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Neal Schon Finally Speaks Up About Replacing Arnel Pineda

via Music Mad / Youtube

The future of Journey has been clouded by uncertainty ever since Arnel Pineda, the band’s Filipino vocalist, spoke out against racist remarks and pledged to keep singing, even if it meant parting ways with the iconic group.

Now, guitarist and founding member Neal Schon has stepped into the spotlight, aiming to silence the deafening rumor mill surrounding Pineda’s potential exit. 

Schon’s intervention comes at a crucial juncture, following Pineda’s heartfelt address that resonated deeply with fans and ignited discussions about inclusivity and respect within the music industry.

With tensions simmering and fans eagerly awaiting answers, Schon’s voice holds the potential to either soothe anxieties or exacerbate the drama. 

Arnel Pineda (left) and Neal Schon of Journey – the Classic West concert; Dodger Stadium; Los Angeles, CA (7-16-17). @NealSchonMusic @arnelpineda @JourneyOfficial Photo: Jeff Bliss https://t.co/XkblC3Lvm9 pic.twitter.com/yQrL7uYGQt — JCBliss (@JCBliss) July 31, 2020

“We are better than ever!”

Journey’s guitarist and founding member, Neal Schon, has shut down rumors circulating online about Arnel Pineda’s potential departure from the band. In a fiery Facebook post, he denounced “idiotic, relentless rag mag bulls**t articles” and emphasized that the band “are better than ever!”

Schon’s message serves as a much-needed dose of clarity for fans concerned about the band’s future. He reaffirmed their commitment to each other and expressed excitement for their upcoming tour, starting February 9th. This news comes after Pineda’s recent statement about facing racism and his dedication to continuing his music journey, regardless of the band.

Journey’s 2024 promises to be packed with action. Not only will they embark on their own tour, but they’ll also reunite with rock legends Def Leppard for a summer stadium tour, building on their successful collaborations from the past.

With Schon’s statement and the upcoming shows, it’s clear that Journey is ready to rock on, silencing doubts and fueling anticipation for their next chapter.

Neal Schon on Journey’s ‘New Strut,’ Possible Arnel Pineda Biopic, and His New Solo LP https://t.co/Lt39dAPgTe #Music #MusicFeatures pic.twitter.com/HNbgbJal27 — Siglov Freudivan (@DerangedRadio) January 7, 2021

“I won’t stop singing with or without Journey”

Pineda has faced a barrage of negativity since joining the band in 2007. His Asian heritage, coupled with the iconic band’s predominantly white lineup, sparked a wave of racism and doubt from some fans. However, Pineda refuses to be silenced.

In a recent Instagram post, Pineda addressed his critics head-on, calling out “bashers, foes, racists, bigots, haters,” and declaring: “No matter what or how you will name me, I won’t stop singing with or without Journey… It’s in my blood…”

His message resonated with many, highlighting his unwavering passion for music and his determination to overcome prejudice. He acknowledges his desire for a better life and recognition but emphasizes that being part of Journey was never a calculated move, but rather a dream come true.

Pineda’s defiant stance speaks volumes about his character and talent. Whether it’s “fate, destiny, divine intervention, or pure luck,” his journey with Journey is an inspiration to anyone facing discrimination or doubt. 

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by arnel c. pineda (@arnelpineda2007)

The Filipino vocalist remained humble and forgiving

Against the backdrop of John Lennon’s “Love”, Pineda continued addressing his detractors, offering an apology for any perceived pain while emphasizing his unwavering belief in unity and forgiveness. His poignant message, echoing Lennon’s call for peace and love, highlighted his resilience in the face of prejudice.

This spirit of acceptance wasn’t confined to Pineda’s own words. The band members themselves, along with their legendary former vocalist, Steve Perry, had extended a warm welcome to the Filipino singer.

Perry’s public acknowledgment of Pineda during the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony symbolized the band’s embrace of their new frontman. Even Pineda’s predecessor, describing their first encounter, spoke of it as a “glorious moment”.

This chorus of acceptance stands in stark contrast to the negativity Pineda faced. It serves as a powerful reminder that even in the face of adversity, true talent and genuine connection can find a welcoming haven.

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Journey frontman Arnel Pineda breaks silence over band feud

Lead singer of American rock band Journey , Arnel Piñeda , can no longer hold back from talking about the feud between two of his bandmates that broke out earlier this year and became public.

Tension continues to brew within the band up to now amidst Journey's ongoing 50th anniversary Freedom tour , fueled further by misleading reports spreading like wildfire across social media.

Arnel, who is not involved in the legal financial dispute between guitarist Neal Schön and keyboardist Jonathan Cain , found himself caught up in another issue after the Facebook post of Neal's wife Michaele Sch ön made the rounds online.

She shared (published as is), "TWO BAND MEMBERS of the Journey current LINE UP ARE 'adamant NO' against Gregg Rolie to return.

"Neal Schön and Gregg ROLIE will be somewhere Together at least one time this Year in Honor of what they began in 1972 .

"Faith, let’s ask God to find a way for them. let’s pray for forgiveness for those who hurt Gregg ROLIE and hope they learn what spirituality is someday .We all love you !!"

After the post went viral, fans were prompted to theorize that the two band members opposing Gregg Rolie's return are Arnel and Jonathan.

Read also: Arnel Pineda reacts to those tagging him as "new voice" of Journey; earns praise from the band's fans

Airing his side for the first time, Arnel took to Twitter on January 13, 2023: "you people are unbelievable…

"whoever’s spreading rumor about me regarding the #GregRollie issue?are maliciously ignorant..im not gonna stoop down to your level.."

Then again on February 5, 2023, he dropped two posts addressing the negative press he continues to get to this day.

He wrote (published as is), "m with the band to sing the legacy..if some of them are tired of me being with them,with all means,they can fire me anytime..

"and don't lecture me about spiritual BS..#walkthetalk"

His follow-up tweet read: "all i know? is #ivepaidmydues so stop reminding me where i came from..coz it's in my heart everyday..

"you just don't pay attention..im not a slave..im a human being like anybody else..

"#wrongiswrong #rightisright that simple.."

In an attempt to quash the worsening band conflict, Arnel once again tweeted three days later on February 8, 2023: "so much hatred people..we're on the brink of WWIII..

"lets just spread LOVE...

