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Queen illustrating a typical band layout during a 1984 concert. Lead vocalist (frontman) Freddie Mercury stands centre-stage in front of drummer Roger Taylor and positioned between bassist John Deacon and guitarist Brian May.

The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main solo vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually believed to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in (though this is not necessarily true), often the spokespersons in interviews and before the public. On some occasions, the frontman of the band is someone other than the lead vocalist (e.g. Rainbow, Manfred Mann, The Dave Clark Five and AC/DC.)

In certain types of music, notably Soul and Motown, there is a line-up of a lead vocalist with a named group of backing vocalists (Gladys Knight & the Pips, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles). Such line-ups can be very fluid, with both the lead vocalist and the backing group pursuing independent careers; and frequent personnel changes are not uncommon.

Ambiguous lead vocalists[link]

Some rock groups, such as The Beatles, Linkin Park, Hollywood Undead, Eagles, Gomez, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, KISS, Blink-182, Anti-Flag, 311, 10cc, The Band, Zebrahead, Atreyu, Mastodon, New Politics, Mushroomhead, Alkaline Trio, Lacuna Coil, Flobots, Slightly Stoopid, Crazy Town, Hüsker Dü, Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong, Great Big Sea, Just Surrender, They Might Be Giants, The Monkees, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Barenaked Ladies have or had more than one featured vocalist, making it difficult to establish a single "lead singer" or "front man."

Other bands, such as Queen, The Clash, Cream,Type O Negative, Oasis, Depeche Mode, System of a Down, Goo Goo Dolls, Avenged Sevenfold, Creed, Alter Bridge, Alice in Chains, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Wings, The Cars, Panic at the Disco, Sick Puppies, Taking Back Sunday, Rancid, Styx, Status Quo, Skillet, Tantric had, in addition to the designated "lead singer", one or more members who provided significant lead vocals in the course of the group's career.

While the lead vocalist often defines the group's image and personality to the general public, several bands, such as AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Alice in Chains, Fuel, INXS, Helloween, Threshold, Evans Blue, Blessthefall, Killswitch Engage and Escape the Fate have changed lead singers and maintained the original band name and, to some extent, identity. Other bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Genesis, Anthrax, Misfits, Petra, Drowning Pool, Adema, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath have gone in an almost completely different musical direction with the arrival of a new vocalist.

[edit] Frontman

The lead vocalist of a band is sometimes called a frontman. This term "frontman" refers to the duties of musical leader amongst the band and spokesperson for the band before the public. While lead vocalists or spokespersons for any musical ensembles can be called a frontman, the term is used very widely in rock music. Since the position commonly has an expanded role from simple lead vocalists, there have been cases in which the frontman for a band is someone other than the lead vocalist. For example, Pete Wentz, the bassist for the band Fall Out Boy, is generally called the frontman, both in the media and by the band members themselves, since he represents the band in most interviews and has most contributed to the band's image in the popular media.^[1] Additionally, Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five was the group's drummer, not the main vocalist. Another example is Angus Young of AC/DC, who is the band's lead guitarist.

In several bands (such as Led Zeppelin, Queen and Oasis) the lead guitarist or bassist may share spokesman responsibilities with the lead singer. Usually, this is derived from that guitarist's specific role as a co-songwriter, co-founder and/or co-vocalist. Also in some cases, there are two frontmen, like in the band, Underoath, with singers Spencer Chamberlain and Aaron Gillespie (drummer). Another example is Blink-182, in which vocal duties are split between bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge. Hoppus usually carries out most media either by himself or together with DeLonge, while the band's other member, drummer Travis Barker usually remains quiet. Linkin Park has two vocalists as well, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, both considered as frontmen. Another example is the thrash metal band Metallica, in which James Hetfield (Lead vocalist and Rhythm guitarist) and Lars Ulrich (Drummer) share the spokesperson duties for being both founders and the only members that had never left the band.

See also[link]

• List of lead vocalists
• List of bands with a frontperson other than the lead singer

References[link]

Paul Stanley
Background information
Birth name	Stanley Eisen
Also known as	"The Starchild"
Born	(1952-01-20) January 20, 1952 (age 60) Manhattan, New York, United States
Origin	Queens, New York, United States
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, painter, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass
Years active	1970–present
Labels	New Door, Universal Music Group
Associated acts	Kiss, Wicked Lester
Website	www.paulstanley.com
Notable instruments
Ibanez PS10 and Destroyer (late 1970s and early 1980s, Mid 1990s) Washburn Signature Models (Mid-late 1990s and present) Silvertone Signature Models (Mid-2000s) BC Rich Guitars (1980s and Early 1990s) Gibson Flying V(mid 1970s), Gibson Explorer(late 1970s) Randall Amplifiers (1990s – 2010) Engl Amplifiers (Since 2010)

Stanley Eisen (born January 20, 1952), better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. Also known for his wailing vocals and high-energy on-stage antics. He is of Hungarian and Austrian ancestry.

He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's highest-charting hits. Stanley established the "Starchild" character for his Kiss persona. Hit Parader ranked him 18th on their list of Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. Gibson.com Readers Poll also named him 13th on their list of Top 25 Frontmen.

Biography[link]

Kiss[link]

Before Kiss, Paul Stanley was in a local band, Rainbow (not to be confused with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow) and was also a member of Uncle Joe and Post War Baby Boom. Through a mutual friend of Gene Simmons', Stanley joined Simmons' band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1972, but as of 2010 it has not been officially released (although songs from the album appeared on Kiss's 2001 box set). Wicked Lester soon fell apart and Stanley and Simmons placed ads for a drummer and a guitarist in various New York papers. This resulted in Peter Criss and Ace Frehley joining the group, and they named themselves Kiss. Kiss released their self-titled debut album in February 1974.

