Jonathan Cain

Tue
07
Feb

Journey - Jonathan Cain (2001)

Categories: 
Interviews

 




 

 


Thank you for the call, I've been looking forward to talking to you for a while. How are things?
Things are good.

Excellent. You must be in a pretty buoyant mood, two weeks out from the Arrival release.
It feels a little anticlimactic with the Napster thing, you know, it kind of took a little of the shine off of it, but I think all in all, our fans are ready for it, and it's just nice to be surfacing with a new album and some new energy out there.

It's been about a 6 month drawn out process now hasn't it? How have you found that? It's pretty odd isn't it?
Well, I think you have to have some sort of launch today, and when you've been gone as long as we've been gone, and obviously we've made some changes, you have to be careful not to just drop it out in a crowd.
I think when our schedule release in October... it looked awfully crowded and it didn't look like the record company was ready, nor I think, did we have the kind of tour we wanted either. I think we have a summer crowd, you know, truly I think our fans like to go to concerts in the summer. So we're just catering to what our core audience seems to lean towards today, to be user friendly, you know.
They've really stuck with us through thick and thin, and it's a shame that a lot of them knew about the album, or were waiting for it. If you really wanted it you'd get it from Japan and so many people did, which was great. And so that's why we decided to come out with some new art work and put a couple of new songs on it. We actually paid for it out of our own pocket.

Did you really?
Yeah.

This is what, to keep it from the label or to keep hands on control over the songs?
It was sort of to give our fans something extra for waiting. You know, we've got a lot of respect for people that've stayed with us. I think that's the main thing, you know?

OK. Well the feedback I've heard is absolutely phenomenal.
Good.

It's almost universally in high praise, not only just acceptance but in high praise.
That's good. We felt like we were going in with a lot of stuff. I mean, Neal really got amped up there right in the 11th hour and really got inspired. It was pretty cool, he really got into it. I'm actually very proud of what he did as a writer; I think he's really stepped up a few notches as a songwriter on this album. I think he was great before, but I think he really came through with some great stuff.

Absolutely. There were a few preview tapes being handed out there by Sony in Europe wasn't there, which I created a bit of a fuss in the beginning there, as you know.
Yeah.

I hope I've been forgiven for that!
Yeah, what are you going to do, everybody makes mistakes!

Yeah, but the record, unfortunately, these preview tapes and the quality thereof and also the tracks that were missing don't actually give the depth to the album they deserve...
It's unfortunate that we have people like that, they get one track and that's it, you know, but there's so much music, that they don't really go any farther than that. It's really funny, you know, they haven't even listened to the album. So what are you going to do. If they have that kind of mentality, it's very difficult...and I think in the end they were just being cautious, but it's a little bit nervous. Probably the new singer and whatnot, so they were probably holding their cards close to their chest.

Tell me how the label in the US have been towards Steve and the recording.
Well, they've been very good, I have to say.
The label has been very generous. This latest commitment to the Direct TV special was really awesome. They came through with some big dough to tape the show in Vegas, you know, and that was really a sign for me that they're totally into this and they're in for the long term.
And when you look at any big corporation, you have to look at, what have they done for you lately, and lately they've done a lot. I have to say that I feel the love. <laugh>
I think we all do, we feel very grateful to be sitting on a Direct TV month long concert.
It came out great.

I hope somebody can do a VHS copy for me over there because I look forward to hearing that.
It's awesome, it really is.

And that's going to be the same print for the DVD isn't it?
Well the DVD is much longer. We have two hours, the DVD is two hours long, and this is only 87 minutes so we had to cut it short.

Do you have a DVD planned release date?
Not yet. I think we're still playing with it. We're going to wait and see. Who knows, Sony may just bomb it out there.

Just this week, or the last couple of days, you've come out with a great list of concert dates.
Yeah.

That's a pretty long tour for a 30 year old band or 20 year old band.
Yeah, but you know, we're up for it. It's worth it when you go out there and you're promoting your new album even though many people are rooted in the old stuff, this tour is going to be good because we're going to mix it up quite a bit and probably play a different set every night. We have so much to play, that we just decided that ala Springsteen, you know, we turned it around.
We did that in Japan, we had 7 shows and 7 different sets.

That makes it really interesting for the people who come the other nights.
We have a lot of return visitors I've noticed in the crowd.

You notice familiar faces out there?
Oh yeah. A lot of them will travel to six shows maybe over the summer, or five shows, as many as that. And certainly it's worth giving them...now we're down to 90 minutes because of Peter Frampton and John Waite so it's not going to be a 2 hour show. It'll be more brief, you know, so it's more important to spread it around a little bit.

Tell me, how did John Waite get on the bill? I'm so impressed, I'm a huge fan of John.
He's a friend of ours from way back and we just thought it made sense in a rock and roll history sort of way, and he's available. We knew he was out there traveling…we hadn't spoken to John in years, and we were kicking it around. Supposedly the Baby's re-issue that's coming out on One Way really got everybody kind of thinking about, Hey what about…and of course Bad English, and just the connection with our band. I think in a way we've come full circle, we really have. Journey has evolved back into a touring band and a rock band.
After the Central America, then it was just like, wow, people are very excited for the music. There was really an amazing welcome there. They were so excited, and it's good to have people interested. They were great, and it just made sense that if John was willing to come, we could have fun with it.
But certainly it's not one of the best slots to open up with the sun in your eyes and all that, but he's going to be a trooper, he's going to go out there and give it his all, and, you know, he's a very professional guy. When he gets onstage he's pretty awesome.

You guys have had a slight history of animosity; it's good to see that that's sort of disappeared.
Oh I've never really ever had animosity towards John. Nothing but respect, you know. Maybe that's been played up a lot, but John had to do what he had to do. We all got to do what we've got to do. In the face of a fight, whatever it is, whatever it is John was wrestling, during that time in his life, you just have to look at that as, that was then. But it doesn't erase what you do together.
What he and I have done together with the music we've made over the years, we both cherish. And I don't think he'll tell you any different. When you look at what the two of us accomplished in our brief encounter, we always came up with a winner, and we've always had some sort of radio action and critics response to what we did. He was going through a real chemical kind of time in his life where his brain was all wound up with whatever, that's just what you expect from those creative people, that's out of control, there's no breaks, just like his album.
He is kind of a no brakes guy, you know.

