Mitt Romney Drops $500k on Journey Concert

[cali]

ANY WAY YOU WANT IT ... is exactly what the band Journey told Mitt Romney when he offered them half-a-million dollars to play a gig for him at campaign event and they accepted, TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ ... the shin-dig is set to go down at a private fundraising party in Tampa, FL on Thursday night while the Republican National Convention is in town. We're told Mitt's campaign threw down a whopping $500,000 to secure the 90-minute set.

Sources tell us ... Journey is NOT making a political statement by accepting the offer and made it clear -- it's just another gig.

Recently divorced Michaele Salahi will also be there (with an invite, no less) to cheer on her rocker boyfriend, Neal Schon.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/26/mitt-romney-journey-concert/#ixzz24gXkMxEu

[spanone]

1. they could make it a political statement & tell him to shove it....but, hey there's money to be made

and afterall, that what it's all about

[dems_rightnow]

14. They are a business

Like pretty much all businesses, they sell their product to people of both parties.

[cali]

15. dem candidates don't have a problem getting

rock acts to play free of charge.

[monmouth]

22. Elton John did the same for Rush Limbaugh's wedding. It's business. Some scheduled

entertainers are not going to be able to perform at the convention because of prior engagements if they are canceled because of weather. So sad.

[spanone]

25. all entertainers have a choice of which venues they choose or choose not to play

but hell, i'm from an ancient era when Rolling Stone magazine refused to run ads by the army because they disagreed with the vietnam war.....

it's just business now....rolling stone is now full of pentagon ads.....it's just bidness.

[JNelson6563]

2. meh

Saw 'em live in Detroit during their big days, they weren't all that then, I imagine they're worse now.

Julie

[trumad]

5. Well Steve Perry---one of the great rock singers of all time...

is no longer with them.

Kind of like Queen without Freddy.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. They have a grating little weasel from a Jouney "tribute" band...they found him on YouTube.

Arnel Pineda. Can't stand the squirrely little shit. Tries to be Steve Perry. To paraphrase the late, great Phil Hartman on SNL, Steve Perry has chunks of guys like Arnel Pineda in his stool.

[digonswine]

21. He's not too bad, really-

not like the original. Who would he try to be? I don't think anyone wants a new frontman to reinvent Journey songs.

[cali]

6. I find this quite humorous on several levels

there's the fact that he had to hire them for an exorbitant amount.

there's that they're Journey, a hokey for shit band in their prime- which they certainly aren't in now.

there's the Salahi factor.

[trumad]

3. Fake Journey

[stlsaxman]

13. saw Journey before Steve Perry... THAT was the REAL Journey.

all others are fake.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

24. The REAL Journey

Unfortunately, in those days there weren't mega-bucks involved in being a jam band, and that was their real priority, not the music.

If one is to believe VH1's "Behind The Music," Steve Perry was shoved down the band's throat..."Here's your new lead vocalist."

Of course, they stopped pissing and moaning after the first few checks came in.

[Motown_Johnny]

4. Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit. (there is no south Detroit)

God I hate Journey. This just makes me despise Rmoney even more. I hope that noise makes his ears bleed.

Don't Stop Believing (all the lies)

[knitter4democracy]

12. I've always had that reaction to that song, too.

I substitute in East Detroit, Downtown Detroit, or something else when I sing along.

[hfojvt]

19. How can there not be a south Detroit?

Presumably there are parts of Detroit that are south of other parts of Detroit.

Would it be bad for a city boy from South Dakota to include Detroit in a song he wrote? Most people who haven't lived in or near Detroit will not know that much about Detroit, that it is all north of the Canadian border.

[Motown_Johnny]

31. Windsor is south of Detroit. The boarder runs east to west here.

So the downtown area is south Detroit, which makes no sense.

[hfojvt]

36. that's pretty funny

now I look at the map, and it IS north of Canada. I was just being a smart-a$$ when I wrote that. Like sure, Detroit is north of Toronto.

But it still looks to me like Foreman Park and the Delray Recreation Center (and areas around there) are well to the south of the State Fairgrounds.

[Motown_Johnny]

38. We refer to areas as East, West and North. There may be some areas to the west and south

but for all intents and purposes there is on south side.

[susanna]

39. I am near Delray, outside of the city limits.

Delray is arguably the southernmost part of Detroit proper, but as Motown_Johnny noted, locals just don't call anything here "south Detroit." East, West, Southwest, yes, but no South.

Today Delray is essentially a ghost town...once a thriving immigrant community near booming industry and the port of Detroit, it has been decimated. The proposed new bridge to Canada is expected to be built in Delray, and very few homes and businesses are left. The few holdouts are gutsy - it's really quite desolate.

Another fun fact: once you get south of Delray, and out of the city limits, then we call the whole area "downriver."

