May 2004: The Die-Hards

July 2014: As the 2004 touring season kicked off, I wrote the following article for JourneyDigest.com. The thoughts still hold true today despite the changes in the intervening 10 years.

Every band has a contingent of fans that seem to live and breathe with the life of the band. These are the fans who can tell you the tiniest bit of trivia relating to their favorite band. They know all the words to all the songs – even the alternate "B" side single released only in Mauritania. These are the ones who pull out all the stops to make sure they get to a concert for "just one more show." These fans are often referred to as The Die-Hards. They will only give up on their band when the band gives up on themselves (and often, not even then.)

Why is it then, that these same fans seem to be the harshest critics of the band they are so dedicated to? Why do the Die-Hards nit pick every little thing until there is nothing left but a yawning void? Last summer, we got to enjoy a triple bill of REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Journey, and since I am a fan of all three bands, I started checking out the mailing lists and message boards for REO and Styx to find out what people were saying about the tour. While I’ve long joked that Journey and Styx were the same band with different names due to the similar conflicted history of the bands (particularly their recent history), I was surprised to find that the fans were also the same people with different names. There was a post on one forum about the Kansas City stop on the Main Event tour, and the fan was saying how “off” Styx was that night – not up to their usual standard. I was at that concert and didn’t notice a thing wrong with the Styx set; to my ears it was perfect. I’ve also seen similar comments regarding REO Speedwagon – most specifically how Kevin Cronin’s voice isn’t what it used to be. To my ears, he sounded like he did on the songs I remember from the radio. So what gives?

This got me thinking about how I respond to a Journey show. Since 1998, I’ve seen the band over 40 times, and naturally there are some performances that were better than others, but do I respond with disappointment when the show doesn’t live up to what I expect it too? I can honestly say I’ve never walked away from a show disappointed – I enjoy the chance to see my favorite band too much to be disappointed – but I know I have left shows thinking it could have been better.

A casual fan isn’t likely to notice the subtle differences, primarily due to the fact that the casual fan isn’t likely to see more than one show a year or follow the tour via the Internet. They’re at the show to hear the music, period. They will go home either happy after a night out seeing a band they loved in their youth, or they will go home unhappy because the band didn’t live up to their memories of a different time. The Die-Hard, however, will notice that the transition from Song A to Song B wasn’t smooth, and the bass player seemed a bit “off,” and why oh why haven’t they changed the set list in 4 weeks?

What is it that makes the experience of the Die-Hard so different from the casual fan? My theory is that the Die-Hard is looking for a level of perfection that will never be reached. They are searching for the one true show – the one that plays ALL the songs they hold near and dear to their heart, the one where the band is performing on a separate plane of existence, where the venue, the vibe, the sun and the moon, and everything between heaven and earth converge for that one perfect moment in time. What the Die-Hard forgets is that these shows are rare, if they exist at all. What is forgotten is that compromises are a part of life, so for every fan that wants to hear “Edge of the Blade” there are 1000 that want to hear “Open Arms” so they can slow dance with their partner and flick their Bic.

It is often hard for the Die-Hard to recognize that in a crowd of 10,000 people there are perhaps 100 people who share the same deep passion so common among the Die-Hards. That’s 1% of the audience. If that number seems low, consider that as of March 30, 2004, there were 735 email addresses subscribed to the Journey Digest and 7992 user names subscribed at Back Talk. That’s a worldwide membership. Even if there were no duplication or double subscription, that number wouldn’t fill our 10,000-seat concert hall. When you scatter those people across the globe (with the overwhelming majority being concentrated in the United States) it’s not hard to imagine that 99% of the audience at a given show does not fall in to the Die-Hard category.

