Patti Lupone...

Hi Stephen,

Well I don't know about YOU, but that whole interview with Neal has totally rubbed me wrong.  He wants to have a reunion of the OLD Journey, before YOU came, and frankly that smacks of petty bullshit.  What the hell is his problem?  He keeps perpetuating this soap opera, holding a grudge I guess, and it's annoying.  I mean, he's acting like HE is the VICTIM, when in fact, he was the PERPETRATOR of the whole thing!!

Get OVER IT already.  Somebody really needs to kick his ass.  That somebody should be YOU.  And I don't mean physically...oh no...that would be something he would understand.  Instead, do something that he would NEVER quite understand, and put a RESTRAINING ORDER----AND a GAG ORDER on his stupid ass, so that he will no longer slam you or even MENTION you in anymore interviews.

As far as I know, you have done NOTHING but take the HIGH ROAD, and praise and say positive things about the band and all their new lead singers, since you broke up.  He, on the other hand, keeps doggin' you left and right, in nearly every interview, all the damned time.  It makes him look like a total jerk, to be honest, but the annoying thing is, he doesn't seem to CARE.

Maybe you should MAKE him care, with a legal slap in the face.

But hey, that's what I would do.  Just legally shut his stupid ass up once and for all.  Or, hell, you could probably even sue him for slander and/or harassment.  No wonder Allen Craft was such a dick, he was just a clone of Neal, repeating all the nasty comments to ME that Neal said about you after the break up.  I thought it was just Allen Craft being a jerk.  But now I'm seeing the REAL Neal and I don't like him one damned bit.  I won't be going to anymore Journey concerts, because of HIM.  I'm all done with it.

Anyway, that's all the time I'm going to give his sorry ass today.  Onto better subjects.

Tonight Pete is taking me to see Patti Lupone with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, with Marvin Hamlisch.  I love that guy.  I have to admit, though, that I have never heard of Patti Lupone.  I know, I know, I really need to get out more.  But, I'm sure she'll be fantastic.  The PSO and its performers always are.  Why don't you call up Marvin, and ask him if YOU could come perform with the PSO?!!!  Holy CRAP that would be friggin' awesome.  I'd sell my mother-in-law's MERCEDES just to be there!!

I was happy to discover last night on a web site similar to Pandora (Rdio.com), that ETTA JAMES has a BRAND NEW ALBUM....The Dreamer....and I'm GEEKED!!!  I love it!!  She is just so awesome.  She's been through hell and back, and all through her troubles, she's kicked them in the teeth with her music and her soul and her spunky attitude.

When you put these musical people side by side....you can probably TELL which ones I prefer....

Kenny G   -  Richard Elliot  -------------Kenny G is smarmy. Lame. Boring. SAFE.  I prefer Richard.
Aretha Franklin  - Etta James------------Aretha is too "white." Etta, however, is black & edgy, & COOL.
Ray Charles   -  Luther Van Dross-----This is a tough one. I love them both for different reasons, but if it's the "edgy sound" I'm after, it's Ray-Ray every time. If I'm in a sappy romantic mood, it's Luther.
Metallica  -- Disturbed -----------well now, I do enjoy both of these groups, BUT, Metallica is more badass musically in some ways, and Disturbed is more "in your face with naughty lyrics" badass.
Journey -- ??? --------------well, there's really no contest with Journey, so they win hands down. They're kinda in a league all their own...sure, Styx maybe, or Foreigner comes close...but, really, nobody can match 'em.

And I'm not talkin' about the Journey of NOW, either.  I'm talkin' about the Journey that had YOU in it.
(Sticking out my tongue at Neal).  He's gonna get knocked down a few pegs when Karma shows up.

Ah well, all I know is, I love Etta James. She's in her 70's, and still singing, still performing on stage, still touring and giving concerts.  If she were in front of you RIGHT NOW, I would tell her to smack you upside the head, and tell you to your face that you need to get OFF YOUR BUTT and GET BUSY, and GET BACK OUT THERE, like SHE is.  Like Tony Bennett is.  Dude, you're still YOUNGER THAN THEY ARE!!! You can do it!!  And we all know that you WANT to do it!! You can't fool anybody!!

I guess I'd better get off the computer and get busy doing some housework stuff around here.  I've got a Thanksgiving dinner party happenin' in a few weeks, and I gotta get this house in Norman Rockwell shape...(I like him much better than Martha Stewart).  That woman makes us all look bad, and I hate her for it.  She should be smacked upside the head too, and forced to MAKE A MESS once and awhile for cripes' sake.  How about I use "Donna Reed" as the "perfection" example from now on, since Norman Rockwell really never cleaned a house in his life, and Martha's too RICH to do it herself anyway.

Talk to you later, gator.  I love you Stephen.  Never EVER forget that you are truly blessed & truly loved.

---Rebecca