Saturday, September 27, 2008

Journeyman

In a blog posting from the future (apparently October 2nd), Rolling Stone reports comments by Arnel Pineda. Pineda is currently the lead singer of Journey in the same way that Sarah Palin in a vice presidential candidate, and not enjoying the experience:

"It's very, very sad," he says. "There are days I just break down and cry. This is a job I'm doing for my family. That's all the consolation I'm getting." Traveling around America isn't what he expected. "It's all buses, stage, microphone," he says. "I never really get to go around and walk. They wake me up for soundcheck, then I wait until the show at nine. It's a fantastic job, but at the same time it's a curse. . . . I told Neal that the only thing that will make me quit this is if I get sick. I guess that's the same reason Steve Perry bailed out."

Oops. It seems someone has taken Pineda to one side, and pointed out that it's not for the hired hands to issue complaints to all and sundry. I don't know for a fact that there was a dressing down using the words "hundreds of people who could do the singing" or "and I could put you back down too", but you'd have to believe there was reading his retraction of said comments - apparently they were taken "out of context" and "exaggerated".

The United Nations is believed to be arranging an observer to check on conditions for lead singers in stadium bands.


4 comments:

Olive said...

It's all buses, stage, microphone," he says.

Er, Arnel, you're singing in a band. On tour. You must've expected a certain amount of buses, stages and microphones to be involved.

Anonymous said...

Er, Olive, he knows that. He's just underlining how he feels. After all, isn't it just human, to miss the people you love. If you have to be away from them for certain amount of time.
Joy from Boston

Anonymous said...

I totally understood what he meant. And it is true that his statements where really taken out of context. For he has been repeating these same things on Philippine media interviews (both print and video). They always showed or printed the whole interview. He's always been saying, that how he became the frontman of Journey is both a blessing and a curse. A curse, since the whole country Philippines and Journey is now depending on him to do well. While the whole world looks on. And at the same time he's going to be away from his family and people he loves for a long time. A blessing, for obvious reasons from his humble beginnings. And that it is simply his dream job, that he is so happy about it.
This is what he keeps on saying and RS did really cut most of his interview with them, I guess. If you don't believe me, try searching for articles in Philippine magazines and newspapers on google. Or even search, his interviews on youtube.
Mostly some are spoken in tagalog, but it is clear about his saying a blessing and a curse. And by the way, Joy is right. Who doesn't miss loved ones when you are away for a long time.
Tonnie

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

@Tonnie
I'm not quite sure why you think Rolling Stone took his comments out of context - they edited them down, certainly, but they left in him describing it as a blessing as well as a curse, and the big chunk about him having an "ear-to-ear" grin every night. His real beef seems to be less being misquoted as having said something he regrets, and is trying to claim that that's misquoting. Which is a little pathetic, to be honest.

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