"don't you think its better to die being loved that being hated? [heart emojis]"

• Arnel Pineda on being inducted to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "I don't think I deserve that."
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Journey Vocalist Shares Frustration Over Band Drama – ‘They Can Fire Me Anytime’

While Journey are currently on the road as part of their 50th anniversary celebration, things have not exactly been calm behind the scenes for a few months now. While the legal dispute between guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain has made headlines, it now appears as though vocalist Arnel Pineda has grown frustrated with his treatment within the group as well.

Pineda's name has not really surfaced much during the financial dispute between Schon and Cain, but last month when Schon's push to bring original keyboardist Gregg Rolie back into the band was halted, a post from Schon's wife Michaele on their joint Facebook page revealed the inner workings of the band's discussion on the matter. "TWO BAND MEMBERS of the Journey current LINE UP ARE 'adamant NO' against  Gregg Rolie to return," stated the post at one point, later adding, "Neal Schön and Gregg ROLIE will be somewhere Together at least one time this Year in Honor of what they began in 1972 . Faith, let’s ask God to find a way for them. let’s pray for forgiveness for those who hurt Gregg ROLIE and hope they learn what spirituality is someday .We all love you !!"

That post appeared on Jan. 12, right after the death of Jeff Beck and posed with the commentary about how precious life is while pushing the idea of Rolie's return. Given that Cain and Pineda are the other two members of Journey, Pineda took to social media a day later after receiving comments inspired by the Schon posting. "You people are unbelievable…whoever’s spreading rumor about me regarding the #GregRollie issue are maliciously ignorant..im not gonna stoop down to your level," said the vocalist at the time.

Then, this past Saturday (Feb. 4), Pineda dropped a pair of tweets seemingly showing his frustration with the continued drama and his treatment within the group. "I'm with the band to sing the legacy," stated the vocalist. "If some of them are tired of me being with them, with all means, they can fire me anytime..and don’t lecture me about spiritual BS," stated the singer with the hashtag #walkthetalk.

After about 10 minutes, a second tweet followed, with Pineda venting, "All i know is #ivepaidmydues. So stop reminding me where i came from..coz it’s in my heart everyday..you just don’t pay attention..im not a slave..im a human being like anybody else..#wrongiswrong #rightisright that simple."

Among those commenting on Pineda's second tweet was Jeff Scott Soto , one of Journey's former frontmen, who offered some words of encouragement to the singer. "You have NOTHING or NO ONE to answer to brother, you're a kind, gentle and huge heart with a huge talent to match, it's the age old crap when you achieve success and happiness, there are many who want to break you down! Stay the course, YOUR course, I'm proud to be your friend," said the vocalist.

Journey's 50th anniversary tour has continued on with the band most recently performing Sunday night (Feb. 5) in Charlottesville, Virginia. Their next show takes place tonight (Feb. 8) in Savannah, Georgia.

Meanwhile, Schon's Facebook page has been teasing "a special surprise" for the band's Feb. 22 date at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Get your tickets to see Journey here .

25 Nastiest Rock Feuds

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Journey’s Neal Schon v. Everyone: Will Band Members Go ‘Separate Ways’?

The band is fighting over a member's Mar-a-Lago performance, suing over the group's Amex account, and hiring and firing managers. But it's still filling arenas.

By Steve Knopper

Steve Knopper

Early in Journey ’s 2022 arena tour, lead guitarist Neal Schon became convinced people were out to get him. So he stationed two off-duty police officers outside his dressing room, according to sources familiar with the tour. And at a Florida show last spring, Schon and his wife, Michaele , sent an assistant into keyboardist Jonathan Cain ’s dressing room to snoop around — to find what, the sources have no idea.

Trending on Billboard

Journey’s latest legal clash it’s over the band’s amex card.

From the outside, Journey’s business might seem easy — perform hits like “Wheel in the Sky,” “Any Way You Want It” and “Who’s Crying Now” in arenas and watch the money roll in. Most of those guitar-piano-and-whoa-oh-oh classics are from the ’80s, when Journey dominated rock radio and MTV, scoring eight multiplatinum albums and six top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles, and becoming a bridge between ’70s regular-guy bands like Boston , Styx and Kansas and the more dangerous-looking Bon Jovis and Mötley Crües of subsequent years.

Journey has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide, according to a recent lawsuit involving the band, and Billboard Boxscore reports a career gross of more than $352.5 million on sales of 7.6 million tickets. Journey has also cleaned up on synch licensing for decades — the iconic final scene of The Sopranos in 2007 famously used “Don’t Stop Believin,’ ” and the band’s songs have appeared in Caddyshack (“Any Way You Want It”), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (“Faithfully”) and last year’s season of Stranger Things (“Separate Ways [Worlds Apart]”). And the group’s 2022 tour was one of its biggest ever, nearly doubling the pace of its previous standalone tour in 2017, which took 67 shows to gross $31.7 million.

Recently, though, simmering, passive-aggressive, behind-the-scenes tension between Schon and Cain has blown up into dueling lawsuits and cease-and-desist letters, including one over Cain’s performance at Mar-a-Lago. Journey is hardly the only group to tour and make albums amid acrimony between band members; examples include Sam & Dave , The Kinks and Van Halen . But Journey’s personality conflicts have spread to its business far more than most, and sources say the Schons have run off business and road managers, accountants and longtime band members. In February, Journey’s longtime bank, City National, cut ties with the band, according to sources, hampering the group’s ability to easily pay its day-to-day touring expenses. Even Journey’s official webpage abruptly stopped operating for several weeks in early February before it recently reappeared.

At the Jan. 27 opening show of Journey’s 2023 arena tour, which runs through April, Cain and Schon stood at least 20 yards apart at all times, on opposite sides of the stage at the Choctaw Grand Theatre in Durant, Okla. The 3,000 fans singing along to hit after hit clearly energized the band, especially frontman Arnel Pineda , who sprinted and twirled around the stage. But Cain and Schon barely looked at each other, even when Cain sang these lines from “Faithfully,” the 1983 hit he wrote: “Circus life under the big-top world/ We all need the clowns to make us smile/ Through space and time, always another show.” Another show: Check. Circus life: Check. Shared smiles: Absent.