[hfojvt]

43. isn't Delray mostly vacant

because most of the residents took the midnight train going anywhere?

But that type of nomenclature is not going to be known to people without Detroit residency or some kind of inside connection to Detroit. I mean if the city of Pierre, SD was mentioned in a hit song written by a non-South Dakotan, it would very likely be called Pee-air instead of the way locals say it, as if it rhymes with 'rear'. Or that Muscoda, Wisconsin is called Mus-co-day, and Gotham, Wi is called Go-tham instead of Goth-am. Every area seems to have its inside knowledge making outsiders look foolish when they say shibboleth.

But hey, they mentioned Detroit in a song, and how is that a bad thing?

[susanna]

47. Touche.

Though I doubt the residents of Delray took a midnight train going anywhere.

[SidDithers]

42. South Detroit is Windsor, Ontario...

The "city boy" was Canadian!

Sid

[unblock]

7. yeah, right, just another gig. donate the fee to an obama superpac. until then, it's political.

[MercutioATC]

8. Spin it how you want. Journey is cool.

Kudos to Romney for booking them.

[Gregorian]

9. And to think they could have had Suicidal Tendencies.

Or Yo La Tengo.

But no... it's got to be some shitty old band that only had one good song in 1973. Poor conservatives.

[hfojvt]

20. yeah, their greatest hits only went 15x platium

Nobody ever liked them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_in_the_United_States

"They have had eighteen Top 40 singles in the US, six of which reached the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and two of which reached No. 1 on other Billboard charts, and a No. 6 hit on the UK Singles Chart in "Don't Stop Believin'". Originally a progressive rock band, Journey was described by Allmusic as having cemented a reputation as "one of America's most beloved (and sometimes hated) commercial rock/pop bands" by 1978, when they redefined their sound by embracing traditional pop arrangements on their fourth album, Infinity.[4] According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Journey has sold 47 million albums in the US, making them the 28th best selling band." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_(band)

[Gregorian]

45. Lots of people watch FOX, too.

[Lint Head]

10. I think the demographic for Journey fans is in the majority for women.

This is a calculated pick of bands.The GOP is fishing for the women's vote.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_You_Love_a_Woman

When You Love A Woman lyrics:

In my life I see where I've been
I said that I'd never fall again
Within myself I was wrong
My searchin' ain't over.....over
I know that
When you love a woman
You see your world inside her eyes
When you love a woman
You know she's standin' by your side
A joy that lasts forever
There's a band of gold that shines waiting
somewhere.....oh yeah
If I can't believe that someone is true
to fall inlove is so hard to do
I hope and pray tonight
Somewhere you're thinking of me girl

[wordpix]

16. my super talented musician friend makes $20-40/hr. for his gigs

at schools, elder facilities and museums.

[Whisp]

17. I love Journey!

and I'm not going to bust their asses because they took this job. If they swooned over Romney I would reconsider but this is just business.

Journey, takes me back so bittersweetly.

*sigh

[steve2470]

18. Justin Bieber was busy ?

[limpyhobbler]

23. This is hilariously appropriate.

[zbdent]

26. Didn't Journey epitomize corporate rock?

[Fire Walk With Me]

27. I have always outright detested Journey. More reasons are always welcome.

[Paladin]

29. You And Me Both. (nt)

[Mutt22]

28. Who cares?

A band most people now only remember as singing the song in the shitty ending of the Soprano's. Sorry but the new guy isn't as good as Steve Perry. The only thing I can think of that would suck worse is Queen agreeing to play with Jessie J like at the Olympics. The other thing is who really gives a shit about Salahi?

[Kolesar]

30. "What the hell is this crap?" -- Mike Judge as "Butthead"

doing his video review

[Fire Walk With Me]

32. "And then this guy." LOL...I searched for that on youtube but didn't see it :)

[Kolesar]

34. I can still picture the scene in front of the corrugated steel building at the docks

It just stuck in my head.

[TBF]

33. This action alone should let folks know this man is not

competent to be president.

$500K for Journey? For real?

[MrSlayer]

35. Quote an outrageous price because you don't want the job. Take the money if they go for it.

It's an old business trick.

[wordpix]

37. let's just hope the band turns around and donates most of it to O's campaign with a Big Announcement

They'll make themselves more popular than ever. Young peopel probably don't even know who they are.

[MrSlayer]

40. I wouldn't count on that.

You don't quote the outrageous price to give the money away. Remember, it's blood money because you don't want the gig.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

41. Despite the recent revisionist hipster meme that they were a good band

Journey does, has and always will fucking suck. Mullet AOR at its worst.
They rank down there with Foghat, REO Speedwagon and Foreigner.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

44. Does Judge Smails know about this?

He won't go unless they cut that noise off!

[lapislzi]

46. Great shattering shibboleths.

Just wiped out half my iPod...