notmovingpictures Episode 020: Road Trips Past And Future?

Episode 19 was the reunion of the four who went to see Journey in 1983 and we didn't even talk about the concert. Tommy and Don rectify that in this episode as they try to search their fading memories for details. Then our dastardly duo go on to talk about the future of road trips as bands get older and eventually will stop touring. Just who is left to warrant a drive of four to seven hours in our ongoing quest to see the bands and know new cities? Listen and find our answers, feeble though they may be.



Opening Music: Alloy - Live To See The Day
Closing Music: Journey - Line Of Fire

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Older episodes can also be found @ www.archive.org, just search for notmovingpictures.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

notmovingpictures Episode 19: A Journey Revisted

Its been a long, long time but I have finally gotten back to my other podcast, notmovingpictures. The last episode was way back in October and actually this one was recorded before that one. The file has sat around on my laptop ever since until this past week when I got off my lazy butt and edited it. Be forewarned, it was recorded in a noisy diner so the sound quality isn't great but beggars can't be choosers.

So what is this episode about? In 1983 four guys went to see Journey with Bryan Adams opening in Norman, Oklahoma. Since that date all four had never been in the same room again at the same time. Up to three, yes but never all four again until you flash forward thirty years and they get together and talk about the old days, food, eating establishments (hey, we're old), Northeastern State University and what they've been doing in life. Strangely, about the only thing we didn't talk about was the Journey/Bryan Adams concert. I guess there's always next time, huh? 

Opening Music: Alloy - Live To See The Day
Closing Music: Journey - Stone In Love

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Lyrics And Lunch, Is It Podcast TIme?

I came up with a few lines last night after I came home from work. Not enough for a song unless it's a rather short one but that's okay. Maybe Tommy can flesh it out. Strange how I can go for weeks with nothing moving me to write and suddenly I get sparked into creativity and it seems to flow forth. I'll take it for as long as it lasts.

Talking head with a machine gun mouth
Drive by spraying innocents with hatred
Taking aim out of context
It doesn't matter you don't believe it anyway

Bobbleheaded yes men so quick to agree
Who knew the populace has such hostility
Believe what you hear not what you learn
Deceived and seduced by false piety

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Tommy, Henry and Jimmie, the three guys that I went to see Journey with in Oklahoma City back in 1983. I'm leaning towards taking my recorder and using what we talk about as an episode of notmovingpictures whether they realize it or not. That podcast certainly needs the content. Henry is coming from out of state and he and I pledged Sig Tau together back in the day. We didn't always get along perfectly but you know what? None of that junk matters anymore. We're a bunch of old guys who have a lot of history. Bobby's death and funeral certainly put that all into perspective.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Fridays - 80s TV Sketch Comedy

I really have been working on a legit post with actual social commentary but it's not ready yet so instead I thought I'd throw you some mindless fun from back in the day. Fridays was ABC's answer to Saturday Night Live in the early 80s but it only lasted a couple of seasons. One reason I preferred Fridays was for the varied and mostly unusual musical guests that they had, guests that weren't cool enough for Saturday Night Live like Devo, The Jim Carroll Band, The Cars, Scandal, Journey, AC/DC, The Stray Cats and so many more. Another reason was for the comedy that pushed the accepted boundaries of what was permissible to be shown on network tv. In reality the show was ahead of it's time and remarkable in what it was able to show.



The cast was comprised of:
Mark Blankfield
Maryedith Burrell
Melanie Chartoff
Larry David (Seinfeld)
Rich Hall
Darrow Igus
Brandis Kemp
Bruce Mahler
Michael Richards (Seinfeld)
John Roarke



This last clip only aired once because it was deemed to be extremely gory and violent. Upon subsequent reruns showings it was simply left out. Six ABC affiliates stopped airing the show completely as a result of the skit's depictions of zombie cannabalism. So of course it's considered a classic.

And now for Journey

Now here's some shots of Journey, I wasn't very close, the zoom on my camera is just really good! I went with my wife and met 4 people that I work with and then afterwards saw my best friends wife and daughter. His wife said Arnel is even better this year than he was last year since he's more confidant and sure of himself and this rock star stuff isn't brand new to him anymore either.