____________________

Neal Schon has been litigious for years. In 2007, he sued his ex-wife’s mother-in-law for blogging that he didn’t pay child support. The mother-in-law, who has since died, said she didn’t say that and the case was eventually dismissed. (After the publication of this story, Schon texted to point out that he had sued The Daily Mail for running a story based on the blog that referred to Schon as a “deadbeat dad,” which led to a settlement with terms that included a public apology from the British tabloid. “It was all false and damaging,” Schon said by text.) In 2019, he sued Live Nation, then-promoter for the band. And in 2020, along with Cain, he sued then-Journey drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory .

That lawsuit settled in April 2021 , for undisclosed terms, and Smith and Valory soon left the band, leaving Schon and Cain to publicly turn on each other in the months that followed. In October, Schon sued Cain in Superior Court in Contra Costa County, Calif., for “improperly” refusing him access to a corporate American Express account representing “millions in Journey funds.” In Cain’s Jan. 13 response, he accused Schon of “completely out-of-control” spending, charging the band’s American Express card for what Cain said were $1 million in personal expenses, including — in a single month last spring — $104,000 for jewelry and clothes, $31,000 to the Bergdorf Goodman department store and $54,000 toward his insurance premiums.

The dispute between Schon and Cain even involves Trump. Cain is married to the ex-president’s spiritual advisor, Paula White-Cain , and he performed “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” at Mar-a-Lago. He also appeared at a Las Vegas “Evangelicals for Trump” event three months before the 2020 presidential election. In December, Schon sent a cease-and-desist letter that called Cain’s Mar-a-Lago performance “deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach.” (Cain declined to comment and Pineda did not respond to interview requests.)

Journey Band Members Agree to Settle $10 Million Lawsuit and Go ‘Separate Ways’

This combative back-and-forth might suggest the central tension in Journey is between Schon and Cain, the remaining members of the group’s megastar era. But numerous music sources who have worked with the band over the years say the lead guitarist is obsessed with controlling the band with Michaele, a fan since childhood, who took an interest in Journey’s affairs soon after their 2013 wedding. The actual conflict, they say, isn’t Schon vs. Cain, but rather Schon vs. everyone. “He’s just an impossible human being,” says an industry source, who has worked with the band. “Jonathan, he’s a good guy: ‘I wrote “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and I’m blessed.’ Neil’s just ‘I’m a superstar.’ ”

The source refers to a 2018 Tampa Bay Times concert review in which critic Jay Cridlin praised the band’s onstage tribute to the late Aretha Franklin . Schon directly emailed Cridlin afterwards, demanding he change the review — it was Schon who orchestrated the Franklin tribute, not the entire band, as Cridlin had reported. In a Times story he published later about his exchange with Schon, Cridlin wrote, “It seemed odd that Schon would go out of his way to make sure readers knew his bandmates had nothing to do with it.”

The son of a professional singer and a jazz saxophonist and composer, Schon was a teenage guitar hotshot in the early ’70s, when Eric Clapton invited him to jam with Derek and the Dominos onstage at Berkeley Community Theatre, near his home in the Bay Area. Word got around, and both Clapton and Carlos Santana made offers to Schon to join their bands. At 17, Schon picked Santana, then in its post-Woodstock prime, before forming Journey in 1973.

Four years later, frontman Steve Perry ushered Journey into its FM-radio golden age. Perry became the face of the band as Cain underpinned the songwriting with Broadway-style piano and melancholy verses, and Schon electrified the earworms, matching every catchy chorus and Perry high note with a melodic guitar solo.

Over the years, as happens with many successful rock bands, Journey’s business grew into a jigsaw puzzle of financial deals worked out over decades of negotiation. Perry, who quit for good in 1997, landed a deal in which he still makes 1/41 of the band’s net income from recording royalties and touring, after management fees and other expenses. Which means he pocketed roughly $400,000 in 2022 from Journey’s tour alone, according to sources, while sitting at home making TikToks about how much he loves Harry Styles . The remainder is then split among Schon, Cain and Pineda, a cover band singer from the Philippines, whom Schon discovered on YouTube in 2007.

In the early 2010s, according to sources, Schon became more litigious and started spending more money, when he became serious with the former Michaele Ann Holt, whose Oakton, Va., high school friends in the ’80s called her Rock Chic Miss, according to Washingtonian . A Journey superfan and once a Real Housewives of D.C. cast member, Michaele first became famous with her ex-husband, Tareq Salahi , as the White House gate-crashers who joined former President Barack Obama’s 2009 state dinner without an invitation. Two years after that, Salahi reported his wife missing to the police and appeared on TV, begging for her return. “I swear to God, I’m missing my wife,” he said through tears. “This is not a joke.”

It came out later, in Salahi’s divorce filings, that when he made that plea, he neglected to mention that he had already received a call about his wife’s whereabouts. It came from Neal Schon. As Washingtonian reported, Schon told Salahi, “This is Neal. I am fucking your wife.”

In 2013, Neal married Michaele, in a pay-per-view wedding that cost viewers $14.95. One of the three dresses Michaele wore was by Oscar de la Renta. Neal wore a long black coat without a tie. Sammy Hagar and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir attended. So did Omarosa Manigault , the Apprentice villain who later worked in — and still later turned against — the Trump Administration. The San Francisco wedding, held in a white tent, had a winter-wonderland theme, with 36 crystal chandeliers and a four-foot-tall, berry-and-custard white cake. Paying customers could watch for up to 12 hours — more than six times the length of a typical Journey concert. Journey performed, of course, and a portion of the pay-per-view gross went to typhoon relief, a cause Pineda favored. The wedding cost between $1 million and $3 million, according to music-industry sources familiar with the band’s finances.

Journey Takes a Break From Feuding, Returns for Harmonious Concert at Oklahoma Casino

After Michaele left Salahi for Schon, the couple began getting Journey’s publicists to work for them. Emails from the time show Neal and Michaele calling and emailing a publicist late at night, to tweak language and order photos for press releases about Michaele’s divorce. When a publicist responded to an 11:30 p.m. email by saying his business hours were 9 to 5, Neal responded, “sorry we didn’t fit into your biz hours. Lol.” At one point, the publicist emailed, “I rarely answer calls from numbers I don’t have saved. Michaele’s 12:28 a.m response: “Are you still up?”

After she married Schon, ​​Michaele gradually became more involved in various aspects of Journey’s business: She asked to be copied on all band-related emails, according to multiple sources, and sometimes responded by CC’ing as many as 15 other addresses, including those of attorneys and other band employees.