The Starchild

Stanley's persona in Kiss was "The Starchild" utilizing one star over his right eye. For a brief time, Stanley changed his make-up character to "The Bandit", with a "Lone Ranger" style mask design make-up pattern. This make-up design would only be used during a few mid-1973 shows, soon to be replaced by the now famous "The Starchild" make-up design and persona. In his book Sex Money Kiss, Gene Simmons admits that Stanley was the driving force for Kiss during the makeup-free 1980s, while Simmons was feeling lost without his demon makeup and was distanced from the band while attempting to launch a film career.

In 2006, Stanley resumed his association with Washburn Guitars and using the Washburn PS2000. Previously, he has had four signature guitars made by Silvertone, and tweaked the Ibanez Iceman to his specifications, calling it the PS10.

In 2007 (prior to the final show of the Hit 'N Run Tour on July 27), Stanley was hospitalized with tachycardia. In his absence, Kiss performed live as a trio for the first time in decades. Previously, Kiss performed as a trio at Studio 54 in New York City for an international satellite broadcast on January 28, 1982, lip-syncing the song "I" from Music from "The Elder" for the Italian Festival della canzone italiana, also known as the San Remo Festival, when Ace Frehley failed to show for the performance due to what was described at the time as a "mystery illness". The July 27, 2007 concert is the first Kiss concert Stanley has missed during his 34-year tenure with the group.^[1]

In September 2007, Stanley took part in Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp as a guest star for his second time in New York City. In 2009 Paul Stanley recorded 3 voice ads for the charity Kars4Kids. Stanley continues to tour with Kiss; the KISS 2010 The Hottest Show on Earth Tour (a continuation of the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour which was itself a continuation of the Kiss Alive/35 World Tour) which started March 2010 and ended at Guadalajara, Mexico in October.

Solo career[link]

Stanley has very rarely recorded or performed outside of Kiss. He wrote and recorded material for a solo album in 1987–88, which was shelved in favor of the Kiss compilation, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. While never officially released, songs such as "Don't Let Go" and "When Two Hearts Collide" have circulated as bootleg recordings. One song from the project, "Time Traveler," was released as part of the Kiss's 2001 box set.

In 1989, he embarked on a brief club tour. His touring band included guitarist Bob Kulick and future Kiss drummer Eric Singer. Also in 1989, Stanley loaned his voice to the title track for the soundtrack of the Wes Craven horror flick "Shocker".

In 2005, a bootleg CD began circulating entitled People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest: The Very Best of Paul Stanley's On Stage Banter. The fan-made disc compiled 70 tracks worth of Stanley's distinctive song introductions and on-stage banter.^[2]

Twenty-eight years after releasing his first solo album (as part of the four simultaneously released Kiss solo albums), Stanley released a second album, Live to Win, on October 24, 2006. The title song of his solo album, "Live to Win", appeared on the South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft". In October and November 2006, Stanley embarked on a theater tour in support of Live to Win. His touring band was the house band from the CBS TV show, Rock Star. The band appeared on both seasons of the show – Rock Star: INXS and Rock Star: Supernova. The band was composed of Paul Mirkovich (keyboards), Jim McGorman (guitar), Rafael Moreira (lead guitar), Nate Morton (drums), and Sasha Krivtsov (bass). In April 2007, Stanley extended the tour to include Australia, playing in Coolangatta, Wollongong, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Portions of the tour were filmed for a documentary titled Paul Stanley: Live to Dream by the Chicago-based Film Foetus.^[3] The band's performance at the House of Blues in Chicago was captured on film and released in 2008 on DVD and digital audio download formats as One Live Kiss.

In 2008, Stanley sang a duet with Sarah Brightman, "I Will Be with You", on her Symphony album.

Voice[link]

It features a standard soft and gentle but powerful bass treble. Stanley tends to sing especially in the high register of his vocal range, although the term "record" Kiss sang even more serious in the records (I Was Made for Lovin 'You, Shandi). In Music from "The Elder" has also experimented with falsetto (Just a Boy, The Oath).

Other projects[link]

Stanley while showing some of his paintings in San Diego, September 2007

In 1999, Stanley starred in a Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera, in which he played the role of The Phantom. He appeared in the musical from May 25 to August 1, and again that year from September 30 to October 31, 1999. Stanley made his debut as a painter in 2006, exhibiting and selling original works of art. Stanley collaborated with Boston-based power pop group Click Five on their hit single, "Angel To You (Devil To Me)". In the past, Stanley has been asked to produce albums for Poison but he was never able to commit due to his work on Kiss projects. However, Stanley did in fact produce a debut album for an up and coming band called New England. The first single from that album in 1978 was called "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" and went on to become a Top-40 hit in 1979.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Stanley was born in Manhattan, New York and moved to Queens as a teenager. He is Jewish. He attended The High School of Music & Art in New York City and graduated in 1970.^[5] Stanley has microtia, a deformity of the pinna (outer ear).^[6] He is an ambassador for the charitable organization AboutFace, an organization that provides support and information to individuals with facial differences and has appeared at fundraising events and in videos to raise awareness.

In 2001, Stanley's wife, Dallas native Pamela Bowen, filed for divorce. They have one son, Evan Shane Stanley, born June 6, 1994. On November 19, 2005, Paul Stanley married longtime girlfriend Erin Sutton at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington in Pasadena, California. They had their first child, Colin Michael Stanley, on September 6, 2006. The couple had their second child, Sarah Brianna, on January 28, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.^[7] On August 9, 2011, the couple had their third child, Emily Grace.^[8]

Stanley has had two hip replacement surgeries: one after the "Rock the Nation" tour in October 2004, and a second in December 2004 after complications arose from the first surgery. He has announced that he will require a third hip surgery in the future. Stanley regards the degeneration of his left hip as partly the product of thousands of shows performed in Platform Boots since the early 1970s.

