Jeff Scott Soto has been formally announced as the new vocalist for Journey and Steve Augeri has stepped down after 8 years fronting the band. Here is the long awaited official press release from band management:
JOURNEY NAMES JEFF SCOTT SOTO OFFICIAL NEW LEAD SINGER
December 19, 2006 -- Jeff Scott Soto has been officially named the new lead singer of Journey. He had been filling in for Steve Augeri, who had to leave the U.S. tour with Def Leppard shortly after it began on June 23 due to illness.
“We are so grateful to Steve for all the years he dedicated to Journey,” says Journey in a joint statement. “We thank Steve for all his hard work and we wish him only the best in his future endeavors. Over the past few months, we've come to realize that Jeff has proven himself above and beyond that he can sing the hell out of our songs and we're happy to officially welcome him as part of the family. We're excited to start a new chapter with Jeff and we're excited about what the future may bring.”
Steve Augeri states: “Singing for Journey these last eight years have been the most challenging and the most rewarding of my career. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the band, and especially the fans, for the privilege of being part of a musical legacy that has touched so many hearts and souls. I wish my fellow bandmates success and happiness as they continue to make great music in the future, as I will strive to do the same myself.”
Jeff Soto also adds, “With delight & pleasure, I am accepting the offer to continue my tenure with Journey now as their permanent vocalist after the amazing past months we've spent together on tour. I also pay high respect to Steve Augeri for coming in and helping Journey continue their legacy for nearly the last decade and to Steve Perry for co-creating this legacy. I hope to now add and help drive Journey into the next stage of this band's future.”
Since Soto's first appearance with Journey on July 7 in Bristow, VA, his performances have been garnering rave reviews. To wit:
“Right off the bat, Journey's new lead singer is fantastic. Jeff Scott Soto is a supremely talented vocalist who handled with ease the many sky-high notes and the mile-long range in Journey's repertoire. Steve Perry fans have never gotten over the original lead singer's departure from the band, but I'm here to tell you this guy rocks the role. And yes, if you close your eyes he sounds just like Perry, but -- dare I say it? -- maybe even more passionate and full of verve. Hits such as 'I'll Be Alright Without You' and 'Wheel in the Sky' showcased his mighty voice.” --Lorilee Craker, Grand Rapids Press
“The one-time Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist channeled (Steve) Perry flawlessly, nailing all the high notes and then some…Soto's got it going on.” --Christopher John Treacy, Boston Herald
“Could Soto cut it? Yes. And then some. His vocals and stage presence were impressive.” --Dave Ferman, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
“Soto is a really strong vocalist, so instead of struggling to emulate (Steve) Perry's laser-beam vibrato, he can get away with a style that mixes grainy power with effortless key changes.” --Johnny Loftus, Metro Times Detroit
Steve Augeri is currently recording his debut solo album, In The Moment, due out the summer of 2007. He's also putting the finishing touches on the much-anticipated follow-up to the AOR classic Tall Stories album, launching early next year. For more info, visit http://www.steveaugeri.com.
Journey--Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Deen Castronovo (drums) and Jeff Scott Soto (vocals)—are currently mapping out plans for 2007.
Cool news-Soto is a great singer. Curious if they'll ever address the "singing to tapes" issues that Augeri had on the last tour. In any case many believe there is no Journey without Perry but Augeri did a good job and Soto is more of a rock singer and gives the band some edge. Don't know if a good studio album is left in these guys though because "Generations" was putrid. I wish Perry would just come back though if he ever leaves planet Zoltair.
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Perry claims to have needed hip surgery, but didn't make a decision for over a year. This hip thing came about just as the Trial By Fire album was being released in 1996.
Cain and Schon decided they wanted to tour and record as Journey in early 1998 and since no decision was forthcoming from Perry, they went their, ahem, "separate ways."
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From Wikipedia:
Quote:
Before the Trial By Fire tour, Perry suffered a hip injury mountain hiking in Hawaii and was unable to perform. He had a degenerative bone condition and would need a hip replacement. Perry was reluctant to jump into surgery and wanted to postpone the tour. Given an ultimatum by his bandmates, Perry opted to leave Journey permanently.
and
Quote:
Journey participated in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music in 2001, where Perry made the controversial statement that he "never really felt like part of the band."
So in a sense, he didn't leave Journey; they left him.
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Wow, to me despite Schon & Cain's talent no Perry = no Journey. They've actually been 3 different bands: pre Perry (they were just on the edge of being prog), Perry & post Perry.
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Before the Trial By Fire tour, Perry suffered a hip injury mountain hiking in Hawaii and was unable to perform. He had a degenerative bone condition and would need a hip replacement. Perry was reluctant to jump into surgery and wanted to postpone the tour. Given an ultimatum by his bandmates, Perry opted to leave Journey permanently.
and
Quote:
Journey participated in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music in 2001, where Perry made the controversial statement that he "never really felt like part of the band."
So in a sense, he didn't leave Journey; they left him.
Journey's former manager Herbie Herbert has a different take on Steve Perry's time in the band. I would advise Journey fans to check out Herbert's interview at this website:
I think that Schon and Cain were tired of putting up with Perry over the years and waiting for well over a year for him to make a decision about whether or not he was going to have the hip operation.
