Journey Tribute Band Departure to Rock Thrasher Park

Departure is going to rock out Thrasher Park this Friday, Aug. 5, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The concert is free and to-go picnics are available from the eateries downtown.

Bass player, Doug Ballard, said you can expect a high-energy, high-quality show. “(Lead singer) Brian Williams from a vocal standpoint is as close to Steve Perry and that range and quality sound as I think you can find in a Journey tribute band,” he said.

Williams can even move like the Journey front man. He studied Perry’s movements by watching YouTube videos and a Journey DVD titled, “Live at Houston.” He mimicked and memorized Perry’s hand gestures, motions and general swagger for the first couple of years the band was together.

“He put a lot of time and energy into it,” Ballard explained. “Almost to the point, you know, we were sick of it because that’s all he would talk about but in essence it’s really how he developed that skill, so the outcome was great.”

Departure formed four years ago; Mark Schwartz, the lead guitarist who also has a DJ business, was running a karaoke gig one night when Williams came in and sang a couple of Journey songs. The two struck up a conversation and that’s where Departure began.

Schwartz knew Ballard from a previous band they played in together. And when he called and asked Ballard to play bass he answered, “Absolutely, I love Journey.”

Ballard said his favorite Journey song is “Separate Ways,” and most of the bandmates, who he described as a "band of brothers," grew up listening to Journey. “I will say two of the guys in the band are in their 20s. The lead singer, I guess he heard his dad’s music, and Joel (Hayes, the keyboard player).”

This band of brothers plays around 70 shows a year now, so it has become almost a full-time gig. However, several of the bandmates have full-time jobs outside of the band. “So it’s a really dedicated thing when you have to work a full week and then play a couple to three shows on the weekend,” Ballard said. “But we love it, that’s why we do it.”

Departure plays festivals of all types, private parties, large clubs like Wild Bill’s and Cowboys and the Southeast café circuit at venues like Wild Wing Café and Sports Time Bar and Grill in Duluth.

Based out of Atlanta, Departure also travels nationally. One of their most interesting shows to date was a trip to Maine for a weekend-long Fourth of July celebration. “We actually played a parade for them on the back of a semi-truck, just a flatbed trailer,” he explained. “That was an interesting thing because we would play a song and at the same time try to make sure that we weren’t falling down or our equipment wasn’t falling down because it was fully moving and in motion as we played.”

Rip Robertson of the Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center saw Departure at another one of their shows, the Rock and Ribs Festival in Lawrenceville; and he gave them a call and asked them to play the Summer Concert Series. It will be their first time performing at Thrasher Park.

Ballard said they always try to really engage the audience so it becomes more than just a concert; they want it to be a great experience. “We try to make everybody have a good time,” he said. “Whether your 80 years old or eight years old, you’ll get something pretty incredible out of it.”