Journey/Steve Perry

Hello folks
here is my comment and history about rock's greatest mysteries
and that is the band Journey. People remember the voice Steve Perry,
the band's most reclusive lead singer. Journey was aunqiue band that had
a bluest keyboard influence with the stinging guitar edge of group founder
Neal Schon.
The band was formed in 1973 by keyboardist Gregg Rolie and guitar prodigy
Neal Schon and had so many line-up changes in the 35 year career. They
started out as a jam band from San Francisco but in 1977 it all change when
their manager Herbie Herbert discovered a young man with a powerful tenor voice
and his name was Steve Perry.
The band scored hits like "Lights", "Anytime", "Open Arms", "Don't Stop Believin'"
"Separate Ways", "Only The Young", "After The Fall", the list goes on an on.

They use to be the biggest selling rock band of the late 1970's and early 1980's.
They were different kind of rock they were like the AOR type. They mixed hard rock with power ballads. Gregg Rolie , the group's founding member and keysman quits the
band and being replaced by Jonathan Cain who would write songs with Steve and Neal.
Neal Schon was one soulful player very fluid with clean notes and it reminded me
of what Clapton did or Terry Kath did.Jonathan Cain brought something fresh and new to the band's musical direction with the keyboard sound and followed by bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith a great rhythm section.
Steve Perry had been the dominant voice of the band and its spokesperson and he was also the most dissitent member of the band and had been the reluctant rock star.
But his vocals has been always identifiable to the journey sound and many singers were influenced by his crisp high tenor sound.
The band split -up in 1986 after Steve decided to not do any tours since he was
exhausted from the trappings of fame and fortune which made him very uncomfortable.
The band regrouped in 1996 only to be setback by Steve's injury from hiking as they were planning a comeback tour but it was not meant to be. Steve was gone for good and the band were tired of waiting for Steve and decided to get Steve Augeri for two records but later Neal Schon would find this guy from the Phillipines name Arnel Pineda on youtube. You notice how the power of the internet works in mysterious ways?
Arnel is a pretty good impersonation of the legendary voice of Journey but to many fans there will only be one Steve Perry.The old glory days of what it once was is now a thing of the past. and the new journey is a mere tribute band that is paying homage to their mercurila frontman who remains a recluse for the past 13 years.
I had foind memories of the band listening to them on WAPP or WNEW-FM in New York and the music videos from "Escape" and "Frontiers", those were magical times in the good old 1980's and that is what I will remember from thst band that was special to alot of fans.

Journey on the Midnight Special 1979

Journey doing "Don't Stop Believin" this was used in the finale of the Sopranos and James Durbin singing the song on American Idol and used in the Tv show
"Glee", Neal Schon is one motherf--ing guitar player

Journey "Separate Ways" live in Japan 1983 loe that Jonathan Cain on keys man into

"Anyway You Want It" 1980, the last work with founding member Gregg Rolie who would leave the band only to be replaced by Jonathan Cain

Randy Rhoads

Let's talk about legendary Ozzy guitar wiz Randy Rhoads. He was a true guitar genius

very classically trained since he was a classically influenced in his music with a bit of an

edge. He actually learned to play guitar at age 7 from his mom Dolores' guitar school .

A guitar prodigy who was a bit of Andres Segovia meets Mick Ronson of David Bowie fame both whom he wa influenced with the likes of Leslie West , Ritchie Blackmore, Mick Ronson and Jeff Beck along with the classical music in his home.Whether you are a fan of his music or a guitar historian no one can say that Randy Rhoads cause he doesn't. Look at the film footages and listen to how he plays. At least he was not a dull moment.

He was a shy quiet guy who can play like a beast and with grace and beauty. He maybe a

"heavy metal" guitarist but he was more than that. He may have a flash but he had soul and

cathartism in his music as he expressed it in his writing of his music and was very patient in

perfecting his style.He reminded of Mick Ronson guitar wise and visually, plus he looked like a drag queen.

