Saturday, November 08, 2008 Journey set to hold concert in RP
CLASSICAL rock band Journey will hold a concert in the Philippines in April next year.
This was revealed Friday by Bert de Leon, manager of Journey's Filipino vocalist Arnel Pineda, when they made a courtesy call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacañang.
The two were accompanied by Pineda's fiancée Cherry Flores, their three-year-old son Cherub, his father Restituto, brothers Roderick and Russmon, and the top Philippine violinist John Lesaca.
"Welcome and congratulations to all your successes," the President told Pineda who serenaded her with an acapella version of the Journey's song "Open Arms."
Pineda informed President Arroyo that he arrived in the country last October 8 and would be staying indefinitely after performing 72 concerts worldwide with Journey since February this year.
De Leon said the band was supposed to visit the country later this year as part of an Asian tour but they had to reset it for next year. He said talks are now underway for proceeding with the Journey's Asian tour from February to April 2009.
"I think it is going to happen in April," he said, adding that the band wants to do the concert in an "outdoor venue."
Arroyo acknowledged Pineda, who traced his roots in Arayat and San Fernando in Pampanga, for being among those who showcase the "world-class" talent of Filipino artists internationally.
He thanked Arroyo and said that his visit was made as a "cabalen" who simply wants to share with her his success especially after he was discovered by Journey from the Internet website of YouTube.com early this year.
Pineda started his singing career at the age of 15 in 1982 as the lead singer of the Filipino musical group called Ijos Band and joined in the 1986 the boy group Amo, which won the Rock Wars contest and the Philippines leg of the Yamaha World Band Explosion in 1988.
The Amo, in 1990, then joined up with other bands under the name Intensity Five before Pineda formed a new band with New Age that performed in Hong Kong. He later returned to Manila as the lead band singer of The Zoo that performed in Manila and Olongapo.
It was in The Zoo in which Pineda performed the cover songs of Journey, Survivor, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Air Supply, The Eagles, Kenny Loggins, and other popular acts from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, which later appeared on YouTube.com that he got noticed and was asked to audition for Journey.
Pineda was announced as the new lead singer of Journey on December 5, 2007, and debuted as the lead singer of Journey during the Viña del Mar International Song Festival held at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile on February 21, 2008 (JMR/Sunnex)