I have interviewed him and talked at some length and, yeah, he's a wonderful character. I really do enjoy talking to him.
Yeah, well, he's right out of David Copperfield.

Absolutely. I was going to say before, you said, "Coming full circle", that sounds like a good name for a song....
Actually I did one on my solo album.

That's what I was referring to!
You guys, you and John Waite, write some incredible tunes together. A lot of those, to this day, still remain unreleased. Do you think there's a chance they could see the light of day on a compilation or something?

I don't know. He was so weird about that. We have an album full of stuff we've written, and I know the bootlegs have gotten around. It's funny, I thought at least a couple of them would turn up, and that's why I did "Wish I Was There With You" because I thought, hey this is too good, you know.
And I can think off of the top of my head at least three other songs that are worthy of…but, I don't know, I think he's pretty fussy and picky about what he does these days. He figures, hey, that's then and this is now. It's all disposable, you know, to him. So unless he wants to put demos out, but he's too much of a perfectionist I think. Most singers are, especially great singers. He's just very much a perfectionist and I don't think he would want that so enjoy the demos while you've got them.

I have got some of them, but I'll tell you what, they're in pretty shoddy condition. They're like 27th hand copy generation or something.
I know. I've got it, but he'd probably kill me. I still have the DAT copies of a lot of the stuff we did. I wish I had more of the multi-tracks, because now with Pro-Tools we can do anything. They're all gone.
We didn't do anything on multi-track. We had a lot of those weird machines. They were kind of like a KY, 12 tracks or something, we did most of our demos on. Did you hear the Dr. Pepper commercial, The Baby's cut?

<Laughs> No.
It was a good one. We pulled that one out of the archives. It was the last thing we recorded as a band.

What a swan song.
Yeah right, but we had to pay the rent. That's how desperate we were. We just did it, you know, so we could get through the summer.

Wow. You know what. I was listening to a Westwood One, you know, they do their live recordings. It was a Westwood One box set from a Sammy Hagar concert, and the first major corporate commercial for the whole box set was a Coke commercial, and I said, "I swear I know that voice", and it was actually John Waite.
There you go.

Paying the rent.
He did the rent.

Exactly. Jon, are you going to do…back to the live sort of thing…are you going to, you know, there's talk of doing maybe some Babys or a Bad English sort of mini set or some songs.
The problem is time. Time is like an issue there because we have the fans there for a long time. I think a song or two would be nice. I imagine we could do a mystery song a night. We could work some up at sound check and then let it rip. I think that's what we'll probably end up doing. I don't know how exactly that's going to work out, but certainly we have to take advantage of that.

I remember John saying once, he thought you were such a tight band, that you were such a great live outfit, that he really regretted not recording a live album. Do you think anything like that might ever happen?
Which with what, The Baby's?

No, Bad English.
With Bad English? Oh man, I don't know, you know, the Bad English thing, it just kind of, you know, it was the end of that mainstream rock, you know.
It was a shame that we never did anything live; I mean, we should've; we could've, certainly, and I had some tapes that were pretty special, you know, that we had done at the Wharfield. I mean, if we had taken a truck into Wharfield and recorded, it would've been good, but there wasn't a lot of money. We spent a lot of money on the videos, there wasn't any, you know...we spent so much making those silly videos that there wasn't any cash to do that. So unless there was a reunion kind of thing where we go do a bunch of clubs, and Baby's and Bad English, in the same breath, you know.

That would be awesome.
Which could actually be fun, but it would have to be just for fun and somebody would have to be willing to promote it, and book it, all of that. It's just so expensive to tour, you know.

It is, absolutely.
I don't think it would sell any tickets.

Oh, come on!
No, I swear. Small theaters is a possibility, but then you have to have somebody to open up, and you gotta make people come. It's pretty tough, we've all got our own careers now and that would have to be something that a promoter would have to come to us with and say, "Hey, I really want to do this, what do you think."
I know a few crazy promoters that would probably go for it, but I'm gone so much with the Journey thing, which comes first; we've got to get the good time in while we can.

That's absolutely the priority, yep. I had a lot of response to a lot of things, one is the very positive response to The Baby's reissue. You must be glad to see that on CD in stores finally?
Yeah. It was great, it needed to happen. Is it out yet?

Yeah. Absolutely.
It's for sale?

Yeah.
How are they selling it?

The Baby's?
Yeah.

There's three albums on...
On the internet?

Yeah, I think it's actually through a subsidiary...it's in stores and everything.
Yeah, I thought it came out good, I did. I think they did a great job. I'm actually working on putting my album out with them too, a compilation of the best of the different releases that I have, so we're going to try and do that too.

Great. Now what releases would that take in? The Piano With a View and Body Language?
No, that would just basically be...because those are still out on Higher Octave.

That's what I thought.
Intersound went out and then the Swedish thing had some different songs so I did get to put an 18 song compilation together and we're working on trying to get a Jonathan Cain best of on the shelves that way.

Great. Any unreleased stuff on that maybe?
Yeah, I do. We're going to try to do a bonus CD so there's an extra five songs that are sort of polished demos that I've done.

Wow. Fantastic.
It should've been together by now, but it's taking forever, so I don't know if it is going to happen before these or not, but I got to talking with them and it seemed like a good thing to do with it since I don't have a label anymore.

That's led me into two separate questions, but I'll jump back one just quickly. The Baby's, there was apparently a few bonus tracks that could've been included, but someone or whoever, maybe yourself maybe someone else changed not to go with that.
Yeah. They weren't going to give us any money for them.

Oh, OK so you felt...
Yeah. About money.

That's all right.
Yeah, I had one song...I don't know if "Stick to Your Guns" made it or not, did it or not?

