Back on December 6th, Blog Rockin’ Beat was the first site/blog the let you know that Journey found its new singer on YouTube. Well, we’ve got more Journey news for you. And this time, it involves not YouTube, but Second Life!

On February 1, Journey will release their new Virtual Island in Second Life. A grand opening party is planned inside Second Life at the “Journey Rock Band” sim and will feature a meet and greet with band members. Live DJs will be spinning many of Journey’s classic hits, recorded studio and live performances, as well as lots of other great music for fans to party to! The grand opening party is scheduled to start at 10:00am ET/PT. The Journey Island region in Second Life is named Journey Rock Band.

Journey has been one of the few classic rock bands that has made a continued effort to stay contemporary in the way the interact with fans. This has included innovative stage sets, website redesigns, um…hello…find their new singer half a world away via YouTube. Naturally, then, creating a Second Life Island for fans to enjoy seems like an easy decision. The Island features dedicated areas for each album along with audio and video presentations. There are also two venues on the island, the Escape Club and the Captured Amphitheater, where live SL events can be held.

The latest redesign of Journey’s website, is set to launch on or around January 29. It will feature band history, tour information, photos and a new forum for fans of Journey and rock music in general.

Journey is currently working on a new album with producer Kevin Shirley, which they hope to release by spring/summer 2008. Their 2008 world tour begins in Santiago, Chile mid-February. We’ll post the tour dates at Blog Rockin Beat when we get them.