Prior to joining former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne as his guitarist, he was a founding member of Quiet Riot, a power pop band in the LA area. His famous guitar solos like

"Crazy Train", "Mr Crowley", and "Over the Mountain" had this edge and can play fast and

he could have given his contemporaries like Eddie Van Halen and George Lynch a run for its money.When I first saw Randy I thought that was chick playing guitar. I mean he was so tiny and

frail but he was strong playing the fretboard like a monster. He loved playing the art of the instrumental whether its classical acoustic or electric. He pumped steroids on his Marshall amps

Randy was a phenomenom on top of that based on his interviews he was a humble guy and very

down to earth but when he was in the studio he was all business no fucking around. Randy accomplished alot during his brief 25 years of his life. Ozzy as a frontman was kind of gimmickry

and knows how to gie a show in the fashion of Alice Cooper.But I see an Ozzy show I see Randy

upstaging Ozzy with his fingers doing the talking. The performance at the palladium in NYC was one of the most memorable concerts , Randy outperformed Ozzy onstage and Ozzy was his typical showman though his singing was good great vocal harmony vocals but he does all these gimmicks and antics that is somewhat juvenile and cliche of what Alice Cooper did a while back.

At the time of his passing, Randy was planning to go back to school for music theory and make a classical guitar album who knows what he would have accomplished. Unfortunately, on March 19, 1982 we lost a true guitar hero since Jimi Hendrix in a tragic plane crash at age 25. He is a great influence to alot of guitar players and his legacy remains of his music on the first two albums "Blizzard Of Ozz" and "Diary Of A Madman".

Here is a clip from "After Hours" here is Ozzy with the late great Randy Rhoads with his most memorable guitar solo on "Crazy Train"

This one has a classically influenced guitar acoustic with a symphony sound with the London symphony recorded in 1981 and comes the dramatic sound with "Diary Of A Madman"

A song Randy wrote dedicated to his mom Dolores which is an instrumental acoustic song simply titled "Dee"

God bless you Randy

American Idol Season finale comment

Ok , this is my comment on American Idol
So far this season was the best and better than last year's season.
The talent was diversed and so awesome, there was country, R&B, pop and heavy metal and blues rock.I mean talk about great talent now we can focuse on that rather than
that loud obnoxious Brit name Simon. I don't miss him , guest what 29 million viewers saw the finale better than 23 million last year when it was time for Simon to leave. Steven Tyler and J-Lo as judges not bad they certainly brought the fun out of the show.
Well the finale was interesting everyone seems to be talking about J-lo's voluptuous physique as she was dancing her ass next to her hubby Mark Anthony. I am like Ok so what is this so you think you can dance or something? Weird. The highlight for me was not J-Lo's ass are you kidding me? it was the performances of James Durbin with his idols the legendary British heavy metal group Judas Priest fronted by the greatest rock voice of all time Rob Halford the Metal God performing "Living after Midnight" and "Breaking the Law" James can really do the high octave that Rob pioneered but Rob came on top . You can see the audience digging to the songs they did 31 years back. Guys you rock.

Here is James Durbin who was 4th in the show, singing along with Rob Halford and Judas Priest

Here is another metal god, this is Aerosmith frontman and AI judge Steven Tyler performing a 1973 Aerosmith classic written by the man himself and rocked the crowd and even J-lo and Randy was digging the classic rock anthem and the crowd were on their feet check it out

As for the two finalists I don't like these kids ,Scotty the winner of the show looks like Howdy Doody with a jihnn Cash voice and Lauren , the runner-up who many say sounds like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, she sings better than Ms Underwood but she still has a long ways to go as to her experience.

James Durbin will be the guy to watch on record sales he will outsell the two country cuties. He is my man. Haley is one rocker chic she has that Janis Joplin like voice. Well its those young 12 or 13 year olds who voted constantly. Anyway until next season I am looking forward to So You Think You Can Dance and X Factor that should be interesting.

Terry Kath/CTA

OK lets talk about the band Chicago and of course the group's founding guitarist, songwriter and singer Terry Kath

Terry Kath has been an unsung hero
He was one of the most gifted and underrated guitarist in rock history a
pioneering jazz rock guitarist who had influences of heavy rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix who became an big admirer of Kath, and jazz guitarists Joe Smith and
Wes Montgomery. He was a true natural genius when it came to his techical abilities.
People remember the 1970's pioneering jazz rock act Chicago formerly known as Chicago Transit Authority a band he formed with drummer Danny Seraphine and saxophonist Walt Parazaider in 1967 and score alot of number one hits and album sales of more than 100 million, man they should be in the rock n' roll hall of fame.