I'm not sure. I think it was a straight reissue of the exact album.
Yeah, that was it, it was over money I think. I have one with the extra tracks, you know. But the studio sessions one, no, there isn't any. Yeah, bonus tracks, "Stick to Your Guns" and the Dr. Pepper commercial, but see, this is a special thing they did just for us, so you guys don't have that.

No. We need to get that.
<laugh> Too bad.

Thanks.
Well, I mean that would be giving away a free track.

Yeah, for sure. They should give you a small royalty.
Well, they would have. If we would've put it out, you know, but...

Nothing up front eh?
I don't know, it was just one song and I wrote it anyway so... and I own the publishing, so I don't know what they're going on about. It was me singing actually.

Right.
Yeah, it was me. I did the lead vocal. I actually pulled it off the Union Jacks album in the final hour because it was one of those sort of dark songs that didn't quite fit with the feeling of Union Jack so it just seemed like a good thing to take it off, because it stuck out, it wasn't flowing well so it probably would still stick out, you know? "Hey, what's that?" Who knows, I may put it on my Best Of, you know?

Yeah, do it. Do it. Go on. Absolutely.
Put it on the Best Of Jonathan Cain and so people get to hear it.

Yeah. Throw it on there.
Well it's a terrific track by the band, they played great. It sounds a lot like Robin Trower actually. It's got that same smoky thing, and Wally played his Blues and Tony and Ricky played awesome. It's very, very sort of almost Bad Company I sent the song actually to Lynyrd Skynyrd just recently for consideration on their new record so maybe it'll turn up.

Good for you.
It's called "Stick To Your Guns".

Awesome.
Yeah, you know, twenty years later. Twenty-one years later.

Can you believe that? Twenty years.
Yeah, I'm an oldie but goody now.

Yeah, well I just turned 30 and everyone's calling me old, so. It's an amazing career isn't it?
Yeah. It's been great. There's really so much to be thankful for, you know, with the songs and the fans but I've been very lucky and fortunate over the years.

If I dare say so, it's a tribute to your songwriting.
Thanks,

Absolutely.
Well, it's what I love the most to do. It's great to be able to look back on it all and say "Wow", I mean it really started with John, you know, so he and I really...I joined the band and I was in awe of what he could do and he's really in my mind one of the guys that were important for opening the door, because he showed me integrity, he showed me style, and certainly in a rock and roll sense. And also how to live, and how to act, how to behave. How to be silly, you know? You need to learn the game, to learn the ropes from somebody, and he was kind of like the guy who showed me all the tricks.

That's awesome. Tell me, you were talking about bootlegs earlier and I don't even have a bad copy of it, but I'm absolutely losing sleep over it, because I hear there's an album of demos, or at least a selection of 10, 12, 15 or whatever, that you did with one of my favorite singers in the world, Eric Martin.
Yeah.

What was that for?
That was for publishing, our catalog. Eric was actually singing songs for my publishing company, Warner Chapel. And he was such a great singer that I'd pay him to sing these songs, and yeah, he did some beautiful demos for me. It's funny that you say that there's a bootleg of what he's done, because, yeah, he did great stuff and I have quite a bit of it.

I don't even know any one who's got a copy of it; I just heard the two of you had done something, and I thought, "Oh my God, this just sounds perfect."
It was good. Some of the songs were kind of silly, but a lot of them are legitimate pop songs. There wasn't a lot of rock on them, they were pretty much pop ditties, but some great ballads that he sang for me. I think they could still be hits, you know, but they're just sitting there in the Warner Chapel catalog getting old and dusty.

Shame on them, shame on them.
Yeah, right. And we never got any of them covered which was crazy; I think Eric sang them too good.

Yeah, isn't he an absolute gem of a singer.
Yeah, wait till you hear this stuff, it's like, "Ooh, now who would sing this."

Yeah, one day I'll get to hear it.
E-mail me your address and I'll see if I can get some archives for you.

Absolutely!
Well if you dig Eric you'd like some of this stuff cause I think there's like 5 songs, I don't even know if there's that many, I'd have to look. I just found an old copy of Allies, my original version, you know, and it's so funny because I did it on my little 4-track so it's all hissy and stuff but I must've scared somebody because I wrote it for the Frontiers album, and it never saw the light of day.
Steve Perry just refused to let me have a shot at it. We tried to do it as a duet, and it just wasn't his song, and it just sort of went down the wayside.
I'm glad that Heart got a hold of it and recorded it, but a lady just asked me for a copy of it so I went digging for it and actually found it so I'm going to have to see if I can de-hiss it and send it to her. It's funny, the sound of my voice and everything is very, very, intent, I can tell I was really on ten, you know.

I like the sound of your voice.
I did one song for the Journey album that didn't make the light of day either.

Oh did you really?
Yeah, it's really good, but it's not Journey. I wrote it with Eric Bazilian.

Oh God, I love Eric Bazilian; I can't believe that because you wrote "To Be Alive Again" with Eric didn't you?
Yeah, this is the other song from that session and that's one of the songs I'm going to try to include on my Best Of, you know. It's brilliant; it's really a cool tune.
I thought I could maybe get me a deal somewhere but wishful thinking.

I think you're both genius songwriters; I think Eric's brilliant.
Yeah, this is definitely Eric; the song is very sort of Celtic, you know. It's funny because when I got with him I just kind of got that vibe from him so I came in with the song the next day after we wrote "Alive Again" and we went to town on it, and it was some of the most fun I've had in a while, you know. We just got out there and I brought back this real funky piece. I've just done a baby band too I'm very excited about Nicole Murphy Lady Day here at the studio I just produced them, I'm trying to get them a deal now...that's exciting, some young blood.

So you take a producer helm them?
Well, I just did it here at the house. I liked their demo so I had them come up and I gave them a little more of a manly sound.

Great. Just to sidetrack quickly, I've got Eric Bazilian's solo album here.
It's brilliant isn't it.