Journey and Night Ranger 8/5/09

Journey and opening act Night Ranger rocked the BOK Center last night in Tulsa. This marked the 3rd time I have seen Journey (and the 3rd singer I've seen them with to boot) and the 2nd time I've seen Night Ranger. It was a treat to hear Arnel Pineda singing and to watch the show he put on. He was a whirling dervish of energy throughout the night. Here's 5 shots from Night Ranger:

Why the long delay?

It's been a long time but I do have some good reasons for not posting. Of course I won't say right now what they are but perhaps later I'll be able to explain why I haven't been around. Too much drama and not enough time in my life is the easy way to get around it for now.

I'll be going to see Journey and Night Ranger next month and will have a concert review and if I'm lucky I'll also get to see Billy Squier the following night. I've skipped some shows that I really wanted to see but in the end I feel it's for the best. Since it's after 4AM I'm heading off to bed for now.

Music happenings in Tulsa

Wow, I can't believe how much time has passed since I last posted. I've started several stories but just haven't felt satisfied with them and I need to go back and re-do them. The problem is finding the time to do so. Since I have a few minutes I thought I'd post a few musical happenings.

First up is my friends band Rant. They are playing their 3rd show this Saturday at the Dragons Lair which is on 11th street between Sheridan and Harvard. You might say they are in their musical residency there. Once they've done a few more shows (and recorded a demo) perhaps they can start getting a few more gigs in other clubs. If you're in the area you should check them out. They flat out rock and there isn't any other band around that I know of that sounds like them. That's a good thing.

In March I had posted about a street punk band called Street Dogs whom I like very much that were going to be playing in Oklahoma City. Well the day before the show I got a speeding ticket and the day of I felt like crap and ended up not making the drive. I felt pretty crummy about missing the chance to see them and The Righs who were opening up but such goes life. Well now I've been given a reprieve. Street Dogs are playing at The Marquee in Tulsa on Thursday May 21st and I will be at this show. Expect some good old street punk music with a Celtic angle and expect to have a good time. I know I will.

July brings us Dfest (diversity) and they've got some great bands lined up. It's held July 24th-25th and this year the headliner will be The Black Crows. Some of the other groups playing will we Ozomatli, Gogel Bordello, Dub Trio, Citizen Cope, Blue October and a ton more. Go to www.dfest.com for more info. There'll be a lot of local bands there and I'm thinking ahead to next year to see if Rant can get on the bill. The group I most want to see and never thought would come to Tulsa is Ozomatli. In their own words their music is "a notorious urban-Latino-and-beyond collision of hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian raga-- has long followed a key mantra: it will take you around the world by taking you around L.A." All I know is I like them a lot and will be there and so should you.

Aerosmith and ZZ Top will be at the BOK in July as well but I've seen both of them in their prime so I won't be going to this one.

In August it seems like it's the busy month to be especially if you like 80s music. I'm hearing that on August 5th Journey will be playing at the BOK. No word on an opening act but really, does it matter? I've seen them with Steve Perry and Steve Augieri singing and now I get to hear them with Arnel Pineda. The very next day Billy Squier will be at the River Spirit casino and I have to find a way to see both of these shows. It must happen. Rod Stewart is playing at the BOK, The Steve Miller band will be at the The SpiritBank Event Center just south of Tulsa in the suburb of Bixby. Def Leppard, Poison and Cheap Trick will be at the BOK closer to the end of the month.

I'm sure there will be more good music coming our way, I've heard that Slaid Cleaves is coming in December and that Blue Oyster Cult will be at the Tulsa State Fair so I've got that to look forward to. Don't know anything about any of the bands I've mentioned? Just leave a comment or look them up on the web. Maybe we'll see each other at some of these shows. Now if only the Judas Priest/Whitesnake and the Blondie/Pat Benatar tours would stop in town as well. Then there's always Devo and.......I could keep going on for hours about this but since i have to get up tomorrow and cut the grass I guess I'll just go to bed.

