It took them 42 years and 47 million albums, but one band's journey to the top of the world's charts has finally brought them to Prince George.
Journey is one of the best-selling bands in history. They are one of the most popular bands of all time. Their songs form the soundtrack to the world, between 1973 and today, with massive peaks in the 1980s and '90s. Their lineup has had some changes, but original members still dot their active roster, and no one is disputing new vocalist Arnel Pineda (although he has now been fronting Journey for almost 10 years) has pipes more than worthy to sing the songs made megafamous by Steve Perry.
Pineda is a made-for-a-movie personal story. He grew up in the Sampaloc district of Manila in the Philippines. He spent time living on the streets when his family could no longer afford his mouth to feed. But music was always a burning passion and now the world gets to hear it burning from the front of Journey's stage.
The newest member of Journey is a whole other story. Prince George is one of the first dates for Omar Hakim pounding the skins for the legendary classic rock unit, but he is more than at ease in front of audiences this large and devoted.
He has been a drummer for the likes of David Bowie, Dire Straits, Michael Jackson, Sting, and many more.
When legal problems ousted longtime Journey drummer Deen Castronovo in June, Journey's co-founder and bandleader Neal Schon had to take swift action. Hakim was the result.
"He wasn't my first call, I have to say. My first call was Steve Smith (their longest serving drummer aside from Castronovo) but he was on his way to Europe for a gig he couldn't get out of," said Schon. "I asked him to get out of it, but he just couldn't make it work. I made some other calls, but no one got back to me in time. I only had like a day and a half.
"And I kept thinking of Omar (the drummer in Schon's solo band) and he was the only one who made sense in the end. We could probably have gotten a lot of drummers who could play our songs verbatim, and Omar has a lot of learning to do in really tight timelines, but they aren't like him. He is an orchestra leader."
He and Schon will get a serious workout, playing the 30-minute opening act, then back on stage for the entire Journey set.
"When I'm done my solo set, I'm soaked in sweat. I have to take my vitamins and eat right," to stay physically fit for the demanding task, Schon said.
There are certain other benefits to getting a half-hour to himself to project his all-instrumental progressive hard-rock material.
It's a bit of a throwback to his early years working with consummate instrumental rock guitarist Carlos Santana (they still work together) and the new vibes he is always gathering in. His latest solo double-album is out on vinyl and it's called Vortex.
Getting to play the Vortex repertoire makes him feel less inclined to stress over the constant choices made by the members of Journey to come up with the night's set list.
No two nights are ever the same, especially with Hakim in place of Castronovo. With Vortex on his agenda, he feels less need to assert himself in the democratic to-and-fro of the Journey collective.
Also a factor in their choices lately is the culture of the audience. Crowds in their hometown of San Francisco want different Journey material than the crowds in Europe or Asia. And this time, they are staring into the eyes of Canada.
"This is the first time we have toured Canada, ever," said Schon, although the band has been here before. He laughed that the last time they were in Victoria for a concert, they opened for comedy superstars Cheech & Chong. They also got to open once in B.C., early on in their band's career, for the late blues legend B.B. King.
That was before they piled on the hits, loading up the Billboard Top 40 charts with 18 Top 40 singles. Some of the biggest among them were Faithfully, Open Arms, Any Way You Want It, Chains (Someday Love Will Find You), Who's Cryin' Now, and what was that other little tune they had? Oh yeah, a little ditty known as Don't Stop Believin' you may have heard (a thousand times).
Schon still holds out hope that their old pal and still admired friend Steve Perry will come out on stage one night and join them for one or two of those vocally challenging golden rockers.
"The invitation is always there for him, he knows that. He makes his own choices, I just get tired of hearing that I'm the reason he isn't with the band. He can join us anytime he likes, I don't care where we are or what we're doing," Schon said.
He would love for a great vocalist like Pineda to get to stand alongside Perry for some of those songs they are both so steeped in.
That probably won't happen in Prince George, what with Perry typically at home in the Bay area of San Francisco-Oakland, but the layers of legendary singers and players on the CN Centre stage tonight will be worth making the journey for.
Tickets are still available. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
