat of a convertible to, got married to.” Every fan in this room has some specific memory for which a Journey song is the sound track. Each member of Journey has contributed to making music that has touched our lives in some profound way. This is just the best way we know how to say thank you. So, thanks guys – your talents have made a difference in our lives.
I’m not entirely sure that’s exactly how it came out since by the end I was shaking so hard I thought my legs would give out from underneath me, but I know I covered the key points. It’s not every day you get to tell someone thank you for playing an important role in your life!
After my welcome, Leslie White took over the microphone and emceed the presentation of the star awards that we had purchased with donations from our attendees. One of our raffle prizes from the night before was the opportunity to be the prize presenter, and Jenn Bortz, who had thought that it was just to present one prize to one member, was our winner. (Is it our fault that Neal’s trophy happened to be on top and thus the one we used for the display?) Jenn was pretty nervous the night before, but she came through with flying colors.
After all the prizes were presented, each band member took a turn to address the crowd. I wish I could remember what everyone said, but with all that was going on that day, it’s slipped my mind. I do remember Steve Smith commenting about how he’d been out of the rock and roll scene for a long time and being blown away by all the cheers and the crowd.
We finally let the guys off the stage and they all grabbed something to eat before they got mobbed by the fans for pictures and autographs. As I was circulating the room, it was amusing to see lines of people in various parts of the room waiting to talk to one band member or another. I managed to chat with each of them briefly, but my longest conversation was with George Tickner and it was so nice to hear his take on things.
The guys all left about 2:45 and the fans mixed and mingled amongst themselves for another 45 minutes before heading off to get ready for the concert. As always, time flies by much to fast and I didn’t get to visit with as many of our attendees as I would have liked, but it was a wonderful afternoon and heading in to a wonderful night. As things were winding down, “We Will Meet Again” came on the sound system, so I found the staff member in charge of the PA and had him turn it up for the last song of the afternoon.
*August 15, 2014 Post-script: One highlight I realize I left out of this tale is my strongest and favorite memory of the afternoon. We had made a program for our attendees as a bit of memorabilia and in putting it together we had asked a variety of fans for artwork or photos. One of the folks who had sent photos couldn't attend the event, so I promised to send her a copy of the program autographed by the band members who showed up at the luncheon. I spent much of my time going from band member to band member to make sure I got everyone to sign the program. When I got to Jon we chatted a bit when he said to me, in a voice as stunned as any of the fans, "Wasn't it great that Steve [Perry] showed up?" Naturally I agreed, but I'll never forget the tone of his voice or the look of amazement on his face when he said that. We chatted on that for a short bit and the genuine appreciation for what had transpired, both that day and in years past, was quite clear. It made me feel great that for that one moment on that one day all of the tumult of the years was lifted and I was so proud to be part of it.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
January 2005: Journey to Hollywood
August 14, 2014: After Journey received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, fans in attendance reported back to the various mailing lists and bulletin boards about their experience. While combing through various archives to assemble this blog, I stumbled upon this post by Valerie Holek about her experience of the weekend. Since Valerie is the person who got me to finally act on my long standing idea to put this blog together, I thought it would be nice to share something from her. Reprinted here with her permission.
I will start my review from Thursday January 20th when my sister and I arrived in LAX. There were 11 of us that were to share a limo ride from there to our hotel on Hollywood and Highland. When we were all gathered together, we made the short walk to where the limo and baggage car were waiting for us. The chauffeur was very pleasant and even stopped at the liquor store and bought us 3 bottles of champagne to share on our ride.
When we arrived at the gorgeous hotel, several Journey fans were already there and the first one I was greeted by was Randy. After everyone getting settled in their rooms, several of us went to get a bite to eat from Johnny Rockets. The gang consisted of Cindy, MAK, Randy, myself, and my sister Rhonda. We all ordered burgers and shared an order of onion rings. The food was pretty good.
After dinner, we all walked around the complex in awe of how enormous it was and did a little shopping on the side. We took some pictures of the Hollywood sign as well. What a gorgeous hotel and mall it was that the JPP committee chose for us all!!
About 10 o'clock or so, it was time to get a good night's sleep and be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the events that were going to happen on Friday!! We were all very anxious for the induction ceremony to begin! I awoke very early Friday morning, 5 AM! I took my shower and the other girls started waking up one by one, and we all took turns getting ourselves gorgeous for the ceremony. Well, as gorgeous as we could get!
We decided that it was a good idea to go get something to eat, and we (Chrissy, Rhonda, Cindy and myself) walked across the street to McDonalds. Not my first choice, but it was cheap and filling. I didn't realize that the star was that close to where we were staying, and I also didn't realize that it may have been a good idea to have gotten down there a little bit earlier than we did because people were already lined up and we knew there was no way we were going to get a good spot now! But we did the best we could do, and actually wound up mostly in the second "row" if you will, but we were so far away from the podium it was impossible to see very much of anything but the backs of people's heads.