In October 2011 Stanley had vocal chords surgery.He said "I hold myself to a higher standard than others do, With that in mind, I wanted to remedy a few minor issues that come with 40 years of preaching rock 'n' roll."

Awards[link]

• Stanley was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006
• Stanley got the Showman Of The Year award of the Classic Rock Awards for 2008
• Stanley received the Classic Gold Telly Award for his concert film One Live Kiss in 2009.
• Stanley received the Sound Partners Lifetime Achievement Award from the House Research Institute^[9]

Discography[link]

Kiss[link]

Solo career[link]

• Paul Stanley (1978)
• Live to Win (2006)
• One Live Kiss (2008) – DVD and digital download from Amazon.com and iTunes

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Stanley official website
• Kiss official website
• Interview with Paul Stanley
• Paul Stanley at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Paul Stanley from 1999
• http://www.newswise.com/articles/house-research-institute-awards-paul-stanley-with-sound-partners-lifetime-achievement-award
• http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/all-top-50-0827/

Arnel Pineda
Background information
Birth name	Arnel Pineda
Born	(1967-09-05) September 5, 1967 (age 44) Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines
Genres	Rock, hard rock, soft rock, OPM
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bandurria
Years active	1982–Present
Labels	Universal Music Group
Associated acts	Ijos Band, Amo, New Age, Most W@nted, The Zoo, Journey

Arnel Pineda (born September 5, 1967) is a Filipino singer-songwriter who has served as the lead singer of the American rock band Journey since 2007.^[1] Pineda has had a successful musical career in the Philippines for the last 25 years.

Biography[link]

Arnel Pineda was born in Sampaloc, Marikina Sampaloc, Manila, in the Philippines. His mother instilled his love for singing at an early age, encouraging him to sing along to songs from his favorite singers like Karen Carpenter and Barbra Streisand. Growing up, his parents entered him in many singing contests.^[2]

His mother, who had been suffering from heart disease, died when he was thirteen. Her illness had left their family deep in debt.^[3] Being 6 months or one year behind on their rented apartment and unable to sufficiently provide for the family, his father decided to move out and ask relatives to take in Pineda's siblings. To ease his father's burden, Pineda quit school and volunteered to strike out on his own.

About two years of his life were spent out on the streets, sleeping wherever he could: in public parks, or on a narrow bench outside a friend's crowded house. He earned meager money by collecting glass bottles, newspapers, and scrap metal and selling them to recyclers. He would also go to the pier with his friends and take on odd jobs like cleaning scrap metal and docked ships. He didn't have much to eat, sometimes rationing a small package of Marie biscuit as his meal for two days.^[4]

Singing career[link]

In 1982, when Pineda was 15 years old, he became the lead singer of the Filipino group Ijos. He used to sing in Shakey's Taft. In 1986, some members of Ijos formed a group called Amo. Amo entered and won the Rock Wars contest in the Philippines.^[5]

In 1988, Amo entered and won the Philippines leg of the Yamaha World Band Explosion. They went on to the finals in Hong Kong, but were not qualified to win due to a technicality. The rules stated the winning song had to be an original composition. However, they also stated that the song entry in the finals had to be the same song with which the band won their country's leg of the competition. Amo's winning song in the Philippines was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. After the contest, the band continued as Amo, performing live. They opened for Robert Palmer in Manila in 1989.^[5] Amo played in clubs in Quezon City, Olongapo City and Makati City, which are located in Luzon, the biggest island in the Philippines. Amo was very popular in the Chinese-owned California Jam club in Olongapo City, which was frequented by United States military personnel.^[5]

In 1990, Pineda and other members of Amo formed another band called Intensity five and once again entered the Yamaha World Band Explosion. Pineda won the Best Vocalist award and the band came in as first runner up.^[5]

Later in 1990, five of Amo's original members split from the band leader, Ulysis Ablang and formed another band behind Pineda, New Age. This occurred prior to the release of Amo's only album released in 1990 titled Ang Tunay na Amo ("The Real Master") on BMG records which spawned one popular radio hit called "Running Away". (The song gained recognition in 2006 by another Filipino artist Erik Santos, who won an American Idol type Filipino TV show, Star In A Million.) The remaining members of Amo went on to become The Boss Band, while Pineda's band, New Age, played regularly at Fire and Rain in Makati City.

In 1991, during one of those performances, a talent agent spotted Pineda and New Age and asked them to move to Hong Kong to perform at a very popular entertainment restaurant called Grammy's. With New Age, Pineda performed six nights a week, Tuesday through Sunday, for several years thereafter.^[5] After a long-term serious relationship failed in 1994, Pineda suffered health problems, which almost destroyed his voice. He returned to the Philippines. After six months of recuperation, he was able to sing again.^[5][6] He returned to Hong Kong and resumed singing with his band. In 1998, the owner of Igor's, the premiere theme restaurant/nightclub in Hong Kong, asked New Age to perform there. Dressed in skeleton outfits, they called themselves The Rolling Bones.^[5]

In 1999, Pineda caught the attention of Warner Bros. record label and flew back to the Philippines on his days off to record a solo album, the self-titled Arnel Pineda. Most of the album’s ten original songs were slow ballads, with only two upbeat numbers, one of which carries a Latin style. One of the songs, “Iiyak Ka Rin” (You Will Cry Too) became a karaoke favorite in Asia, while another song "Sayang" (Too Bad) became a radio favorite. Pineda wrote and arranged several songs. Pineda continued to perform with New Age while making his album and for several years thereafter. In 2001, Pineda sang one song with Filipino band, South Border’s album The Way We Do. The song is called “Looking Glass”. Earlier that year, Pineda formed a new band,eventually called "9mm" and played around the city's top bars including The Hard Rock Cafe in Makati City.The band played a three month stint at “The Edge” in Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong in 2002.