Absolutely.
Some great stuff isn't it. There's some killer stuff on that record. He's worked very hard on it...I have a copy of it. It's a shame, you know, it's not getting any publicity.

Yeah, it's disappeared.
It's hard.

It is hard. I was going to say I'll send you a copy if you haven't got one.
No, I do have one, yeah. It's excellent, really, really good.

Fantastic. Another one of your solo works...I don't know anything about it, but I've got a CD-R of it here is Taine Cain.
Yeah.

That sounds old, if you don't mind me saying so.
Tiny Cain?

Tanne , T-A-I-N-E
Yeah, that was my ex-wife's that was old, that was 1979.

It sounds late 70's. Sorry to bring up you ex-wife there. <laughs>
I did that before I joined Journey. Actually right at the end of The Baby's I was making that record with Keith Olsen.

Oh, great producer.
Yeah, I made the record with Keith. There's some good songs on there.

It's a very sort of fairly pop rock album.
Yeah. She ended up getting a lot of action in Europe on that. She did very well in South America. She went over to France; they loved her over there. But she's a B-Movie queen now, you know?

Is she? <Laugh>
She's in all those soft porn movies. I've been gone from that for like 18 years or something. I've distanced myself from that.

We'll move right along from that one then.
Yeah <laughs>

Tell me then...favorite tracks off of Arrival?
I think "Higher Place" is awesome. Great performance from the band, great song from Neal and Jack. Even though I didn't write it, I gotta love it. And then I love "Signs of Life".

I love "Signs of Life"
Thanks. "Loved By You"

Yep.
It's a killer song.

A great Blues track.
Yeah. I like, of course, "Alive Again" is awesome, you know. And then, "Kiss Me Softly"; I didn't write that one, but really like it.

Great piano. You're playing in a higher octave sound there aren't you?
Yeah right, we went a little into that Sade kind of thing.

That great soft piano, it's beautiful.
"We Will Meet Again" is a cool track and nothing comes close... well you haven't heard the new song, but "Nothin' Comes Close (To Your Kiss)"; it's a pretty slammin' rock track.

Awesome.
You haven't heard it yet.

No, I can't wait. I'm going to have to wait for that one.
Yeah, it's one of the new ones. I just threw that one in there.

What did you think of "World Gone Wild", how did that one turn out?
It came out very good. It's one of those songs that just kicks butt. The ladies don't seem to get it but guys seem to. I know a record company guy that didn't like it, but it's all right, they get over it <laughs>, "The lads want it on."

Too bad.
Well we play it live and people are...it just kind of motors. It's one of those powerful...I think lyrically I really dig it. I think the lyrics and. actually it was an old lyric that we had had from some other...some other guy had the title and John and I were trying to write the darn song. We made a demo of it and nothing ever happened with it so I said, you know what, this will work. A good title. I keep titles, you know, in my notebook.

What about the new cover. Is that to distinguish it from the Japanese?
Yeah, it's very different. It's very sort of black and manly, you know. I don't think we have a black album, and we just thought that it is a departure from what we've done. Well actually there was...Departure had a little black in it I think, but this is very kind of statement like, you know, with our logo in the center. You can spot it from a mile away because it just stands out. You'll hear a Journey fan he'll go, "Hey, I don't have that." We tried to get visual with it. The other cover was a bit soft, the Japanese cover. We thought, maybe it'd get lost. You know, CD's are so small.

Yeah, aren't they.
And that's all you've got. You need something to stand out and jump out.

For sure. Tell me, I heard a rumor, or somebody e-mailed me a question, is there a different version for Best Buy stores?
Very good question.

I just heard...somebody E-mailed me and said there may be a different version with one extra track from Best Buy.
They might've done that. They might've put the Japanese song on. I don't know that to be true.

OK. I'll check that with Rindell.
Yeah, I know there's 15 on the new one, so that would be 16 if there was an extra track.

Steve Augeri. I talked to him last week. An absolute gem.
Yeah, a wonderful guy.

Could you have picked a better singer?
Yeah, I think he's the guy. One of the reasons why we're still moving, you know. I mean I don't think we would've been as successful on moving this thing forward if we hadn't met Steve. He was another guy who opened up the door for Neal and I. We were just like chomping at the bit and enter Steve, you know.

I remember talking to you at the time when you were sort of getting real shitty with Steve Perry just sitting around and waiting.
Yeah. It was a long time. It seemed a lot longer than 14 months, but that's a long time when you're waiting especially when you're going to tour and you had a platinum album. Fourteen months is a lot of sitting around when you had a big tour on the board.

Absolutely. I think Augeri is an absolute legend.
He's the guy that goes to the next plane, he's an ambassador that represents the legacy of what Journey's about. He's a great guy to have at the helm, you know. He's got the moxy. He's tough, and he's humble, and he's talented.
And he's funny too. He's always joking and doing his Marx brothers thing. He's just one of those guys that are very passionate and dedicated to his craft.

Was the studio atmosphere and was the whole thing much better for recording wise?
Yeah. We had a lot of fun. It was easy. And Kevin Shirley made it easy because he's a fun guy and we tried to keep it in a club house atmosphere.

I think the production on this is second to almost none as far as previous studio ones.
Yeah I think so too. I'm very happy with it once again. Kevin is quite a master at that. He was the link from the past.

Tell me. Have you spoken or heard from Steve Perry at all?
Have not. I'm not sure what we'd say to each other at this point, you know. He kind of said it on VH-1 on Behind the Music.

Yeah tell me about it.
I know he wishes we weren't doing this but we're doing it so...it's against what he really wants to happen but he's classy enough not to stand in our way. I have to give him that. He's very classy to stand back and let us move forward and not be pulling lawsuits and what not.
It could be much worse so we have to look at it from the good side of what he's allowing us to do in carrying on.

Yeah, you're not heading into a Styx or a Survivor type thing.
No. It's not like Creedence Clearwater where John Fogerty is suing for the 12th time. You'd think he'd just leave them alone, they're just making a living, you know, singing his songs. Selling records for him. So, yeah, but Steve got us there, the resolve on that was, it was all done business-like and very, leaving member with a lot of respect kind of situation.