In early 2021, after Smith and Valory settled their lawsuits and left the band, Schon became Journey’s manager.

By the time Schon started managing Journey, he and Michaele had spent six years scrutinizing trademarks and merchandise and ticket sales. And they came to one conclusion: Journey was getting screwed. That meant everyone had to go, so Schon fired or sued managers, accountants, bandmates and promoters, some of whom had worked with the group for decades. John Baruck , who managed the band for 20 years and oversaw its 2017 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the hiring of Pineda as lead singer and the band’s post- Sopranos renaissance? Gone. Peter Mensch , also one of Metallica ’s managers at Q Prime? Gone. Smith and Valory? Gone, when Schon and Cain jointly sued them for $10 million, claiming the two “launched a coup” to take control of the Journey name and “set themselves up for retirement.”

“I took the bull by the horns and started cleaning things up,” says Schon, 68, with matter-of-fact rock star charm on Zoom audio last summer, throwing in a “ha!” or two to illustrate the absurdity of the music business. “It was a mess, I have to tell you, business-wise. It was set up to be chaotic, so you would never be able to have a clue of how messed up it was.”

Schon and Cain took over as Journey’s co-managers in early 2021, splitting the standard 15% fee. (Cain shared some of his 7.5% with Pineda, according to sources.) The idea was to bring order to the business chaos. “I believe the government calls it ‘chaos merchants,’ ” Schon says, in a charming non sequitur, with a soft-spoken laugh. But Schon also created chaos of his own, sources say.

In 2019, the Schons filed a lawsuit against Live Nation, which promoted Journey’s tours, after Michaele alleged that a security employee at the band’s show at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., “violently assaulted” her and threw her into a PA system while she was taking photos near the stage. ( Video on YouTube that seems to show the incident includes no evidence of violence, but it’s blurry, distant and missing several crucial seconds of the alleged confrontation.)

The Schons fired three different law firms that represented them in that case, including one that cited an “irretrievable breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.” They also stopped responding to discovery requests and court orders, prompting an Allen County Superior Court judge to mandate a court appearance. When they didn’t show up, the judge held the Schons in contempt and dismissed the suit last March.

In early 2020, Schon and Cain filed their California Superior Court lawsuit against Valory and Smith, claiming the duo’s “coup” to take over one of the band’s business entities, Nightmare Productions Inc., “placed their own greed before the interests of the band, sowing discontent and discord, jeopardizing the future of Journey.” In a counter-complaint, Valory said Schon and Cain were “deceptive, misleading and false,” and that he and Smith tried to protect Journey from their bandmates’ attempts to trademark logos and song titles to use on merchandise for Schon’s side project, Neal Schon Journey Through Time, which toured briefly in 2019. (Valory, who is no longer in the band, did not respond to interview requests; reached on his cellphone, Smith said, “No, I won’t do a phone interview on or off the record, and if you don’t mind, I have to go.”)

Journey Hires Def Leppard Manager Amid Inter-Band Turmoil

After Schon’s enthusiastic Zoom interview last summer, he declined all further requests to comment. Skip Miller , his attorney, responded to an email list of questions by saying, “Please be advised that your email, and the questions and matters therein, are largely incorrect.” He would not specify which parts were incorrect, but said: “As the band’s founder and leader, Mr. Schon puts Journey above all else. Unlike another band member, he doesn’t think Journey should be involved in politics on any side, red, blue or whatever.” Later, he added, “For Neal Schon, it’s all about making great music for Journey’s fans.”

Journey’s blockbuster 2022 ended with Schon suing Cain, his final remaining bandmate from the “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” years. Schon v. Cain , the legal dispute over the band’s American Express account, is pending in California Superior Court, and representatives for both sides would not comment. By early December, Def Leppard manager Mike Kobayashi confirmed Journey had hired him to take over management from Schon and Cain.

By early February, sources say, Kobayashi was no longer manager.

Over Zoom last summer, Schon says he became suspicious of the people handling Journey’s affairs before he started doing it himself. At one point — he won’t give the date or context — he asked band accountants how many fans attended each amphitheater show he played. “You did OK,” came the response, according to Schon. “You didn’t do as well as two years ago, when you had 19,000. You had 18,500, or 17,000.” His conclusion: The band’s representatives were lowballing him.

So, Schon says, “I would pay guys in the parking lot and say, ‘How many cars are here tonight?’ And they’d say ‘Dude, they’re plus-five miles out’ — that means about 23,000. With a band like Journey, that has hits like Journey has, you can’t just try to squash them down in a box and make them believe that they’re no longer big.”

During Journey’s business purge of the last few years, one of the managers Schon fired was Irving Azoff , the uber-manager who represents the Eagles , John Mayer , Jon Bon Jovi , Gwen Stefani and others. Azoff wouldn’t comment for this story, but in his lawsuit against Live Nation, Schon says he developed a “medical condition” and criticizes Azoff for nixing “continued off-duty law enforcement protection” for the Schons during the band’s tour. In exchange for forgoing personal security, Azoff agreed to provide the Schons with private-jet transportation, according to the lawsuit. (Neither Azoff nor Baruck — Azoff’s former college roommate, who worked at his management company for years — would comment.)

Azoff’s team, Schon says on Zoom, “ended up doing some great things,” but frustratingly kept the band in amphitheaters when he insisted to managers for years that Journey should be headlining arenas. “What I did was follow my gut instinct, and it was just time to move on,” he says. “We tried Q Prime for a second, and it seemed like it was going to be alright, but, you know, politics come into play.” (A rep for Q Prime declined to discuss Journey.)

By then, Schon thought, “We don’t need these guys, man,” as he remembers telling Cain. “I swear to God, I’m mostly doing everything, anyway.”

Over the last few years, as Schon and Cain managed Journey, they had help from CAA agent Jeff Frasco and AEG Live CEO Jay Marciano . (Neither would comment for this story.) On Zoom, Schon lists Journey’s switch from sheds to arenas as his top accomplishment as manager, and some in the concert business agree. “It’s a much bigger statement for a band to headline an arena than a single day at an amphitheater,” says New York promoter John Scher , who booked the band in the ’80s. “Could they be doing better with a different manager? They seem to be doing OK now.”

