A stroll through downtown Wilmington Friday night wasn't part of the grand 3-day vacation plans, but it provided one of the most pleasant surprises of the whole weekend. After throwing down some chicken of the sea at Elijah's Oyster Bar, Beth and I followed the sweet sound of 80's power ballads to Wilmington's weekly Downtown Sundown concert series. As we drew closer to the stage, the distinct voice of Steve Perry rocked me at my core. I initially suspected a jukebox in a nearby bar was the source of 'the Voice', but there was a large crowd by the stage and the anticipation grew inside me. Finally, my ears told me it was no jukebox belting those notes, but my eyes told me that was no Steve Perry up on that stage. I've always said that no one could sing like Steve Perry but this guy was pretty darn close. The next song was Don't Stop Believin' - I was having a hard time startin'.

Turns out this guy is Jeremy Hunsicker, his band is Frontiers a Journey tribute band, and after auditioning and writing some songs with the band for their upcoming release, was actually offered the front man gig. For various reasons it didn't work out, but finding out about all of this led me to compose the following email ...

Okay, I'm not sure how this one got by me but there's a new lead singer for Journey. Don't stop reading now as this is a serious call to action!

If you take the time to read stories about this guy (here and here are a couple), Arnel Pineda, you'll discover he is filipino and Neal Schon of Journey found him on freakin youtube!

Now, on to the call to action part - People, it's obvious that Journey would have been the pot of gold for me - although not best suited for my voice I think I could have made it work - but I still believe in going after the next best prize. This is where you come in - first of all, I need to beef up my e-arsenal. I'll need donations to buy a good digital camcorder and upgrade my desktop pc situation to do some video editing. Then I'll need each one of you to collaborate and submit the top 5 bands I should audition for via youtube; specifically bands that are still trying to make a comeback but may be questionable on the lead singer front. It has to be a comeback because I need to be able to sing covers of their songs on youtube. A current example might be Aerosmith (depending on how long Steven Tyler's recent stint in rehab lasts). Aerosmith is not an ideal situation but I just wanted to get you guys thinking along the right lines. I will probably cross-post this email on my blog so if you lose it or forget any of the information just check there.

Thanks so much for your help and don't stop believin!

And I guess it's too late to add NKOTB to the list ... I thought I read somewhere that Danny wasn't into the whole reunion thing?