That's good.
Yeah, we treat each other pretty good, and maybe some day we will talk, you know.

Do you think, if he walked back and said, "I'm ready to sing for the band and tour" and that stuff...
I don't even want to touch that. <laugh> No way. Can't go there. At this stage of the game, we're moving forward and I think Steve's moving forward with his life.
I don't even think he'd consider something like that.

I appreciate your answer there. I said the same thing to Neal, and he just kind of cracked up and said, "Get out of here".
Yeah, we ain't going there. It's true he's very, very proud and responsible for what he's about, so there's just no way he would even consider it.
Like I said, he and I when we talked, it was just like, you know, "OK well then carry on and don't expect anything to ever return the way it was," and there was no going back, just like I said in the interview on VH-1.
We wish him the best and if he gets out there again, then we wish the best for him, because he's also a big part of this thing. All those contributions are mightily regarded here at our camp. So we're not in the business of undoing anything that he's done and certainly we hold his contributions in the highest esteem if anything. We went to Central America and were playing "Lights" and they were all singing it, you know. We were carrying on his tradition and his contributions and his passion for what people love about Journey.
If anything, we keep his spirit alive in our own way.

Great stuff. Anything you want to add Jonathan to the fans.
Oh boy. I just want to thank them all for being so passionate and loyal in an age where loyalty seems to be crumbling. We seem to have some awfully staunch and dedicated fans and I think there's no greater rock and roll fan than a Journey fan, and honestly, I think they're right up there with Metallica fans.
They're die-hard and we owe a lot to them and to their interest and passion, and we thank them. That's why we do what we do, and why we're continuing to do it. The fans are certainly a big part of it and make it bearable and fun enough to be gone from your family for months on end. They're the fun part and they should know that that's how we feel about it. I know both Neal and I and the rest of the band can say that they make it really, really worth it every night. That's what we look forward to is getting to play that stuff and sort of coming together in maybe a spiritual way and having that celebration of music that we share in common.

Fantastic. Fantastic. Well I wish you the best of luck.
Thanks Andrew, yeah.

I'm sure you will, you're all seasoned pros.
Yeah, send me that E-mail and I'll see if I can dig up some old junk for you.

I would absolutely, totally…junk.
It's going to be all hissy and stinky, but you'll have it for posterity.

Fantastic. G'Day now. I appreciate your time, and it's great talking to you again.
OK Andrew. Carry on!

Thank you.
We appreciate what you're doing for our side of the business.

Most of the time <laughs> when I'm not causing shit storms or anything.
Well, yeah. Be a good boy now.

I will.
Keep me out of trouble, OK?

I will.
Otherwise, management will call me and go, "Do you know what you said." <laughs> No, I think I was pretty succinct in wrapping it up and certainly, yeah so… you've got to stir it up once in a while.

Fantastic.
Hey, did you see Behind the Music, the VH-1 thing?

No. We do have it here in Australia, but I have no idea how many months we are behind. I'm going to try to get someone, even Rindell said he might try and do a VHS for me.
Yeah, Rindell should send you one. You should see it, it's something.

I'd love to see it.
It's definitely something.

Especially that last three minutes. <laughs>
Oh, you heard about it?

Yeah, I heard about that.
Yeah, I was like…I think my mouth dropped. I wish somebody had a picture of me when I was watching. I was like, "What?" But see, I was the first one. They hit me with that and I didn't say anything to anybody.

Really?
I walked out of there and I think Ross was next and of course I had not said two words to anybody about what they spoke to me about because they wanted everybody to just be off the cuff, right?

Surprise, yeah.
Yeah. OK. Well take care then.

Thanks Jon, I appreciate your time.
All right. Bye, bye now.

G'Day now. Bye, bye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Tue
07
Feb

Journey - Jonathan Cain (1997)

Categories: 
Interviews
Despite many of you probably thinking this was going to be another routine Q and A, and considering that Jonathan had already stated there were things he 'Could not discuss', I think the interview you are about to read will surprise you.

Jonathan was quite open and honest with his answers, and I think let a few things slip over the course of the interview. At least, for once, we now know where things stand with one of the great bands of the era.


So how are things!
Oh, pretty good.

Journey is still regarded today as the cornerstone of the AOR genre.
People have said that, and we are flattered that people are still enjoying our music, and it's pretty cool that the records are continuing to do well.

Congratulations on Trial By Fire.
Yeah, we like that very much. It was kinda a labor of love. We just got together and wanted to do it the way we thought we should do it.
We thought there was a kind of a void there.

I think it's a great album.
Thanks.

Something I did notice about the album – everybody gets to shine somewhere.
Yeah, we tried to do that. We really thought about featuring everyone this time.
You know, everyone has played so much on their own, as solo artists, it seemed almost like we had to go that way.
And yeah, I don't think there were too many solos. There was a lot of guitar solos on this record, but Neal had a lot to pay.

They blended in so well. And you had a couple of fantastic keyboard/piano solos.
Thanks, yeah. We had a really good producer this time in Kevin Shirley.
He was stunning. He had a lot to do with the arrangements, and we worked hard with him.
We were done with the basics in about two and a half weeks. It was pretty amazing.
It was all live, we played live at the site. We had these isolation rooms for the drums, and guitars and keyboards even. But we could see each other and played live. Most of the record you hear is live.
The overdubs are just little things here and there. You know, like backing vocals and a lot of the vocals.
Steve kept some of the things we did live.

Disappointed you haven't been able to tour on the back of it?
Yeah, it's been frustrating for us. It's because of unforeseen events. Sort of like the hand of God comes down, and has hit Steve with arthritis in the hip and in the neck.

What actually happened to Steve?
Well, it (the arthritis) just really attacked him. And it has taken his hip and swollen it up and the joints and everything else.
So that's really it. He has gone for therapy to try to get better. To have surgery would really be ideal, but I don't think he's ready for it to go to that extreme.