Best and Worst of Music 2008

This is just a quick list and I know that I'm forgetting some good and not so good music. If I remember something worthy I'll update the list. To be on this list means that it has to be something that I might have interest in so people like Brittney Spears and her ilk aren't even considered. They are by definition bad music already and not worth my effort to review. Time has not been on my side what with taking care of my 20 month old son so please be kind and remember that this is only my opinion. You don't have to agree with me and if you notice any mistakes well.........get over it. Let's get started shall we?

Best of 2008


Alejandro Escovedo – Real Animal – I absolutely love Alejandro’s music so it was a bit unusual for me to find that I couldn’t get past the first few songs. It was only after several repeated listenings that I began to really appreciate this entire cd. It is simply wonderful.

Tesla – Forever More – Tesla comes back with great music and even greater lyrics. Their song ideas are extremely good and always make me think. The music is as always out of sight.

AC/DC – Black Ice – Also back (from down under) is this great rock band with a great rock record. They are a timeless band and it shows on this release. Easily their best release in the last 15 years or so.

D.A.D. – Monster Philosophy – This one is under constant rotation in my cd player. It has great lyrics and a nice variety of song styles and is solid from track 1 to track 13. Everybody I have played this for really likes it. These are just very good rock songs. Enough said.

Grupo Fantasma – Sonidas Gold – This band has received a Grammy nomination in the category of ‘Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album’ which doesn’t even fully define what their sound is all about. You could call it cumbia/salsa/jazz/funk/rock and still not quite get it right. I just call it good music.

Kings of Leon – Only by the Night – It’s nice to hear a singer have some real passion in his voice instead of simply running scales. It starts off very slow and I almost couldn’t get past that. Luckily I did and the moody presence had a way of growing on me.

Metallica – Death Magnetic – Look for a post on Metallica soon and my thoughts on them. They’ve managed to finally return to their roots and do it well. That means a lot coming from me.

Los Fabulocos – Los Fabulocos – Take some cali-mex roots music and mix it with blues, zydeco, conjunto, norteno, blues, rockabilly and rock n roll and this is what Los Fabulocos sounds like. Kid Ramos is well known in the roots and blues music community and his guitar drives the music. Plus my 19 month old absolutely loves them, what better plug could you give them?

Journey – Revelation – Arnel Pineda does a fantastic job of sounding close to Steve Perry while keeping his own identity. Journey is back in a big way but unfortunately I couldn’t see them live this year. Hopefully they’ll come back around next year.

Kings X – XV - This is another one has slowly grown on me. It took several listenings before I came to really appreciate the quality that Kings X brings out.

Night Ranger – Hole In The Sun – Very solid effort from this long running group. They manage to branch out and try some different things musically while still building on their trademark sound.

Whitesnake – Good To Be Bad - Although some songs sound extremely familiar David Coverdale still sounds great as do the songs. Sounds like popular Whitesnake mixed with Slide It In era Whitesnake. Doug Aldrich brings a bit of a harder edge with his guitar mastery.

Dokken – Lightning Strikes Again – Don Dokken can’t hit the high notes he used to but that’s okay, not many vocalists can. This is vintage Dokken sounding music and it’s quite good.

White Lion – Return of the Pride – Although only singer Mike Tramp is back they still manage to turn in a solid effort after being away for a long time. One of the many bands that I “could” have seen this year but never did. You can read about that in an earlier post as well.

Rick Springfield – Venus In Overdrive – For at least one song (What’s Victoria’s Secret) Rick’s vintage power pop sound from the early 80s is back and for me that makes it worth it. When you add in all the other good songs this is a no-brainer.


Worst of 2008

Def Leppard – Songs From The Sparkle Lounge – Joe Elliott just can’t do it anymore without having his vocals heavily synthesized. It comes off without any real emotion.

Sammy Hagar – Cosmic Universal Fashion - See my previous posts about my views on Sammy’s latest.

Guns N Roses – Chinese Democracy – Ditto.

Motley Crue – Saints of Los Angeles – This just didn’t go over for me. They tried too hard to show that they were still relevant and the lyrics especially suffer drastically.

Extreme – Saudades de Rock – To be honest I have only heard a few songs off of this travesty but it was enough to put me off. They were absolutely dreadful.

Bret Michaels – Rock My World – Let’s see, a couple of lame new songs added to a bunch of songs from previous solo releases adds up to crap. That about sums it up.