We were all handing off cameras to some of the girls in front of us so they could take some pictures for us. We stood there for almost 2 hours before the event started, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if I had to! It was so wonderful to meet Journey friends that I have spoken with over the years and to see several of them again! One of the biggest highlights of the day was when the buzz of Steve Perry being there started going through the audience and I didn't believe it for a minute until I saw him myself! OMG!!!! I was in total shock!!! I have been saying all along that he wouldn't show up at all, and there he was in the flesh!! Some fans became very emotional when they saw him, but I just stood there in shock.
Nobody knew that he was coming, but from the rumors I have heard, it happened that he was listening to KLOS and two DJ's, Mark and Brian were there doing a live broadcast. From what I was told, one of the DJ's called Steve Perry a name and said something about wondering if he was going to show up. The story goes on to say that Steve Perry was listening and called the station saying he was on the 405 and would be there in a few minutes. Now, how true this story is is beyond me. That's just what was going around.
You can just imagine the uproar of the audience when Steve Perry appeared and what a welcome he received! It was great to see all of the Journey guys standing on stage receiving something they so richly deserve! Even if the differences were only put aside for a little while, they proved to the fans and to themselves that it can be done. Anything is possible in the world of magic, right?
The one thing that I didn't really understand was why only certain band members got to speak? Maybe they only had so much time and only wanted certain members to speak, but it would have been more awesome had all the band members been able to say something. Maybe that's just my opinion, and me but that's how I feel. Maybe at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that will happen!
It was such an honor to have been there, that I didn't really care who said what to be honest! Just being able to share in the joy they were receiving was worth every single penny. And I haven't even made it to the luncheon ceremony yet!
After the star induction, the JPP committee and members all went back to the hotel for the luncheon at The Highlands. What a gorgeous place!! Wow! It was so incredible to be there having lunch with Journey and all their family members they brought with them! I hope the guys got enough to eat because they were being bombarded by all of us wanting autographs and pictures! I got to talk to Deen Castronovo, Steve Smith, Ross Valory, Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto. I had my picture taken with all those gentlemen except Deen. Ross was so funny when he saw me next in line! He looked at me, pointed and said: "You want something from me, don't ya??" I said: "Well, I actually have something for you this time!" I then proceeded to hand him the "Ross Valory Rocks" button that I had made for whoever wanted one.
He looked at it and said "Thank you so much!" I got an autograph in my very cool book I brought along and had my picture taken with him. This one actually turned out pretty good!!! LOL We all know Ross is usually clowning around and every picture I have with him, he's making a silly face! Gotta love him, huh? He is the clown that makes us smile, isn't he?
After chatting with Ross for a few minutes, I saw there was a huge line for Steve Augeri and I knew that if I didn't get in it then, I was never going to get him to sign my "Stevenology: The Study of STEVE" shirt I was wearing! I had already had the opportunity to have Steve Smith sign it and he kinda chuckled at the shirt and what it says, then he very gladly signed it for me! I finally got a chance to talk to Steve and he pointed at my shirt and said, "I love that shirt!!!!" with a huge grin on his face! It made me very happy that he got a kick out of it! I got his autograph, but not a picture at the luncheon. They quickly whisked away all of the band members and we went out and had a very nice meal before getting ready for the concert.
Even though we had just had "lunch," we were still very hungry and we knew that we needed more protein to be able to make it through the concert and the after concert parties that were going on, so we went to one of the way over-priced restaurants in the complex called The Grill. We had a very cute waiter named Ken, and an incredible lunch that cost just as much as it did to register for this event!! LOL
After our wonderful lunch, we went back to our rooms and got ready for the concert. Had to do the hair and makeup just right, you know. I met a special friend down at the bar in the lobby before we were to get on our assigned bus, and we had a beer. A lot of people were gathering towards where we were to load the buses, so we got up and got on our bus and headed off for the concert of all concerts!
At the House of Blues, we all unloaded and got to line up and get in before anyone else, and that made it very easy to get a great spot standing on the floor very close to the stage. People were kind of pushing and shoving and after all the standing around we did and sweating because it was so hot in there, I actually was basically in the second row for about half the concert. I knew that past members of the band had been invited to jam, but when Aynsely Dunbar and Robert Fleischman both came out for "Wheel In The Sky," I totally lost it! I cried and cried! You can only imagine my reaction when Steve "Machine Gun" Smith came out and took over drums!!!! I'm actually getting goose bumps just typing about it!
