Welcome to the ARNEL PINEDA International Fans Site

I looked at most for two or three days, and right at the point where I was so frustrated, not finding what I was looking for, I was about to throw up my arms saying this is going to be impossible, I stumbled across a clip of Arnel (Pineda),” Schon said in a recent phone interview. “Then I went to his site and saw that he had 40 different video clips of him doing everybody. He was doing Zeppelin, he was doing Sting, he was doing Heart, he was doing Journey, he was doing Aerosmith, which is not an easy voice to do — and very well, all of them.”

Instead of being elated at his good fortune, Schon was skeptical.

“I just went ‘That’s too good,’” Schon said. “So I just got up and went ‘I’ve got to get out of here. I think I’m listening to stuff and it sounds much better than it really is.’”

It turned out that Schon’s ears — and Pineda’s YouTube clips — weren’t deceiving him.

“I came back and put it back on and I was totally amazed,” he said.

Musical chairs

Soon, Schon was on the phone with Pineda, asking him to come from his home in the Philippines for an in-person audition to replace Soto, who was with Journey for about a year.

“He came out and he started out very rough,” Schon said of Soto. “He got better, but still it never kind of clicked with everyone in the band. It always felt like he was removed from the band. It didn’t feel like the right chemistry. And personality wise, it was sort of the same issue. He just didn’t fit into the puzzle with all of us. That’s all it was.”

Soto, though, did come through for Journey when the band was in a real pinch. He replaced Steve Augeri, who had joined the group in 1998, filling the slot vacated by the highly popular Steve Perry, who sang hits like “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’,” “Anyway You Want It,” “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Open Arms” that made Journey one of the most popular bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Augeri had to leave the group mid-tour in 2006 because of vocal problems; during a show that summer at Montage, drummer Deen Castronovo ended up handling lead vocals on a few songs. Soto stepped in on short notice and allowed Journey to complete its touring commitments.

“His last show with us, seriously he had no voice,” Schon said of Augeri. “He could barely sing two songs in our set. Our drummer, Deen Castronovo came out front and his drum tech played drums and Deen sang for the set. You know, it’s a rough gig, but if you can’t do it, you can’t do it. The show must go on.”

Augeri’s stint in Journey started with promise, and he did handle vocals on the group’s 2005 CD, “Generations.” But Schon said Augeri’s stint was a case of diminishing returns.

“He struggled every year,” Schon said. “He was with us a good eight years, and his strongest year was the first year. And every year you could see a little bit more wear and tear on him. You know, it’s a tough gig. … He did a tremendous job, and I wouldn’t wish to be the singer in Journey for anything, nothing you can even imagine.”

Obviously, Schon thinks Pineda is up to the challenge, even though he’s virtually unknown in the United States.

“He wasn’t new to the music business,” Schon said. “He’d been singing for years, but just barely making it in the Philippines, with not a lot of success. But he was signed to MCA over there with his band, the Zoo. He apparently had some success over there.”

Much of Schon’s belief in Pineda is based more on intangibles.

“I just have a gut instinct about things such as this. It either hits me or it doesn’t,” the guitarist said. “I just really believed in my heart that this was the guy. From talking to him on the phone, I liked where he was coming from as a human being and as a person, to his vocal abilities. I just thought there he is.”

‘It sounds like old Journey’

Fans have a good chance to get acquainted with Pineda this summer. He’s with Journey (which also includes keyboardist Jonathan Cain and bassist Ross Valory) on an extensive summer tour with Heart and Cheap Trick serving as opening acts. The show hits Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain Saturday, Aug. 16.

“I think it’s kind of obvious that it’s a good combination,” Schon said of the triple bill. “I love Cheap Trick and I love Heart, so it’s going to be good.”

Schon hinted that Journey’s 90-minute headlining set could have some surprises.

“We’re definitely going to play the hits,” he said. “We’re going to play new stuff as well. And who knows (from there) … I want to try and segue a lot of this stuff and write some new little bits and pieces in between songs.”

The new songs Schon mentions are from the CD, “Revelation.” It’s a two-CD/one-DVD set that includes one CD with 11 new songs, a second disc with 11 classic Journey tracks re-recorded with Pineda on vocals and a live DVD featuring Pineda.

“Revelation” is being sold exclusively through Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. Music fans may recall that the current Eagles CD, “Long Road Out Of Eden,” was sold exclusively through those stores.

“Long Road Out Of Eden” became a multi-platinum smash, and early signs for “Revelation” are encouraging. The set sold 104,000 units in its first week following its June 3 release — a 1,400 percent increase over the first-week performance of “Generations,” according to Journey’s Web site.

Schon saw plenty of logic in teaming up with Wal-Mart.

“We were with a major label, CBS and Sony, for years,” he said. “At the time, when we were at our hiatus, we were one of the highest paid bands on that label royalty wise. Now this deal we just got with Wal-Mart is like four times what that was for the band. So I believe it’s becoming a bit more fair. And really with the demise of record stores and everything is (going) pretty much online, those are the major stores that are competing with each other musically, the Targets, the Best Buys, Wal-Mart.

“They’re going full out,” Schon said of Wal-Mart. “To have a major company like that really promote something, I think it’s going to make a difference.”

Schon said initially Wal-Mart wanted the band simply to re-record a set of hits, supplemented by four new songs on a single CD. The band went with the plan, but not for long.

“We prepared the four new songs, and the more I thought about it, the more it was not sitting well with me, the whole concept of just doing the older material and not so much new material,” Schon said. “The more I thought about it, I said I want to do a full CD.”

Schon said the new songs on “Revelation” recall classic Journey.

“It sounds updated, but it sounds like old (Journey),” he said. “It sounds like us in the ‘80s. And some of it goes back more, like into the (late 1970s) ‘Infinity’ era, like a song like ‘What I Needed.’”

“I just have a gut instinct about things such as this. It either hits me or it doesn’t. I just really believed in my heart that this was the guy. From talking to him on the phone, I liked where he was coming from as a human being and as a person, to his vocal abilities. I just thought there he is.”

Journey guitarist Neil Schon on singer Arnel Pineda.