Journey rescues vocalist from the Gap
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
 |
| When Steve Augeri, second from left, was asked to join Journey as lead singer, he was working as a Gap maintenance manager and assumed the call was a joke. Eventually the band prevailed. The other members of Journey are, from left, Ross Valory, Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo and Jonathan Cain.
Mark Weiss Journey 7:30 p.m. Saturday Blaisdell Arena $45, $55 877-750-4400 |
Something along the lines of the never-lose-sight-of-your-dreams mantra of "Don't Stop Believin' " crossed with the equally hokey the-strong-will-survive optimism of "Still They Ride," maybe.
No disrespect to endearingly humble, relentlessly upbeat nice guy Augeri. But his recounting of how a failed musician went from Manhattan-area maintenance manager for Gap to vocalizing "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' " for thousands of Journey fans every night is storytelling on the higher levels of gouda.
Journey returns to Honolulu Saturday for only the second time with seven-year veteran Augeri on lead pipes instead of Perry. The band played two Blaisdell Arena shows on its last O'ahu visit in October 2002.
Augeri, 45, struggled in the music business for years before seeing his career peak and bottom out virtually overnight with the release of his band Tall Stories' major-label debut in 1993. The disc's misfortune? Cruising into record stores with already hopelessly passe arena rock at the same time labelmate Pearl Jam was amassing larger sales and media attention for its burgeoning grunge-rock masterpiece "Ten."
Tall Stories was dropped from Epic, and a depressed Augeri quit music for a nine-to-five job changing light bulbs, painting fitting rooms and fixing doorknobs at 30 Manhattan Gap stores.
So when founding Journey guitarist Neal Schon phoned two years later with an invitation to audition for Steve Perry's spot in the band, Augeri naturally thought he was being punk'd by a family member who was strangely into that sort of thing.
"I didn't blow him off entirely. But I didn't say 'yes' either," said Augeri. "Ten minutes later, (keyboardist) Jonathan Cain called with the same rap. That's when it all started to sink in a little bit."
Depending on whom you believe, Steve Perry either quit Journey (Schon's story) or was kicked out (Perry's story) when health problems left him unable to tour in support of the band's 1996 disc "Trial By Fire." Schon's efforts to save the tour from financial ruin with a vocal doppelganger capable of matching Perry's stunning range led him back to an obscure New York-based band he'd first heard years earlier.
"The story Neal tells is that ... he was driving on the highway, heard a song on the radio that sounded like Journey and had to pull over because he couldn't recall recording it," said Augeri, laughing, about some rare and ultimately fateful airplay of his former band's music. A "Tall Stories" tape passed to Schon and Cain while they were looking for a Perry replacement in 1997 hastened a call to Augeri.
Though flattered, Augeri had a few reservations. Not the least of these: an invitation to join a rock supergroup because he could pretty much eerily match that band's much-loved ex-vocalist note for note.
"The context that I put it in was, 'Would I stand still for this if I was (a fan)?' " said Augeri. "And my answer was 'no.' "
Of course, Augeri took the job anyway. And seven years later, his confidence is finally kicking in as he faces longtime fans whose appreciation of his only Journey disc "Arrival" is a mere fraction of those desiring to hear "Faithfully" done, uh, faithfully.
"Each day, I try a little harder (to) try and rise to the occasion," said Augeri. "There are people still coming to see Journey that have never seen me. So I've got to go out there and win them over every single night."
Augeri said he refrains from precisely mimicking Perry's vocals or on-stage mannerisms in favor of bringing a bit of his own personality and vocal style — within reason, of course — to songs he had no hand in creating or making famous.
"The fans need to hear the songs. And it would be blasphemous if I did them any other way than 'Steve Perry-style,' " he explained.
And though he probably wouldn't greet the day with open arms, Augeri insisted he would be just fine if Perry decided to patch things up with his former bandmates and return to the fold. After all, Augeri has lived with that back-of-mind reality from the start of his tenure.
"If and when that day ever comes, I will gracefully and respectfully — though very sadly — take a step back, and thank each and every member of 'my gang' as well as Mr. Perry himself because they gave me the opportunity of a lifetime," said Augeri.
"They brought a boy out of retirement and gave me the gift of music again."
Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.
