Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Friday 25 May 2018

When Def Leppard and Journey tour together, expect the hits

By MARK KENNEDY to its music via the internet,
Associated Press Elliott and Schon remain
NEW YORK (AP) — Def Lep- wary of what both call "the
pard and Journey have hit Wild West," a place where
the road together for a 60- they say their songs are
show tour, but they promise streamed a trillion times
there won't be any squab- and they get just $50.
bles over which band "With the internet, that's
headlines each night. proof in itself that it doesn't
"If it's 60 shows, it's 30 each. sell tickets. What sells tickets
Simple as that," says Joe El- is longevity and that you've
liott, lead singer of Def Lep- been persistent, and you
pard. "You know, it's pretty go every year," says Schon.
logical the way it's going to "You go away too long,
work." they're going to forget
The two bands will take about you. Someone's go-
turns closing out shows in ing to take your place."
58 cities, including concerts Both men are quick to dis-
at iconic venues such as miss the notion that rock is
Boston's Fenway Park, Chi- dead (Elliott points to the
cago's Wrigley Field, The Foo Fighters, who are "just
Forum in Los Angeles and killing it in stadiums world-
New York's Madison Square wide"). But they do worry
Garden, an arena where about younger bands fol-
Def Leppard will play its lowing in their footsteps.
first-ever full concert. "It is odd that bands that
It will be the second time have been around for 30,
the two bands have toured 40 years or whatever can
together. Def Leppard and tour together and we can
Journey first teamed up in still do really well. And we
2006, and both bands re- do much better than the
member those days. newer bands coming up,"
Neal Schon, a founding says Elliott.
member and lead guitarist In this Jan. 23, 2018 photo, Journey lead guitarist Neal Schon, left, and Def Leppard singer Joe Elliot "I've yet to see a band
of Journey, says it was a "no- appear in New York to promote their 60-show tour this summer. break through from where
brainer" to get the bands we started and go the
together. "Musically I think ingly well." Elliott agrees: "It I don't think either of us has "We used to tour to pro- same route we did and
that we match up amaz- was such a great tour, and ever forgotten how brilliant mote a record and now I maintain it. Will we be talk-
it was." think we put a record out ing about Greta Van Fleet
While both bands have to promote tour. You know, and The Strokes in the year
continued to make new it's wild," says Elliott. "We sur- 2060? I really hope so but
music, expect the tour to vived basically because that's something to be
focus on the hits. Def Lep- the audience stuck with proven down the road."
pard won't leave the stage us." Speaking of the road,
without "Pour Some Sugar Def Leppard is touring fresh they're still discussing the
on Me" and "Rock of Ages." from becoming one of possibility of a Def Leppard-
Journey won't take its bow the last multi-platinum sell- Journey onstage jam ses-
without offering "Don't Stop ing acts to have its music sion, with members of both
Believin'" and "Who's Crying made available on stream- bands belting out a song
Now." ing and download sites. or two together. They even
"It's not a curse to have a In January, Spotify, iTunes, joke they may write a new
hit," says Elliott. "I want to do Amazon and other digi- one.
our hits. I want to do 'Sug- tal music platforms made Possible title?
ar' and 'Photograph' and the band's catalog avail- "'Don't Stop Pouring Sugar,'"
'Rock of Ages.' They are able — and it immediately Elliott says.q
the songs that have put us charted in America and
in stadiums. So why would the U.K.
you abandon them now?" What took so long?
Both bands — representing "Our record deal lapsed in
the United States and the 2009 and we weren't in any
United Kingdom in a trans- great rush to do it because,
Atlantic rock hug — have at the time, we weren't re-
weathered line-up chang- ally sure if this is just a fad,"
es and the massive shifts says Elliott. "We, as a band,
in the music industry since wanted then to go through
the 1970s, riding the wave the entire catalog and
from vinyl to MP3s, surviving master everything properly
Napster, the rise and de- for streaming and down-
cline of MTV, and now fully load, which had never
enjoying the pop-culture been done."
embrace of all things from While both bands are en-
the 1980s. joying renewed attention