Throat problems force Arnel Pineda off the road; Journey cancels week of concerts

Throat problems for singer Arnel Pineda have forced the postponement of five Journey shows across the American Midwest, beginning with tonight’s stop in Evansville, Indiana.

Pineda, who joined Journey in 2008, is suffering from a severe case of throat inflammation — both laryngeal and esophageal. Doctors have ordered him off the road for a week.

Other dates impacted: Journey’s November 10, 2012 stop at Grand Rapids, Michigan, November 11 at Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 13 at Moline, Illinois, and November 14 at Sioux City, Iowa.

Tickets for those shows will be honored when the dates are rescheduled at a future time — perhaps in January or February 2013, the band says. Refunds are available where the tickets were originally purchased, as well.

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Journey, which released the No. 13 album Eclipse last year, is appearing with special guests Loverboy and Pat Benetar. Their tour is set to resume on November 16, 2012, at Milwaukee.

Pineda, a Filipino singer whom Journey’s co-founding guitarist Neal Schon found on YouTube, replaced Jeff Scott Soto (2006–07) and Steve Augeri (1998–2006), after the band’s platinum-era frontman Steve Perry departed. Journey’s original lead singer was Gregg Rolie.

Since 2008, Pineda has been part of two straight Top 20 albums with the band. 2011′s Eclipse, which refocused Journey’s sound on the furiously inventive guitar playing of Schon, also was a Top 40 hit in five different countries — including Sweden (No. 14), Japan (No. 18), Switzerland (No. 24) and the UK (No. 33).

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