The 2008 Concert Year

2008 seemed like it was going to be a banner year of concerts for me. Instead I suffered through disappointment after disappointment which means it was a pretty normal year. The Nuevo Anos started off great with a David Lee Roth led Van Halen reunion (sans Michael Anthony which seemed quite odd) in February and was quickly followed in March by a bill that included Dangerous Toys and Junkyard and then I finally saw Tesla the following week. To say that I was giddy and flushed with excitement would be an understatement of enormous proportions. Next up in April was Rush. I am a great fan of Rush and this was my 6th time seeing them. So far so good as every show delivered and more than met up to my expectations.

With May there only seemed to be one show that might seem possible. Huey Lewis and the News were playing and I thought that my wife might like to go. No really. Look I’ll admit that they had quite a few good songs back in the day that I did like listening to but unless something like free tickets fell into my lap I really wouldn’t go out of my way to see them. It’s nothing personal against them; there are quite a few groups from the 80s that I feel that way about. So anyway, since we were going to Peru at the end of the month we decided to save our money. The trip to Peru was for several reasons. First was for my wife to see her family whom she had not seen since she came to America (except for her mother who lives in Pennsylvania) over 5 years ago. The second reason was for her family to see our son who at the time was 13 months old and is the first grandchild and great-grandchild in the family. The third reason was with my expert planning; the only band that I could find that I wanted to see playing in Lima while we were there in June was Megadeth. While I am not a huge Megadeth fan I do like a lot of their music so I thought this would be a great accent to the vacation. Unfortunately money was tight due to some unforeseen emergencies and the fact that my brother in law informed me that the concert stadium was not exactly in great condition and was not very close which all added up to no concert for me. But that’s okay I thought. Even though this was disappointing for me there are plenty of concerts this summer when I get home that I can see. Right? Right? Why do I hear crickets?

Once we had returned to the states Rancid was playing but money was still tight so I had to reluctantly pass. In July Rocklahoma rolled around but I had already decided not to go due to the lineup sucking mightily. Seriously, there was not one single day that had enough groups playing that I wanted to see that would make it worth my time and money. I could have seen Jetboy except I didn’t find out they were playing a show here (a day or so before they were playing Rocklahoma) until they were halfway through their set at a club literally 3 blocks from my house while I slaved away at work. Also in July there was the sold out Journey, Heart, Cheap Trick triple bill in Oklahoma City and The Romantics here in Tulsa at The Cherokee Casino. I’m amazed that I didn’t see a single show from these bands, any of which I would have been more than happy to see play.

August came upon me while I was still lacking in funds, notice a pattern here? So I could not see Judas Priest and Motorhead in Oklahoma City. Nor could I see Rick Springfield or Matisyahu when they played in Tulsa. September was relatively quiet for me as I only missed seeing the Georgia Satellites at the Tulsa State Fair. After the previous summer months that was a relief to only miss one possible show. At least my reason was good, I had the opportunity to work overtime and somewhat replenish my limited funds. October brought good news as I was able to see Night Ranger at The Tulsa State Fair. Finally some good luck and fortunate timing paid off. They played a lively set with all of their classics and two songs off of their new cd, Hole in The Sun.

October saw Tesla returning to the state but since the show was in Oklahoma City during the week my wife decided that I could not go. For some reason she thought that spending time with her and our son (not to mention working) was more important. That left one final possibility to see a show this year. In November, a scant 4 days before my birthday White Lion were playing in town AND my wife agreed to let me go as a birthday present. Unfortunately I woke up that day feeling like good enough to work but not good enough to go to a crowded, smoky bar and was in no mood to go out and enjoy them. There ended my chance to see any more bands before the year was out. You might be thinking that couldn’t I see a band this month before the year is over? Isn’t Duran Duran playing in Tulsa this very night? Yes they are however they fall into the category of Huey Lewis and The News where I would go if I received free tickets but I’m not spending my money on them. Of course to win tickets I’d probably have to actually try but that’s a different matter entirely. I think I can safely say that there are no other bands I’d like to see coming anywhere remotely close to me before the end of the year.

