Many names in the music world come from a challenging background surrounded by physical or sexual abuse, childhood traumas, several illnesses, and accidents. The early years of legendary names, such as Kurt Cobain and Ray Charles, were tough, and music became their savior. Some didn’t even have homes before they became world-renowned and were desperately looking for something to sustain themselves, from friends’ couches to street benches.
One of these names was Arnel Pineda until the time Neal Schon asked Noel Gomez for his contact information in 2007. The fate of Pineda, who had never lost his devotion to music, even for a moment despite all the dark times, would begin to change in the early 2000s. Despite everything, music was always a part of his life, but in 2007, he finally found the chance to reach and convey this childhood passion to millions of people.
A Life On The Streets
Josefina Manansala Campaner and Restituto Lising Pineda welcomed Arnel Pineda into the world on September 5, 1967. Even as a child, his family, especially his mother, had already begun to instill a passion in Pineda, which would seal his fate for years to come. His parents encouraged him a lot, even getting him to join singing competitions.
Yet, the story starts to get tough after that. Pineda lost his mother when he was only 13 years old. Josefina had a serious heart disease, so all the efforts to save her failed in the end. The family, already devastated by her passing, was also in considerable debt.
From then on, the family started to fall apart. They could not pay their house rent, and Restituto could no longer cope with this burden. Arnel left school to work to ease his father’s pain a little. This is how he started living on the streets for about two years sleeping anywhere he could, whether in parks or on friend’s couches. He collected and sold recyclable materials and cleaned ships to survive. However, his passion for music was always there for him.
A Journey From The Streets To A World-Known Band
Arnel Pineda wanted a life filled with music no matter what. After several failed attempts in the early 90s, Arnel and his friends founded Intensity Five and then New Age. Pineda had begun to reach a relatively small audience. Years passed, and after one solo album and many different other projects, the Zoo formed, which would change his destiny forever. After the Zoo released its first album, Zoology, their cover songs were already circulating on Youtube.
The members of Journey were looking for a new vocalist at the same period since Steve Perry had left the band. It was going to be difficult to fill his place, and they had a really long list ahead of them. Here, the internet came into play, and Neal Schon, who saw the Zoo’s videos circulating on Youtube, took the first step to reach Arnel.
Soon after, Pineda received an email invitation from Neal Schon to try out for Journey. Pineda initially thought the email was a prank, which isn’t an unexpected reaction considering Journey’s reputation. Noel Gomez convinced Pineda that it was true, although it was hard to believe. Pineda replied to Schon, and within just 10 minutes, he and Schon were already on the phone discussing the details.
He went to Marin County for the audition. It was pretty stressful, but he did an excellent job. Journey members were already convinced that he was really good at what he was doing. And so, in 2007, he became the new lead singer of Journey. And this is the story of how Arnel Pineda, coming from the streets, became the frontman of a worldwide-known band.