That is pretty drastic.
Yeah, and you know, it's not getting better. It's like Eddie Van Halen needs it too.
The only way he will go out is with a real hip, so go figure.
If you really want to do it bad enough, you know, you get it done.
It has been over a year now, and he hasn't gone and got it done. And It's his body and we can't say anything about it.
It's frustrating for us, because we were sort of left at the alter with the dress on.

That's what I am hearing.
Yeah, frustrating, but it's an act of God, and what are we going to do.
We are just disappointed that we missed out on some great opportunities.
The album is just part of it. Just a small part of it.
We could have sold four times the amount of records. It came out, then nothing much happened.
We just didn't want to disappoint the fans. I think, number one is that we knew there were a lot of our friends waiting for us to come, and I think that is the most disappointing thing.

A major part of the e-mail and feedback I have received is why hasn't anyone been able to find out what's going on.
Well, he hasn't come forward. You know, we tried to get him to come forward with some television and talk about the problem and what he is going through. Just share it with everybody, tell the fans what's up and come out and sing a little bit. Sit on a stool or something, and tell people what's going on.
We had an opportunity to all these television programs and he passed on all of them, the American Music Awards and everything.
It was really sad.
We all wanted to do these things, but we couldn't. that's the end of that, and I don't know what we are going to do now.

That's the rest of the questions. What's next?
We are in limbo really. That's all I can tell you.
We are all doing solo projects, and you know, everyone is just moving on with their life.

It took me about 6 months just to get that out of Irving Azoff!
Everything has been really secretive.
Well, we have been waiting for something to resolve, and see what Steve should do. But you really can't force somebody to go that way.
There is enough pressure on him as it is. You know, the record company has put the pressure on him. We just leave him alone.
We feel sad for him, but jeez, what are you going to do?
It's his life, his body, his thing.
You go to a certain point, and go what do we do now?
We are going to have some meetings and so forth.
But there has been talk about possibly a live compilation from '81 to '87. Some of that stuff. The stuff the box set didn't get. There was a lot of neat stuff just sitting in the can. People have been asking about live Journey, so we thought we could do that.
Sort of put that out in the interim, and maybe we can come up with a plan.
That's probably what's going to happen next. We are moving towards that.
I don't know what else to tell you. It's frustrating.
I have another album coming out in Spring, that's a new age album.

Is that 'Songs In The Key Of The Heart'?
Yeah, actually we changed it. It's called 'For A Lifetime' and we are just fixing to get the cover ready.
It's a wedding album for lovers and so forth. There is an instrumental version of Open Arms, it's really tender kind of romantic piano music that I have collected over the years, for my friends.
I am playing at a wedding New Years Eve, for a friend of mine. I have been doing this for fun over the years, and have written a bunch of songs, and I thought it would be a lovely kind of souvenir to have out there.
So we are putting that out, that's going to be exciting. Neal's got something coming out, I think it's called 'Piranha Blues'. It is a combination of guys. It's Prairie Prince an Ross Valory and he's got a blues singer from LA.
I have just mixed that here at the studio, and that's going to be on his own label, or an Internet thing. And I am supposed to do another solo vocal album.

Great, I love 'Back To The Innocence'.
Thanks, it will kinda be like that. That is going to be on a little label called Mystic, distributed by BMG.
The Steve Smith is on the road with his new album. I haven't heard it yet, but I know it's probably really good. That's a jazz album. He's touring now with that.
I think that may be out or about to be released.
We have all been pretty busy really.

There sure is some talent in the band isn't there?!
Yea, it's a pretty good band! We just keep busy. I was trying to get a jazz tour together with Smith and Neal. But Neal wants to play the blues, so he is going to do that.
Then I will probably promote my wedding CD.
Actually South Africa wanted me to come and play, so I am not sure if I am going to do that.

That's almost as far away as Australia!
Yeah, that's a ways. I wanted to hit Australia. Maybe one of these days I will get a chance to get there.

Can I throw a big question at you? I have heard you may be looking for a new lead singer.
Is that right? You heard that already?

Yeah, I have.
That is unbelievable. You know, right now, we really can't say, because there is so much stuff up in the balance. And Steve hasn't really signed off yet. So until he really decides that he doesn't want to.
We still want Steve number 1, and we are just giving him a little bit of space here to see what he wants to do.
So that's really the truth, in the interim that's what we are doing.
We owe it to him and ourselves to give him a little space and check it out, and if he's into it, and really wants to come back.
And if he doesn't, we will face those consequences.

You will have to go on maybe?
Well, everybody has worked hard to make this band a success and we feel the music is powerful and has a lot of life left to it. I feel that, the band still feels that.
If the band sounded old and tired, it wouldn't even be a consideration, but the band sounds so darn good. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.
We'll see.
Ultimately, it will be Steve's choice to carry on or not with the band.
We are hoping that's what he decides to do. But it is something you don't want to rush.
That's funny that the rumors are out already.
At this stage in the game, we are hoping he changes his mind.

Okay Jonathan, thanks very much for taking the time out to talk.
Nice talking to you, take care and thanks for calling.

What I haven't printed here was a little side conversation where Jonathan asked if I had seen Kevin Chalfant's web site and did I know where he could find it.
Indeed I did, and have since passed to him Kevin's website and his e-mail address. Interesting!

 
Mon
05
Jun

Is NEAL SCHON'S JRNY Something To Watch For

Artist: 
Categories: 
News Feed
 
DIVORCE, GOD, MARRIAGE, PORN, SABOTAGE AND JEALOUSY....Just another day in Journey.
 
 
It seems something has broken the camel's back in the Journey camp, with Neal Schon filling social media today with cryptic talk of inner turmoil in the world of Journey.
 
Although officially the word is "No", something is definitely transpiring between founding member Neal Schon and long time keyboardist Jonathan Cain.
 
It appears that Jonathan's marriage to high profile Pastor Paula White in 2015 is the catalyst. It is the third marriage for both.
At the time Cain said: “She gave me the news that God loved me and wanted his son back. She spoke to the king in me and gave me new hope I could get right with God. The God I had hungered for, the Father I had been missing.”
 