Schon’s other business priority is Journey trademarks. He says he was amazed to learn that since 1973, Journey hadn’t trademarked its name or logo, despite selling T-shirts for years at venues, as well as retailers from Walmart to Neiman Marcus. After the Schons realized this, in 2019, Neal and Cain registered 20 of the band’s song titles with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for use on T-shirts, caps and hoodies. (Since Journey’s songs and the recordings are already protected by copyright, this would only cover the song titles for use on merchandise.)

“I’d introduce myself to the CEO and I’d say, ‘I’m Neal Schon, the founding member of Journey, and I now own the trademark for all Journey material. And you guys have kind of gotten yourself in a weird position here, because you’ve been selling tons of Journey merchandise for decades, and we’re seeing peanuts, and I’d like to have an electronic audit,’ ” Schon recalls. “Then a legal team would get on the phone with myself and my wife and they’d say, ‘Well, you know, we weren’t really selling it under the name Journey.’ And I’d go, ‘Well, that’s kind of laughable. I have boxes and cases of stuff in my living room and it’s just from your store and it all says Journey on it.’ ” (A Walmart spokesperson said the company was “not aware of any unlicensed Journey-branded products being sold by Walmart.” A Neiman Marcus spokesperson said he would “need to look into” Schon’s claims, then didn’t respond to follow-up inquiries.)

In fact, the Journey “mark” has been the subject of many years of negotiation among past and present band members. In 1985, the band’s company Nightmare Productions licensed it to a separate partnership, Elmo Partners — Perry, Schon and Cain — according to the complaint in Schon v. Valory .

Ex-Journey Frontman Steve Perry Files to Block Former Bandmates’ Song Title Trademarks

In a September filing to cancel the trademarks with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office’s trial and appeal board, Perry declared that Schon and Cain sold the rights to the songs they co-wrote and once owned. As of 2019, according to Merck Mercuriadis , CEO and managing partner of U.K. song-investment firm Hipgnosis, his company owns all recording royalties and publishing that previously belonged to Schon, Cain, Valory, Smith and Herbie Herbert , an early longtime manager who died in 2021. Perry argued that Schon and Cain no longer retained the standing to trademark the songs. Plus, the trio’s 1985 Elmo agreement requires “unanimous agreement and consent” among Schon, Cain and Perry to use a trademarked song for T-shirts or other products.

In his filing to cancel the Schon-Cain song trademark action, which cost him $12,000 in fees, Perry accused the duo of making knowingly “false or misleading” statements. In January, Perry abruptly dropped the motion to cancel the trademarks. Schon used the occasion to rip his current bandmate — Cain — on Twitter: “So much for [Cain] trying to throw me under the bus as he claimed I was blatantly trying to rip off [Perry] while collecting the checks for the very diligent work my wife and I did to protect our Merch.”

While federal trademark registration can be important, Journey already had other ways to assert its rights to logos or song titles associated with the band that appear on merchandise. The band could have protected its holdings through “common-law rights,” says Michael N. Cohen , a Beverly Hills, Calif., an intellectual-property lawyer who specializes in trademarks and represents classic rock bands: “Just by virtue of using the mark, you’ve acquired some degree of rights, but those rights are limited.” In other words, Journey has always had the right to make merchandise deals — just by being Journey.

With Kobayashi gone, Schon seems to have taken over again as manager — with the help of Michaele, whom he recently praised on Instagram for serving as the band’s road manager in 2022, even though the band employed experienced road managers throughout the tour. (Kobayashi didn’t respond to requests for comment.)

By February, Journey may have also lost its bank, and with it the ability to easily pay employees and cover expenses on the road. (A representative from City National declined to comment.) As manager, though, Schon understands an important thing about Journey: If the band puts out a new album every now and then — like last year’s Freedom , which didn’t do nearly as well as its classic ’80s material — the arena dates will keep rolling in.

“Let’s be honest: There’s no new Journey fans,” says Brock Jones , a veteran Nashville and Philadelphia promoter and consultant. “It’s about playing the right markets, playing the right rooms, pricing the right tickets and making sure the package is correct.”

At the Choctaw Grand Theatre, before boisterous fans singing along to every “na-na,” Cain manned his red piano at stage right, while Schon soloed constantly at stage left. After the finale, “Any Way You Want It,” the six band members lined up and group-hugged and fist-bumped, happy to perform again after several months off for the holidays. But Cain and Schon stood at opposite ends of the line. They did not hug each other. They did not bump fists with each other. Finally, Schon bounded off-stage — by himself.

Additional reporting by Bill Donahue.

Journey’s 10 Best Songs

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Journey lead singer Arnel Pineda hints at more band drama

We’ve been hearing a lot about the legal battles between  Journey  members  Neal Schon  and  Jonathan Cain , but it seems there’s even more drama going on with the band. In case you missed it, Journey's current lead singer,  Arnel Pineda , recently posted a series of cryptic tweets that suggest he’s unhappy with how things are going with the group. 

“(I’)m with the band to sing the legacy..if some of them are tired of me being with them, with all means, they can fire me anytime..,”  he tweeted . “and don’t lecture me about spiritual BS..#walkthetalk.” 

And that’s not all. He  followed up  with, “all i know? is #ivepaidmydues so stop reminding me where i came from..coz it’s in my heart everyday.."

He added, “you just don’t pay attention..im not a slave..im a human being like anybody else..#wrongiswrong #rightisright that simple..” 

So far none of the current Journey members have commented on Pineda’s remarks, although  Jeff Scott Soto , who had a short stint as Journey’s lead singer from 2006 to 2007, did respond.

“You have NOTHING or NO ONE to answer to brother, you're a kind, gentle and huge heart with a huge talent to match, it's the age old crap when you achieve success and happiness, there are many who want to break you down! Stay the course, YOUR course, I'm proud to be your friend!”  he tweeted .

Regardless of all the drama, Journey continues on their 50th anniversary tour. The trek hits Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday.

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Journey Ignores Drama at 2023 Tour Opener

Journey played the first concert of their 50th anniversary tour on Jan. 27 in Durant, Okla. despite the  ongoing litigation  between principal members Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain .

The discourse stems from an American Express card meant for the band’s enterprises, with Schon and Cain each claiming the other has misused the card for their own personal expenses. Since the initial lawsuit was filed this past November by Schon, many have wondered how the band would go on the road before the preliminary hearing for the guitarist's suit on March 3.

