A comparison...

Hi Steve,

Last night I was reading Facebook and someone posted a link to a youtube video of Neal Schon and Steve Smith rehearsing for the Montrose Tribute Concert.  So, I watched it.  Then I noticed another video listed below it, of Journey in Osaka Japan, in 1980.  This was over an hour long, and I had never seen it before!  I felt like I had just won the lottery!  WHAT AN AWESOME CONCERT!!  I felt a guilt, too, actually, because WOW I have been a fan of Journey since the age of 10 and yet I had never seen that before?! What kind of "fan" was I?!  But, in 1980, I was 12 years old, in 6th grade, and MTV hadn't really taken off yet, so videos of concerts were not easily accessible.

I must own at least a dozen bootleg videos on VHS, (which Pete says he can convert to DVD, which I'm hoping he will), but this one I don't remember seeing EVER.  I was so mad at first, because DAMMIT I missed out on so much! But, that is when I first fell in love with you, and the music of Journey.  It was during the Evolution tour, and you guys were magnificent. You were raw, you were full of passion, you were energetic, and the MAGIC that Journey had was in full force.

Except for Gregg Rollie.  His voice did nothing for me, at all, sorry to say.  It was like listening to "Mr. Monotone."  He's a sexy beast, sure, God love him...and he looks sexy as hell in black leather....but his voice really didn't fit his sexy look at all.  When you watch the video, he played keyboards, and harmonica, and he sang...but he was like the "dead weight" of all you guys, he didn't really bring much energy to the music at all...at least, not in this video.  He just kind of stood there, not moving much, not doing much, except sweating into his big fluffy hair.  Even when he was out front and center playing the harmonica, he didn't really bring much energy to it, he just stood there, swaying his hips a little. Compared to you, he might as well have been sitting in a wheelchair.

Anyway, so as I watched this, I thought, "Hmmm...I think Stephen knows exactly what I'm talkin' about when I mention the natural "high" of endorphins---because MUSIC and BDSM are very similar."  Let me explain.  This is another thing you and I have in common, actually.

MUSIC:  You work and work and slave and practice and rehearse, you play the notes, you stumble over them, you trip and you swear, and you start over again.  There is a "pain" when you first start working on a piece of music, you practice the same notes over and over, until they start to make a little more sense, and as you work at it, they come easier with some time---and suddenly, when you're not really expecting it, suddenly you finally GET IT, you are FLYING through the air, because you FEEL IT, and it all makes SENSE!  You have passed over that threshold of the "pain," into the PLEASURE of knowing the song backwards and forwards, you know every note, every emotion that goes into each measure, you feel the POWER and the MAGIC of it, and you're TRANSCENDING the "pain" of it, you're beyond that "Helen Keller moment," and once you move past that threshold, there really is NO way of going BACK.  You have mastered that particular piece of music, and it's like a victory.  You can now NOT play it wrong anymore, you can't go back to the awkward newness of it, you've overcome the obstacle and as soon as you do, it falls away and you're suddenly feeling FREE.

The feeling and the process of music is very similar to the feeling and process of BDSM.

That electricity of that victory is exactly what appears on the screen during the Osaka Japan concert video.  It's a magical floating away, but at the same time, you're staying grounded by the instruments in your hands, the notes that you play...while you're flying.  And the coolest part?  You're taking the rest of the audience WITH YOU EVERY TIME YOU GO THERE.

THAT, my friend, is why so many people love you.

Because you took us all WITH YOU, every time.  I'll bet you 9 out of 10 Journey fans couldn't quite accurately communicate that, but I suspect every one of them FELT IT.  When we closed our eyes and listened to "Do...do...do...do....you...you...you...you....feel...feel...feel....me...me....me....," you were magically grabbing hold of our hands, and pulling us up into the endorphin-filled energy, letting us fly beside you, feeling it, immersed in it, cocooned in it....safe, and happy, and feeling a mystical awe of the music.  "You're the people that we want to know....we want to know...."

God I haven't heard that song in so long!  But, it's beautiful.  Absolutely beautiful.