In 2004, three members of New Age reformed with a female singer sharing lead vocals with Pineda and called themselves Most W@nted. This band played 3–4 hour sets Monday through Saturday at The Cavern Club in Hong Kong.^[7] On their only day off, Sundays, the band often performed at Filipino community events.

In 2005, Arnel recorded the theme song of the short-lived Filipino radio show "Dayo". A band named The Visitors was briefly formed for promotion purposes of the "Dayo" soundtrack consisting of three members from Ijos/Yjoz, Amo, New Age and Most W@nted.^[5]

The Zoo[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2010)

In 2006, encouraged by well-respected Filipino talent manager and TV director, Bert de Leon, Pineda moved back to the Philippines with Monet Cajipe, the guitarist who had been in all of Pineda’s previous bands. They formed The Zoo with Emil Bondoc on bass, Edgar Mendoza on keyboards, and Mckoy Alcantara on drums. They signed on with de Leon's company, Sundance Entertainment Corporation. The Zoo performed several nights a week at clubs in Manila and Olongapo during 2006 and 2007. Shows regularly spanned 3–5 hours. The Zoo’s first album Zoology was released by MCA Universal in September 2007 featuring 12 original tracks and one cover song ("Pain in My Heart," originally recorded a decade earlier by Second Wind), five of which were penned by Pineda, and another was co-written by Pineda and Mark Valliente.

Journey[link]

Arnel Pineda at the PNC Bank Arts Center, New Jersey, 8/11/2008

Videos of The Zoo performing cover songs by Journey, Survivor, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Air Supply, The Eagles, Kenny Loggins, Stryper and other popular acts from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, began appearing on YouTube.com in February 2007. On June 28, 2007,^[8] Neal Schon of Journey contacted Noel Gomez, a longtime fan and friend of Pineda who uploaded many of these videos, to ask for Pineda's contact information. Schon sent an e-mail to Pineda inviting him to audition for Journey. Pineda initially dismissed the e-mail as a hoax, but after being persuaded by Gomez, he finally replied to Schon's e-mail. Ten minutes later, Pineda received a phone call from Schon.^[9] On August 12,^[10] Pineda, along with his manager Bert de Leon, flew to Marin County, just north of San Francisco, for a two-day audition.^[11][12] The star-struck Pineda was welcomed warmly but he described the audition as "nerve-wracking, tense".^[13] On December 5, 2007, Pineda was announced as the lead singer of Journey. CNN Headline News ran the story as part of their "News to Me" segment.^[14]

Pineda debuted as the lead singer of Journey on February 21, 2008 at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival held at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile.^[15][16]

Chilean media acclaimed Pineda's performance (translated to English): "The new vocalist fits very well with the band, his vocal aptitudes shining through, which are very similar to the legendary musician of the band, Steve Perry."^[17] Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain described Pineda's performance in a radio interview: "We went to Chile just recently, where we had never played and they went crazy, they absolutely went nuts...Arnel's first show — talk about a stressful thing — we had a televised concert for 25 million people...Is the guy a winner? Yeah, he's a winner. He's a clutch player."^[18]

Journey returned to the US for a private RE/MAX Convention event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on March 6, 2008, then performed at Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood on March 8, 2008 (this concert was recorded and used, in part, for the Revelation DVD).

On February 1, 2009 he performed with Journey at the Super Bowl XLIII Pregame Show.

[edit] Revelation album and tour

Journey's first album with Pineda, Revelation, debuted at No. 5 in the Billboard Top 200 album charts in the week following its release (released June 3, 2008), and remained in the Top 20 for six weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA with more than 336,000 units sold within the first few days.^[19] It achieved platinum status by October 1, 2008.

The US version of the album (distributed exclusively through Wal-Mart) consists of 10 new songs ("Faith in the Heartland" was co-written and originally recorded by vocalist Steve Augeri and S. Augeri is credited as song writer in the liner notes of this album) and 12 re-recorded classics, plus a live in-concert DVD filmed during the March 8, 2008 concert in Las Vegas. The European version distributed through Frontiers Records contains 11 new songs, 11 re-recorded classics, plus one new bonus track, but does not include the DVD. All of the music on Revelation was produced by Kevin Shirley (who previously worked with Journey on their Platinum-certified Trial by Fire album).^[20]

Jonathan Cain described the album in an interview: "We recorded our greatest hits with our brand new singer from the Philippines, Arnel Pineda, and it's unbelievable when you listen to it. We paid a lot of attention to the details because everybody loves those hits and we weren't about to step all over it. We've got that and a brand new CD as well, and then there's a bonus DVD of what the band looks like now, about an hour of songs... It's a 3-disc package... We're excited because we think Arnel is the future for our franchise... We knew that if we were ever gonna move on, we had to get somebody that was really gonna be our future and sound like Journey is supposed to sound...I think Journey fans are in for a real treat."^[18]

In an interview soon after Pineda joined the band, Neal Schon said, "We feel reborn. I think there’s a lot of chemistry among the five of us. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it’s escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone’s so stoked about it. We feel very fortunate to have found Arnel."^[21]

Journey's 2008 tour accompanying the release of Revelation began on June 8, 2008, in Spain, followed by four dates in Germany, and one date in the Netherlands. Journey toured the United Kingdom and Ireland from June 17 through June 28, 2008. The US tour (with Heart and Cheap Trick) began on July 9, 2008, in Denver, Colorado, and continued through October 4, 2008, in Albuquerque, NM. Many dates were already sold out, well in advance. Pineda celebrated his 41st birthday on September 5, 2008 during a concert at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto, Canada. In September 2008, Journey performed back-to-back sold-out concerts at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.^[22] Pineda sang in 57 concerts during the 2008 Journey World Tour. Journey's recent visit to the United States Gulf Coast performing at the Wharf Amphitheater, Orange Beach, Alabama and at the Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, Florida was a tremendous hit due to the large Filipino communities living in that area.