The group answered those queries on Friday evening at the Choctaw Casino & Resort by playing a two hour set which largely focused on their greatest hits. In spite of the ongoing internal strife, there were no signs of any discord on stage. In fact, the group was impressively in good form after being on a touring break since early October. Singer Arnel Pineda , who has wrestled in the recent past with vocal issues, was particularly on point through the night. You can see a set list from the concert below.

The Grand Theater at the casino, with a capacity of just 3,000 provided an intimate setting for the tour launch. With their mega-hit, "Don't Stop Believin'" making an appearance only three songs into the set, Schon paused at its conclusion to acknowledge the group's important milestone. "Welcome to our 50th anniversary," he told the sold-out crowd. "We're the fortunate ones to still be alive here."

Nearly an hour later, Cain shared his own greetings. "We are so happy to be back," he said. "It's good to be back, all together again."

But in the months leading up to the 50th anniversary run, the headlines have been far from celebratory, instead dominated by mounting developments in the ongoing schism between Schon and Cain. The pair have been at odds in the past, largely centered around political differences. In a 2022 interview , Schon admitted that he kept his discussions with Cain purely musical, in an effort to maintain their creative bond.

Despite that goal, the guitarist's harmony with Cain came to an end that same year. Schon  filed a November lawsuit alleging that his access to financial documents related to Journey's credit card had been "improperly restricted." He indicated that the issue had been building for " over a year ."

In response, Cain accused Schon of running up " enormous personal charges " on the group's credit card. Tension continued to build, with Schon labeling his bandmate as a " hypocrite ." Cain separately charged that the guitarist has caused severe " damage " to the Journey brand.

Additional drama developed as Schon unsuccessfully sought to bring former member  Gregg Rolie back into the fold for the current anniversary run, later intimating that he'd encountered resistance in regards to that idea. Two weeks ago (Jan. 13), Cain filed his own lawsuit against Schon, alleging that the musician ran up more than a million dollars in personal expenses on the Journey credit card.

Journey will play a second show Jan. 28 in Durant. The 50th anniversary tour will then resume at the end of next week, in Allentown, Pa. on Feb. 4. The dates, which currently run through the end of April, once again feature Toto sharing the bill. The pair previously  toured together in 2022 as part of a trek that was initially also supposed to include  Billy Idol .

Journey, 1/27/23, Grand Theater at Choctaw Casino & Resort, Durant, Okla.

1. "Only the Young" 2. "Stone in Love" 3. "Don't Stop Believin'" 4. "Lights" 5. "Send Her My Love" 6. "Feeling That Way" 7. "Anytime" 8. "Escape" 9. "Dead or Alive" 10. "Who's Crying Now" 11. "Mother, Father'" 12. "Let It Rain" 13. "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" 14. "Open Arms" 15. "Faithfully" 16. "Girl Can't Help It" 17. "Wheel in the Sky" 18. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" 19. "Be Good to Yourself" 20. "Any Way You Want It"

The Best Song From Every Journey Album

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Ex-JOURNEY Singer STEVE AUGERI Comments On Latest Band Drama, Says He Wouldn't Rejoin Group If Asked

In a new interview with "The Chuck Shute Podcast" , Steve Augeri , who was the lead singer of JOURNEY from 1998 to 2006, was asked about the recent headline-making issues between guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain , with Neal suggesting at one point that founding JOURNEY keyboardist/singer Gregg Rolie would be making an appearance on the band's current tour. Augeri said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET ): "Look, if you asked me about them or if you asked me about my next-door neighbor and if their marriage was kind of rocky, it's the same thing. It's not my business; it's none of my business. However, it's a relationship that's going on for 50 years, and that's extraordinary, just to achieve that milestone. And if you don't have cracks in your foundation, I don't know — you must also walk on water. Nobody walks on water. They've been together this long. There's a good chance that they could… I'm sure they could patch things up, except things have been a little rocky lately, more so than ever."

He continued: "That's all I can say. It's theirs to work out, their issue to work out. And I hope they do — for the sake of the band, and equally for the sake of the fans, because you can't help but think that it affects them as well."

Augeri was also touched upon the fact that current JOURNEY singer Arnel Pineda recently posted a series of cryptic tweets that suggested he is unhappy with how things are going with the group. Asked if he thinks JOURNEY would ask him to return to the band and whether he would accept the invitation, Steve said: "Well, I would probably say no and no. And I'll tell you why. If they asked me to go, for starters… Look, I've had my day in the sun, I've had my run, and I think it was wonderful. Arnel has done that, and probably twice as long as I've been there, and he's done it magnificently.

"I think they need to patch it up with the current team; I just think that's the way it is," Augeri continued. "Because if I were to go with whatever faction… Because, unfortunately, right now it appears to be like there's two camps… I love those guys — if I could call it 'love' — and respect them equally for different reasons, because they gave me the biggest shot anybody could… the biggest opportunity anyone could ever have. And I would hate to turn my back on one or the other, so it'd probably be just better… And I'm content doing what I'm doing. Those guys still go out five days a week, and I can't physically do that. The joy would… After the first show, I'd be like a deer in the headlights: 'Is my voice gonna work after the third show on the third day?' And that's not where I'd like to be."

Earlier this month, Augeri spoke to QFM96 's "Torg & Elliott" radio show about the task of replacing Steve Perry in one of the world's most beloved rock acts. He said: "It was incredibly daunting. However, the one saving grace was I had a great vocal coach at the time, Mark Baxter from New England. And Mark just said, 'Listen, you're only gonna succeed if you could just sing like yourself and be yourself. That's the only way anybody will ever accept you — if you're genuine.' That little tidbit of information, as well as we kind of eased ourselves into 1,500-seat theaters throughout the country, and for the eight years we built it up to 15,000-[capacity arenas] to 70,000 festivals. So it took a lot of time. The fans were gracious, and they were truly… Without them, it could have never happened. And it wasn't a hundred percent across the board, because, frankly, if you came to me and said, 'Hey, are you gonna replace Robert Plant in LED ZEPPELIN ?' I mean, take your greatest favorite bands and try to replace their lead vocalists. It's just impossible. Kudos to whoever was able to do that. First I think of Mr. Sammy Hagar , of course. He did it [with VAN HALEN ] and he ripped the leather off the ball, didn't he? That was a grand slam that he did it."