As we look ahead to the 2004 touring season, the Die-Hard fans can hope for some changes in the set list – new songs perhaps, or classics not played in a while – but we should not expect any radical changes. There will still be a set list made up of mostly tried and true songs that are familiar to the majority of fans. There will still be shows where we come away wanting more or thinking that a previous performance was better. Hopefully, however, we Die-Hards can learn something from the casual fans – that a night out seeing our favorite band is a treat in and of itself. It’s something that we’ve begun to take for granted since Journey went back on the road in 1998. We too often forget there was a twelve-year break when we couldn’t see this band perform, couldn’t hear “Open Arms” for the millionth time. At the end of every tour, I can’t help but wonder if maybe this year was the last year. One of these years I know it will be, and I don’t want to spend that time thinking “well, that wasn’t up to par” – I want to enjoy a night out listening to live music from a band that has been a part of my life for over 25 years. And perhaps in letting go of the hyper-criticism we will actually find we get the one true show of our dreams.

January 2004: Reviewing Raised on Radio

As a contributing author to the JourneyDigest.com website, I was asked to write a couple of album reviews. My first album reviews were for "Arrival" and "Escape" in 2000-2001. It would take another three years before I got around to writing another, this time for "Raised on Radio."

 

The year was 1986 and Journey was releasing their first album of new material in three years – a lifetime between albums at the time, particularly for a band that had released ten albums between 1975 and 1983. Raised on Radio brought a different band to the fans. Gone were founding member Ross Valory and long-time drummer Steve Smith, a move that all now agree was a huge mistake in the history of the band. Would the fans accept the new line up and new direction of the band? Steve Perry had just come off a major success with his first solo album Street Talk, and that success is reflected in the songs found on Raised on Radio and in the production credits – Steve Perry produced this project.

This is a difficult album to assess nearly 20 years later. It’s an album that evokes a lot of reaction from the fans – they either love it or loathe it with very few people taking a middle ground. Personally, I have many mixed emotions when it comes to this album. It brings back lots of memories, some of which I’d rather not recall. This album came out shortly before I graduated from high school, and I purchased it later that summer after much persuasion from my cousin. In my mind I’d “outgrown” Journey – a band I’d loved with a passion a few years before, but the timing was right. I needed a new Journey album that summer, and it helped heal some wounds from a personally trying year.

Now, listening to it in the twenty first century, my reaction is two fold. The first is that it is very dated in its sound – this is something very emblematic of the mid-1980s music scene and, unlike nearly all of their other records, just doesn’t hold up well with time. The second thing that hit me is where the heck is Neal?? Fans know that the recording of this album was very difficult (including a brief period of time when the master tapes were held by the federal government after a drug bust at the Plant Studios), and that is reflected in the songs. It is driven more by Jonathan’s keyboards than Neal’s guitar, and as much as I love Jon’s playing, Journey is a guitar driven band. Neal’s lack of presence on many of the tracks is glaring. Save for an extended solo on “Be Good to Yourself” and the crunching sounds of the title track, Neal’s playing seems almost an afterthought. A lack made all the more glaring in the wake of Valory and Smith’s departures. While Randy Jackson’s bass playing is adequate, though quite different from Ross’s, the drums on this album are seriously lacking. The saxophone on “Positive Touch” should never have been there – as much as I adore the saxophone, that solo should have been Neal’s. To take Neal out of the equation too is to change far too much of a well established band and their sound.

Does all of this make it a bad album? Not particularly. It’s not a great album in my opinion, but it’s not awful either. There are songs I still enjoy from it, despite the fact it is the least played Journey record in my collection (from the Steve Perry era.) Lyrically, the album is fairly depressing – something I found comforting back in 1986 – and reflects what was going on with Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain at the time. Both had recently ended long-term relationships.

Reviewing this album, I’m surprised I didn’t see the end of my favorite band was near at the time. For the first time, the songs are credited to individual publishing rather than Nightmare, Inc., the direction of the band was vastly different than it had been, and I had always thought Street Talk was a bad idea. That the Raised on Radio tour ended and the band faded into the night shouldn’t have taken me by surprise.

