HOW IS PAPI DOING ON TOUR: JON CAIN ON PAPI

LIVEDAILY.COM: Feature by Don Zulaica re the summer tour.
Interview with JONATHAN . Run date: Wednesday, July 23
From Livedaily
http://www.livedaily.com/news/14595.html


Journey veteran sings praises of new vocalist
Published July 23, 2008 01:07 PM
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By Don Zulaica / LiveDaily Contributor

With "Revelation" racking up more than 100,000 units sold during its first week of exclusive sales at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, Journey [ tickets ] is enjoying something of a rebirth on the group's current US tour with Heart [ tickets ] and Cheap Trick [ tickets ].

"I think it is sort of a renaissance," keyboardist Jonathan Cain said from a tour stop in Council Bluffs, IA. "Maybe we're seeing a bit of a younger audience out there coming back to the old stuff. Heart seems very strong right now, and Ann Wilson is probably one of greatest female rock singers alive. She's sounding incredible. Cheap Trick is so much fun--you couldn't ask for a better bill."

It's impossible to ignore the compelling emergence of new lead vocalist Arnel Pineda, who guitarist Neal Schon discovered while surfing, of all places, YouTube. After watching Pineda belting out Journey [ tickets ] hits with his group, The Zoo, the Filipino singer landed an audition, and was officially offered the job in late 2007, replacing Jeff Scott Soto.

"He's becoming looser on stage, becoming more of an entertainer, and finding what he can do up there," Cain replied when asked of Pineda's early gigs. "He's found a good balance between movement and singing, working the crowd, interaction with the band, that sort of thing. And then also adjusting to up in the air, off the bus, on the bus, in the hotel room, getting sleep, eating healthy, the meet-and-greets--there's a lot to get used to. So he's finding his balance between all those things, and I think he's becoming more comfortable with the whole process. His voice is stretched out to where it's very comfortable up in that [high] register all the time. He was never singing in that register for a whole night. We knew he had that register, he knew he had it, but keeping it there for a whole show is not easy.

"He's got really good road habits already," Cain continued. "He doesn't drink, he eats really well, watches the spicy foods, he's into the whole regimen. No one has to teach it to him, he already knows it. He knows what he needs to get the job done, which is great for us. That's the kind of guy you want."

Released in June, the Kevin Shirley-produced "Revelation" is a three-disc package, including one disc with 11 re-recorded greatest hits (featuring Pineda), one with new material, and one DVD of the group's March performance at the Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas.

"We were feeding [Arnel] a song a day," Cain said of the brisk rehearsal/recording process of the new material. "'Go home and learn this and come back and sing it tomorrow.' That's basically what he did. He didn't get a lot of time to rehearse these new songs, and he's killing them now. What he's doing on stage is so much better than the album."