Dateline:  Phoenix, AZ, July 24, 2011

Venue:      Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion

Capacity:  19,648 (including  lawn area)

Event Status: SOLD OUT!

Temp. at show time: 101F with sky threatening rain (and it did!)

House lights out: 21:03

In the past decade, I have attended several concerts by bands whose tenure has reached or exceeded some 30+ years: Journey, Chicago, Foreigner, Earth, Wind & Fire and a few others. These seasoned…

Forgive me if I wax poetic just a tad bit but, the band's recent trip around the world, as it were, has brought about a heightened awareness and majority acceptance of The Little Singer That Could.



For all intents and purposes AP's very first gig with Journey in Chile,

served to indemnify his status as an "international rock artist".

However, that show was the world's first taste of what many of us knew would

soon be the phenomenon he came to…

Everyone, it seems, is anxiously looking at their watches. It’s been 25 minutes since Heart took their final bow. Everything appears to be ready as the stage, packed with road crew members of both Heart and Journey and

teeming with activity just a few minutes ago, is now vacant and quiet. “Won’t

be long now” you overhear one person say as they and everyone else in

attendance is anticipating that feeling. That feeling that completely…

AUTHOR'S NOTE:I'll warn you ahead of time the following spew is deep. It's very profound.

It's an attempt to harness what the 'it' factor is about Journey. It's this

writer's theory based on what I know to be true about the human condition,…

Arnel’s Ironic Endeavor

The recent tabloid story regarding Journey's sacking of Arnel got me thinking about the potential "what if's" had the story been true. I thought about the

many, many ramifications such a move by Journey would have -

not only on them as a band but on their fans around the…

It seems there are as many “Best” lists as there are contenders for any given category. Drummers are no exception to the rule. And depending upon which list you

agree with, you may or not agree with the rankings. Those lists are subjective

with the results being derived from varying criteria, i.e., popularity,

influence, contributions, etc. Of the many lists I consulted in preparation for

this article, one thing remained almost…

The Present

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit … and you’re…

Journey's future and its entire legacy were hanging in the balance. Neal's next move would inevitably decide the success or the demise of one of the greatest bands in history. The

quagmire had resulted from the band having lost its lead singer 3 times in 10

years. Journey's catalog requires a very specific vocal dynamic which narrowed

the field of candidates for a replacement. Added to that is the…