In the second leg of the tour, Journey went on an Asian–Hawaiian tour, going to Tokyo, Japan; Nagoya, Japan; Osaka, Japan; Manila, Philippines; Macau, China; Kahului, Hawaii; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Waikoloa, Hawaii.^[23] The Manila concert was released as a live concert DVD. Total concert revenue for Journey in 2008 was $35,695,481.^[24]

Television[link]

• Protege (Mentor of Nomer Limatog - replacement of Rachelle Ann Go) (GMA Network)
• ASAP (Co-host; 2008–present) (ABS-CBN)
• Simply KC (Guest) (ABS-CBN)
• Showtime (Guest judge) (ABS-CBN)
• Eat Bulaga! (Guest) (GMA Network)
• Boy and Kris (Guest) (ABS-CBN)
• Ellen DeGeneres Show
• CBS Early Show (Guest with Journey) (CBS)
• The Oprah Winfrey Show (Guest with Journey)
• NBC Today Show (Guest with Journey)

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• Arnel Pineda (1999)

With Zoo[link]

• Zoology (2007)

With Journey[link]

• Revelation (2008)
• Journey: Live in Manila (2009, DVD)
• Eclipse (2011)

Other lead vocals[link]

• South Border — The Way We Do (track "Looking Glass") (2001)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Arnel Pineda Official Site
• Arnel Pineda Foundation Inc. - Non-profit organization, Philippines

Axl Rose
Rose performing with Guns N' Roses in 2010
Background information
Birth name	William Bruce Rose, Jr.
Also known as	W. Axl Rose, William Bruce Bailey
Born	(1962-02-06) February 6, 1962 (age 50) Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, synthesizer, guitar, percussion
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Geffen, UZI Suicide
Associated acts	Guns N' Roses, Hollywood Rose, L.A. Guns, Rapidfire

W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose, Jr.; raised as William Bruce Bailey; February 6, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years. In 2001, he resurfaced with a new line-up of Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio 3, and subsequently played periodic concert tours, before releasing the long-delayed album Chinese Democracy in 2008. Rose has been named one of the greatest singers of all time by various media outlets, including Rolling Stone and NME.^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Rose was born William Bruce Rose, Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana, the oldest child of Sharon E. (née Lintner), then 16 years old, and William Bruce Rose, then 20 years old.^[3][4] When Rose was two years old, his father abandoned the family.^[5] His mother remarried to Stephen L. Bailey, and his name was changed to William Bruce Bailey.^[4][6] He has two younger siblings—a sister, Amy, and a half-brother, Stuart.^[7][8] Until the age of 17, Rose believed that Bailey was his real father.^[5] He never met his biological father as an adult; William Rose, Sr. was found murdered in Illinois in 1984.^[9]

The Bailey household was very religious; Rose and his family attended a Pentecostal church, where he was required to attend services three to eight times per week and even taught Sunday school.^[10] Rose later described his upbringing as oppressive, stating, "We'd have televisions one week, then my stepdad would throw them out because they were satanic. I wasn't allowed to listen to music. Women were evil. Everything was evil."^[10] In 1992, after undergoing past life regression therapy, Rose claimed he had uncovered memories of being sexually abused by his biological father at the age of two.^[4][5][11] He also stated that his stepfather had physically abused him and his siblings, as well as sexually abused his sister.^[4][5] Rose found solace in music from an early age. He sang in the church choir from the age of five, and performed at services with his brother and sister under the name the Bailey Trio.^[12] At Jefferson High School, he participated in the school chorus and studied piano.^[13] A second baritone,^[14] Rose began developing "different voices" during chorus practice to confuse his teacher.^[12][14][15] He eventually formed a band with his friends, one of whom was Jeff Isbell, later known as Izzy Stradlin.^[16]

At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name.^[5][6] However, he referred to himself only as W. Rose, because he did not want to share a first name with his biological father.^[5][6] (Four years later, after moving to Los Angeles, he became so engrossed in his band AXL that his friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose;^[6][17] he legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.^[14][18][19]) Following the discovery of his true family origins, Rose became the local juvenile delinquent in Lafayette; he was arrested over 20 times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served as long as three months in jail.^[6][19] After Lafayette authorities threatened to charge him as a habitual criminal,^[13] Rose moved to Los Angeles, California in December 1982.^[19]

Career[link]

1983–1986: Early years[link]

Shortly after his arrival in Los Angeles, Rose joined the band Rapidfire, with whom he recorded a four-song demo in May 1983.^[20] After the group's disbandment, he joined the first line-up of L.A. Guns,^[21] before forming the band Hollywood Rose with his childhood friend Izzy Stradlin,^[22] who had moved to Los Angeles in 1980.^[16] In January 1984, the band recorded a five-song demo featuring the tracks "Anything Goes", "Rocker", "Shadow of Your Love", and "Reckless Life", which were released in 2004 as The Roots of Guns N' Roses.^[23] While struggling to make an impact on the Hollywood music scene, Rose held down a variety of jobs, including the position of night manager at the Tower Records location on Sunset Boulevard. Rose and Stradlin even smoked cigarettes for a scientific study at UCLA for the reported wages of $8 per hour.^[18]

