Kevin Shirley - The MelodicRock Interview

[FamilyMan]

How could Arnel's diction be worse THIS time around than when they first brought him here? He'd never even been to the states before, and they still thought THEN that he could pull it off. Maybe it's simply a case of the bloom being off the rose...

[steveo777]

How could Arnel's diction be worse THIS time around than when they first brought him here? He'd never even been to the states before, and they still thought THEN that he could pull it off. Maybe it's simply a case of the bloom being off the rose...

Absolutely, for some, the novelty has worn off and the hard luck story has played out. (as intended) Now people are tired of hearing about it and Arnel will have to sell on his own merit. We'll see what he has when the new album hits the streets and the tour kicks off. This had better be good!

[The_Noble_Cause]

How could Arnel's diction be worse THIS time around than when they first brought him here? He'd never even been to the states before, and they still thought THEN that he could pull it off. Maybe it's simply a case of the bloom being off the rose...

Singing isn't the same as talking. There's more variables at play. Even US-born singers pronounce lyrics a certain way to make it easier on the voice. With the classics, Arnel at least has the benefit of trying to closely mimic Perry's phraseology. Not so with new material.

Another possibility - he's just a slacker and spent waay to much time back in his native homeland.

[S2M]

How could Arnel's diction be worse THIS time around than when they first brought him here? He'd never even been to the states before, and they still thought THEN that he could pull it off. Maybe it's simply a case of the bloom being off the rose...

Absolutely, for some, the novelty has worn off and the hard luck story has played out. (as intended) Now people are tired of hearing about it and Arnel will have to sell on his own merit. We'll see what he has when the new album hits the streets and the tour kicks off. This had better be good!

I don't think the album is good at all. I think the main reason that KS did the interview was to get his side out before it came out. About how much of a great professional he is, and that he did his best....some pre-emptive PR for himself. I think we are looking at a Generations type effort here guys....

[steveo777]

How could Arnel's diction be worse THIS time around than when they first brought him here? He'd never even been to the states before, and they still thought THEN that he could pull it off. Maybe it's simply a case of the bloom being off the rose...

Singing isn't the same as talking. There's more variables at play. Even US-born singers pronounce lyrics a certain way to make it easier on the voice. With the classics, Arnel at least has the benefit of trying to closely mimic Perry's phraseology. Not so with new material.

Another possibility - he's just a slacker and spent waay to much time back in his native land.

He will always be Filipino first. He loves his country and has said he will never move to the USA. IMO, that's a comfort zone issue there. If I had kids in the Philippines I would much rather give them opportunity and raise them in the USA. There is little opportunity there and it will stay that way as long as there remains widespread corruption in the goverment, which there has been since the Marcos regime.

[Saint John]

The new album is going to be a very distinct departure from anything they've ever done before, but it will still be noticeably Journey. They're stretching out musically and allowing for more tempo, but probably not a whole lot more. I expect to hear some songs with deeper grooves and faster tempos. Still Journey, just a stronger emphasis on tempo. The question is whether or not they can write melodies and hooks out of their comfort zone. Someone mentioned 2 absolute jaw-dropping songs, in terms of riffs and tempo. Can't wait to give them a listen.

What I'm really concerned about is Arnel's inability to sound good on faster paced songs. Open Arms, Faithfully, After All These Years, etc., he just nails them. DSB, parts of Separate Ways, Edge Of The Blade, you run into a cringe-worthy pronunciation every now and again. I'm looking for a polished vocal performance on this album. 3 years, no more excuses.

[Art Vandelay]

The new album is going to be a very distinct departure from anything they've ever done before, but it will still be noticeably Journey. They're stretching out musically and allowing for more tempo, but probably not a whole lot more. I expect to hear some songs with deeper grooves and faster tempos. Still Journey, just a stronger emphasis on tempo. The question is whether or not they can write melodies and hooks out of their comfort zone. Someone mentioned 2 absolute jaw-dropping songs, in terms of riffs and tempo. Can't wait to give them a listen.

What I'm really concerned about is Arnel's inability to sound good on faster paced songs. Open Arms, Faithfully, After All These Years, etc., he just nails them. DSB, parts of Separate Ways, Edge Of The Blade, you run into a cringe-worthy pronunciation every now and again. I'm looking for a polished vocal performance on this album. 3 years, no more excuses.

I still can't shake that 'Will in Disguise' comment during the CBS Morning Show segment.