Circling back to his time with JOURNEY , Steve said: "I had a beautiful run with them. I love those guys. I love their music. And it was a great stepping stone to get to today where I finally release a solo album called 'Seven Ways 'Til Sunday' ."

Regarding whether it was easy picking up the pieces after his exit from JOURNEY , Augeri said: "It wasn't easy, but, of course, it was very easy because I had just walked away from JOURNEY . Now, granted, I left because I had vocal problems. So for the first year I had to heal my voice. And thank God that happened. And from there, it opened more doors than it closed, let's put it that way. How fortunate can it be that I can always say, 'Well, I used to sing for one of the greatest premier American rock and roll bands there ever will be — ever was or ever will be.' So, I'm thankful for that."

Augeri was born in Brooklyn on January 30, 1959. Steve was the lead vocalist in TALL STORIES , who released a single self-titled album in 1991. He went on to sing with TYKETTO for their 1995 album, "Shine" . Augeri retired from music in the mid-1990s after TALL STORIES ran out of momentum. He was working at a Gap store when JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon came into contact with a demo tape of Augeri 's. JOURNEY was, at the time, looking for new lead singer after the loss of Perry who had left the band following their brief mid-1990s reunion due to touring conflicts and health issues.

JOURNEY hired Augeri in 1998. Augeri 's debut with the band was on the single "Remember Me" from the "Armageddon" movie soundtrack. He then appeared on the album "Arrival" , the "Red 13" EP, and the "Generations" album. Augeri suffered voice problems during JOURNEY 's 2006 tour, resulting in his departure from the band.

"Seven Ways 'Til Sunday" was released on January 27.

Augeri will support the album on a summer tour, "Pardi Gras" , alongside Bret Michaels , NIGHT RANGER , JEFFERSON STARSHIP and Mark McGrath .

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Journey lead singer Arnel Pineda hints at more band drama

Scott Legato/Getty Images

We've been hearing a lot about the legal battles between  Journey  members  Neal Schon  and  Jonathan Cain , but it seems there's even more drama going on with the band. In case you missed it, Journey's current lead singer,  Arnel Pineda , recently posted a series of cryptic tweets that suggest he's unhappy with how things are going with the group.

"(I')m with the band to sing the legacy..if some of them are tired of me being with them, with all means, they can fire me anytime..,"  he tweeted . "and don't lecture me about spiritual BS..#walkthetalk."

And that's not all. He  followed up  with, "all i know? is #ivepaidmydues so stop reminding me where i came from..coz it's in my heart everyday.."

He added, “you just don’t pay attention..im not a slave..im a human being like anybody else..#wrongiswrong #rightisright that simple..”

So far none of the current Journey members have commented on Pineda's remarks, although  Jeff Scott Soto , who had a short stint as Journey's lead singer from 2006 to 2007, did respond.

"You have NOTHING or NO ONE to answer to brother, you're a kind, gentle and huge heart with a huge talent to match, it's the age old crap when you achieve success and happiness, there are many who want to break you down! Stay the course, YOUR course, I'm proud to be your friend!"  he tweeted .

Regardless of all the drama, Journey continues on their 50th anniversary tour. The trek hits Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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The Truth About How Arnel Pineda Joined Journey

Arnel Pineda's path to Journey is something out of a Hollywood movie, complete with tragedy and triumph.

Pineda, who became the lead singer of the band in 2007, was discovered by lead guitarist Neal Schon on Youtube and the rest was history. According to Pineda's official website biography, Schon saw Pineda singing with his then band The Zoo on Youtube and was impressed by how much he sounded like former Journey lead singer Steve Perry. But his path to stardom was very different.

Pineda grew up in the Philippines, where he began his career from the very bottom. He said in a 2010 interview that he left school early after his mother died and his family had to leave their old apartment. He lived in the streets of Manila for two years, working odd jobs, bathing out of gas station water barrels, and surviving off sardines and rationed biscuits. By the time he was 15, he had joined a band and began making a name for himself.

Over the next decade, he would continue performing to larger audiences, which eventually led to gigs in Hong Kong. A friend of Pineda's uploaded one of these performances to Youtube and a star was born.

The journey to Journey

Pineda told Rolling Stone  that Schon found his friend's email and asked how he could contact the singer. When news reached Pineda that Journey's guitarist was looking for him, he thought it was a joke.

"When my friend forwarded the email to me, I was just laughing," Pineda told Rolling Stone in 2017. "I just told him that this is one of the biggest jokes I have ever received from someone. 'It's a hoax,' I tell him. 'You shouldn't believe it.'"

But Pineda did email Schon back and flew to California to meet with him for a week of intense, nerve-wracking auditions. Finally, in December 2007, Journey announced Pineda as its new lead singer.

Now, Pineda's story may soon be turned into Hollywood film, directed by Crazy Rich Asians director Jon Chu. According to the Philippine news website ABS-CBN , Pineda met with the director and other producers to get the ball rolling, stating in Filipino that he's excited for the movie to happen so that other dreamers like him can find much-needed inspiration, and that it might open more doors for other Filipino and Asian artists.

If it pans out, this won't be the first time Pineda's story was told on film. The 2012 documentary Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey followed the band on one of its tours, including Pineda's homecoming concert in Manila.

Neal Schon on Journey’s ‘New Strut,’ Possible Arnel Pineda Biopic, and His New Solo LP

• By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

Three years ago, Journey guitarist Neal Schon finished a solo album of instrumental tracks that mixed classic-rock covers like “Hey Jude” and “Voodoo Child” with originals he created with producer-drummer Narada Michael Walden. Since that time, Journey fired drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory after a bitter business dispute, brought in Walden and Raised on Radio –era bassist Randy Jackson to take their places, and canceled a 2020 summer tour with the Pretenders due to the pandemic.

During his forced downtime, Schon decided it was finally time to share his instrumental album, The Universe , with the world. “This has been a hellacious year,” he says. “There’s some healing music on here. I feel like it’s going to ease a lot of people’s pain and give them something new to listen to and some hope.”

Schon called up Rolling Stone to talk about The Universe (which is streaming right now), the legal battle that split Journey apart, parting ways with manager Irving Azoff, repairing his relationship with keyboardist Jonathan Cain, cutting Journey’s new album while on lockdown, his continued hopes of making peace with Steve Perry, the possibility of an Arnel Pineda biopic, and why he thinks this new lineup of Journey will lead to a whole new era for the band.