A quick review of the highlights and low-lights of this album: “Be Good to Yourself” was a long-time personal anthem for me, and while some may find it a bit pedestrian the message of the song is what always rings true to me. “I’ll Be Alright Without You” is another favorite, though perhaps a better live song with the additional vocal and bass line used in concert. “Why Can’t This Night Go on Forever” has the flavor of the familiar life-on-the-road theme that many earlier Journey songs contain. And forever burned in my memory is this song over the closing of the Raised on Radio special that aired in late 1987. On the other hand, the title track is a jumble of lyrics thrown together from song titles of the fifties and sixties – lazy song writing in my opinion. It’s a reaction to the growing power of MTV, one of the few marketing opportunities where Journey truly missed the boat (though the live-footage videos from this album are arguably the best the band ever put out in the MTV era.) “Girl Can’t Help It”, “Suzanne”, “Once You Love Somebody”, “Happy to Give”, and “It Could Have Been You” are essentially the same song lyrically (and throw in “I’ll Be Alright Without You”) if not musically. Ironically what I found so appealing about them in 1986 is what I find so annoying now – they’re just too damn depressing, even when they’re up-tempo. I want to shout get over it already!

In the end, the reason this album stays on my shelf more than any other is what it represents to me – the end of an era that is gone forever. They tried to recapture it ten years later with Trial By Fire, but it didn’t last. This album was the closing chapter of one era of this band. The new era wouldn’t begin for another 12 years.

January 15-18, 2004: Neal at NAMM

Anaheim, CA
Anaheim Convention Center and evnirons

Over the weekend of January 15-18, Cheryl, Leslie, and I went to Southern California to scout out hotels and restaurants in Hollywood for Journey Past & Present. We chose this weekend because it coincided with the 102nd NAMM show (a trade show for the International Music Products Association) in Anaheim that we wanted to check out as well. Although it is strictly an industry-only show, we were fortunate to obtain badges through connections made while planning the Bammies Walk of Fame event.

Cheryl arrived on Thursday and by a stroke of amazing good luck happened to run into Dennis Erokan (BAM Magazine and the Bammies Awards) at the hotel as she was leaving to catch the last hour of the trade show. Dennis was kind enough to offer her a VIP pass to the Guitar Player magazine party and show that evening which his daughter just happened to be coordinating. Once at the trade show, acting on a hunch based on what happened at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Cheryl went to the Gibson display area and found out that Neal would indeed be playing on Friday night at a Gibson Jam in Downtown Disney. Woo hoo! Wait until the rest of the gang hears about this!

Later that night while Cheryl was inside the Guitar Player party Roxanne from Back Talk, who is a music teacher and was at the show on official business, called Cheryl on her cell to say that Neal was right outside the venue. This was great news! Cheryl immediately grabbed Dennis Erokan and they rushed outside to see if they could convince Neal to come inside the party and play as a surprise special guest. After some pleading he finally agreed. Unbelievably, security would not let them in the show because it was too crowded! So unfortunately a wonderful opportunity was missed to have Neal play with Joe Satriani and several other well-known guitarists. The audience would have been thrilled by Neal’s appearance.

Not wanting to give up so easily, Dennis and Cheryl went back outside the show later and were able to persuade Neal to try again. They were able to get inside this time, but Neal choose not to play after all. He did take several pictures for Guitar Player magazine which hopefully will show up soon, possibly in the May issue.

When Leslie and I arrived on Friday, Cheryl informed us of Neal’s planned performance that night. Our original plan had been to see Steve Smith and Vital Information but he was scheduled to perform at the same time as Neal at a different venue. What a choice we had to make! Along with our partner in crime Roxanne, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to talk to Neal several more times at the trade show. On Friday morning we saw Neal outside the Gibson display area and we mentioned that Steve Smith was playing that night. Neal then asked if we could invite Smitty to his gig! We were all very excited at the prospect of seeing Neal and Smitty play together again after so many years. However, when we spoke to Smitty right before his show he told us that he would love to do it but because of his own performance he didn’t think he would be able to make it. As it turned out, the Gibson jam lasted so long Smitty probably could have been able to join them for a few songs near the end. What a treat that would have been! Barb (LAWoman) joined us to go to the Gibson jam, and we took a wild cab ride over to Downtown Disney and Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen where Neal was to play. With the help of Roxanne we were all able to get entrance into the show. When we arrived there were about 100 people in the room listening to an unsigned singer, JJ Appleton and his band, who were pretty good. This was followed by an awards presentation to store managers and sales reps for Monster Cable and Gibson. We were at a trade show event after all!