[jrnyjetster]

I don't think the album is good at all. I think the main reason that KS did the interview was to get his side out before it came out. About how much of a great professional he is, and that he did his best....some pre-emptive PR for himself. I think we are looking at a Generations type effort here guys....

ummmm...I seriously doubt it, the guys spent way more time on this album than they did with Generations. You seem very quick to speculate that this new CD will be a failure, especially since you haven't listened to it! Or have you??

[steveo777]

I don't think the album is good at all. I think the main reason that KS did the interview was to get his side out before it came out. About how much of a great professional he is, and that he did his best....some pre-emptive PR for himself. I think we are looking at a Generations type effort here guys....

ummmm...I seriously doubt it, the guys spent way more time on this album than they did with Generations. You seem very quick to speculate that this new CD will be a failure, especially since you haven't listened to it! Or have you?? :wink:

Yeah...if you got a leak somewhere, please share it.

[Peartree12249]

PART 2 NOW ONLINE.

Scroll down to Part 2....whole interview in one place now: http://www.melodicrock.com/interviews/k ... -2010.html

Well done...great interview Andrew! . I especially enjoyed the stuff on Joe and BCC. I can't believe that more folks on MR aren't totally jazzed about BCC's album. Oh well "pearls before swine" and all that.

It's not that we aren't jazzed....ok, well we aren't jazzed. It's just boring music. Talented, but god-awful, wonky music. Sorry. 'Not boring before talented' and all that

I don't find it boring in the least! Maybe it's just too advanced for your pedestrian ear.

[brywool]

The new album is going to be a very distinct departure from anything they've ever done before, but it will still be noticeably Journey. They're stretching out musically and allowing for more tempo, but probably not a whole lot more. I expect to hear some songs with deeper grooves and faster tempos. Still Journey, just a stronger emphasis on tempo. The question is whether or not they can write melodies and hooks out of their comfort zone. Someone mentioned 2 absolute jaw-dropping songs, in terms of riffs and tempo. Can't wait to give them a listen.

What I'm really concerned about is Arnel's inability to sound good on faster paced songs. Open Arms, Faithfully, After All These Years, etc., he just nails them. DSB, parts of Separate Ways, Edge Of The Blade, you run into a cringe-worthy pronunciation every now and again. I'm looking for a polished vocal performance on this album. 3 years, no more excuses.

The fast new songs on Revelation were the better ones. Change for the Better for one.

Andrew: I know what you are saying but he just seems to be a good character and what you are saying there just kind of emphasizes it, I guess. (long pause…) Is he in over his head?
Kevin Shirley: Not at all!!!! No! He's the real deal. He's a great singer....
But, he's the real deal. He's an amazing singer and he's terrific. And, he's done a lot for the band, too.


Now, the rest of you idiots, shut the hell up!

[Saint John]

The new album is going to be a very distinct departure from anything they've ever done before, but it will still be noticeably Journey. They're stretching out musically and allowing for more tempo, but probably not a whole lot more. I expect to hear some songs with deeper grooves and faster tempos. Still Journey, just a stronger emphasis on tempo. The question is whether or not they can write melodies and hooks out of their comfort zone. Someone mentioned 2 absolute jaw-dropping songs, in terms of riffs and tempo. Can't wait to give them a listen.

What I'm really concerned about is Arnel's inability to sound good on faster paced songs. Open Arms, Faithfully, After All These Years, etc., he just nails them. DSB, parts of Separate Ways, Edge Of The Blade, you run into a cringe-worthy pronunciation every now and again. I'm looking for a polished vocal performance on this album. 3 years, no more excuses.

The fast new songs on Revelation were the better ones. Change for the Better for one.

Andrew: I know what you are saying but he just seems to be a good character and what you are saying there just kind of emphasizes it, I guess. (long pause…) Is he in over his head?
Kevin Shirley: Not at all!!!! No! He's the real deal. He's a great singer.


Now, the rest of you idiots, shut the hell up!

Sorry for the confusion, and I clearly misled, but I was referring to live performances, Bry. Studio is always gonna be (near) perfect takes. And I think even the most ardent Pineda detractors will finally admit it, the dude can flat out bring it. But diction issues are very much a plausible beef, especially 3 years into this thing. Oddly enough, when you're at the show, you don't hear them (crowd noise, singing along, beer, pot, coke, ecstasy, etc. ), but he sounds rough, diction-wise, on the youtubes on some of the songs I mentioned. Personally, it doesn't bother me all that much. But that doesn't mean it should still be occurring.