A very wonderful lady and committee member, Darla, grabbed my arm at one point in time and pulled me to her sweet spot in the front row in between Steve And Neal and told me to save her spot, that she needed some air. Well, she never came back! LMAO I got to be in the front row for the first time ever in 18 Journey concerts! I was so thrilled, I actually cried a little bit! (You'll notice a pattern. …LOL) Thank you, Darla!!!! You have no idea how much that meant and still means to me!
Eye contact was made with Neal on several occasions, and I would just stare at his fingers and mouth WOW or OMG to him and he'd crack a smile and carry on. Watching The Rock God's fingers so up close and personal made me realize how very talented he is and how fast his fingers have to move! Holy cow! I never really knew until that moment! And Deen singing lead on "Mother, Father," "Suzanne," "Edge of the Blade," and "Escape" was almost enough to put me over the edge! Man, that boy can SING!!!!!!!!!
Before the concert had started, Journeycat had put some absolutely gorgeous long stemmed red roses on Jon's piano. I was very curious as to whom they were for, but I would find out soon enough! During a couple of breaks in the concert, Jon was handing them to ladies, or tossing them to the ones that were a little further back. I thought that was so sweet!! At the very end of the concert, he still had some roses left, so he came over to our side of the stage and was handing them to the girls in the front and second rows, but looked at me and didn't hand me one. I was a little disappointed, but hey, it was OK that I didn't get one and that's what I was telling myself. Well, evidently Ross saw my face when I didn't get handed one, and he put his hand over his mouth like he was saying… OOPS! He went over to the piano, got a rose, handed it to Jon and Jon handed it to me!! OMG! How cool was that?!?! I now have a rose from Jon via Ross hanging up drying and I will keep it forever and ever!
After the concert and diving for guitar picks, not getting a HOB Journey shirt because they were all sold out, going to the bathroom and then going outside to look for the rest of us, I happened upon Paul Stanley of Kiss fame. I knew he was there, but I actually got the chance to speak to him after the show! I asked him what he thought of the show and he said it was great! I told him I also thought it was awesome and that it was my first time in the front row. He said that it was cool I got to be in the front row, and to have a good rest of the night. I told him the same thing and then found my partners in crime and we headed off to the hotel for a martini party.
I didn't stay very long at the martini party because I was completely exhausted from all of the day's events and wanted to go back to the room and go to bed. The next morning, I awoke earlier than I wanted to, but that was OK because it helped in making my Saturday afternoon that much better by timing things just right. Read on.
Chrissy, Cindy, Rhonda and myself all got dressed and headed back across the street to McDonald's for breakfast. After breakfast, Chrissy and Rhonda joined several other ladies on a limo tour of star's homes and such and he took Rhonda and Chrissy to Beverly Hills where they went shopping and eating and had a great time! Cindy and I stayed near the hotel because we had made plans with Randy to hang with him all day and that's just what we did. Randy had slept in late and so we sat with him while he ate lunch and after that, we all went walking around the hotel complex and the Chinese Theatre where the handprints and footprints of stars are on the sidewalk. We took tons of pictures and walked across the street to take a panoramic picture of this theatre to the best of our ability. We looked in shops, took pictures of stars in the sidewalk, and went to the souvenir shop that we had been to once already and we were picking out what we wanted for keep sakes and in walks Lydia Augeri!! I was like… "Oh wow!" Very cool! Stay calm!! She's a great lady! I love her! Where's Steve?!! LOL I'm crazy, I know. But that's what was going through my head! Then it dawned on me that I shouldn't say anything because they were there being "family" and not "on the job" so to say.
Well, Steve saw us, recognized us and immediately said Hello! I was floored! He's so gracious to stop and say hello to us when he's with his family doing family things! He never ceases to amaze me! We asked him about the show and if it was as hot for him as it was for us, and he said oh yes! Very hot in there! I told him I had to ask, that I was just dying to know something! And he said, sure, ask! I asked him if Mr. Perry was nice to him yesterday or did he even say anything to him at all? Steve said: "Ya know, it's not about me. It's about you guys." I told him that I understood, and that I wanted him to know that the reason I was there was because of HIM. He put his hand over his heart and said "Thank you!" Then he graciously posed for pictures with Cindy and myself. It was so awesome!
We didn't want to take up anymore of his family time, but Randy did want to show him a picture that he got of him the day before at the ceremony. It is such a great photo that he wanted to share it. Steve's mother and Aunt were there and they wanted to see the picture as well. His mother saw it and said Oh! I have to have a copy of that, please! So his aunt got on the phone to his cousin and she handed me the phone and said here, tell her what the deal is and get email addresses so we can have that pic. I was FLOORED!! Holy cow! Here I am on the street, talking to Steve Augeri's cousin who also happens to be named Valerie! We exchanged email addresses and I hope she loves the picture as much as we all did and do!
