Dear HHDC EX-pert,
I’m 17 and a big dreamer. That’s why I lie on the couch a lot… to sleep. I love to sleep because I love to dream. In my dreams I’m the biggest rock star in the world, touring, sexing, drugging and rock and rolling. But when I wake up I come back to my real world of disappointments and failures. Tell me, man… how can I make my dreams come true?
Mickey of Florida, USA
EX-professor’s answer:
First of all Mickey, get the hell up from your couch, move your ass and work on your dream. Let me tell you a true story that started with a dream:
There was this guy in the ’80s who loved rock and roll, like you. But UNLIKE you, he did something about it. He started a band and began singing in small birthday and office parties. After a while the band moved on to small venues like sleezy clubs and cheap coffee houses.
Somebody noticed that this guy could sing. He can really belt out rock songs like there was no tomorrow. The band was signed to a manager who was able to get the band gigs in popular venues and even popular TV shows:
But with the music industry flooded with great ’80s rock and roll bands, there wasn’t enough place for everyone to work in. So, after several years trying to establish the band as one of the better bands around, and failing miserably, this guy and his band went back to where they started from– the sleezy clubs and cheap coffee houses. He had no choice but to continue singing because it’s the only thing he can do well. And he had a dream. He stayed focus on his dream because his inner voice kept telling him that someday he’ll get his chance.
Someday meant 20 years of waiting and singing in half-empty venues.
Still, he had built his own following of loyal fans from their heydays in the ’80s and new ones who discovered that he can rock– he can hit high notes easily, like the Police’s Sting and he can do a perfect Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin) falsetto. But what he had mastered was Steve Perry’s virtuoso vocals during the heydays of the band Journey (yes, back in the ’80s). So accurate, it was freaky. Freaky enough for his followers to have him videotaped for posting in Youtube:
Steve Perry left the band Journey in 1997 after almost 20 years of performing with the group and avoided talking to any his former bandmates since. The band stopped being active after he left. They simply could not perform the songs anymore because Perry had a very distinctive soaring voice. He was the only one who can give justice to all of Journey’s hits.
But the itch to make music was still with the rest of Journey. They tried hooking up with Perry to no avail. Until the band’s lead guitarist (Neal Schon) got tired of waiting and started looking for a replacement. Journey tried two other singers after Perry but it didn’t work out. The “magic voice” just wasn’t there. This was when Neal stumbled upon our guy’s Youtube Video singing Journey’s the “Faithfully” to a half-empty bar. It sent shivers down his spine. He sounded EXACTLY like Steve Perry.
The US-based lead guitarist of Journey (Neal) tried his best to hook up with our guy from the other side of the world– the Philippines– it got the attention of Ellen Degeneres. The buzz was too exciting for her because she’s a big Journey fan, like most Americans.
The story was eventually picked up by major news programmes.
Everything was a blur after that. Next thing we knew, our guy is now touring the world as the new lead singer of a reunited Journey, performing NOW in packed stadiums– singing the same songs he had been singing for more than 20 years.
It really is a dream come true for Arnel Pineda.
