RollingStone: Q&A: Journey's Arnel Pineda

"I'm trying to fill up very, very big shoes"

ANDY GREENE Posted Oct 02, 2008 11:41 AM

In Issue 1062 Rolling Stone spoke to Arnel Pineda about what seems like the dream gig of a lifetime: going on tour with Journey after being plucked from obscurity when the band caught him singing "Faithfully" on YouTube. Here's more of our conversation with the 41-year-old Filipino vocalist, as he opens up about the hardships of the road and how he learned about landing the job.

How's the tour going? It's gotta be a blast playing to such gigantic crowds.

Yeah, it is, it is. For an Asian guy like me, to be in a band, you know it's so surreal. It's some sort of a miracle it happened to me. It changed my life, overnight. Everything hasn't sunk in yet.

Do you remember the first time you heard Journey's music?

Oh, I think I was 10 or 11 years old. I think the first song I learned about then was "Open Arms." Then when I got tired of listening to "Open Arms" I borrowed my friend's Journey album, Escape, and tried to listen to every song. Basically I learned "Stone in Love," "Don't Stop Believin'," "Who's Crying Now" — that album. Journey are very big in the Philippines.


Your old band the Zoo used to cover Journey, right?

Just once every six months. When me and my guitar player went back to the Philippines from Hong Kong to form the Zoo there was this guy who remembered me singing Journey songs in the Eighties. So he yelled out the song "Faithfully," so we [played it], and then they recorded it, and those were one of the videos that were uploaded on YouTube.

So how were you first contacted by Journey?

When Neal Schon discovered the videos on YouTube, he tried to find my friend's e-mail address, so he found it and he sent him an e-mail claiming that he's Mr. Neal Schon and he's from Journey and he's serious about getting me to San Francisco to try out as their frontman. When my friend forwarded the e-mail to me, I was just laughing. I just told him that this is one of the biggest jokes I have ever received from someone. "It's a hoax," I tell him. "You shouldn't believe it."

But my friend insisted that, "Why don't you just try replying? Maybe he's really Neal Schon." But I told him that Neal Schon is one of the biggest guitar players in the world. I don't think he will ever waste his time for me. But my friend is a very persistent guy. So I e-mailed Neal Schon back and after 10 minutes he called me. But then he had to convince me that he was really Neal Schon, because I was asking him about his identity.


What kind of questions?

Like, "Are you really Neal Schon?" I was trying to challenge him to go Webcam to Webcam conversation through Yahoo! Messenger, because I told him, "I know very well the face of Neal Schon. You have to show your face so I can believe you." And then he was laughing hard and he was telling me, "Believe me, my friend. This is Neal Schon and I'm serious about me offering you to audition for my band."

After a while I felt his sincerity, so I gave in and then we exchanged numbers and I told him that we just released an album in the Philippines and we have a manager so it may be a bit of a problem. So [he spoke to my manager] and then we had an agreement that they're gonna help me find a way to process my application for a visa to get to San Francisco, and the rest was history.

Tell me about first meeting the band and your first audition.

Well I was in awe. I was star-struck, because, you know, my God, in the flesh. Real life, real time, I get to see them, I get to shake their hands ... And I was very nervous. It was nerve-wracking because, for the first time, I'm gonna sing with one of the most popular, the best bands in the world. It was lots of tremendous mixed emotion.


How did they tell you that you had the job?

Mr. Neal Schon broke it to me, the good news. I was in a hotel, he picked me up, and then he told me. I was on my way downstairs and he told me, "You got the job, boy."


Can you explain to me the sensation of walking onstage in front of all those people for the first time?

It's very scary. I was so terrified. I was just very, very afraid. Two minutes before we hit the stage, I told them that I just want to back out. But Neal Schon told me, "No. It's too late now. You can't back out anymore." So there I go. He pushed me a little, like, kiddingly, "Go. Go. Sing for us."

And how's the tour been so far? Are you more comfortable onstage now?

I am quite comfortable with the stage now, but, for me, it's still a very grueling tour. I haven't done this before. I may have done an every-night gig in Hong Kong because I was there for almost 16 years, and in Manila, Philippines, I did gigs there. After the gig, you get to go home to the same place and same house, but here, it's like ... you know? You get to experience disrupted sleep ... You get to sleep a couple of hours in the bus and then they wake you up and then you need to try to sleep back in the hotel, and then they wake you up ... two o'clock in the afternoon to do sound check, and then you have to wait there until nine o'clock.

So it's very hectic. It's very stressful. It's a very, very challenging job. It's a fantastic job, but at the same time it's a curse. Trying to fill up very, very big shoes.


It has got to be fun, on tour, to be seeing the whole country, right?


