How Steve Augeri Went from Managing The Gap to Fronting Journey

You will likely never hear a story quite like that of Steve Augeri. As he prepares to perform in Quincy on May 14, he explained how he went from managing The Gap to fronting Journey and carrying on the legacy of Steve Perry, one of rock's most iconic vocalists.

I got a phone call and I don't remember the sequence...it was either John (Cain) or Neal (Schon) first or second...and they asked me if I was doing anything and if I would come audition and we're looking for a singer to follow in Steve's footsteps

Steve Augeri will be performing many of the Journey classics when he arrives in Quincy on Saturday, May 14. He was kind enough to spend some time talking to me about how he went from being a successful musician to managing The Gap to suddenly inheriting the lead vocalist position that Steve Perry made famous.

After he grew up in Brooklyn, New York, Steve Augeri had a successful run as the lead vocalist for the band Tall Stories which had a deal on Epic Records. He also fronted Tyketto for awhile, too. But, he had "retired" from the music business in the 1990's and was managing The Gap when his phone rang with 2 very famous musicians on the other end.

Steve Augeri - "I got a phone call and I don't remember the sequence...it was either John (Cain) or Neal (Schon) first or second...and they asked me if I was doing anything and if I would come audition and we're looking for a singer to follow in Steve's footsteps...and frankly I thought I was being punked...I hung up the phone."

As it turns out, the phone calls were legitimate as Steve had a mutual friend with Neal Schon in the Bay area and he had told them about him. That audition became Steve as the official lead vocalist of Journey where he had the impossible task of following the legacy of Steve Perry.

Steve Augeri - "As you can imagine...I put myself in each and every Journey fan's shoes...it's a daunting task...it literally is impossible. It really really is...what I did was I tried to respect the music. I tried to respect Steve's approach to it...I tried to give the audience what they wanted".

Beginning in the early 2000's, his time in Journey came to and end. However, he has continued to make great music and even has a brand new song called "If You Want".

There are a lot of ways to keep up with Steve Augeri. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, his new YouTube channel and his official website. Most of all, make sure you're at the Oakley Lindsay Center on Saturday, May 14 as he and the band Raised on Radio will perform.