Pineda’s Dreamin’ is Believin’

0 3 min 11 yrs

 

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What if you had the opportunity to sing for your favorite band? Not likely; and even less likely if your favorite band just happens to be located conveniently more than halfway around the world. We’ll don’t stop believing because anything is possible. Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey is the story of Arnel Pineda and his defiant siren call in the face of adversity to end up as the new lead singer of rock super group Journey.

It started off simple enough, Journey needed a lead singer and they didn’t have one. You can’t plan a tour without one. So they started the tedious process of finding a singer. There were plenty of cover bands and people singing Steve Perry songs scattered all over the internet but none were what the band was looking for. Exhausted the band nearly gave up until they stumbled across a YouTube video of this cover band from the Philippines. The video was of Arnel Pineda and it was impressive enough to contact him about an audition and from there it’s all history.

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Arnel came from a very modest upbringing. He would sing for biscuits and coffee when he didn’t have food to eat. Watching the transition in this film between Arnel’s previous lifestyle and the one he would evoke made a very interesting backdrop to some really awesome music. It was also about Arnel’s adaptation to life on tour away from his home and his family with the pressure to perform in front of tens of thousands of people. It was great; you could actually see the maturation process between his first ever large scale performance, to performing in front of large crowds on a routine basis. What really stood out in the film was Arnel’s character. This couldn’t of happened to a more modest and honest guy. You really felt he was deserving of this opportunity and you wanted to cheer him on as you were watching the film.

This was a good movie with a lot of good music. It almost felt as if you were touring with the band Journey. It’s a great rockumentary and a must for any Journey fans out there and there are a whole lot of Journey fans. If you happen to like Rock ‘n’ Roll and you come across this DVD I recommend picking it up.

FINAL GRADE: B+

About The Author

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Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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