Kath learned his guitar techniques by playing the banjo his mom owned and he perfected his skills and was able to use wah wah and other gadgets in his arsenals to his guitar playing you can hear it on songs like "Poem 58", "Free Form Guitar"
a precursor to Van Halen's "Eruption" , "Uptown" , "In The Country"and "25 or 6 to 4" which he used his extended guitar solos that had jazz scales it was like having a jazz guitarist pumping steroids on his amplifier.He along with Harvey Mandel and Steve Hackett were pioneers for rock guitar in the finger tapping long before VH or Steve Vai even did this one. Kath rarely did this one in his later performances.

He was also a great songwriter with songs like the time signature Joe Eliis influenced song "Introduction" ,"Mississppi Delta City Blues", "In The Country",
the Randy Newman like acoustic number "Alma Mater" and the lists goes on and on.

His talents have been overshadowed by his tragic death which was an unfortunate event. The man was a better player than Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page put together, and he had this Ray Charles quality to his voice , He made the band looked and sounded cool on the classic rock radio stations. We will never forget his bluesy
baritone voice of "Make Me Smile" "Dialogue" and "Colour my World" to name a few.I prefer "Tell Me" that was his best vocal performance. Sadly during his lifetime he never got the respect or the recognition of his greatest talents as a great guitarist he was frst and foremost a great guitar player and I rank him in the top ten right above Clapton and Page but even with Stevie Ray Vaughan, technique wise.

He was one of a kind and what a great talent he was during his brief time in this planet. On January 23, 1978 old demons caught up with him when the legendary baritone voice and trail blazing guitar of Chicago was silenced for good as a result of an accidental gunshot wound.Although none of us can never change the tragedy but we will remember his music and the band he was in during those 11 years of gteat jazz rock . I never liked the incarnation of Chicago , it was interesting but it didn't feel like the band especially with Peter leaving abruptly and Danny getting canned by the guys.And I hated those power ballads they made them look wussy songs like "If You Leave Me Now" or "Hard to say I'm sorry" , sorry folks I hated those songs , I prefer "Feeling Stronger Every Day", "Free" or "Liberation" the rocker numbers than the ballads.Sorry if I offended fans of the power ballads i am being honest.The band was never the same after his passing.I saw him with my sister when I was a Child a while back as a nine year old. Man he was the bomb.Chris Pinnick was the closest to a Terry Kath. The other guitarists after Terry were good even Dawayne Biley but no one can be as good as a Terry Kath, there is only one Terry Kath and those are big shoes.

33 years have passed i truely believe that he and his band should be inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame, what is wrong with that darn committee. I hope and pray that terry along with Peter, Robert, Lee, Walt, Danny and Jimmy get their long overdue induction to the Rock n; Roll Hall Of Fame. I respect the survving members going out on the road playing their greatest hits but to me and other fans there will be one and that is the original guys that I mentioned. Gone are the large stadium or large arenas shows no longer the million selling records and hits they once did a while back.I prefer to remember them the way they were.

Terry Kath is still my hero and I love him like a mentor and I even play the guitar at Tribeca Bar for fun with a group of friends. I still have my Fender and i can still play "Uptown" or "In The country". Terry Allan Kath was one cool dude and a bigger than life personaility that is never forgotten. Anyway let';s check out Terry and the boys in action and you can see him finger tap during "Free Form" intro through Robert Lamm's "A Song for Richard and his Friends"

Chicago in their greatest concert film footage June 1972 in Budokan Hall , Japan

Terry and the guys playing his tribute to his idol Jimi
Hendrix "Oh Thank You Great Spirit"

Terry singing "Tell Me" 1972 written by Jimmy Guercio, we will never forget you dude we miss you and I wish you were here,

Oprah's finale

well today is Oprah Winfrey's Swan Song
I have been watching her show since 1986 and she was
second to Phil Donahue as one of the best talk show
host in TV history. We was smart and sassy and generous
to her viewers out there and she brought alot of joy and
creativity to her millions of fans who watched this TV legend.