It's a similar situation as to what would happen between Dennis DeYoung and Styx when he told them he couldn't tour behind the album they'd just recorded (1999's Brave New World) because he was sensitive to light and was told he couldn't be outside for long periods of time. They had also put up with a lot from him as well, so Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung fired him.
After you read Herbie Herbert's comments about Perry, his comment about having "never really felt like part of the band." comes off as a bit disingenuous.
It's too bad about Aguireri. I had the opportunity to meet him back in 2001, and he was quite gracious with us after a show we attended. The rest of the band seemed like they didn't want to be there at the meet and greet.
I also met Dennis DeYoung last year, and the eye problem he was having continues. After the show he signed autographs, but requested we not take pictures since the flash causes him discomfort.
A friend of mine went to see Journey / Def Leppard a couple of months back. Now she's a huge fan of both, but was mainly excited about seeing Def Lep. She's not so big on Journey like she used to be because she loves the Steve Perry era.
Anyway, I expected to hear about how great Def Lep was, but the surprise was that she was blown away by Journey with Soto as vocalist. She felt he had a better stage presence, sang great and had a great chemistry with Schon, Cain, Valory and Castronovo.
They tended to favor the more rocking Journey songs with Soto on vocals, so maybe this bodes well for the next Journey album.
I will have to check out Soul Sirkus (the Soto//Schon/Castronovo/Marco Mendoza side project) album. Maybe get a taste of what Journey's next album will be like.
They tended to favor the more rocking Journey songs with Soto on vocals, so maybe this bodes well for the next Journey album.
I will have to check out Soul Sirkus (the Soto//Schon/Castronovo/Marco Mendoza side project) album. Maybe get a taste of what Journey's next album will be like.
Anything at this point HAS to be better than "Generations". Yeesh, what a stinker that one was!...
It's too bad about Aguireri. I had the opportunity to meet him back in 2001, and he was quite gracious with us after a show we attended. The rest of the band seemed like they didn't want to be there at the meet and greet.
I also met Dennis DeYoung last year, and the eye problem he was having continues. After the show he signed autographs, but requested we not take pictures since the flash causes him discomfort.
I met Styx around 1976 when Tommy Shaw first joined. I was interviewing them for a college radio station. That night (all I have to go on) Shaw was really pleasent which I unfortunately couldn't say for the other band members.
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I met Styx around 1976 when Tommy Shaw first joined. I was interviewing them for a college radio station. That night (all I have to go on) Shaw was really pleasent which I unfortunately couldn't say for the other band members.
That doesn't surprise me as far as DeYoung is concerned. One of my college roommates went to school with his daughter; he referred to Dennis as a "pompous ass."
Press Release / June 12, 2007 -- Journey has parted ways with their recently named lead singer Jeff Scott Soto. Jeff s first appearance with Journey was July 7, 2006 in Bristow, VA. He had been filling in for Steve Augeri, who had to leave the tour shortly after it began on June 23 due to illness. Jeff s last performance was May 12, 2007 in Leesburg, VA.
According to guitarist Neal Schon, "We appreciate all of Jeff s hard work and we can t thank him enough for stepping in when Steve Augeri got sick last year. He did a tremendous job for us and we wish him the best. We've just decided to go our separate ways, no pun intended. We re plotting our next move now."
Keyboardist Jonathan Cain continues, We were lucky to have a friend who was already a Journey fan step in on a moment s notice during the Def Leppard tour to help us out. Jeff was always the consummate professional and we hope that he remains a friend of the band in the future. We just felt it was time to go in a different direction.
Journey--Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards) and Deen Castronovo (drums) is taking the rest of 2007 off to spend time with their families, write new songs and map out plans for 2008.
Comment from me? Where does one start? Right now I am too disappointed to comment, but I guess Neal and Jon have a different vision for Journey than that of Jeff Scott Soto.
And no...Steve Perry is not returning to the band.
for goodness sakes, just make up with steve perry, do an album, go on tour and make a gazillion dollars.
it's just that easy.
renny
And do the tour as a double bill with Styx after they bring back Dennis De Young. Now that is one double bill I would pay big bucks to see. Add in Kansas and you have three of the best voices in Rock; hands down.
_________________ "Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, teach gym." Woody Allen
for goodness sakes, just make up with steve perry, do an album, go on tour and make a gazillion dollars.
it's just that easy.
renny
And do the tour as a double bill with Styx after they bring back Dennis De Young. Now that is one double bill I would pay big bucks to see. Add in Kansas and you have three of the best voices in Rock; hands down.
Not gonna happen. I just signed on as the new lead singer of Journey! God, I'm so excited!! I feel honored to be walking in the footsteps of the legendary-- What??
for goodness sakes, just make up with steve perry, do an album, go on tour and make a gazillion dollars.
it's just that easy.
renny
And do the tour as a double bill with Styx after they bring back Dennis De Young. Now that is one double bill I would pay big bucks to see. Add in Kansas and you have three of the best voices in Rock; hands down.
Not gonna happen. I just signed on as the new lead singer of Journey! God, I'm so excited!! I feel honored to be walking in the footsteps of the legendary-- What??
Um, never mind. Neal Schon just fired me.
Well if he didn't we were going to start a petition. Can you collect unemployment? Might be some good change.
_________________ "Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, teach gym." Woody Allen
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