Arnel Pineda of Zoo band takes a lucky Journey

For dreamers frustrated with the unending struggle of trying to make it in the dog-eat-dog world of show business, take heart—Lady Luck just might smile on you when you least expect it. Take the case of Filipino singer Arnel Pineda, who for years had been trying to hit the high notes, literally and figuratively, while doing cover songs in numerous bars around Metro Manila. Since 2006, Arnel has been part of the local band Zoo, which often performed covers by Journey, Survivor, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Air Supply, and other popular acts from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Little did Arnel know that this would be his ticket to international fame. The 40-year old singer-songwriter has just bagged a once-in-a-lifetime gig: being the frontman of his favorite group, the American rock band Journey. Formed in 1973, the band is the same group that popularized the power ballads "Open Arms" and "Don't Stop Believing." Journey is currently composed of Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), and Deen Castronovo (drums). Lucky? No doubt about it. But for Arnel, it's more about being in the right place at the right time. "It was long time fan and friend, Noel Gomez, who thought of putting up a video of one of my band Zoo's performance in YouTube. For me, it was like, hey no problem, you know, no big deal. After all, fans do take videos and pictures all the time; I thought there'd be no harm, I was thinking, it could actually be some sort of promotional spot for us and we don't have to do [anything] much, just play music as we usually do, " explained Arnel during the January 11 press conference held at the Hard Rock Café in Makati City. MCA Music organized the presscon that also served as the send-off party for Arnel who will now be based in San Francisco, California. What happened next is proof of the power of the Internet. Here's what Neal Schon, guitarist and leader of Journey has to say about the incident as posted in the band's official website: "I was frustrated about not having a singer [Journey recently fired singer Jeff Scott Soto], so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. "After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, ‘He can't be that good.' But he is that good, he's the real deal and so tremendously talented. Arnel doesn't sound synthetic and he's not emulating anyone. I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter." The Filipino singer had his doubts and reservations right from the start. "My initial reaction was of disbelief. I was quite skeptical. I thought, why would somebody like Neal Schon look for someone like me, right? I thought it was a hoax so I ignored it. But then upon sage advice, I decide to try and e-mail Neal back and...here I am." Arnel considers himself as a vocal chameleon, one who could jump easily from doing Steven Tyler to Bono and Freddie Mercury to, yes, Steve Perry. "Although I don't have formal training, I could do a lot of voices. Maybe it's because of my long experience doing covers," he said. Arnel is the replacement of Jeff Scott Soto, who replaced Steve Augeri, who stepped in for Steve Perry (no doubt the most popular of Journey singers), who himself, actually is just a replacement for Robert Fleischman (whew!). Arnel knows about the band's history and as such is very realistic about his position. "I am not thinking that this is going to be forever. Anything could happen. Let's say Steve Perry comes back in, I'd be glad to step aside, you know." But for now he is happy for the chance to bask in the limelight. "It is really unbelievable. And to think I waited 25 years of my life to get to this. Who would've thought, right? I mean, I'm just too lucky, I guess," he beamed. Journey is currently working on a new album with producer Kevin Shirley, which they hope to release by spring/summer 2008. - Philippine Entertainment Portal