As we say farewell to this TV legend after 25 years , We alos wish her
the best on her new venture whatever it is.

I hated those other shows like Jerry Springer and Maury Povitch for their sleaze TV
and has been very exploitive and I am so over those shows of throwing chairs and
audience members acting like such immature juveniles or bad drunks, and with the
paternity thing come on Maury and Jerry you can do better than that.

Oprah is such a classy lady and I forever will miss her humanity and her warmth to the topics she has given even with celebrities and controversial topics. She did it
with style and grace and for all of us who watch this TV Legend, all we can say is
may god bless you in all your new endeavors and look forward to your new project in hand and thanks for all the 25 years of joy.

You Go Sister.

Here is a clip to say farewell to this show and what a ride

Today

Today I just finished shopping at whole foods down in Tribeca
The place is so organic and very big and very peaceful
I have even learned how to cook new recipes while shopping there
after all I live alone. Its a beautiful place to visit.
Some of the things at whole foods is so organic and very special

I even bought some organic chips and Kashi to take care of myself.
They call it the disney land of supermarkets. Very much an organic
health foods store.

The people there ars so friendly even one couple from Australia who
just moved to our land . I love to shop there sometimes I get addicted to
buying whole foods. There is not enough drama queens there.

The culinary is so good there that I would recommend coming to Tribeca and shop
there and it is so quiet and peaceful.Well off to make artichoke and beef bourgagnion
Ciao

Whole Foods in Tribeca

The Beatles

OK, let's talk about the greatest rock band of all time
THE BEATLES
Yes, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr
four young Englishmen from an industrial British town of Liverpool
change the world with their body of work and their catchy and experimental
rock music that has touched alot of people's heart with their musical genius
especially with their groundbreaking studio work and their live performances that has got the screaming fans at their feet.
The songs created by Lennon and McCartney from "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold your Hand" saw an innocence of the band that was catchy and commercial that had a Buddy Holly and Elvis inflouence in their music and they came to the US at the height when President Kennedy was assassinated.
The band were at their best with songs lke "Help" and the experimental "Rubber Soul" and "Reolver" record which was the beginning of the band's greatness they were the precusor to their "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" record.
John Lennon was a genius in writing good experiemntal rock sounds as he teames up with Paul McCartney they have created a body of work that has been special .
There was a folk style of the Dyalnesque "You've Gotr to Hide your Love Away" to the pschedelic Indian influenced "Tomorrow Never Knows" and the dramatic "A Day In The Life".
The road was gettint to them and John's controversial comments that the beatles were more popular than Jesus which I kind of agree sorry to those religious freaks, I only agree based on album sales and ticket sales and they were the first stadium band, and have paved the way for rock bands to play in large arenas and stadiums, that even their music wasn't being heard since the screaming fans were out of control that they stopped touring altogether in August 1966 to be more a studio band and created great albums like "Sgt Pepper" "Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack", "The Beatles; White album", the soundtrack to "Let It Be' and the final studio album which I call it their masterpiece better than the overrated Sgt Pepper its "Abbey Road". Let's not forget George Harrison , the strong silent member of the band who has been the group's musical backbone with his great guitar playing and songwriting as he did with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun" and his playing in "Day Tripper" and "Get Back" made him a ital group backbone and Ringo Starr the greatest time keeping drummer who kept the backbeat. The band split -up in September 1969 but their music had an everlasting inpact on alot of artists and musicians out there.

The Beatles in their final tour 1966 perform "Day Tripper"

The fab four in their hippie moment playing a song of peace and love it's John's
"All You Need Is Love" recorded and filmed for the BBC-TV on June 25, 1967

The Beatles during their final years together at the Daid Frost Show performing
Paul's "Hey Jude" which is a song dedicated to John's son Julian filmed on July 17, 1968 on BBC-TV

Here is a clip of the song "The End" which is one of the final songs The Beatles ever recorded as a group a poignat farewell to a great group opf great musicians recorded in August 1969 in Abbey Road Studios. John can really wail on his guitar and joined by george and Paul doing their guitar parts as you can see the band in their final photoshoots together done by Linda McCartney at John's twickenhurst estate in Londonjust one month before their break-up, the song sums it all of the end of an era but the legacy continues. August 1969