In March 1985, Rose and his former band mate Tracii Guns formed Guns N' Roses by merging their respective bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns.^[24] By June, after several line-up changes, the band consisted of Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The line-up debuted at The Troubadour in Hollywood and proceeded to play the L.A. club circuit, eventually building a devoted fan following.^[24] The band attracted the attention of several major record labels,^[24] before signing with Geffen Records in March 1986.^[13] The following December, they released the four-song EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide on the Geffen imprint UZI Suicide.^[4]

1987–1993: International success[link]

In July 1987, Guns N' Roses released its debut album Appetite for Destruction. Although the record received critical acclaim, it experienced a slow commercial start, selling only 500,000 copies in its first year of release.^[25] However, fueled by the band's relentless touring and the mainstream success of the single "Sweet Child o' Mine"—Rose's tribute to his then-girlfriend Erin Everly—the album rose to the No. 1 position on the U.S. chart in August 1988, and again in February 1989. To date, Appetite for Destruction has sold over 28 million copies worldwide,^[26] 18 million of which in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S.^[27]

During the band's performance at the Monsters of Rock festival in Castle Donington, England in August 1988, two fans were crushed to death when many in the crowd of 107,000 began slam-dancing to "It's So Easy". Rose had halted the show several times to calm the audience.^[6] From then on, he became known for personally addressing disruptive fans and giving instructions to security personnel from the stage, at times stopping concerts to deal with issues in the crowd. In 1992, Rose stated, "Most performers would go to a security person in their organization, and it would just be done very quietly. I'll confront the person, stop the song: 'Guess what: You wasted your money, you get to leave.'"^[5] As a result of the deaths at Monsters of Rock, the festival was canceled the following year.^[28]

In November 1988, Guns N' Roses released the stopgap album G N' R Lies, which sold over five million copies in the U.S. alone.^[27] The band—and Rose in particular—were accused of promoting racist and homophobic attitudes with the song "One in a Million",^[29] in which Rose warns "niggers" to "get out of my way" and complains about "faggots" who "spread some fucking disease." During the controversy, Rose defended his use of the racial slur by claiming that "it's a word to describe somebody that is basically a pain in your life, a problem. The word nigger doesn't necessarily mean black."^[13] In 1992, however, he conceded that he had used the word as an insult towards black people, stating, "I was pissed off about some black people that were trying to rob me. I wanted to insult those particular black people. I didn't want to support racism."^[5] In response to the allegations of homophobia, Rose stated that he considered himself "pro-heterosexual" and blamed this attitude on "bad experiences" with gay men, citing an attempted rape in his late teens and the alleged molestation by his biological father.^[5][11][13] The controversy led to Guns N' Roses being dropped from the roster of an AIDS benefit show in New York organized by the Gay Men's Health Crisis.^[13][18]

With the success of Appetite for Destruction and G N' R Lies, Rose found himself lauded as one of rock's most prominent frontmen. By the time he appeared solo on the cover of Rolling Stone in August 1989, his celebrity was such that the influential music magazine agreed to his absolute requirement that the interview and accompanying photographs would be provided by two of his friends, writer Del James and photographer Robert John.^[30] MTV anchorman Kurt Loder described Rose as "maybe the finest hard rock singer currently on the scene, and certainly the most charismatic."^[31]

In early 1990, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording the full-length follow-up to Appetite for Destruction. Recording sessions initially proved unproductive due to Steven Adler's struggle with drug addiction, which made him unable to perform and caused sessions to abort for several days at a time.^[24] Adler was fired the following July and replaced by Matt Sorum of The Cult.^[24] Keyboardist Dizzy Reed also joined the band that year at Rose's insistence.^[24] Sorum and Reed played their first show with Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio 2 in January 1991. The group fired its long-time manager, Alan Niven, in May of that year; Rose reportedly forced the dismissal of Niven against the wishes of his band mates by refusing to complete the new album until Niven was gone.^[32] He was replaced by roadie Doug Goldstein, whom Izzy Stradlin described as "the guy who gets to go over to Axl's at six in the morning after he's smashed his $60,000 grand piano out of the picture window."^[33]

In May 1991, still without an album to promote, the band embarked on the two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour, which became known for both its financial success and the many controversial incidents that occurred during shows, including late starts, on-stage rantings, and even riots. Rose received much criticism for his late appearances at concerts, sometimes taking the stage hours after the band was scheduled to go on.^[5] In July 1991, ninety minutes into a concert at the Riverport Amphitheater near St. Louis, and after on-stage requests from Rose for security personnel to address the situation, Rose dove into the crowd to confiscate a banned video camera. After being pulled back on stage, he announced, "Thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home!" and left, following which some 2500 fans staged a riot, resulting in an estimated $200,000 in damages.^[34]

In September 1991, with enough material completed for two albums, Guns N' Roses released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, which debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively on the U.S. chart, a feat not achieved by any other group.^[18] By the albums' release, however, Rose's relationships with his band mates had become increasingly strained. His childhood friend Izzy Stradlin abruptly left the group in November 1991; he was replaced by Gilby Clarke of Kill For Thrills.^[11][24] Of his reasons for leaving, Stradlin said, "I didn't like the complications that became such a part of daily life in Guns N' Roses,"^[35] citing the riot and Rose's chronic lateness as examples.^[35][16] At some point during the remainder of the tour, Rose demanded and received sole ownership of the Guns N' Roses name from Slash and Duff McKagan; Rose reportedly issued an ultimatum—they had to sign the name over to him or he wouldn't perform.^[7] (In 2008, Rose stated that these reports were false and that the alleged coercion would have rendered the contract legally untenable.^[36])

Rose performing in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1993

Another riot occurred in August 1992 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, during a co-headlining tour with Metallica. Prior to Guns N' Roses taking the stage, Metallica's set was cut short after singer-guitarist James Hetfield suffered second-degree burns in a pyrotechnics accident. However, Guns N' Roses was unable to take the stage early, because Rose was once again late arriving at the venue. Fifty-five minutes into their show, Rose complained of voice problems; he then told the audience "Thank you, your money will be refunded" and walked off stage, following which a riot erupted in downtown Montreal, resulting in an estimated $400,000 in damages.^[24][37][38] In November of that year, Rose was convicted of property damage and assault in relation to the Riverport riot; he was fined $50,000 and received two years' probation.^[33][39] In addition, Guns N' Roses was banned from St. Louis for life.