At least next year will start off with a bang. I’ll be seeing AC/DC and The Answer on January 26th. AC/DC is the top group on my concert wish list and The Answer is a very good Irish hard rocking band that shows great promise. Plus today I heard that The Pretenders will be in town in February so that’s a possibility. With a little luck and some great planning perhaps I can make 2009 be the banner year that 2008 should have been. Wish me luck.

What Really Happened with Journey?

This is a mystery that’s never really been solved and is straight out of a dime store detective novel. Journey was a group at the height of their popularity that self-destructed going down in an incredible flame out but to this day many fans still wonder just what went wrong. Sure there’s been a lot of supposition but even thought the band itself has addressed this issue it always feels like something has either been left out or plain left unsaid. Using interviews, word of mouth, modern science, a slide rule, a smattering of innuendo and my extensive imagination I will try to clear up the foggy mess that has been left behind and make it clear for everyone to understand just what I think happened.

It has been documented that guitarist Neal Schon wanted Journey to rock more while vocalist Steve Perry wanted the group to continue down the path of ballads and mid tempo songs that he had been leading them on. This was an extremely successful path I might add. Every band will have arguments which normally lead to creativity and better songs and such was the case here. People tend to forget that Journey could flat out rock and they proved it with songs like Stone In Love and Any Way You Want It. In 1983 during the bands downtime Schon decided to flex his rock muscles with a side project called H.S.A.S. The acronym stood for the band members last names: vocalist Sammy Hagar, Neal Schon on guitars, bassist Kenny Aaronson and drummer Michael Shrieve. They recorded a mostly live album at the end of that year that featured the song Top of the Rock and a cover of A Whiter Shade of Pale and briefly toured in 1984. Keep in mind that this was music that did not fit with the direction Journey was going in nevertheless Schon felt he needed to get it out there.

Now Steve Perry has also stated in an interview that he felt like this was a distraction and that Schon should have been focusing on the band. So he did the natural thing of course and recorded his own solo album. It featured the ballads Oh Sherrie (which was an ode to his girlfriend who broke up with him not too much later) and Foolish Heart, both songs sounding remarkably like Journey songs. Oh Sherrie shot to # 3 and Foolish Heart went to # 18 on the charts. I believe this was Steve Perry letting Neal Schon and the rest of the band know that he didn’t need them to do Journey. He could and would do it on his own if he felt like it. The point was made and Schon lost control of the group that he had co-founded. Perry promptly sacked bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith and replaced them with session players (most notably Randy Jackson) as the band recorded the album Raised on Radio in 1986. Although the band had several hits and reached # 4 something was clearly missing. Perry’s mother was ill while the album was recorded and he was away for periods of time which made everything more difficult. After the tour the band members decided they were through and Perry ended up taking a break.

He would not release another solo album until 1994. In 1996 the popular lineup of Journey re-united and recorded the cd Trial By Fire. While preparing for a world tour Perry suffered a hip injury and decided to wait on surgery thereby postponing the tour and losing all momentum that they had built. The rest of the group grew tired of waiting and decided they would continue on without him which upset Perry tremendously. By now Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain were now leading the bands direction. This desire to keep it going would later affect Perry’s replacement Steve Augeri who developed vocal problems and was out of the group in 2006. He was replaced by Jeff Scott Soto who did not sound enough like Perry and the fans let the band know about it. He was gone in a blink of the eye, barely lasting a little over half a year. That brings us to Journey’s current vocalist Arnel Pineda who sounds extremely close to Perry while maintaining his own identity. The band released a stellar double cd with him in 2008, Revelation, which went platinum and headlined a sold out tour with Cheap trick and Heart.

So there you have it. My opinion on what really happened to this once and now current great band. There’s been too much of hurt feelings, pain and head-butting over control of the direction of the band. For those of you who dream of the day that Steve Perry will return to the fold and once again man the helm of Journey I say quit dreaming and forget about it. It will not happen for a long time if ever. Neal Schon has regained control of his group and will not let go of it again and Steve Perry will require complete control to once again be a part of this great group. I don’t see this happening now and perhaps never. But that’s okay. I’ll still pay to see Arnel lead the band as long as they continue to have something to offer the fans. I’ve seen them with Perry and Augeri and just missed the chance to see them this past summer with Arnel. But that’s story for another day.