Journey (band)

Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco.

Beginnings

See Santana for additional early Journey history.

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In December of 1971, Gregg Rolie, the organist and vocalist and co-founding member of Santana, decided that it was time to leave the band, due to longstanding disagreements with Carlos Santana about the musical direction of the group. He went home to Seattle, opening a restaurant with his father.

Related Topics:
Gregg Rolie - Organist - Vocalist - Carlos Santana - Seattle

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While all this was going on, there was another face on the scene; the road manager for Santana, Walter "Herbie" Herbert. After an abortive South America tour, Herbert was now on Carlos?s bad side, Herbie and Santana guitarist Neal Schon had become good friends on the tour. Herbie had the idea to take Schon and form a new band around his guitar-playing talents. After Schon parted ways with a Larry Graham side project that would eventually become Graham Central Station, he agreed. Herbert was able to get George Tickner (guitar) and Ross Valory (former bassist for Steve Miller Band) who were at the time playing in Frumious Bandersnatch, another band that Herbie managed, to join Schon and form a new band. Also Prairie Prince (drums), who was already with The Tubes, was recruited to join the new effort.

Related Topics:
Walter "Herbie" Herbert - Guitarist - Neal Schon - Larry Graham - Graham Central Station - George Tickner - Ross Valory - Steve Miller Band - Frumious Bandersnatch - Prairie Prince - The Tubes

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Meanwhile, the restaurant in Seattle was not going well. Rolie sold a majority of it, but still was on the hook financially. Herbert and Schon agreed that they should also bring in Rolie, and Herbie made the call. So in June of 1973 the Golden Gate Rhythm Section was formed. Their initial plan was to be a ready-made studio band for anyone wanting to cut a record in San Francisco. While waiting for a job to come along, Tickner started submitting ideas for the band's own, original, material. Tickner was leaning toward very progressive material, material that was probably not commecially viable, but was pushing musical boundaries. They recorded some demo tapes and sent them to KSAN-FM, the Bay Area rock station. After listeners heard the tapes, and were given some background on the band, they were invited to submit names for the band. There is some dispute as to who actually came up with the name Journey, but John Villaneuva, a Herbert associate, put it forward to Herbie, and the band had a new name.

Related Topics:
1973 - San Francisco - KSAN-FM

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The bands first public appearance came at Winterland New Year?s Eve 1973, and the next day they flew to Hawaii and played the Crater Festival. Prince, while he didn?t mind helping the band out, was still tied to his other band, The Tubes, and didn?t really want make a commitment to join formally. So Herbert, now manager of the new band, arranged for auditions for a new drummer, but nobody clicked. Herbert thought of Aynsley Dunbar, a drummer who played with Frank Zappa, John Mayall, Jeff Beck, Bonzo Dog Band, Mothers of Invention, Lou Reed, and David Bowie. Schon remembered seeing him play with Zappa, and the hunt was on. Although Dunbar didn?t know the members of Journey, he saw the potential and joined the band. On 5 February 1974, the new line-up made their debut at the Great American Music Hall. The band was off and running.

Related Topics:
Winterland - New Year?s Eve - 1973 - Hawaii - Crater Festival - The Tubes - Aynsley Dunbar - Frank Zappa - John Mayall - Jeff Beck - Bonzo Dog Band - Mothers of Invention - Lou Reed - David Bowie - 5 February - 1974 - Great American Music Hall

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