White remains the personal minister to President Trump and chairs his Evangelical Advisory Board. She became the first woman ever to pray the invocation at a presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.
 
Of his recent Christian solo album Cain stated: “This is my love letter to God. It’s my thanks for the grace He gives me.”
 
Shortly after marrying, Cain was caught up in a controversy when addressing a congregation both were preaching to, when he suggested methods for wives to get to know what their husband’s like, saying: “figure it out. Get a book, get some porn, do something. If he likes to watch porn, watch porn with him, you know what I mean…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSi1yV0laeA
 
Now Neal has taken to Instagram and Twitter – under the recent new handle “Neal Schon’s JRNY” to post the following:
 
“Bringing it every night. I want to be elevated by whom I play with not feel like I've got cement shoes. If anyone is unhappy they are Not running My band then They should Leave. God has bigger plans.”
 
“Yes I've stated how I felt about mixing Religion and Politics and how our music is not of 1 religion - democratic or republican. This is and has been an issue with myself Mr Cain and his now wife since he married. I've had to fight this whole time to protect the Brand I built with Steve Perry way before Gregg and I picked Cain to replace himself when he wanted to retire from the road back then. Well frankly I'm tired of having to defend all by my self. Ross is no help. I continue to grow and be completely creative and want to take the band Neal Schon's JRNY on an exciting new trip musically. Yes we will always have all hits to play But there must be musical growth also. I also need to surround myself with people that care as I do. I'll never stop.”
 
“I've finally gotten to the point of Enough. Im a very patient person - so I've been told by many including Carlos Santana and he's said wow - How and Why do you do it ? I did it out of love but not receiving any back. They don't give a shit so now I don't either. Your skin becomes tough but it has to to endure ... bottom line I'll always be JRNY as it's been my baby from birth. Herbie and Steve Perry will tell you the same as he did at RRHOF  thank you Steve for the truth.”
 
“No worries. I will not cave about my beliefs or protecting Journey as I always have. I believe in God.”
 
Now a news item about the Woody Guthrie Center honouring Neal has been removed from all Google references and the originating news site, with Neal claiming jealousy and sabotage are at play. "Wow this national story has already been removed from google and channel 6 site here in Tulsa Oklahoma. This is totally criminal sabotage but it will not stop the actual ceremony tomorrow..."
 
As of right now a lot of fans are joining in the conversation to back Neal - an example of which is below.
 
Stay tuned for more…
 
 
 
 
 
Thu
30
Mar

JOURNEY: Gregg Rolie, Neal Schon, Steve Perry Reveal Hall Of Fame Career

Artist: 
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Categories: 
Podcasts & Radio
 
Dallas, TX - March 30, 2017.  North American syndicated Rock radio show and website IN THE STUDIO with Redbeard: The Stories Behind History’s Greatest Rock Bands maps out Journey’s long road to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a two-part, two week career-spanning radio special. 
 
From 1981 to 1986 the biggest band in America was Journey. This band from “the city by the bay” sold more than 30 million records in that short time. Millions of people have seen them perform live over years of nearly endless touring to this day. Journey songs became the soundtrack for a whole generation of fans “raised on radio” and for new generations of fans of TV shows like The Sopranos and Glee.  It’s hard to imagine anyone who has grown up in America over the last 40 years who has not been touched in some way by the music of Journey.
The musical Journey began in 1973 with two former members of Santana, Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon, looking to form an ambitious musical outfit to perform rock fusion and rule the live music circuit. There would be multiple member changes, but none more important than the addition of singer Steve Perry.  In Part 1 episode, Gregg, Neal and Steve speak with IN THE STUDIO producer and host Redbeard about the early incarnation of the band and the breakthrough success of their 1978 fourth album, Infinity.
 
“The real idea behind the band was ‘Let’s go play live’. We used to knock people out. In fact as (Journey’s manager) Herbie Herbert put it, we sold  more tickets than we did records then. People would come to see the band for the instrumentation and energy of it . It wasn’t following suit with anything else on the radio.”  - Gregg Rolie
 
“Everybody’s feeling at the time was, ‘Look, we’re all starving to death’, you know? And it’s time we gotta make a living at this or I was going to have to get a job selling ladies shoes or something. I wanted to play music and make a living at it.”  - Neal Schon
 
“I had no idea what I was in for. I really didn’tt realize what a real workhorse this band was until I’d say 178 shows later, that same tour, non stop. But I gotta tell you, I wouldn’t change one thing.”  -  Steve Perry
 
JOURNEY  Best Of  PART 1  /InTheStudio interview is available now to STREAM at:http://www.inthestudio.net/online-on-demand/journey-best-1/
Part 2 will be available next week at: http://www.inthestudio.net
 

 

 
Fri
24
Feb

In The Studio - THE BABYS

Artist: 
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Categories: 
Podcasts & Radio
 
February 23, 2017, Dallas, TX -  InTheStudio.NET, the web home for North American syndicated Rock radio show In The Studio with Redbeard: The Stories Behind History’s Greatest Rock Bands  takes a look at a late ‘70s contender, The Babys, with a candid conversation with singer John Waite and keyboardist Jonathan Cain on the 40th anniversary year of their first hit “Isn’t It Time?”

That first musically ambitious Top 15 single from the original band of Waite, Michael Corby, Tony Brock, and Wally Stocker created enough momentum for the British quartet to inspire The Babys’ breakout 1979 album Head First, which itself peaked at # 22 and produced another Top 15 hit single “Every Time I Think of You”.  But after 1980’s Union Jacks album, which delivered “Back on My Feet Again” and the infectious “Midnight Rendezvous”, the band stumbled figuratively and, in lead singer John Waite’s unfortunate case, quite literally. But how? John Waite and Jonathan Cain share with In The Studio host Redbeard their own personal recollections of life in rock’s neo-natal unit trying to grow in America as The Babys.

