Showing posts with label Robert Fleischman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Fleischman. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Robert Fleischman From Journeyman to Perfect Stranger
Here's great interview with Robert Fleischman from July, 1979. I'm sorry it's so hard to read, this is the way I found it. One day I will transcribe it here on Wheel In The Sky!!
The interview is from BAM Magazine on July 20, 1979...
and also please visit WHEEL IN THE SKY on YouTube!!
This is the final edition of the Journey Force Newsletter. This was the last word on Journey. This newsletter made it clear to all the fan club members that all the rumors have been true, Journey was truly over. Starting in 1978, the Journey Fan Club has been answering the fans' questions, sending out newsletters, stickers, photos, and membership cards. This 1994 edition of the Journey Force Newsletter was the saddest newsletter of them all. Steve Perry was hard at work at the time on his forthcoming album, For The Love Of Strange Medicine. Steve does an interview with Journey Force staff member, Lora. This edition is here in it's full. There are eight fantastic pages full of information, photos and memories. You'll find a reunion photo of the original members of Journey. Thank you JOURNEY; Walter "Herbie" Herbert Gregg Rolie Neal Schon George Tickner Ross Valory Aynsley Dunbar Robert Fleischman Steve Smith Jonathan Cain
"You'll never find a group of people like Journey fans. there is such a devotion there"
During Robert Fleischman's short run as lead singer of Journey is a very interesting period in Journey's history. Columbia Records never did release any Journey songs sung by Robert Fleischman until the Box Set, "Time3", released in 1992. This Box Set only released "All For You" (listed as "For You" on the Set) which leaves much more left out there from Robert. I've recut and added some additions to a great performance of Gregg Rolie, Neal Schon, Aynsley Dunbar, Ross Valory, and Robert Fleischman on vocals. This performance is from the Diamond Head Crater Music Festival in Hawaii on July 4, 1977.
In 2001 Matt Carty interviewed Walter J. (Herbie) Herbert, Journey's Manager from 1973-1993.
Herbie Herbert was the mastermind behind it all. He got Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, and Ross Valory together to create a band that would catapult into superstardom and fizzle out in a flash. He came up with the album names and artwork.
This is the very hard to find interview from 2001 called "Castles Burning". He tells it like he saw it, and felt it.
I've updated my video for the Wheel In The Sky (demo) with Robert Fleischman as lead vocalist with significantly better audio quality. This one does not sound muddy.
If you've never heard Robert Fleischman singing "Wheel In The Sky" with Journey, you are in for a treat! As Journey was recording songs with their new singer/songwriter there are a few demo's floating around from 1977. Of course, Herbie Herbert pushed Robert out to make a place for Steve Perry, but Robert's pop songwriting and singing style helped prepare the band for making rock and pop hits. Robert co-wrote this song as well as others on the "Infinity" album. Without Robert's contribution, "Infinity" might not have been "Infinite".
Sit back and taste a piece of Robert's magic...
I found Robert Fleischmann's side of the story. There's a great in-depth interview by Dave Golland with Jrnydv.com. For any Journey fan of the Gregg Rolie days, this is a must read!
Gregg Rolie was Journey's original Lead Singer before they actually went looking for a Lead Singer.
Journey started out as a jam band, the songs were very long instrumental songs and if vocals were needed they were done by Gregg. The other 3 or 4 members contributed to the background vocals. After the release of the release of their first three albums, Columbia Records wanted Journey to have a lead singer. The only way Herbie could keep the recording contract was to add a lead singer. The band decided to add someone who could scream like a rock and roll singer. Herbie knew better, he knew to get a voice that would not only complement Gregg's voice but also be able to take the reigns as lead singer and energize a crowd. They ended up finding it twice in 1977. The 4 remaining members of the band wanted Robert Fleischman who had a great voice and he fit the bill perfectly. At the same time Herbie Herbert received a tape from Columbia Records of a singer named Steve Perry. The story goes that after Robert was hired, Herbie insisted on Steve Perry being the lead singer and there was some back-stabbing and who knows what that went on behind the scenes.
WHEEL IN THE SKY (Demo) 1977 JOURNEY with Robert Fleischman vocals In interviews, Steve Perry, has said many times proudly how they would have Robert not be at a gig or Steve would be working backstage and then come on stage during the show while Robert was away. What? What a shitty thing to do, really, they had to be sneaky like that? It doesn't make sense anyway. If Robert is the lead singer of the band where could they send him during a show? Who's going to sing his part? That's ludicrous, I mean did they send Robert to the hardware store to pick up some cables? It's during a show, Robert's the lead singer, he's not going anywhere.
Steve Perry has also said in interviews how he would join the band onstage during "Feeling That Way" and that's how they would introduce him. I have heard almost every recorded live show out there. There is no live show that supports this, always has "La Do Da" come sometime before "Feeling That Way" which means the whole introduction of Steve Perry could not have happened during "Feeling That Way". There really isn't a way to find out what really happened as all Journey members past and present are under gag orders to not talk about these types of things. Journey always a democratic band that got along perfectly, so we were supposed to believe at the time. I'm wondering if they ever considered a woman as lead singer. That would have been interesting, maybe Neal should be looking into that now. It seems there is and only will be one true lead singer in the band Journey and everything else fails in comparison. Yes, Steve Perry made the band it into one go the biggest bands in history, he also tore it apart and discarded it leaving the fans in the dark. Let's now take a moment and take a look at the man that almost had that spot, or had it for a very short time, Robert Fleischman...