We said our goodbyes and walked a little farther away and then across the street but by that time more Journey friends had spotted Steve and Lydia and they are so wonderful they loved every minute of it, I think! LOL Well, according to time frames, the same time we were chatting with the Augeri's in the shop, Steve Perry was down visiting the star just a few hundred FEET away!!!! Wow!! How awesome is that? That would have been cool to get to meet him in person, but I was very happy with chatting with Steve Augeri and his family. We then went in one of those little photo booths that you sit and pose for photographs and they print them right there within a couple of minutes. That was a lot of fun! LOL We got our pictures, and decided we needed to drop off our things in the room and maybe get something to drink. We headed back over across the street and back to our rooms chatting happily about what had just happened and that we were so excited and felt very lucky and blessed!
Trying to make a long story short (like that's gonna happen!), we ate an early dinner, shopped some more, chatted with other Journey fans that we ran in to during the day and by 10 PM, I was more than ready to go to bed because I knew that we all had to get up very early the next morning to say our goodbyes. It was starting to hit me that I had to say goodbye to Cindy and Randy very soon and I didn't want them to see me cry. We went back to the room; Cindy went to get a bottle of water. I couldn't sleep. I got maybe a total of 2 hours sleep after going to bed well after midnight because Rhonda and Chrissy were showing us what they had bought and we were doing the same thing.
Poor Chrissy had to get up at 3:45 to go to the airport even though her flight got canceled. They did get her to N. Carolina, but delayed another day getting her home to Connecticut. Darn that stupid snow we all had to come back to! Well, back to the morning of our departure. Like I have said, I didn't sleep very much Saturday night, nor did my sister or Chrissy. So we just got up. My sister and I tried to lay there in bed talking softly and not waking Chrissy, but she woke up anyways. I was telling my sister how I felt at that moment and that I just wanted to bawl. But I didn't, well at least not at that point in time.
We got around and completely packed and ready to check out and I went down to the lobby to say goodbye to Randy and any other Journey fan I saw. Randy got on his shuttle and away he went and my sister, Cindy and myself went upstairs to Twist, where the farewell breakfast was going to be held. We were so happy to see Darla, Emerson and Steve and even happier that they joined us at our table. The buffet was delicious there and eventually several other Journey fans came in to eat and say their goodbyes. This meant more hugs, more tears, more pictures! Ugh! Good thing I didn't put on makeup, because I knew I was going to cry when I had to say goodbye to all of you guys! It's always so wonderful to say hello and I always dread saying goodbye, so I just said "We Will Meet Again" several times! Mak, Rhonda, Cathy and myself all split a minivan cab ride to LAX and each went our separate ways at different airlines and it was a sad morning at that point in time. All I have to say about LAX is GOOD GRIEF!!!!!! Can that place be any bigger?? LOL!
Ok, ok… 8 pages is a little long for a review of such a fascinating weekend mixed with a little bit of boring stuff I did in Hollywood with my friends, but I wanted to get it all down on paper and relive every minute I could while it was still mostly fresh in my mind! I hope I didn't bore everyone to tears and I wanted you all to know how much you mean to me and that I always look forward to seeing all of you again and meeting new fans and friends.
To the JPP Committee: YOU ALL ROCK!!!!!!! I love you all!!!! Thank you so very much!!!! I can't express enough how thankful I am for a wonderful weekend and to Journey, I say Good luck and God Bless you all!!!!
We will meet again…on my heart it's written!!!
I will start my review from Thursday January 20th when my sister and I arrived in LAX. There were 11 of us that were to share a limo ride from there to our hotel on Hollywood and Highland. When we were all gathered together, we made the short walk to where the limo and baggage car were waiting for us. The chauffeur was very pleasant and even stopped at the liquor store and bought us 3 bottles of champagne to share on our ride.
When we arrived at the gorgeous hotel, several Journey fans were already there and the first one I was greeted by was Randy. After everyone getting settled in their rooms, several of us went to get a bite to eat from Johnny Rockets. The gang consisted of Cindy, MAK, Randy, myself, and my sister Rhonda. We all ordered burgers and shared an order of onion rings. The food was pretty good.
After dinner, we all walked around the complex in awe of how enormous it was and did a little shopping on the side. We took some pictures of the Hollywood sign as well. What a gorgeous hotel and mall it was that the JPP committee chose for us all!!
About 10 o'clock or so, it was time to get a good night's sleep and be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the events that were going to happen on Friday!! We were all very anxious for the induction ceremony to begin! I awoke very early Friday morning, 5 AM! I took my shower and the other girls started waking up one by one, and we all took turns getting ourselves gorgeous for the ceremony. Well, as gorgeous as we could get!