After the awards, guitarist Johnny A, took the stage. We couldn’t really see him through the crowd in front of us, but he sounded great. About 11:00 p.m. Neal was due up, so we left our seats to stand at the very front of the stage, which was about 6 inches off the floor and very small. We were standing so close the guitars and mic stands nearly hit us! Jeff Scott Soto and his band joined Neal on stage. They launched into a roaring 4-song set covering Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll”, Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, and two Journey tunes – “Separate Ways” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.” During “Separate Ways” a member of the audience got up on stage and took over the keyboard parts from the bass player who was trying to do both. “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” was one of the bluesiest renditions we have ever heard! The set was short, but full of energy and the audience was roaring for more.

When they finished their set, Neal gave his guitar to a 14-year-old prodigy, Nick Sterling, who was absolutely fantastic. He played a few covers for a while and made us all think that this must have been what Neal was like when he was jamming with Santana at that age. Johnny A was able to get on stage and join him, but Neal had a hard time getting his guitar back! At one point he stood in the back and pretended to play the keyboards!

Once Nick finally gave Neal his guitar back, Neal came out and jammed with Johnny A. That’s when the night got completely surreal. The two played for about 45 minutes just trading riffs back and forth, playing the guitars behind their backs and having a wildly great time. A third guitarist joined them about half way through and it was a contest to see who was the king of the stage. A very loose and fun performance with lots of joking around and “whatever he can do, I can do better.” What a treat for the fans.

When the show ended around 1 a.m., no one wanted to leave. After the show we talked to Neal for a while. He mentioned future plans with Jeff Scott Soto and possible new Journey music. It was definitely one unforgettable–and historic–night!

Tracey Downing joined us on Saturday night and we had a wonderful Mexican dinner as we people watched and listened to the music that surrounded us everywhere we went. Barb was not there that night, so most of the evening was spent on trying to find Neal to get him to autograph a painting Vincent had done of him for Barb's birthday in March. We literally had to grab Neal as he was leaving the hotel to get him to sign it on the fly. What a scene! It was a close call but we couldn't let Vincent down. Mission accomplished! We hope you liked it Barb. It was a group effort and a labor of love.

What a great weekend!!

October 4, 2003: Arrowfest

Irvine, CA
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Some birthdays are just better than others. Five years ago, I celebrated my 30th birthday by going insane and hopping a red-eye to Detroit and seeing Journey live for the very first time. Five years and 40-something road trips later, I was spending my birthday tooling down I-5 from the Bay Area to Irvine to catch the last show of the year for Journey. Not a bad way to celebrate.

Arrowfest was a day long concert put on by one of the LA area classic rock stations and featured a line up of Eddie Money, Cheap Trick, "Foreigner" (Lou Gramm and his band is more accurate), Yes, and Journey. Originally, I thought that the main acts started at 2:00 -- it wasn't until I got to So. Cal that I learned that Eddie Money wasn't scheduled to hit the stage until 4:00. Well, heck, that gave me a bit of extra time and I could watch the baseball playoffs. (Woulda been better if the concert had started earlier so I wouldn't have had to witness the complete and utter failure of my beloved Giants, but I digress...)

Cheryl, Rose, Tracey and I headed out to lunch before the show and then went and did battle with the parking lot at the amphitheater. Two words -- never again. The nimrods "directing" traffic kept directing us to places that were already FULL. So, after driving around in circles for 15 minutes, we parked about 10 days from the entrance and hiked up to the venue. Thus, we missed the first part of Eddie Money's set. It was enjoyable and he covered most of my favorite hits, so that was covered. Eddie was followed by Cheap Trick -- a band I am relatively unfamiliar with so I sat through their set watching the antics and puzzling over the on-stage chemistry. I was not overwhelmed by their set and Rick Nielsen's (sp?) changing guitars between every song was rather distracting.

"Foreigner" was up next, and as I mentioned above was really Lou Gramm and his band rather than Foreigner proper. But they did play mostly the hits. Lou sounded better than he did back in '99 when Forgeiner toured with Journey, but he looked much worse. Hopefully his health is good, because he didn't look it. I wound up missing the last part of their set due to a looooooooooooooooooooooooong line for the ladies room.