Guns N' Roses played its final show of the Use Your Illusion Tour on July 17, 1993 at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires;^[40] it proved to be Rose's last live performance with the band for seven-and-a-half years.^[41] The following August, Rose testified in court against Steven Adler, who had filed a lawsuit contending that he had been illegitimately fired. When the judge ruled against Rose, he agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $2,500,000 and 15% of the royalties for everything Adler recorded prior to his departure.^[8][33] In November of that year, Guns N' Roses released "The Spaghetti Incident?", a cover album of mostly punk songs, which proved less successful than its predecessors. Unbeknownst to his band mates, Rose had included the hidden track "Look at Your Game, Girl", a song written by convicted murderer Charles Manson, which he intended as a personal message to his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour.^[8][33] Controversy ensued, and the band subsequently pledged to donate any royalties to the son of one of Manson's victims.^[8]

[edit] 1994–present: Hiatus, touring, and Chinese Democracy

Without explanation or consultation from his band mates, Rose fired Gilby Clarke in June 1994.^[8] Tension between Rose and Slash reached a breaking point after the latter discovered that Rose had single-handedly hired his childhood friend Paul "Huge" Tobias as Clarke's replacement.^[8] Slash finally left Guns N' Roses in October 1996, followed by Matt Sorum's firing in June 1997. Duff McKagan departed the band in August of that year, leaving Rose and Dizzy Reed as the only remaining band members of the Use Your Illusion era.^[7]

As the stability of Guns N' Roses collapsed, Rose withdrew from public view. The band never officially broke up, although it did not tour or perform for several years and no new material was released. Rose continued to recruit new musicians to replace band members who either left or were fired. By the late 1990s, he was considered to be a recluse, rarely making public appearances and spending most of his time holed up in his mansion in Malibu. In various media reports, he was referred to as the "Howard Hughes of rock" and "rock's greatest recluse".^[24][42] Rose was said to spend his nights rehearsing and writing with the various new lineups of Guns N' Roses, working on the band's next album, Chinese Democracy.^[7]

In January 2001, Rose resurfaced at Rock in Rio 3 with a new line-up of Guns N' Roses, featuring lead guitarists Buckethead and Robin Finck, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia, and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman. The following year, the band—with Tobias replaced by Richard Fortus—embarked on a tour of Europe, Asia, and North America, and made a critically panned surprise appearance at the MTV Awards.^[41] In November, a riot erupted at Vancouver's General Motors Place after Rose failed to show up for a scheduled concert. When venue staff announced the cancellation, a riot broke out, resulting in an estimated $100,000 in damages.^[43]

Rose then withdrew from the public view for a second time. In 2004, he joined his former band mates Slash and Duff McKagan in a lawsuit against Geffen Records in an unsuccessful attempt to block the release of the Greatest Hits compilation album.^[44] That same year, Rose lent his voice to the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in which he adopted the persona of Tommy "The Nightmare" Smith, the radio DJ of classic rock station K-DST The Dust.^[45]

Rose performing at the Download Festival in 2006

In a rare interview in January 2006, Rose stated that "people will hear music this year."^[46] With Buckethead and Bryan Mantia replaced by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Frank Ferrer, Guns N' Roses toured Europe and North America throughout 2006. Former band member Izzy Stradlin made several guest appearances during the tour. In December of that year, Rose issued an open letter to his fans, in which he discussed, among other things, the reasons why Chinese Democracy had still not been released, and named March 6, 2007 as a tentative release date.^[47] However, the album again failed to materialize. In 2007, Guns N' Roses played a summer tour of Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Rose collaborated with his longtime friend Sebastian Bach on his album Angel Down; he duetted with Bach on a cover of Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" and performed backing vocals on "(Love is) a Bitchslap" and "Stuck Inside", for which he was credited as a co-writer.^[48]

On November 23, 2008, 15 years after its last album, Guns N' Roses released Chinese Democracy exclusively via the electronics retailer Best Buy.^[49] Rose did not contribute to the album's promotion; by December, he had reportedly been missing for at least two months and had not returned phone calls or other requests from his record label.^[50] On December 11, Rose finally broke his silence by answering questions on two online Guns N' Roses discussion boards.^[51] In a subsequent interview, Rose stated that he did not receive the necessary support from Interscope Records with regards to the album's release.^[52]

In December 2009, Guns N' Roses—with Robin Finck replaced by DJ Ashba—played a tour of Asia. The band then toured the Americas, Europe, and Australia throughout 2010. Former band member Duff McKagan made a surprise appearance during the group's show at London's The O2 Arena in October 2010.^[53] In October 2011, Guns N' Roses headlined Rock in Rio 4, before beginning a tour of the Americas, including their first U.S. tour in five years.^[54] The following December, it was announced that the classic lineup of Guns N' Roses would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, their first year of eligibility.^[55] Rose thanked the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his fans via his Twitter, saying, "This is your victory."^[56] However, he did not attend the ceremony on April 14,^[57] as he had announced in an open letter three days prior.^[58] Rose, who has been on bad terms with several of his former band mates, wrote that the ceremony "doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected."^[58]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Rose performing November Rain at Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, UK, in May 2012.

