It's Always Something With Arnel Pineda

That's it. The AP can't be a politician, thank God. He is too honest - he says what he thinks and how he feels. As I was reading the Rolling Stone article, I thought : That is My Arnel. The real to the core, simple, honest-to goodness- home grown - dug out of nowhere diamond in the rough. Not polished but a diamond nonetheless.

I am not sure but I think Arnel still thinks in Filipino. So Ande Green botched up the context of the truth that Arnel meant to express. Arnel's words were authentically Arnel if you left them to stand on it's own, but when Ande decided to elaborate on it, not understanding where Arnel is coming from, then it indeed painted a different picture. Add to that Arnel's choice of words that can easily be misconstrued, like for example: "He pushed me a little and said, Go. Go sing for us." On paper it sounds harsh and colonial because we can't see the signature smile on Arnels' eyes. But we know without a shadow of a doubt that when Arnel relayed those same words to Ande, he was smiling, jokingly retelling his own nervousness at that time in Chile.

"I told them I wanted to back out," we've heard Arnel say this to CBS Sunday in June and we grasp what he meant. But to say, "The whole thing nearly fell apart" was an overstretch and purely Mr. Green's interpretation, because I am sure that after spending a few minutes with Arnel Pineda, he must have sensed (if he can't grasp) what Arnel was trying to articulate that Arnel was not talking about cancelling out on the Jboys but rather, that's how "overwhelming" the whole experience was for him.

But what if Arnel Pineda is really whining and complaining? What if he really said, "Man, this is too much, I can't take this anymore. I will finish this year's tour and I'm out of here. I love the cash and the flash but I miss home and this is not what I want to do anymore." Does that make Arnel less of a person? Does that make him less of a great singer? Does that warrant anyone to judge him and insist he should continue because not many people will have been given this chance to sing with Journey?" I'll take my toys home and stop playing with you if you answered yes.

As much as I respect a person who knows how to persevere and press on inspite of, I have this deep envy and a greater respect for someone who can walk away from it all. When the "all" is no longer working, when the "all" is killing the person to where there's nothing left but the expectation that you no longer wants to meet. When the "all" makes you wake up one morning and you look at the mirror and finds the same face - except it's no longer the same person.

Journey Management is good at handling damage control as far as the media is concerned (they yanked Deen Castronovo's video with the Nashville chick, reason it disappeared from my article) so my question now is, who in the freggin' world did the tour scheduling? Neal Schon said they won't tour at this rate again, so who planned this to begin with? I can't stand it whenever decisions are reached tainted by money, so let's hope it's not money.

I don't blame people who use publicists or don't give interviews at all. Look at Kate Moss. She can strut that body but the girl is deaf and mute when it comes to the media: If you don't speak, the media will have less to hang you with. But I'd say let Arnel Pineda be. AP, do what you have to do or speak and be politically incorrect, just don't be a politician ok?

Ooh, I just realized that I am missing a letter to Mr. Green's name. I not only missed a letter, I rearranged (unknowingly) the letters too. I'm sorry, it should be Andy Greene, not Ande Green. Still the same, right?