We decided that it was a good idea to go get something to eat, and we (Chrissy, Rhonda, Cindy and myself) walked across the street to McDonalds. Not my first choice, but it was cheap and filling. I didn't realize that the star was that close to where we were staying, and I also didn't realize that it may have been a good idea to have gotten down there a little bit earlier than we did because people were already lined up and we knew there was no way we were going to get a good spot now! But we did the best we could do, and actually wound up mostly in the second "row" if you will, but we were so far away from the podium it was impossible to see very much of anything but the backs of people's heads.
We were all handing off cameras to some of the girls in front of us so they could take some pictures for us. We stood there for almost 2 hours before the event started, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if I had to! It was so wonderful to meet Journey friends that I have spoken with over the years and to see several of them again! One of the biggest highlights of the day was when the buzz of Steve Perry being there started going through the audience and I didn't believe it for a minute until I saw him myself! OMG!!!! I was in total shock!!! I have been saying all along that he wouldn't show up at all, and there he was in the flesh!! Some fans became very emotional when they saw him, but I just stood there in shock.
Nobody knew that he was coming, but from the rumors I have heard, it happened that he was listening to KLOS and two DJ's, Mark and Brian were there doing a live broadcast. From what I was told, one of the DJ's called Steve Perry a name and said something about wondering if he was going to show up. The story goes on to say that Steve Perry was listening and called the station saying he was on the 405 and would be there in a few minutes. Now, how true this story is is beyond me. That's just what was going around.
You can just imagine the uproar of the audience when Steve Perry appeared and what a welcome he received! It was great to see all of the Journey guys standing on stage receiving something they so richly deserve! Even if the differences were only put aside for a little while, they proved to the fans and to themselves that it can be done. Anything is possible in the world of magic, right?
The one thing that I didn't really understand was why only certain band members got to speak? Maybe they only had so much time and only wanted certain members to speak, but it would have been more awesome had all the band members been able to say something. Maybe that's just my opinion, and me but that's how I feel. Maybe at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that will happen!
It was such an honor to have been there, that I didn't really care who said what to be honest! Just being able to share in the joy they were receiving was worth every single penny. And I haven't even made it to the luncheon ceremony yet!
After the star induction, the JPP committee and members all went back to the hotel for the luncheon at The Highlands. What a gorgeous place!! Wow! It was so incredible to be there having lunch with Journey and all their family members they brought with them! I hope the guys got enough to eat because they were being bombarded by all of us wanting autographs and pictures! I got to talk to Deen Castronovo, Steve Smith, Ross Valory, Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto. I had my picture taken with all those gentlemen except Deen. Ross was so funny when he saw me next in line! He looked at me, pointed and said: "You want something from me, don't ya??" I said: "Well, I actually have something for you this time!" I then proceeded to hand him the "Ross Valory Rocks" button that I had made for whoever wanted one.
He looked at it and said "Thank you so much!" I got an autograph in my very cool book I brought along and had my picture taken with him. This one actually turned out pretty good!!! LOL We all know Ross is usually clowning around and every picture I have with him, he's making a silly face! Gotta love him, huh? He is the clown that makes us smile, isn't he?
After chatting with Ross for a few minutes, I saw there was a huge line for Steve Augeri and I knew that if I didn't get in it then, I was never going to get him to sign my "Stevenology: The Study of STEVE" shirt I was wearing! I had already had the opportunity to have Steve Smith sign it and he kinda chuckled at the shirt and what it says, then he very gladly signed it for me! I finally got a chance to talk to Steve and he pointed at my shirt and said, "I love that shirt!!!!" with a huge grin on his face! It made me very happy that he got a kick out of it! I got his autograph, but not a picture at the luncheon. They quickly whisked away all of the band members and we went out and had a very nice meal before getting ready for the concert.
Even though we had just had "lunch," we were still very hungry and we knew that we needed more protein to be able to make it through the concert and the after concert parties that were going on, so we went to one of the way over-priced restaurants in the complex called The Grill. We had a very cute waiter named Ken, and an incredible lunch that cost just as much as it did to register for this event!! LOL
After our wonderful lunch, we went back to our rooms and got ready for the concert. Had to do the hair and makeup just right, you know. I met a special friend down at the bar in the lobby before we were to get on our assigned bus, and we had a beer. A lot of people were gathering towards where we were to load the buses, so we got up and got on our bus and headed off for the concert of all concerts!
At the House of Blues, we all unloaded and got to line up and get in before anyone else, and that made it very easy to get a great spot standing on the floor very close to the stage. People were kind of pushing and shoving and after all the standing around we did and sweating because it was so hot in there, I actually was basically in the second row for about half the concert. I knew that past members of the band had been invited to jam, but when Aynsely Dunbar and Robert Fleischman both came out for "Wheel In The Sky," I totally lost it! I cried and cried! You can only imagine my reaction when Steve "Machine Gun" Smith came out and took over drums!!!! I'm actually getting goose bumps just typing about it!