[Michigan Girl]

The new album is going to be a very distinct departure from anything they've ever done before, but it will still be noticeably Journey. They're stretching out musically and allowing for more tempo, but probably not a whole lot more. I expect to hear some songs with deeper grooves and faster tempos. Still Journey, just a stronger emphasis on tempo. The question is whether or not they can write melodies and hooks out of their comfort zone. Someone mentioned 2 absolute jaw-dropping songs, in terms of riffs and tempo. Can't wait to give them a listen.

What I'm really concerned about is Arnel's inability to sound good on faster paced songs. Open Arms, Faithfully, After All These Years, etc., he just nails them. DSB, parts of Separate Ways, Edge Of The Blade, you run into a cringe-worthy pronunciation every now and again. I'm looking for a polished vocal performance on this album. 3 years, no more excuses.

The fast new songs on Revelation were the better ones. Change for the Better for one.

Andrew: I know what you are saying but he just seems to be a good character and what you are saying there just kind of emphasizes it, I guess. (long pause…) Is he in over his head?
Kevin Shirley: Not at all!!!! No! He's the real deal. He's a great singer....
But, he's the real deal. He's an amazing singer and he's terrific. And, he's done a lot for the band, too.


Now, the rest of you idiots, shut the hell up!

Why, because people don't have their own opinions?!?!

[brywool]

...but he sounds rough, diction-wise, on the youtubes on some of the songs I mentioned. Personally, it doesn't bother me all that much. But that doesn't mean it should still be occurring.

The only ones I noticed it on were some of the Chile songs (1st gig) and of course his speech in between, the superbowl, and the recent Styx thing I heard which was not good. On the Manilla DVD and Vegas ones, I didn't notice anything horrible or even annoying (though I haven't watched the vegas one recently). I just haven't heard him do much I don't like. Unfortunately, the times they were on TV weren't great. His rendition of Faithfully on Opy wasn't the best. MOST bands LIVE on TV aren't great. Journey was good on TV when they were in their prime, but that's so many years ago. When I saw him live and on most of the Youtubes, I thought he was pretty friggin amazing and Holy Crap on the Hawaii videos that made it out.

I'm not gonna diss the guy just because of where he's from. He's going to have an accent. Can his voice still get the songs across? To my ears, yeah. Is it Perry? Obviously not. Is it good? Most Definitely.

[brywool]

The new album is going to be a very distinct departure from anything they've ever done before, but it will still be noticeably Journey. They're stretching out musically and allowing for more tempo, but probably not a whole lot more. I expect to hear some songs with deeper grooves and faster tempos. Still Journey, just a stronger emphasis on tempo. The question is whether or not they can write melodies and hooks out of their comfort zone. Someone mentioned 2 absolute jaw-dropping songs, in terms of riffs and tempo. Can't wait to give them a listen.

What I'm really concerned about is Arnel's inability to sound good on faster paced songs. Open Arms, Faithfully, After All These Years, etc., he just nails them. DSB, parts of Separate Ways, Edge Of The Blade, you run into a cringe-worthy pronunciation every now and again. I'm looking for a polished vocal performance on this album. 3 years, no more excuses.

The fast new songs on Revelation were the better ones. Change for the Better for one.

Andrew: I know what you are saying but he just seems to be a good character and what you are saying there just kind of emphasizes it, I guess. (long pause…) Is he in over his head?
Kevin Shirley: Not at all!!!! No! He's the real deal. He's a great singer....
But, he's the real deal. He's an amazing singer and he's terrific. And, he's done a lot for the band, too.


Now, the rest of you idiots, shut the hell up!

Why, because people don't have their own opinions?!?!

Sure everybody's got an opinion. However, SO MANY of those opinions are what they are simply because of who Arnel isn't. Hardly fair to the guy, yet there's a lot of that whether people admit or not.

[Ftloperry]

Great interview Andrew.

[Rick]

Great interview Andrew.

I agree. I had no idea Shirley had worked with so many bands. He came off as a bit of a tough interview, but he's a busy dude. I like his philosophy on making music. I would like to hide in the rafters and watch, just to see what all goes into it.

[Andrew]

Journey is fine and the interview didn't tell us one thing we didn't already know about them. I like when Shirley says "I don't wanna talk about Journey" and Andrew's next question is about ... Journey.

Andrew would make a great political interviewer, or a great sports reporter....really sling those hardballs.

Thanks

And this is why I will never get a Steve Perry interview.

[steveo777]

Journey is fine and the interview didn't tell us one thing we didn't already know about them. I like when Shirley says "I don't wanna talk about Journey" and Andrew's next question is about ... Journey.

Andrew would make a great political interviewer, or a great sports reporter....really sling those hardballs.

