Maui Beat

Journey to perform at MACC

Don't Stop Believin'

One of the best-selling rock bands of all time, Journey has amassed worldwide sales of more than 90 million records. Their "Greatest Hits" collection still sells more than half a million copies a year, and their timeless power ballad "Don't Stop Believin'" was ranked as the 20th century's most downloaded catalog track on iTunes, so far amassing close to 7 million in digital sales.

Journey will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7.

"It's really great," Journey guitarist Neal Schon told Rolling Stone. "We're all honored. I kind of feel like we were already in with our fans and the amount of records we've sold all over the world."

In the band's original incarnation, Journey was a prog-rocking San Francisco-based outfit that specialized in extended jazz-rock fusion. The band was co-founded by Schon, an immensely talented guitarist who had been hired by Carlos Santana at the age of 15. After touring with Santana for two years, Schon and keyboardist Gregg Rolie left to eventually form Journey.

The road to major success was slow until their fourth album, "Infinity" (1978), which redefined their sound with the introduction of vocalist Steve Perry. Loaded with future FM radio staples like "Lights" and "Wheel in the Sky," "Infinity" sold more than a million.

Journey's revised classic rock sound was built on the combination of Perry's soulful vocals, Schon's passionate, melodic guitar solos and the band's rich harmonizing.

By the time of their fifth album, "Evolution," Journey had been transformed into arena superstars, rocketing into the stratosphere, charting three hit singles -- the epic "Don't Stop Believin,'" "Who's Crying Now" and "Open Arms."

The hits kept rolling with "Departure" and the hard-driving radio smash "Anyway You Want It" and the funky "Walks Like a Lady."

Six years later they broke up.

Journey reunited in 1996, releasing "Trial By Fire," which entered the charts at No. 3, sold platinum and earned the group its first Grammy nomination.

The iconic band was all set to capitalize on the album's success when Perry announced he wouldn't tour because of hip pain precipitated by a strenuous hike in Hawaii. He needed hip replacement surgery.

After a few years with lead singer Steve Augeri, the band discovered Filipino musician Arnel Pineda.

Surfing the Web checking out YouTube videos of likely replacement candidates, Schon was stunned when he came across Pineda. "I watched a bunch of different clips and I thought, he can't be that good," Schon reported in a Blabbermouth interview. "He's so tremendously talented."

In late 2007, the formerly homeless Filipino singer was flown to the States, and after three days of auditions he was hired.

"Pineda is the spark plug for Journey, whirling around on the stage, jumping in the air and changing costumes," praised a recent Fayetteville Flyer review. And an Oakland Press review raved: "Arnel Pineda's stage presence and energy were off the charts. Founding members Neal Schon and Ross Valory, along with longtime member Jonathan Cain and returning alumnus Steve Smith put on dazzling displays of musicianship throughout the show."

"I didn't imagine years ago that I'd be experiencing newer generations coming aboard every day," Schon reported in Rolling Stone. "They love this music. It just makes me think that we got it right and did some things very right."

* Journey will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's A&B Amphitheater in Kahului. Events Lawn gates will open at 4 p.m. for food and beverage sales, and access to the amphitheater will be at 5 p.m. with Willie K performing as a special guest. Tickets are $65, $79, $89, $129 and $149 (plus applicable fees) and are available at the box office, by calling 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org. The concert is a benefit for Na Keiki o Emalia.

*****

"An Outlaw at 80," proclaimed a recent Rolling Stone headline on Kris Kristofferson. One of the greatest songwriters of our time, this iconic musician released a 16-CD deluxe box set last year that captured his towering presence, and followed up with a new double album, "The Cedar Creek Sessions."

Seemingly not slowing down, Kristofferson experienced significant events in 2016 including a celebration honoring him in Nashville featuring a reformed Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson and Waylon Jennings' son Shooter. He also recorded a new version of "Me & Bobby McGee" in Canada with Gordon Lightfoot and Ronnie Hawkins, toured with Nelson over the summer and starred in the Western "Traded."

Country star Eric Church played Kristofferson's classic "To Beat the Devil" at the Nashville tribute last March, announcing: "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for this song and it weren't for Kris Kristofferson."

An Oxford University-educated Rhodes scholar, Kristofferson began his music career when (landing by helicopter) he hand-delivered his song "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down" to Johnny Cash's home. Cash recorded it in 1969 and it hit No. 1 on the country chart.

In a 2013 interview, the three-time Grammy winner said the song "opened up a whole lot of doors for me. It was the song that allowed me to quit working for a living."

The success of Kristofferson's second album, "The Silver Tongued Devil and I," in 1971 established his career as a recording artist in his own right.

Over the years his songs have been recorded by an extraordinary array of artists from Waylon Jennings, Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra, to Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.

His latest work, "The Cedar Creek Sessions," compiles 25 songs recorded live over a three-day period. Featuring reinterpretations of some of his famous and lesser-known songs, it earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. "Hardly anyone else in memory has written such a stock of all-time great songs that became signatures for others," noted a Country Standard Time review.

Comfortably nestled at his Hana home, Kristofferson will make a rare concert appearance at the MACC on Friday before heading to Honolulu for a show.

"I've had so much blessing, so much reward for my life," he told the Las Vegas Magazine. "I want to stay where I am, which is on an island with no neighbors and 180 degrees of empty horizon. It's a beautiful view. I can stay here for the rest of my life."

Summing up the impact of Kristofferson's career, Dylan in a 2015 speech said: "You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris, because he changed everything."

* Kris Kristofferson will perform solo at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the MACC's Castle Theater. Tickets are $30.50, $45.50 and $58.50 (plus applicable fees). Prices increase $2 the day of the show. Tickets are available at the box office, by calling 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org.

*****

Hawaiian music trio Keauhou will perform in the MACC's McCoy Studio Theater on Sunday. Formed by three Kamehameha Schools graduates, Kahanuola Solatorio, and brothers Nicholas and Zachary Lum, Keauhou released its self-titled debut album last fall.

Showcasing their intricate vocal harmonizing with guitar, ukulele and double bass accompaniment, the trio's CD is a rich addition to contemporary Hawaiian music.

At Kamehameha, their musical and cultural activities included singing in the Concert Glee Club and playing in the school band. Both Lum brothers held positions as class student director in the world-renowned song contest.

In 2008, Keauhou was awarded first place in the Hawaiian music contest, Ka Himeni Ana, held annually at the Hawaii Theater. All three are active and passionate educators and cultural practitioners in their field.

* Keauhou will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday in the MACC's McCoy Studio Theater. Tickets are $30 (plus applicable fees) and are available at the box office, by calling 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org.

*****

Melding hip-hop with folk, soul and blues on his self-titled debut album in 2002, Citizen Cope received wide praise, with the Washington Post proclaiming him the "city's most soulful export since Marvin Gaye."

The acclaim continued with further albums from "The Clarence Greenwood Recordings," and "The Rainwater LP," to his latest, "One Lovely Day."

Reviewing one of his acoustic shows, The Daily Gazette praised: "For one man on stage he gave us a powerful night of music."

* Citizen Cope will play two solo acoustic shows at Fleetwood's on Front. St. in Lahaina at 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Tickets range from $55 to $125. For more information, call 669-MICK.