Or, let's use the song MAJESTIC as an example.  Just hearing it, transcends the normal every day sounds that surround us....it's as if you're transported up and out of that moment in time, taken away from the mundane, and lifted high up into the clouds, floating into it, rolling around in it, the lightening seeping through every vein, the energy bathing you in the warmth....it's as though you're soul is being cleansed somehow, you feel shiny and new, and full of hope for the world and everything in it.

The same exact feeling is what BDSM is all about too.

So if you've been having a tough time trying to understand the concepts of BDSM, I thought maybe this comparison might help you out.  I have experienced BOTH of these things all my life, and the more I think about it, the more I see the comparisons and how closely they work together.  I mean, sometimes even people who like to RUN experience a similar "runner's high" after passing a certain threshold, ya know?  I wonder how many OTHER things in life are like that?  I mean, there has to be more than just music, running and kink that take you out of your physical location/feeling/emotion, and allow you to transcend into the clouds.  I'm NOT talking about drugs, but I'm sure that's why they are so prevalent in our society, because they probably achieve the same feeling, though temporary, and tragically damaging.

I think, my dear Stephen, that you were chosen to take us all with you as you transcended into the musical stratosphere every time you opened that gorgeous pie hole of yours.  That GOB of yours gave us all the magic, the feeling of hope, the almost religious experience of knowing there's much more to life than what we see and deal with on a daily basis.  You let us peak into that ethereal "otherworld," every tine we listened to Journey's music.  It was like sharing a very special secret with you, and we were all traveling together as a family almost, linked together, folded warmly into the blanket of the music.

When I feel rope against my skin, wrapping me up into a warm hug all over, let's say it' a Japanese kurada bondage, (which is beautiful to look at too), at first it feels a bit awkward, it feels a little bit too tight, it seems a bit uncomfortable, and of course, my nose itches, and I can't scratch it!  Then, after a few minutes of being in it, my body relaxes, it doesn't feel so tight anymore, the warmth of it, the energy of the rope, transports me out of the physical boundary of the rope and past the threshold of any uncomfortable "pain" that might be included in the scene.  Being spanked, for instance, while tied down, is one of the MOST freeing feelings I have ever experienced in my whole life.  Rope will set you free, and though the sentence makes no sense, it is the most accurate way of saying it.  It does.

It's the ability, the rare ability, to allow yourself to pass through that threshold, that makes you so unique.  Not many people have that knowledge, or know-how, to get to that point.  They live their lives in so much fear all the time, that they are limited in their ability to get close to it without feeling scared.  That's why only certain people can sky-dive out of an airplane.  I've never tried it, but I'm afraid of heights you see.  Therefore, I am limited in my ability to get close to that experience.  But, at the same time, knowing how I am and knowing that I have and can and do often pass through that threshold, I am almost positive that I would love sky-diving.  I'd probably pee my pants the first time, scream my head off, break a leg even...but I'd do it again, because I know the power of it.  And that power is so addictive, because only a rare few people can feel it coursing through their veins.

So music isn't for everyone, but it's a universal truth, it's an unspoken language we all understand, and it's easily accessible now more than ever before.  Sky diving isn't for everyone either, nor is bungee jumping, but a certain few people have gone through the pain of it, the fear of it, past the fear, into that threshold where they suddenly know the freedom that fills your soul, it's as though you've achieved a higher state of consciousness by doing it, you've gained some unearthly knowledge that only God can give you, and you've somehow touched His hand, and have been blessed to share it with others.

Your voice, Mr. Perry, is like a comforting warm fuzzy that's touching the hand of God, being shared with each and every one of us, every time you sing.

I can't wait for that new album of yours.  You've still got that gift, and always will.  Sure, your voice is deeper and raspier now, you're older, that energy is harder to tap into...but you've still got it.  It never went anywhere, only your fears crowded it for too long.  Dust those fears off, my friend, and open that gorgeous mouth of yours, and let that magic fill your soul again, so that we can ALL feel it with you.

Love you more than the sun, moon and stars....because I know that threshold, I pass it a lot myself, and I wave back at all those around me who have no clue what it feels like.  And there's no turning back.  I reach my hand out to YOU, dear Sir, and invite you to go with me back to the place you have been many times before...the place you belong...the magic is still there, and now you need to allow the FANS of your music to grab YOUR hand, and take YOU there again.  Keep singing, Stephen.  Don't let anybody or anything ever take that freedom and magic away from you.

---Rebecca