Oh, I never get to enjoy them because, it's all buses, stage, microphone, hotel rooms. I never really get to go around and walk out and just see the place. I have off days, but I would prefer resting.


It has got to be lonely at times without your family.

It is. It is very, very sad. There are days I would break down and cry. But, you know. I just have to be man enough to face that this is a job I'm doing for my family. That's all the consolation that I'm getting. That's the only thought.

It's got to be fun to be onstage, though, and see all these huge crowds.

Yeah, it is. Of course. Until now ... I still feel I'm wondering, "Why am I here with these very famous guys onstage every night?" I'm still like, "Wow, this is not really happening." But it is, you know. It's a wonderful feeling, but at the same time, it's scary. I'm just trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

Do you think it's going to be done some day? Do you think maybe you'll quit if it's too much touring?

Well, I personally told Mr. Neal Schon that the only thing that will make me quit is if I get sick. If I can't do it anymore, then I just need to go. I guess that's the same reason Steve Perry bailed out.

The guys are good to me, so with that part I have no problem. But it's just with the tour. The schedule is so grueling for me. It's so new to me. Until now, my body hasn't really adjusted to all of these amazing things that have been happening.

But the tour is done in a few weeks, right?

It will be over around October 5th.


Then you go home, right?

Yeah, but only for a short time and then I think they're planning to go out again second week of November for another three-week tour and then, yeah, Christmas-time.


So is this not all the fun that you thought it would be?

When Neal Schon told me I had the gig I already thought how hard it was gonna be, the touring and everything. I knew then. That's why I told my manager back then, "I think I can't do this."

Right, but you're doing it.

Yeah. One day at a time.

Total Eclipse: Pink Floyd founder Richard Wright dies at 65

RICHARD WRIGHT (1943- 2008)


LONDON (Reuters) - Pink Floyd keyboard player and founding member Richard Wright died on Monday after a short battle with cancer, his spokesman said. He was 65.

Wright, guitarist Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason founded the band that became Pink Floyd in the 1960s when they were students. Pink Floyd went on to become one of the biggest names in rock.

"The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness, that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer," his spokesman said in a statement.

"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."

Wright co-wrote five songs on the record "Dark Side of the Moon" which was released in 1973, spent 14 years on the Billboard 200 album chart and is one of the best selling albums ever.

Wright left Pink Floyd after falling out with Waters during sessions for "The Wall." He rejoined the band in 1987.


Here are two songs that were part of the seminal album "The Dark Side of the Moon" although I took these songs from another album, "Delicate Sound of Thunder"--

Us and Them--




The Great Gig in the Sky--

David Gilmour wants to say "Gdansk You!"

There will be a one- night showing in select movie houses across North America of Pink Floyd original David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk concert. This will coincide with the release of the live album itself.

Here's more from his website...





David's next album is Live in Gdansk, a double live album plus concert DVD to be released on Monday 22nd September 2008 (Tuesday 23rd in North America; Wednesday 8th October in Japan).

The last concert on David's 2006 Summer Tour was held in front of 50,000 people at the shipyards in Gdańsk, Poland, at the request of the Gdańsk Foundation.

The creation of the Solidarity movement, after Lech Walesa's sacking from the shipyards, led directly to the dismantling of the Soviet Union's control over the former Eastern Bloc, and to the reunification of Germany.

The concert was the only occasion on which David performed the tour material with an orchestra, using the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who was responsible for the On An Island album's orchestral arrangements.

Other unique features of the show included the special 6-screen design, created by lightmeister Marc Brickman to allow each band member his own dedicated screen for the edification of the audience; the performance of A Great Day For Freedom with the orchestral arrangement of the late Michael Kamen, and a guest appearance by prominent Polish pianist Leszek Mozdzer, who reprised his piano part from A Pocketful Of Stones.

Live in Gdansk will be available in versions to fit every pocket. The 2-CD audio-only version represents the August 2006 concert from the Gdańsk Shipyard, featuring David and his stellar touring band plus a 40-strong orchestra. The final concert of the On An Island tour in front of 50,000 people, it can be seen as well as heard on the 3-disc version, which includes an extra concert DVD (114 minutes long) and Gdańsk Diary, a 37-minute filmed documentary. All of the show is included on the CDs, except for Wot's... Uh The Deal?, which does however make an appearance over the concert end-credits on the DVD.

There is also a 4-disc version, packaged, like the 2-disc and the 3-disc, in a carbon-neutral cardboard wallet, with a 12-page booklet including credits and concert photos, plus a 5-disc package, presented in a cardboard box with bonus collectable extras. The 4-disc version is the same as the 3-disc version, but with an additional DVD of live performances from the Mermaid Theatre, the AOL Sessions, and Abbey Road. It also has three brand-new tracks performed as live jams by David with Richard Wright, Steve DiStanislao and Guy Pratt, filmed in David's barn. In addition, it also has the whole On An Island album in 5.1 surround sound audio, on Dolby Digital or DTS format.