A very wonderful lady and committee member, Darla, grabbed my arm at one point in time and pulled me to her sweet spot in the front row in between Steve And Neal and told me to save her spot, that she needed some air. Well, she never came back! LMAO I got to be in the front row for the first time ever in 18 Journey concerts! I was so thrilled, I actually cried a little bit! (You'll notice a pattern. …LOL) Thank you, Darla!!!! You have no idea how much that meant and still means to me!
Eye contact was made with Neal on several occasions, and I would just stare at his fingers and mouth WOW or OMG to him and he'd crack a smile and carry on. Watching The Rock God's fingers so up close and personal made me realize how very talented he is and how fast his fingers have to move! Holy cow! I never really knew until that moment! And Deen singing lead on "Mother, Father," "Suzanne," "Edge of the Blade," and "Escape" was almost enough to put me over the edge! Man, that boy can SING!!!!!!!!!
Before the concert had started, Journeycat had put some absolutely gorgeous long stemmed red roses on Jon's piano. I was very curious as to whom they were for, but I would find out soon enough! During a couple of breaks in the concert, Jon was handing them to ladies, or tossing them to the ones that were a little further back. I thought that was so sweet!! At the very end of the concert, he still had some roses left, so he came over to our side of the stage and was handing them to the girls in the front and second rows, but looked at me and didn't hand me one. I was a little disappointed, but hey, it was OK that I didn't get one and that's what I was telling myself. Well, evidently Ross saw my face when I didn't get handed one, and he put his hand over his mouth like he was saying… OOPS! He went over to the piano, got a rose, handed it to Jon and Jon handed it to me!! OMG! How cool was that?!?! I now have a rose from Jon via Ross hanging up drying and I will keep it forever and ever!
After the concert and diving for guitar picks, not getting a HOB Journey shirt because they were all sold out, going to the bathroom and then going outside to look for the rest of us, I happened upon Paul Stanley of Kiss fame. I knew he was there, but I actually got the chance to speak to him after the show! I asked him what he thought of the show and he said it was great! I told him I also thought it was awesome and that it was my first time in the front row. He said that it was cool I got to be in the front row, and to have a good rest of the night. I told him the same thing and then found my partners in crime and we headed off to the hotel for a martini party.
I didn't stay very long at the martini party because I was completely exhausted from all of the day's events and wanted to go back to the room and go to bed. The next morning, I awoke earlier than I wanted to, but that was OK because it helped in making my Saturday afternoon that much better by timing things just right. Read on.
Chrissy, Cindy, Rhonda and myself all got dressed and headed back across the street to McDonald's for breakfast. After breakfast, Chrissy and Rhonda joined several other ladies on a limo tour of star's homes and such and he took Rhonda and Chrissy to Beverly Hills where they went shopping and eating and had a great time! Cindy and I stayed near the hotel because we had made plans with Randy to hang with him all day and that's just what we did. Randy had slept in late and so we sat with him while he ate lunch and after that, we all went walking around the hotel complex and the Chinese Theatre where the handprints and footprints of stars are on the sidewalk. We took tons of pictures and walked across the street to take a panoramic picture of this theatre to the best of our ability. We looked in shops, took pictures of stars in the sidewalk, and went to the souvenir shop that we had been to once already and we were picking out what we wanted for keep sakes and in walks Lydia Augeri!! I was like… "Oh wow!" Very cool! Stay calm!! She's a great lady! I love her! Where's Steve?!! LOL I'm crazy, I know. But that's what was going through my head! Then it dawned on me that I shouldn't say anything because they were there being "family" and not "on the job" so to say.
Well, Steve saw us, recognized us and immediately said Hello! I was floored! He's so gracious to stop and say hello to us when he's with his family doing family things! He never ceases to amaze me! We asked him about the show and if it was as hot for him as it was for us, and he said oh yes! Very hot in there! I told him I had to ask, that I was just dying to know something! And he said, sure, ask! I asked him if Mr. Perry was nice to him yesterday or did he even say anything to him at all? Steve said: "Ya know, it's not about me. It's about you guys." I told him that I understood, and that I wanted him to know that the reason I was there was because of HIM. He put his hand over his heart and said "Thank you!" Then he graciously posed for pictures with Cindy and myself. It was so awesome!
We didn't want to take up anymore of his family time, but Randy did want to show him a picture that he got of him the day before at the ceremony. It is such a great photo that he wanted to share it. Steve's mother and Aunt were there and they wanted to see the picture as well. His mother saw it and said Oh! I have to have a copy of that, please! So his aunt got on the phone to his cousin and she handed me the phone and said here, tell her what the deal is and get email addresses so we can have that pic. I was FLOORED!! Holy cow! Here I am on the street, talking to Steve Augeri's cousin who also happens to be named Valerie! We exchanged email addresses and I hope she loves the picture as much as we all did and do!
