Celebrity Sit-In Series: Steve Augeri of Journey

In 2017, my cover band Maggie Speaks started a new program called Celebrity Sit-In. It has been an incredible addition for corporate events, charity galas and fundraisers, high-end weddings, and music festivals. Celebrity singers from world-famous bands join Maggie Speaks on stage to perform their top four to six hits.

I have been fortunate enough to do this over 30 times in the past few years. Each time, I seem to learn something different from each of our guests, a little nugget that I can take back with me to continually refine Maggie Speaks live performance.

We have had the pleasure of performing with Steve Augeri, the former lead singer of Journey at least six times.  Growing up, Journey was always one of my favorite groups, what’s not to like?  Their song catalog is incredible. Whether it is a rocking Neal Shon guitar-driven track or a Steve Perry penned ballad, Journey had it all, and will always go down as one of my favorite melodic rock bands.

Steve Perry was one of the most phenomenal singers on the planet.  From the late seventies through the mid-eighties, no one could touch Journey.  Steve Perry came off the road with Journey in 1986. Being that I was only 12 years old, I thought I would never have a chance to see my idols perform live in concert.

In 1996, Journey did the unthinkable and reunited for their critically acclaimed album “Trial By Fire”. The band returned to the studio with Steve Perry at the helm, giving us the first Journey album in a decade. The band was set to tour in support of the album, to the delight of millions of fans across the globe.

However, their tour plans hit a snag when Steve Perry fell while hiking in Hawaii and he needed hip replacement surgery. Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain were getting antsy; they wanted to get out on the road and play Journey music for the masses. So, they went out on a search for a replacement for Steve Perry.

Steve Perry’s shoes were not easy to fill. Schon and Cain searched far and wide to find the ideal replacement. A guitarist named Joe Cefalu made a recommendation to Schon and Cain: there was a singer that used to front a band called Tall Stories named Steve Augeri. His high tenor was remarkably similar to Perry’s and he was no stranger to fronting in front of large audiences.

Tall Stories was nominated for “Best Debut Album” and Augeri for “Best Debut Male Vocalist at the 1992 New York Music Awards. Tall Stories disbanded in 1995 and Steve took a position at the GAP as a maintenance supervisor when he got the career-changing phone call. Neal Schon rang him up and asked him if he would be interested in auditioning for Journey, and at first, Steve thought it was a hoax. After some convincing, he flew out to audition and the rest is history.

In 1998 Steve Augeri was officially named the new lead vocalist for Journey. During his eight-year tenure, he toured with the band constantly and recorded three studio albums along with the single “Remember Me” from the seven-times platinum soundtrack album from the movie Armageddon.

I remember this moment like it was yesterday: I heard that Journey was performing with their new lineup at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Having never seen one of my favorite bands live, I jumped at the chance, I had to see who could fill the shoes of Steve Perry.

I asked myself, “who was this Steve Augeri”?  Well, color me impressed. Steve came out and rocked through all of the Journey classics. The band did not miss a beat, it was just such a pleasure to hear this music played live again for the world to enjoy.

Steve left the band in 2006 and has been touring on his own since then with the Steve Augeri Band. Steve was one of the first singers to join Maggie Speaks on stage for our Celebrity Sit-In program. He joined Maggie Speaks in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 30, 2018, for a corporate event.

As it happened, it was also his birthday that night, so we serenaded him on stage and sang a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday”. Since that night, I have had the pleasure of performing with Steve Augeri six times. It has been an absolute delight to rock through Journey classics like “Separate Ways”, “Lights”, “Faithfully”, “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’” and “Anyway You Want It”.

In talking with Steve, I was able to gain some insight into his thoughts about being a frontman. Steve said to me, “You know David, I always felt that as a frontman it was important to dress the part.  Give the audience something to look at, some flash.  When you walk into the room, people should know you are the singer in the band.”

I thought about this and realized how helpful this advice was. People always fantasize about being a rock star, we are fortunate enough to live the dream. So frontmen, dress to impress and make an impression on the audience. You have the confidence to front a band, so have that extend into your wardrobe on stage.