As if that wasn't enough, the 5-disc version has all of the aforementioned discs, plus an extra audio CD of live tracks recorded on the Summer 2006 tour, and a 24-page booklet, reproduction concert memorabilia and a 2-sided poster.

Finally, for vinyl junkies, the entire concert will be available in a box of LPs: 8 sides will be the concert, including Wot's... Uh The Deal?, while the 5th disc holds two Barn Jams, On The Turning Away live from Venice, and two songs from the Live From Abbey Road sessions. You also get a 'Webpass', which allows one complete download of the whole five discs in MP3 format to a computer of your choice.

Dust in the Wind

You used to tell me when I would admonish you about your drinking

that just like Edgar Allan Poe with his Amontillado, you need your beer

to summon the creative spirit from deep within you.

Yes, you were quite an artist albeit a temperamental one

everyday you pursued the muses, challenged the gods

and wrestled with the demons that came your way.

And this I can say--

You put up a good fight, laughed your heart out and enjoyed

Your Life…

Although in the end you succumbed to the frailties that made and unmade you.

Tonight, I will drink a bottle of beer in your honor

but instead of an Ice-cold San Miguel, I’ll toast a Michelob for you.

So, I say Kampai to you Akihiko!

My Japanese father AKI was born in autumn 2 years after the end of the Second World War and left in May, 18 summers ago to play chess and drink with his buddies in the great beyond.

He would have been 61 today.

(What's the Story?) Morning Glory?

Oasis' Noel Gallagher Attacked In Toronto!



Oasis’ Noel Gallagher was attacked on stage by a man who sneaked past security and charged at the unsuspecting guitarist and pushed him from behind wherein he fell hard onto his speakers.

The attack was done while the band is in the middle of the song Morning Glory and occurred in front of thousands of Canadian fans at the Virgin Festival on Monday night in Toronto.

Security immediately collared the attacker whisked him off the stage followed by members of the band back stage several seconds later. The concert was delayed for about 15 minutes before Oasis returned on stage to finish the set.

Afterwards, Mr. Gallagher was brought to the hospital for treatment where he was diagnosed to have suffered a broken rib. This was the second time that Mr. Gallagher was attacked while playing on stage. In 1994 a man also slipped past security and punched him in the face.

The attacker was later identified to be a 47- year old man named Daniel Sullivan who was brought to the police station but released pending his arraignment on assault charges on October 2, 2008.

Obviously Oasis’ Wonderwall once again failed them last night.

Wild Thing

In March 1967 at Finsbury Astoria in London, Jimi Hendrix lit a fire on his way to rock stardom. He literally and figuratively set his 1965 Fender Stratocaster afire onstage but he got burned in the process for his concert- ending stunt earned him a trip to the hospital for minor burnt injuries in his hands.

A lot had been said about that legendary night and the fate of his “Strat” went unheard of for decades until the nephew of Tony Garland, who was once Mr. Hendrix’s aide found the burnt guitar in his grandparents’ garage in England in 2007.

Today, that iconic guitar sold for $495,000 at an auction by the rock memorabilia firm, Fame Bureau and was bought by Daniel Boucher an American collector who plans to convert the guitar for right- hand playing so that he can play it himself. In case you don’t know it yet, the guitar god was a lefty.

Here’s a video of his US debut as the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival where his only other documented "guitar- burning” took place.

Masked Madness

Like every artist worth his music, the masked metal band from Iowa Slipknot dreams of being on top of of the Billboard pop charts for quite some time but never attained it.

Although they did come close twice in the past with the albums “Vol. 3 the Subliminal Verses” peaking at No. 2 in 2004 and “Iowa” landing at No. 3 in 2001, in the final counting they always end up short.

This time though they will not be denied as they achieved the feat and finally joined the elite group of chart toppers.

Their latest album “All Hope Is Gone” is now No.1 according to Billboard, and has sold 239, 516 copies on its first week to relegate the Game‘s “LAX” to number 2.

This time, the metal band won the battle over the rapper even by a mere 1,134 album sales.


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Sir Duke

Motown Superstar Stevie Wonder will receive the Gershwin Award for Popular song on February 29, 2009. He will be the second recipient of the award after Paul Simon in 2007 which is given by the Library of Congress to recognize a musician‘s lifetime of work.

James Billington of the Library of Congress in a statement said that, the prize is to “honor an artist whose work transcends musical styles to bring diverse listeners together and foster mutual understanding.”

Songs like "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "My Cherie Amour, ""Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours," "Superstition," and "I Just Called to say I Love You" have indeed transcend generations and endeared him to music lovers all over the world.