We said our goodbyes and walked a little farther away and then across the street but by that time more Journey friends had spotted Steve and Lydia and they are so wonderful they loved every minute of it, I think! LOL Well, according to time frames, the same time we were chatting with the Augeri's in the shop, Steve Perry was down visiting the star just a few hundred FEET away!!!! Wow!! How awesome is that? That would have been cool to get to meet him in person, but I was very happy with chatting with Steve Augeri and his family. We then went in one of those little photo booths that you sit and pose for photographs and they print them right there within a couple of minutes. That was a lot of fun! LOL We got our pictures, and decided we needed to drop off our things in the room and maybe get something to drink. We headed back over across the street and back to our rooms chatting happily about what had just happened and that we were so excited and felt very lucky and blessed!
Trying to make a long story short (like that's gonna happen!), we ate an early dinner, shopped some more, chatted with other Journey fans that we ran in to during the day and by 10 PM, I was more than ready to go to bed because I knew that we all had to get up very early the next morning to say our goodbyes. It was starting to hit me that I had to say goodbye to Cindy and Randy very soon and I didn't want them to see me cry. We went back to the room; Cindy went to get a bottle of water. I couldn't sleep. I got maybe a total of 2 hours sleep after going to bed well after midnight because Rhonda and Chrissy were showing us what they had bought and we were doing the same thing.
Poor Chrissy had to get up at 3:45 to go to the airport even though her flight got canceled. They did get her to N. Carolina, but delayed another day getting her home to Connecticut. Darn that stupid snow we all had to come back to! Well, back to the morning of our departure. Like I have said, I didn't sleep very much Saturday night, nor did my sister or Chrissy. So we just got up. My sister and I tried to lay there in bed talking softly and not waking Chrissy, but she woke up anyways. I was telling my sister how I felt at that moment and that I just wanted to bawl. But I didn't, well at least not at that point in time.
We got around and completely packed and ready to check out and I went down to the lobby to say goodbye to Randy and any other Journey fan I saw. Randy got on his shuttle and away he went and my sister, Cindy and myself went upstairs to Twist, where the farewell breakfast was going to be held. We were so happy to see Darla, Emerson and Steve and even happier that they joined us at our table. The buffet was delicious there and eventually several other Journey fans came in to eat and say their goodbyes. This meant more hugs, more tears, more pictures! Ugh! Good thing I didn't put on makeup, because I knew I was going to cry when I had to say goodbye to all of you guys! It's always so wonderful to say hello and I always dread saying goodbye, so I just said "We Will Meet Again" several times! Mak, Rhonda, Cathy and myself all split a minivan cab ride to LAX and each went our separate ways at different airlines and it was a sad morning at that point in time. All I have to say about LAX is GOOD GRIEF!!!!!! Can that place be any bigger?? LOL!
Ok, ok… 8 pages is a little long for a review of such a fascinating weekend mixed with a little bit of boring stuff I did in Hollywood with my friends, but I wanted to get it all down on paper and relive every minute I could while it was still mostly fresh in my mind! I hope I didn't bore everyone to tears and I wanted you all to know how much you mean to me and that I always look forward to seeing all of you again and meeting new fans and friends.
To the JPP Committee: YOU ALL ROCK!!!!!!! I love you all!!!! Thank you so very much!!!! I can't express enough how thankful I am for a wonderful weekend and to Journey, I say Good luck and God Bless you all!!!!
We will meet again…on my heart it's written!!!
Saturday, January 22, 2005
January 21, 2005: Hello Hollywood!
Hollywood, CA
House of Blues
House of Blues
Holy mother of god....
That's about all I could think of when the frenzied whispers of "Steve Perry's here" spread through the crowd on Hollywood Boulevard today. When I finally caught a glimpse that proved the whispers were TRUE... I can't believe just how much I was shaking. I was in complete and utter shock. I kind of wandered away from the ceremony after he spoke babbling to myself... hell has truly frozen over. The best part -- not even the band knew he was coming until shortly before he arrived.
I was also in a mild panic. You see, we had invited the band to the Journey Past & Present luncheon, and that invitation was extended to former members. I was the one giving the welcome speech.... what if Perry showed up too?? Let's just say... BRAIN OVERLOAD!
Alas, it was not to be. The last anyone saw of Mr. Perry was signing a few autographs and taking pictures on Hollywood Boulevard -- delighting and amazing many fans. For the cynics among you Neal and Ross gave Steve a big hug and Steve Augeri shook his hand.
It was an incredible group of people in attendance -- truly past and present with both George Tickner (who is a very sweet man and was very honored) and Robert Fleischman joining Steve Smith, Aynsley Dunbar, and our current crew.
