File this post under the "Whaaaaaaaaaaa?" file. Journey announced today that it has parted ways with lead singer Jeff Scott Soto.
According to guitarist Neal Schon, “We appreciate all of Jeff’s hard work and we can’t thank him enough for stepping in when Steve Augeri got sick last year. He did a tremendous job for us and we wish him the best. We’ve just decided to go our separate ways, no pun intended. We’re plotting our next move now."
Keyboardist Jonathan Cain continues, “We were lucky to have a friend who was already a Journey fan step in on a moment’s notice during the Def Leppard tour to help us out. Jeff was always the consummate professional and we hope that he remains a friend of the band in the future. We just felt it was time to go in a different direction.”
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?
Soto took over in 2006 in the midst of Journey's tour with Def Leppard when Steve Augeri had voice problems. Soto had earned rave reviews from fans and critics who rallied around the band. Augeri had manned the vocals for the last 3 Journey CDs. He has a great voice & the band was strong with him at the helm. Of course there will be tremendous speculation about Steve Perry making a triumphant return to the band....But Melodic Rock says no. We shall see..... To read the full announcement and the band's joy at seeing their smash "Don't Stop Believin'" on The Sopranos finale, go to Journey's official website