“We went on the road a lot... They (record company) wouldn’t let a day go by without us doing something. We’d play in the cafeteria of some college and then go play a major gig at night, or we’d fly to Japan the next morning after a major three week outing playing everywhere in America... It was a real whirlwind. It was a great time.” - John Waite

“There are a lot of reasons why we disbanded. I guess the biggest reason was the money, the past and all the (management) mistakes that were made... It was like a snowball rolling down a hill and there wasn’t really any stopping it.” - Jonathan Cain

THE BABYS @ 40 / InTheStudio interview program is available now to STREAM at: “http://www.inthestudio.net/online-only-interviews/babys-40th-anniversary...
 

 

 
Thu
10
Jul

JIMMY BARNES CELEBRATES 30 YEARS AS A SOLO ARTIST WITH 30/30 ANNIVERSARY RELEASE

Artist: 
Friday, August 29, 2014
Categories: 
News Feed
It’s the album of his career – literally.
 
To celebrate 30 years as a solo artist, Jimmy Barnes is revisiting some of his biggest hits, collaborating with some of his favourite artists; Keith Urban, The Living End, John Farnham, Bernard Fanning, Shihad, Tina Arena, Baby Animals and Jon Stevens plus more.
“I wanted to do something special for the 30th anniversary,” Jimmy explains. “There was talk of a tribute album, but that idea would have taken me out of the picture. So then I thought of a better idea – I’ll get all my favourite acts and sing with them!”
Jimmy re-visits ‘Good Times’ with Keith Urban, ‘I’d Die To Be With You Tonight’ with Diesel, and ‘Stand Up’ with his daughter Mahalia.
 
The album also includes brand new recordings of ‘Working Class Man’, which sees Jimmy reunited with the song’s writer, Journey’s Jonathan Cain, as well as ‘Ride The Night Away’, featuring the song’s co-writer Little Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band.
“We’ve actually kicked some new life into the songs,” Jimmy says. “I think when people hear the record, they will get the sense that these are very modern takes on these songs. They sound fresh and they sound new and they sound alive.”
The first single is a blistering version of ‘Lay Down Your Guns’, featuring The Living End. “We got into the studio and within four bars of playing the song I knew it was the right marriage of song and artist,” Jimmy says. “It was a rollercoaster from there – I just got on and enjoyed the ride. It was fantastic.”
 
Chris Cheney from The Living End recalls “We’ve recorded with Jimmy twice now and he’s really great to work with. No messing around, just get in and get it done! ‘Lay Down Your Guns’ was the first song I thought of when Jimmy asked up to be part of this project. I can remember going to see him at Rod Laver Arena in 1990 and this song kicked ass.  It’s way above my range as a singer but he still sings it in the original key. He just gets in there and nails it!”
The new recordings are brilliantly complemented by original versions selected from across 30 years of Jimmy Barnes hits.    Appropriately the 30/30 album will be available almost 30 years to the day from the release of Jimmy’s chart-topping debut solo album Bodyswerve in September 1984.

“Thirty years ago, I’d just left Cold Chisel,” Jimmy recalls. “It was a frightening prospect going out on my own. Luckily for me, I had a great ally, partner and sounding board in Michael Gudinski.”
Fast-forward 30 years and Jimmy is still recording for Liberation, part of Michael Gudinski’s Mushroom Group.

Jimmy Barnes has released 14 studio albums in the past 30 years.  Nine of those albums have reached number one – more than any other Australian artist.
Produced by Kevin Shirley (Cold Chisel, Silverchair, Aerosmith), the 30/30 album not only celebrates the phenomenal career to date of one of Australia’s foremost musicians but also illustrates Jimmy’s continuing relevance within the contemporary Australian music scene, both as a recording and a touring artist.

In celebration of his 30th Anniversary Jimmy Barnes will be embarking on a tour later this year, playing a select number of A Day On The Green wineries nationally, with full details to be announced soon.
 
The tracklisting includes:
 
1. Going Down Alone, Journey
2. Good Times, Keith Urban
3. I’d Die To Be With You Tonight, Diesel
4. Lay Down Your Guns, The Living End
5. Ride The Night Away, Little Steven (Van Zandt)
6. Stand Up, Mahalia Barnes and the Soul Mates
7. Time Will Tell, Baby Animals
8. Working Class Man, Jonathan Cain (Journey)
9. Still On Your Side, Bernard Fanning
10. I’d Rather Be Blind, Jon Stevens
11. When Your Love Is Gone, John Farnham
12. Love & Hate, Shihad
13. The Other Kind, Trot Cassar-Daley
14. Walk On, David Campbell
15. Stone Cold, Tina Arena
 
 
From jimmybarnes.com:
 
Hi all,

To celebrate 30 years as a solo artist, I’m releasing an album revisiting some of my biggest hits and collaborating with a whole swag of my favourite artists. I wanted to do something special for the 30th Anniversary and there was talk of a tribute album, but that would have taken me out of the picture. So I’ve thought of a better idea - I’ll get all my favourite acts and sing with them.
After 30 years and 14 studio albums I wanted to do something special while reflecting on the moments, songs and other artists who have shared the journey.
This album will see the likes of Keith Urban, The Living End, John Farnham, Bernard Fanning, Shihad, Tina Arena, Baby Animals, Jon Stevens, David Campbell, Mahalia Barnes sharing the mic with me and more to be announced in time.
You might have noticed some pictures of the studio sessions on my Facebook and Twitter page over the past six months. It’s been tough trying to keep the project a secret during this time, so it’s wonderful to be able to announce it this morning.
The album will be on shelves August 29 through Liberation, appropriately almost 30 years to the day from the release of my debut solo album Bodyswerve in September 1984.

In celebration of my 30th Anniversary I’ll be embarking on a tour later this year, playing a select number of A Day On The Green wineries nationally, with full details to be announced soon. 
I’ve got a few more exciting things up my sleeve for you all to be announced in due course, so stay tuned.
You can read all about the release in Kathy McCabe’s feature online here:
See it now!
 
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