On to the concert.... mind blowing. The House of Blues is hotter than all hell, but I wasn't going to give up my spot in front of the stage for anything. The first guest appearance was from Robert Fleischman and Aynsley Dunbar on "Wheel in the Sky." Fleischman shared vocal duties with Augeri and it was a different take on a familiar song. He left, but Aynsley remained on the drums for "Lights."
THAT was followed by Steve Smith hopping on the kit (as Deen and Jim did the "we're not worthy" bow) and playing drums for "Walks Like a Lady," "Chain Reaction," and "Voodoo Chile/Gypsy Queen" -- all I can say is OH... MY... GOD... I've seen Smitty play many times before, but seeing him up there with Journey, well, that was just too good for words. Deen was looking on the whole time, obvious in his fan-dom too.
My brain is still on overload, and I probably have more to say, but after Jonathan handed me a rose out of the bouquet that had been sent, we guess, by Randy Jackson (who also sent along a taped message) I kind of short circuited.*
*We later learned that the rose bouquet had been sent by a fan who wanted to attend but was unable to join the festivities.
I have no set list to share, but it's pretty much the same as they've played all year, so no new surprises there. I will end with the observation that I couldn't believe how happy they all looked.... it was truly a night to remember.
What a day...
What a night..
Sunday, January 9, 2005
January 8, 2005: Jon Goes to the Dogs
Walnut Creek, CA
Dean Lesher Center for the Performing Arts
"Stars to the Rescue" Benefit for the Animal Rescue Foundation
Dean Lesher Center for the Performing Arts
"Stars to the Rescue" Benefit for the Animal Rescue Foundation
It was a dark and stormy night... well, okay, it was still daylight when I left the house and the rain had stopped for the moment, but it was a generally icky January day as I drove across the bay to catch a rare solo performance by Jonathan Cain. He was appearing at the 14th annual "Stars to the Rescue" show benefiting the Animal Rescue Foundation. The bill was eclectic with everything from ballet to country music to comedy to acoustic rock and roll.
I was at the show with one of my JPP partners in crime Leslie and her husband Todd, and we had very good seats in the center of the balcony. (Floor seats being a bit too pricey for our budgets.) We settled in to watch the first half of the show which opened with highlights of the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals season. Such things probably went over a bit better when ARF founder Tony LaRussa was the manager for the Oakland A's, but whoever put it together at least had the good sense not to feature any highlights that might have come at the expense of the San Francisco Giants. The show moved from there to a dance performance, country performer Julie Roberts, and a riotous performance by comedian Vicki Lawrence. The first half of the show ended with an acoustic performance by Kevin Cronin and Dave Amato who put a different spin on the familiar REO tunes.
Jon was to be the first performer up after intermission and the awards presentations to special ARF supporters. We stayed in our seats during intermission and watched as the crew brought out a grand piano for his performance (no, not The Whale, just a plain black Yamaha piano.) After the awards were given out, Tony LaRussa introduced Jon, and he came out on stage joined by a dozen girls from the San Ramon High School Choir. He opened his set with "Back to the Innocence" and then introduced a song he dedicated to "all the pet dogs that have passed" called "Man's Best Friend." During the song ARF volunteers came on stage with a number of dogs that are used in their Visiting Animals Program -- a program that brings dogs and cats to residents of assisted living centers. He followed that up with a medley of Journey tunes which were interesting to hear in slightly different arrangements than we are accustomed to. He closed out the 30-minute set with "Best of What I Got" backed by "The All-Star Band" that was used throughout the show.
Jon was followed by Anastasia Barzee, a Broadway actress, and the show closed with Vince Gill and Amy Grant. Not being a huge country fan, I was only vaguely familiar with their work (and Amy more so due to a cousin being a fan of hers) but they put on a fun, loose set backed by the All-Star Band. Vince Gill was particularly amusing saying he would have been a rocker "if I weren't so fat. Could you imagine my butt in spandex??" The highlight of their performance, however, was the Grammy-nominated song "It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long." It sounds like your stereotypical country tune, but is one of the funniest things I've heard in a very long time and the crowd loved it.
The show ended with all the performers returning to the stage and closing out the show with Vince Gill leading in a doubly appropriate performance of "Hound Dog" (Saturday would have been Elvis's 70th birthday.)
Jon's Set list:
Back to the Innocence
Man's Best Friend
Journey Medley:
-- Lights
-- Faithfully
-- Open Arms
-- Who's Crying Now
-- Separate Ways
-- Send Her My Love
-- When You Love a Woman
-- Don't Stop Believin'
Best of What I Got
Kevin Cronin/Dave Amato Set list:
Ridin' the Storm Out
Can't Fight This Feeling
Take it on the Run
Music Man
Roll with the Changes
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