Date: Fri 06-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Journey-Augeri-Schon-Perry

Full Text:

CONCERT REVIEW: Now It's Augeri & Co. On A Brand-New Journey

(with photo)

BY SHANNON HICKS

WALLINGFORD -- Steve Augeri may have broken into the big leagues, but his is

not a job to be too envious of quite yet.

Augeri is touring this year as the new lead singer for the rock band Journey,

a band that was formed over a quarter of a century ago. Although the band has

not been on tour for over a dozen years, its imprint on musical history was

cemented during the late 1970s and first half of the 1980s when the band, with

then-lead singer Steve Perry, released albums like Infinity, Evolution ,

Departure , Escape and Frontiers . These albums, and the singles that were

pulled from them, became international favorites for the band that filled

stadiums and found success in their multi-million selling albums.

Unfortunately for the band and its fans, the Eighties became a decade of

extremes, especially in temperaments. The band never officially broke up, but

it did take a hiatus from recording together and touring.

Following years of health problems, lead singer Steve Perry finally pulled out

of the band earlier this year, forcing Journey to locate a new voice.

The band is touring this fall without Mr Perry, who officially left the band

in May. Also gone is the drummer Steve Smith.

The new lead singer is Steve Augeri, formerly of the band Tall Stories; and

the new drummer is Dean Castranovo. Mr Castranovo is formerly of the band Bad

English, an Eighties conglomerate/"supergroup" which also included Neal Schon,

Journey's original guitarist; and Jonathan Cain, who joined Journey as

keyboardist in 1981. Journey's bassist continues to be Ross Valory, the only

other remaining original member besides Mr Schon.

The band performed in Connecticut on October 25, visiting the Oakdale Theatre

for a stop on its Vacation's Over World Tour. Interestingly, while ticket

prices seemed to be in the rafters (upwards of $50) for a band that is not on

the road to support a new album -- Journey has only one single, "Remember Me,"

from the soundtrack for the film Armageddon , with Mr Augeri on vocals -- by

the time the show started, there were very few seats left unused in the

theatre.

The audience age range was wide. There were certainly those who were die-hard

fans, who had listened to the band from its original inception (with original

lead singer and lyricist Robert Fleischman) and turned out regardless of the

singer. Others were more cursory listeners, who had heard the rumors that

Augeri sounded very much like Perry in voice and style.

There were even a few who apparently were unaware Perry was not on the road

with the band, but stuck around anyway to find out what the "new" Journey

sounded like. Pre-show anticipation to see the new singer was the big topic of

conversation between even strangers in the audience.

The band itself still sounds very much like Journey -- it is, after all, most

of the same musicians who have been touring and recording as a group for

years. Those who were looking forward to seeing and hearing the guitarist Neal

Schon were rewarded early on, when Mr Schon took off on a solo stint during

the song "Lights," and continued to play some of the music he recorded on his

own solo album.

While the band sounds very similar musically, changing a vocalist is the

biggest thing any band can do. While a new guitarist or drummer is going to

bring in his own playing style and some new tricks, the vocalist for most

bands is the strongest indication of a band's sound.

Mr Augeri's quandary, like any singer who must step into the shoes left behind

by a band's previous vocalist, is unenviable: Do you try to make old songs

your own, try to make the fans forget what they have been hearing for over two

decades, or do you try to replicate what the song's original singer presented?

Mr Augeri is a very talented singer, but to try to step into the shoes of

Steve Perry is not going to be easy. Just ask Sammy Hagar or Gary Cherone, the

men who became the second and third vocalists, respectively, for the band Van

Halen after the departure of original singer David Lee Roth. Neither men were

immediately accepted, but both have brought in their share of new fans, as has

the band during each vocalist's run as frontman.

Mr Perry, after all, was the vocalist that took Journey from a fledgling band

into the supergroup it eventually turned into. Fans are not going to forget

him, or his strong vocals, no matter how similar Mr Augeri's voice may be to

Mr Perry's.

While the reception for Mr Augeri during the concert at the Oakdale a few

weeks ago was a mixture of curiosity and politeness, his performance was good.

It just wasn't Steve Perry, and it's going to take a lot of work for the band,

and its followers, to become accustomed to the new Journey.