Thanks

And this is why I will never get a Steve Perry interview.

If you interviewed Perry he would probably get so tense he'd suck the chair cushion up his ass. Your questions would surely make his squirm....a lot!

[Andrew]

Great interview Andrew.

Thank you!

[FamilyMan]

Great interview Andrew.

Thank you!

Indeed, Andrew. Great stuff. My sense was Shirley clearly had things he wanted to get off his chest. But he wasn't going to just offer it up. You pressed the right buttons.

[FinnFreak]

Loved the interview up here too. - Great one, Andrew..!


John -

[SherriBerry]

Thanks for the interview Andrew! I love hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of what goes into making a project (whether it's an album, movie, or TV series), but usually no one is so honest until years later. Good on Kevin Shirley for speaking his mind and letting the fans into the process.

Steve Perry really should give you that interview - if there are any questions he can't answer due to confidentiality agreements he can just say so and take a pass. And if there is anything he wants to say or clarify (like what he really meant when he said he didn't feel like part of the band), now is the time.

[Saint John]

And this is why I will never get a Steve Perry interview.

No one will get a Steve Perry interview, save for a few suck-ups, who agree to massage his vag and ask no pertinent questions.

[NoMoreTails]

Andrew would make a great political interviewer, or a great sports reporter....really sling those hardballs.

Did I miss someting? It came across to me like Shirley was ready to say more if pushed the least bit...like his "I don't wanna do this (laugh)" was a obligatory protest before he let it fly. I can't see him making the "babies" comment if he didn't really want to get into it. The teasers about this interview amounted to absolutely nothing new except the issue with Arnel. Odd that KS was writing pretty much glowing comments about the first sessions at that time, perhaps he's offended at them having the gall to push back rather than being the yes men he prefers.
I suppose the biggest shocker of this interview was that the JSS matter was a big PR issue for Journey, though the Caveman wasn't the one to make that statement...I thought basically no one cared outside of the folks at this site.

[Saint John]

I suppose the biggest shocker of this interview was that the JSS matter was a big PR issue for Journey, though the Caveman wasn't the one to make that statement...I thought basically no one cared outside of the folks at this site.

Nobody knew, let alone cared, that Soto was terminated. Andrew either misspoke, lied or is delusional about the way that whole thing went down. Journey let out a press release, no one cared and the band moved on. Yeah, there were 20-50 people here that protested and went ballistic (myself included, for a short time), but that's not even one row of fans at one concert in the world of Journey. It was big, relative to this board, but not in the real music world. No one gave a fuck. Period.

[StevePerryHair]

I suppose the biggest shocker of this interview was that the JSS matter was a big PR issue for Journey, though the Caveman wasn't the one to make that statement...I thought basically no one cared outside of the folks at this site.

Nobody knew, let alone cared, that Soto was terminated. Andrew either misspoke, lied or is delusional about the way that whole thing went down. Journey let out a press release, no one cared and the band moved on. Yeah, there were 20-50 people here that protested and went ballistic (myself included, for a short time), but that's not even one row of fans at one concert in the world of Journey. It was big, relative to this board, but not in the real music world. No one gave a fuck. Period.

I think that Brian May cared a little!

[S2M]

I suppose the biggest shocker of this interview was that the JSS matter was a big PR issue for Journey, though the Caveman wasn't the one to make that statement...I thought basically no one cared outside of the folks at this site.

Nobody knew, let alone cared, that Soto was terminated. Andrew either misspoke, lied or is delusional about the way that whole thing went down. Journey let out a press release, no one cared and the band moved on. Yeah, there were 20-50 people here that protested and went ballistic (myself included, for a short time), but that's not even one row of fans at one concert in the world of Journey. It was big, relative to this board, but not in the real music world. No one gave a fuck. Period.

I heard somebody knew...

[NoMoreTails]

I suppose the biggest shocker of this interview was that the JSS matter was a big PR issue for Journey, though the Caveman wasn't the one to make that statement...I thought basically no one cared outside of the folks at this site.

Nobody knew, let alone cared, that Soto was terminated. Andrew either misspoke, lied or is delusional about the way that whole thing went down. Journey let out a press release, no one cared and the band moved on. Yeah, there were 20-50 people here that protested and went ballistic (myself included, for a short time), but that's not even one row of fans at one concert in the world of Journey. It was big, relative to this board, but not in the real music world. No one gave a fuck. Period.

I think that Brian May cared a little!

His criticizing Journey over sacking JSS was backed up grandly by hiring him to front his band huh? What a crock.

[timstar78]

Good stuff, thanks Andrew.