Yes hit the stage about 8:00 and I sat in my seat trying to figure out why they were on the bill with the other acts -- they just didn't fit. I had thought that when the bill was announced and their show solidified that opinion. Their musicianship was incredible (though they did have some problems with the low end sounds being a bit fuzzy, as had all the previous bands) but again this was a band I was only passingly familiar with and I just couldn't get into the set. (I actually began dozing off in my seat!) I caught Steve Augeri watching their set from the side of the stage -- very obviously enjoying what he was seeing. The most exciting part of their set was when security walked in to my row and started talking to some people about half way down the aisle. All of the sudden I look over and one of the security guys is falling back over the row in front of me. I jumped out of my seat (mercifully on the aisle) and into Rose's seat behind me and just in the nick of time -- the FIVE security guys were carrying out a woman who was kicking and punching and throwing an absolute fit. It took a while to subdue her and she was finally cuffed and carried out.

Once Yes ended it was time for yet another run out to find friends and fellow fans and to make a pit stop in the ladies room and grab something cold to drink. I paid for my drink and suddenly heard cheers coming from the amphitheater -- ACK the guys were taking the stage and I was on the complete OPPOSITE side from where my seat was. I made a mad dash back inside and got to my 2nd row orchestra seat in front of Jonathan just as the first verse of "Separate Ways" was starting. This is when the birthday started getting good -- Jonathan was in black leather pants.

The crowd for Journey was fantastic -- on their feet from the first note until the last as far as the eye could see. They were the only band to get this reaction. The guys were on fire. The sound problems that all the other bands had endured did NOT happen for our boys, and I was pleased. After another amazing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" by Neal, I got my next "present" -- the guys launched in to my favorite song from Arrival and current personal theme song "To Be Alive Again." WOO HOO!!! I had more or less expected that due to this being a multiple-band show that Journey would be playing the same kind of set they had for the Main Event featuring the Greatest Hits and no Arrival.

Two songs later, WHAM, another "present" -- Steve introduces Deen to sing and it's "Mother, Father," my all-time favorite. Since Deen's mic had cut out when he performed this at Konocti, it was the first time I got to hear him sing it in its entirety. Once again, my knees got weak and I was crying. That song will always get me every time, and Deen did an amazing job. I do need to remind them to post warning signs when this song is in the line-up so that I can be prepared with Kleenex.

The set went on and was just flawless. Jonathan dedicated "Feeling That Way" to his daughter Madison who was celebrating her 10th birthday. Madison and Liza and a whole crew of girls (including Liz Cain) came out on stage to do the "Na na"s in "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" -- that's some kind of birthday party!

After the show ended a group of us made our way back to the Doubletree Hotel (some of us getting more lost than the others -- "near the Spectrum Center" is not specific enough direction!) for one last drink and farewell until next year. Everyone was very sad that this was it for a while, but as I was making the six-hour drive back up I-5 today I was reminded just what a great blessing we've had. It's been another amazing summer, and we're looking forward to another one next year. That's pretty great. We've had 5 years of this band back on the road doing what they love to do and allowing the fans to enjoy incredible music. We've gotten to meet fellow fans from around the globe and we can throw the biggest and best parties. So instead of being sad about what's ended, be happy about what we've gotten to enjoy.

Until next time... we will meet again.

Set List:
(thanks to Jay since I forgot my pen and paper this time!)

Red 13 Intro
Separate Ways
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Star Spangled Banner (Neal's solo)
To Be Alive Again
Dixie Highway
Mother, Father
Lights
-- Jonathan's solo --
Open Arms
Precious Time
Feeling That Way
Anytime
Chain Reaction
Ask the Lonely
Don't Stop Believin'
Escape
Be Good to Yourself
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Encore:
Any Way You Want It
Faithfully

Oh.. P.S. -- on an amusing note, the chick from Journey's "Blind Date" episode was sitting in the row behind me (thanks again to Jay for identifying who she was, all I noticed was that she looked familiar!) Ladies and gentlemen, she is even scarier in person than she was on that gawdawful show. EEK!