Arnel Pineda in Journey: The race factor

By Ruben Nepales

ON my drive away from the Greek Theatre where my wife and I just watched our kababayan Arnel Pineda and his Journey bandmates stage the first of two very successful shows in LA, I stopped by a gas station.

As I pumped gas into our car, a young white woman approached me and asked if I just came from the concert. When I said yes, the woman said she watched the show too. Then she peppered me with questions, the gist of which boiled to one thing: she wondered if the many Filipinos who trooped to the Greek Theatre that Sunday evening knew the songs of Journey.

Although the lady said she knew that Neal Schon first saw Arnel when the former came across a video clip of Arnel singing a Journey hit on YouTube (back when he was doing Journey tribute songs in the Philippines), she appeared baffled that people in the Philippines know Journey. I told her that I was familiar with those Journey anthems in the 1980s. She asked me if I was born in the US or in the Philippines. I said I was born and raised in the Philippines and I was back home when I first heard those Journey tunes.

(Editor’s note: Here’s one of the video clips on YouTube that perhaps got Journey’s attention.)

I gave her the benefit of the doubt — the woman appeared to be simply ignorant about the Philippines. Having come from the concert where she must have been struck by the presence of so many Filipinos, she was now very curious about Filipinos and the Philippines. She said, “It was nice to meet you” and walked back to her friend.

When I finished pumping gas, I slid back into the car and recounted the somewhat strange encounter to my wife. The incident reflected the fact that Journey’s decision to hire a Filipino guy as its frontman has sparked all sorts of discussions among the group’s fans, especially on the blogosphere. Some expressed surprise at the choice, with some comments tinged with racist undertones. But most Journey followers, including the thousands who filled arenas in North and South America and Europe to watch the band’s 2008 road tour concerts, are ecstatic about Arnel. The group’s new CD, “Revelation,” has become one of Journey’s bestselling albums.

Driving back on the road, I chuckled at the thought that yes, many of our kababayans wouldn’t have bothered to make the trek to the Greek Theatre if Arnel was not in the band. But the fellow Pinoys who showed up in throngs to watch Arnel weren’t complete ignoramuses about Journey’s songs either. If only the young lady knew — we Filipinos are a sentimental lot who know all the lyrics of soft rock ballads like Journey’s “Open Arms” and “Faithfully.” We can all sing like Arnel Pineda, too. Well, that part is true only in our karaoke-wired imagination.

Read my full account of how LA welcomed Arnel as Journey’s lead vocalist in my column on Philippine Daily Inquirer (”Only In Hollywood: Arnel, Journey welcomed with ‘Open Arms’ “). And if there are still doubters out there, here’s an excerpt of Phil Gallo’s review of the concert in Variety:

“Hits and songs that sound like hits dominate Journey’s 90-minute set in one of the summer’s most consistently successful package tours, a sign that the latest edition of Journey has assimilated new singer Arnel Pineda and returned to a strict focus on their hitmaking days of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Material from their Wal-Mart-only release ‘Revelation’ stands up well alongside the classics; album is tailor-made to attract fans of the Steve Perry era of the band.

At the second of two sold-out shows at the Greek, Pineda proved he has crossed the line from Perry Karaoke master to respectable lead singer. That the new album taps into the energy and blueprint of Journey’s hitmaking era makes for a clear formula for Pineda to follow and simultaneously gives a band an opportunity to maintain a focus in a career-spanning set.”

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