Journey with lead singer Arnel Pineda performs at sold out Planet Hollywood Vegas concert March 8

Photos by Valerie Nerres

Las Vegas: March 8, 2008 — A new chapter in the legendary career of multi-Platinum rockers JOURNEY–Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums) and Arnel Pineda (vocals)—will begin on June 3 with the highly anticipated release of REVELATION, a three-disc CD and DVD package to be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores in North America after the recent sold out concert at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas with 9,000 fans (half of whom were asians) in attendance. The concert was a huge success will the DVD will be included in the upcoming REVELATION CD / DVD coming out in June.

The first disc will consist of 11 re-recorded classics, the second is filled with 11 new songs, and the third is a live, in-concert DVD. All of the music on REVELATION was produced by Kevin Shirley (who previously worked with JOURNEY on their Platinum-certified TRIAL BY FIRE album).

JOURNEY will take REVELATION on the U.S. concert trail later this July, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

On December 5, 2007, Pineda was announced as the lead singer of Journey. CNN Headline News ran the story as part of their “News to Me” segment.

Pineda debuted as the lead singer of Journey on February 21, 2008 at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival held at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile. Videos of the Vina del Mar performance are available at the Festival’s home page and on YouTube.

The band also performed at the Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo in Santiago on February 23rd (with Peter Frampton and Earth, Wind and Fire).

There was supposed to be a third concert at Viña del Mar Casino in Valparaíso on February 24th but this was cancelled due to electrical problems at the venue.

Chilean media acclaimed Pineda’s performance: “Journey made an outstanding show making clear that Pineda’s choice is the best choice to fill front-man’s position.” Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain described Pineda’s performance in a radio interview: “We went to Chile just recently, where we had never played and they went crazy, they absolutely went nuts…Arnel’s first show – talk about a stressful thing – we had a televised concert for 25 million people…Is the guy a winner? Yeah, he’s a winner. He’s a clutch player.”

Journey returned to the US for a private Remax Convention event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on March 6, 2008. Their concert in Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood on March 8, 2008 will be released on DVD in June.

Upcoming Tour and Album
Journey will next tour Europe in June. Three concerts are scheduled for Germany (June 11, 13 and 14) and one in the Netherlands (June 15). UK concerts are scheduled for June 17 (Carling Apollo Hammersmith – London), June 19 (Carling Apollo Manchester), June 20 (SECC Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow), June 22 (Wolverhampton Civic Hall), June 23 (Cardiff International Arena), and June 25 (National Stadium Dublin, Ireland). The official US tour begins on July 4 and continues through the end of September, 2008. In the closing months of 2008, Journey plans to tour Japan, Australia, and the Philippines.

Journey recently completed a new studio album called “Revelation” which is slated for release on June 3, 2008 in the US. The first disc will consist of 11 re-recorded classics, the second is filled with 11 new songs, and the third is a live, in-concert DVD. All of the music on “Revelation” was produced by Kevin Shirley (who previously worked with Journey on their Platinum-certified “Trial by Fire” album).

Jonathan Cain described the upcoming album in an interview: “We recorded our greatest hits with our brand new singer from the Philippines, Arnel Pineda, and it’s unbelievable when you listen to it. We paid a lot of attention to the details because everybody loves those hits and we weren’t about to step all over it. We’ve got that and a brand new CD as well, and then there’s a bonus DVD of what the band looks like now, about an hour of songs … It’s a 3-disc package … We’re excited because we think Arnel is the future for our franchise … We knew that if we were ever gonna move on, we had to get somebody that was really gonna be our future and sound like Journey is supposed to sound … I think Journey fans are in for a real treat.”

In an interview soon after Pineda joined the band, Neal Schon said, “We feel reborn. I think there’s a lot of chemistry between the five of us. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it’s escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone’s so stoked about it. We feel very fortunate to have found Arnel.”

In his online diary, Shirley described the recording sessions as “wonderful, successful, stupidly creative” and said that “Sometimes you just know when there’s history in the making.” In a statement on December 5, 2007, Shirley said “I was stunned at Arnel, who is a monster vocalist. He is the real deal. Just phenomenal.”

When speaking about the upcoming album in a later entry in his diary, he said: “Just got back from Vegas last night, after mixing seven new Journey songs. They are outstanding … For the record, I think Arnel is ‘the business!’ – the guy can really sing! He handles the ballads with SO much heart, and belts the rockers as hard, and melodically, as anyone I have heard. The songs are sensational – wonderfully crafted and deep, and so focused, you may wonder where they all came from. And I’m being serious ….” Shirley saw videos of Pineda’s debut performance at Viña del Mar and remarked that he was “so proud of him. He’s a real genuine guy.”

Ed’s note: Thank you to Amanda Cagan of ABC PR – Journey

Update: Ellen de Generes invites Arnel Pineda and Journey to guest at her show. Thank you DAN R for sending us the YouTube URL.

Last 5 Posts by Jay Fermin

• Ariana Varela Manibog crowned Miss Asia USA 2010 - August 25th, 2010
• 2010 Summer Solstice at the Playboy Mansion - July 10th, 2010
• Kobe Bryant, Gina Alexander and The Black Card Circle Foundation to Host Underprivileged Children at Kobe Bryant Basketball Academy - July 1st, 2010
• AS1 : Again - April 6th, 2010
• FASGI's Annual Award Presentation and Cocktail Reception - March 16th, 2010