Steve Augeri:

On October the 5th, Autmus Fest brought to Texas A&M International University a great number of performers and musicians that entertained the student body and other locals who attended. Among these groups, there was one particularly star, Mr. Steve Augeri. Augeri is an American rock singer best known for his work with Tall Stories, Tyketto and Journey. Journey was founded in 1973 and has become one of the biggest American rock bands of all times; the band has earned 19 Top 40 singles and 25 Gold and Platinum albums.

Augeri arrived to Laredo early Saturday October 5th and had little time to experience the culture and the town itself. However, he tells us he was excited to be this far south. Even though Journey has a great number of fans in Texas, Augeri had never been to Laredo. Even though the time has been short, Augeri says "I love the architecture, I love the weather and especially I love the food!" "Sadly" he says, "we won't be able to stick around very long."

The singer shared with The Bridge his excitement of being here at TAMIU and that he doesn't know what to expect. "Every time you are in a university setting, there is a great energy from the crowd, you know I am easily twice their age so I am going to feel like a vampire sucking their youthful energy and then I'm going to throw it back at them filtered through this old body and this old mind full of experience; I think we are going to enjoy each other very much," he commented.

Even when the road was over in Journey, Augeri has put together his own band that he finds very appealing since it has members from different places in the country such as New York and Chicago. He believes that this can help the band to create material that would appeal to a larger audience. Augeri has, so far, released two singles, For the Rest of My Life and Behind the Sun, both available on iTunes. During the event, Augeri assures us that some of the greatest hits of Journey such as Don't Stop Believing will be sang as well as his new material.

Augeri left the group Journey back in 2006 and had then to find his way up from there. He tells us that leaving the group was not only heartbreaking but also represented a "healing experience" as he calls it since by the time he left Journey, he was facing health issues. However, after a couple of years of recovery, Augeri was able to bounce back and do something that he loves "I was able to fulfill my dream of singing" he says "I was an astronaut not being able to go to space" he added.

Augeri gave us a little insight into what we should expect from him for the future and all he can say is that "we are just evolving, just like music, like the world is evolving and unfolding before our eyes; we welcome what the future brings and hopefully create more interesting music" "I think that what the world need is art, more and interesting art" he concludes.

Without forgetting about the university crowd, Augeri gives us a few words for the young people out there, "Certainly I was never a role model, nor do I think that I have the credentials to give advice, but one thing I can give is that 'rather that success and money', your main goal in life should be happiness, and that if you can make the world a little better, even a little better than you found it, you should feel fulfilled; be honest and listen to your heart."

For more information about the artist, click www.steveaugeri.com.

(Alejandro Meza can be reached at jalejandro_mezalopez@dusty.tamiu.edu)