In mid 1982, Rose began dating fellow Lafayette, Indiana native Gina Siler, with whom he moved to Los Angeles, California in December of that year. According to Siler, the couple was engaged to be married "about nine times," before separating in late 1985. In 1991, Siler described their former relationship as volatile, comparing the years they lived together to "putting a nuclear warhead in your living room and hitting it with a hammer and just waiting."^[19]

In early 1986, Rose began a relationship with model Erin Everly, the daughter of singer Don Everly of the Everly Brothers. He wrote the song "Sweet Child o' Mine" for her, and Everly appeared in the accompanying music video. Rose and Everly were married on April 28, 1990 in Las Vegas. Everly later claimed that Rose showed up at her house the previous day with a gun in his car and told her that he would kill himself if she did not marry him.^[59] Less than a month later, Rose first filed for divorce.^[24] The couple later reconciled, during which Everly became pregnant. She suffered a miscarriage in October 1990, which deeply affected Rose, who had wanted to start a family.^[24][59] Everly left Rose the following November; the marriage was annulled in January 1991. After the break-up, Rose allegedly tried to contact Everly for more than a year, sending her flowers, letters, and even caged birds.^[59]

In mid 1991, Rose became involved in a high-profile relationship with supermodel Stephanie Seymour. During their relationship, Seymour appeared in the music videos for "Don't Cry" and "November Rain". Rose became deeply attached to Seymour's young son, Dylan, and tried to be a good father figure for the child, as there had been none in his own life.^[24][33] Seymour and Rose became engaged in February 1993, but separated three weeks later.^[59]

Domestic abuse cases[link]

In August 1993, Rose filed a lawsuit against Seymour, claiming that she had "kicked and grabbed" him during a 1992 Christmas party at their Malibu home, and that she refused to return more than $100,000 worth of jewelry he had given her as gifts.^[59] Seymour counter-sued in October, contending that Rose—angry because she had held the party after he had wanted to cancel it—had slapped and punched her and kicked her down a flight of stairs. She admitted to grabbing his testicles as a defensive measure.^[59]

After being subpoenaed to testify during Seymour's case, Everly filed her own lawsuit in March 1994, accusing Rose of physical and emotional assault and sexual battery.^[8][59] Everly testified that throughout their four-and-a-half-year relationship she suffered regular beatings that at times left her hospitalized.^[59] In her sworn deposition, she stated that Rose—who was an adherent of past life regression therapy—believed that she and Seymour had been sisters in a past life and were now trying to kill him.^[8] Rose had allegedly also told her that he and Everly had been Native Americans in another past life and that Everly had killed their children, and that's why he treated her poorly in this life.^[8]

During the cases, Siler also came forward in the media with claims of abuse, describing Rose as alternately "kind and loving" and "violent and irrational."^[59] Rose instructed his lawyers to settle Everly's case out of court, reportedly agreeing to a settlement of more than $1,000,000.^[8] Seymour's case continued considerably longer. At one point, Rose applied for a restraining order against Seymour, after alleging that she had taken cocaine in his house in the presence of her two-year-old son.^[8] Eventually the case was settled out of court, with Rose agreeing to pay Seymour a reported $400,000.^[8]

Health issues[link]

During Rose's late teens, a psychiatrist concluded that his delinquent behavior was evidence of psychosis. In addition, he made note of Rose's high IQ.^[6] By the age of 26, Rose had been diagnosed with manic–depressive disorder. Although Rose was prescribed lithium to combat the disorder, he stated it was ineffective and claimed to be in control of his moods.^[6] In a subsequent interview, Rose questioned the diagnosis altogether, stating, "I went to a clinic, thinking it would help my moods. The only thing I did was take one 500-question test—ya know, filling in the little black dots. All of sudden I'm diagnosed manic-depressive. 'Let's put Axl on medication.' Well, the medication doesn't help me deal with stress. The only thing it does is help keep people off my back because they figure I'm on medication."^[60]

In contrast to the debauched image Guns N' Roses projected in its heyday, Rose had stopped using drugs of any kind after the band became successful.^[33] However, he did not disavow the use of illicit substances entirely, stating, "I have a different physical constitution and different mindset about drugs than anybody I've known in Hollywood, because I don't abstain from doing drugs, but I won't allow myself to have a fuckin' habit. I won't allow it."^[60] In the early 1990s, Rose became a staunch believer in homeopathic medicine and began regularly undergoing past life regression therapy.^[7] He shared his uncovered memories of being sexually abused by his biological father, which he said had stopped his emotional growth at two years old, saying, "When they talk about Axl Rose being a screaming two-year-old, they're right."^[5]

Discography[link]

With Guns N' Roses[link]

• Appetite for Destruction (1987)
• G N' R Lies (1988)
• Use Your Illusion I (1991)
• Use Your Illusion II (1991)
• "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993)
• Chinese Democracy (2008)

With Hollywood Rose[link]

• The Roots of Guns N' Roses (2004)

Guest appearances[link]

• The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by various artists (1988; "Under My Wheels" ft. Alice Cooper)
• The End of the Innocence by Don Henley (1989; "I Will Not Go Quietly")
• Fire and Gasoline by Steve Jones (1989; "I Did U No Wrong")
• Pawnshop Guitars by Gilby Clarke (1994; "Dead Flowers")
• Anxious Disease by The Outpatience (1996; "Anxious Disease" ft. Slash)
• Angel Down by Sebastian Bach (2007; "Back in the Saddle," "(Love Is) a Bitchslap," "Stuck Inside")

Filmography[link]

References[link]