Nov. 14 Journey concert postponed

UPDATE: The Sioux City, Tyson Events Center Facebook page is reporting the Nov. 14 Journey concert will be postponed due to lead singer Arnel Pineda’s health problems.

According to the band’s page, the concert will be rescheduled for January or February. All tickets for the original date will be honored at the new date. Refunds are also available.

Famous 80s rockers Journey still haven’t stopped believing.

They will be making a stop at Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center as part of their 2012 tour Nov. 14. The band is in the middle of a tour promoting their latest album “Eclipse,” the second featuring new lead singer Arnel Pineda.

One band mate who also had the experience of stepping in for a previous member is drummer Deen Castronovo. Castronovo, who joined the band in 1998, had the interesting perspective of being a fan long before he was even a part of the band.

“Even though I was in metal bands playing speed metal and thrash metal and stuff like that, Journey was always my guilty pleasure because the musicianship in that band was just stellar,” Castronovo said.  “I grew up playing those songs from the time I was 11-years-old. I knew all of the Journey songs and it was a natural thing for me because Steve Smith (Journey drummer from 1978-1985, 1995-1998) is one of my biggest influences.”

Castronovo, who had previously worked with Journey band mates Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain on other projects, said when he joined the band, the 1998 reunion tour got off to a rough start. At the time, Journey was coming off a nearly 12-year hiatus from touring and had just replaced established members in lead singer Steve Perry and drummer Steve Smith.

“The first year we went out, if we sold 1,000 seats [at one venue], we were lucky,” Castronovo said. “Because number one, nobody even knew we came back. Number two, Steve Perry wasn’t in the band and Steve Smith wasn’t in the band, so people were like, ‘Oh yeah right, this is going to suck.’”

However, with hard work, the band was able to start bringing fans back to the arenas.

“It took us a good five years of touring to go from 1,000 seats to 1,500 to 3,000 to 5,000 to where we are now, 10 to 20,000 every night,” Castronovo said. “It took us 15 years to get to this point. People had to take notice again that we’re not going away and the band didn’t die after the two members left and it’s the music that carries us through and not one individual member.”

In addition to the return to prominence Journey has experienced in the last decade, a new trend has emerged: the audience is starting to get younger.  A new generation of fans has discovered the band thanks to appearances in shows such as “Glee,” “Family Guy,” “The Sopranos” and movies like “Rock of Ages.”

Castronovo cites “Glee” and the band’s hit song “Don’t Stop Believin’” as one of the major catalysts for gaining a younger audience.

“’Glee’ was huge,” Castronovo said. “’Don’t Stop Believin’ has really propelled us again to be where we’re at.”

And students at the University of South Dakota are also taking notice.

Junior Cassie Howey said the music never really lost popularity in her opinion, and the band’s fame was merely helped by the show.

“The music is timeless,” Howey said. “It never stopped being so popular.With ‘Glee’ coming into our culture, they took those songs and made them even more popular than before.”

The Recording Industry Association of America certified the “Glee” cover of “Don’t Stop Believin’” platinum after it achieved 1 million digital sales in March 2011. Castronovo says there’s just something about classic rock that still resonates among younger listeners.

“I’ll be honest, some of the music today is just killer,” Castronovo said. “ You have a lot of great artists out there, but there’s always something about, especially the music of the 80s. I don’t know what it is but the songs were just well constructed and, especially with Journey, they were heartfelt.”

First-year student Megan Schlosser said she feels the reason Journey and other arena-rock has made such a huge comeback is because music of the era is much deeper than the music of today.

“There was more meaning to songs back then,” Schlosser said. “It’s better than the music they have playing now, so might as well go back to the old days.”

Castronovo cited the changing landscape of music and technology as another reason Journey has been able to continue to bring in new fans.

“Music back in the 70s and 80s was based on radio and touring,” Castronovo said. “You worked your butt off and you toured constantly and you got on the radio. We’re so fortunate this band was built on touring and radio. MTV bands were here today, gone today. MTV, even though it was a pioneer and it was great, it really messed up a lot of those bands.”

Castronovo said the Internet and iTunes have greatly helped proliferate more musical information primarily towards younger listeners. Ultimately, Castronovo says the secret behind Journey’s continued success is the songwriting.

“We wrote songs the fans wanted to hear and not just self-indulgent stuff,” Castronovo said. “Jonathan, Steve Perry and Neal really connected with what they knew Journey’s fans loved and that was honesty, integrity, great musicianship and a song that a fan could relate to. To me, I’m working with the two greatest songwriters of my generation.”

Tickets to the Nov. 14 concert are still available at many websites, like Ticketmaster.