Filipino singer Arnel Pineda arrived in Manila last October 8 for a short respite after a grueling tour with American rock band Journey.
Immediately upon arrival, Arnel once again answered questions pertaining to the article that came out in the October 2008 issue of the US-based magazine Rolling Stone. Pineda was profiled by Andy Greene, in which the rock journalist painted the singer as feeling all stressed out due to the demands of the massive tour in support of the band's latest album, Revelation.
"There are days I just break down and cry. This is a job I'm doing for my family. That's all the consolation I'm getting," Arnel reportedly told Rolling Stone.
The article was bannered bearing the headline: "Sad ‘Journey' for New Singer."
TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT. "I was taken out of context dun sa Rolling Stone, for the record talaga," Arnel told the local press who waited for his arrival at the Centennial 2 Airport of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Part of Arnel's interview was aired last Saturday, October 11, at Entertainment Live!
Even before his return, Arnel along with his bandmates criticized the published feature—accusing the popular magazine of intentionally misplacing and chopping off quotes so as to come up with an attention- grabbing piece.
Journey guitarist Neal Schon, who is quite familiar with how rock n' roll journalism works in the international circuit, stated in an interview with CBS5: "They took a segment of what he [Arnel] said in the interview and erased all the good stuff he said in between. It has happened to me a million times in my career."
Arnel, for his part, admitted feeling homesick and tired, but completely ruled out that he is feeling despondent.
"As far as I am concerned, I am having a blast onstage, but I can't deny it. I miss home, I'm homesick, but I got the best gig in the world. How can I be miserable?" he told CBS5.
The veteran Schon was kind enough to understand Arnel's plight, saying that he, along with the others, expected their rookie frontman to end up exhausted since it was his first time to embark on a full-scale concert tour covering different cities staged in giant arenas.
"It's his first tour," Schon candidly offered. "None of us knew what it would be like. We didn't know what kind of strength he had in a long duration like he's been. We've been out here for a solid four months with no breaks in between."
Talking to the Filipino reporters, Arnel shared how taxing the tour indeed was. "My health was compromised a lot. I have to take medicines so I could just go on and go on and go on until I finish the tour," he confessed.
STILL LIVING A DREAM. The Rolling Stone article also highlighted Arnel reportedly saying that the tour, along with the entire Journey experience, as a "curse."
Arnel did not brush off the "curse" reference but pointed out: "It's quite a curse but then it's a blessing because I was very, very lucky na ako ang napili nila to carry the torch and first time that a Filipino with a very famous band na magkaroon ng platinum album."
Pineda used to front the Manila-based band Zoo before he was discovered by Schon through YouTube, while Arnel was belting out the Journey classics, "Don't Stop Believing" and "Faithfully."
Formed in 1973 in San Francisco, California, Journey gained popularity during the late 1970s, extending to the early ‘80s, after releasing a string of power ballads, like "Any Way You Want It," "Faithfully," "Separate Ways," "Wheel in the Sky" and "Open Arms."
Prior to Arnel bagging the coveted spot, Journey was fronted by Gregg Rolie (1973-1980), Robert Fleischman (1977), Steve Perry (1977-1998), Steve Augeri (1998-2006), and Jeff Scott Sotto (2006-2007).