Tell me the backstory of The Universe. About three years ago, I ran into Narada Michael Walden. I said, “Narada, why don’t you write me a record?” We’d known each other forever and had jammed and played live together, but we’d never really worked together with him as a producer and me as a guitar player.

I said, “I really want to veer away from anything that sounds like Jeff Beck.” That’s because there’s only one Jeff Beck and only one Jimi [Hendrix]. But I said, “You’ve known me for a long time and you know what I like to play. What I’m hearing is a very majestic, symphonic-type blues-R&B-fusion rock album.”

He goes, “That’s the whole spectrum.” I go, “Let’s just diversify it.” And so he said, “Let me have a few days and I’ll call you when I have some tracks.” Three days later, he calls me and says, “Why don’t you come by the studio? I have some stuff to play for you.”

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Where did it go from there? I went by the studio and he had like six tracks that he had written with drums on them, keyboard bass, and voice singing the main melody of a guitar. He said, “Take this home and get comfortable with it and let me know when you’ve got it down.”

This was something new for me because I usually write my own material. I took it home, listened to it, and worked my way around it. I felt like I was going to improv my way through the melodies and add my own shtick to it.

I went into the first session with him and I started playing something from the heart where I veered away from the melody. He said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m just playing what it is.” He said, “No, you have to play that melody exactly like I’m singing it.” I went, “Oh. OK.” He goes, “I’m treating you like you’re a vocalist and your guitar is the vocal.”

After conforming to that, I managed to get things down very quickly on the record. We worked on it in different time periods. We got as much done as I could when I was home and then I’d go tour and come back and work with him when he was available. We finished it over the duration of about a year with three, four weeks in the studio altogether.

Let’s talk about some of the specific songs. Tell me about your version of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” There’s a clip of me on the internet playing it in the Twin Cities right after he passed [in 2016]. I get a few sections in the [Journey] set to do my own thing. And I’ve been looping for years. And so a lot of times I’ll loop some chord changes to a song and improv my way through it.

That night, I didn’t really know what I was going to do. But I felt his presence and I played the chord changes. I overdubbed one of the melodies he did on the end. I put that in there and just blew through it and the audience really came unglued. It was his hometown, but he just passed and I captured the moment.

That stuck with me and I said to my friend Gary Cirimelli, who I did the [2001]  Voice record with, “Please do me an orchestration of ‘Purple Rain.'” He did an amazing job and I actually recorded that before I started the record with Narada.

You also tackle “Voodoo Child.” Clearly you weren’t shy about taking on some of the greatest guitarists of all time. You know what? They are in my blood. I grew up with these people and I’ve been playing a long time. I’d actually been jamming with Narada before at Golden Gate Park in front of about 100,000 people. He said, “We’re going to play ‘Voodoo Child.'” I said, “Great, I know it.” I jumped onstage and we jammed for a while and the audience loved it. It actually goes back in time where I played the Crossroads Festival for Eric Clapton. It was Narada, myself, Randy Jackson, and Jonathan Cain. It’s ironic that’s what Journey has become with Arnel.

We did play “Voodoo Child” that day, too. It was a no-brainer for me. I was like, “Why don’t we jam it out and have a live jam in the studio?” That is what we did. We played live, one take. You can tell that it falls apart a little when it goes into “Third Stone From the Sun” at the end. I was lost and playing and I had to find a place to put my arm up and then everyone jumps in a few seconds later. You can tell it was a little loose and we were just finding our way through it. I felt there was some magic there and being real since it wasn’t overdubbed to death. It was just what it was.

Why did you decide to revisit the Journey song “Lights?” That was Narada’s idea. I was not sure about it. I had done, with Gary Cirimelli the year before, a little EP [ Ave Maria ] around Christmas where I had done an instrumental version of “Faithfully,” “Open Arms,” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley. I had done it before with guitar instead of voice, but “Lights” I had never considered doing as a lead vocal on guitar. He talked me into it. I didn’t know what to think of it, but it sounded good for a guitar version. I tried to capture as many Steve Perry melodies as I could and implement them into the guitar in a soulful way. I think it came out well and people are loving it.

I like hearing vocal melodies on the guitar. Jeff Beck does it a lot, but it’s hard to pull off exactly right. Yeah. There’s something very difficult about it. I see a lot of young guitar players today that have dexterity beyond. I can comprehend what they’re doing technically, but I’m not that interested in trying to do it myself because I’ve never been a scale guy. I was listening more to horn players and vocalists.

Steve Perry Signs to New Label, Contemplates Solo Tour: 'I Miss It Terribly'

Hear the journey tune steve perry rerecorded with steve lukather's son.

To convey a melody and play it very simply is not an easy task, especially when it’s a slow melody. There’s plenty of room for mistakes and loss of feel. You can lose the feel of it in two seconds flat because there’s no lyrics you’re playing along with. That actually helps you dictate the melody when you hear a singer sing. It’s all about placement, phrasing, and how the vibrato goes, where you put it. It’s complicated and it comes much easier to me as a musician than it does to other guys because I’ve always been a melody guy.

Tell me about your version of “Hey Jude” that ends the record. I had played “Hey Jude” back east in New Jersey, I believe, in some theater we were playing. I looped that one night. I played the chords first, just the ending, and then I looped the melody and had the whole audience singing the song. I went, “Wow, this could be a possible way just to end the record.” As a Beatles fan, I loved it.

What’s the status of the new Journey record? We’re deep in it. It’s coming along, man. It’s really shaping up. Narada and I have been working nonstop. Jonathan [Cain] is also working from his houses in Florida and Nashville. Arnel is working from Manila. Randy Jackson is working mostly from L.A. And it’s one of those Zoom sessions and it sounds phenomenal. It sounds like we’re all playing in the room at the same time. I actually can’t wait until we do get together and start putting the show together. The new single should be coming out mid-February.

Working remotely must have been a big adjustment at first. Yeah. It was at first. What I was really grateful for is that I’m willing to get together with Narada and work with just drums and guitar, which is something I’ve always done with drummers working on records. We’re able to map out and get things feeling right. Narada is very accomplished. He can play keyboards and bass keyboards, and we kind of fill out the tracks. And then everyone does their parts. The end result is sounding amazing.

How is Arnel doing? Arnel sounds very, very strong. I think this break has been good for him. He’s back in there, I feel, like when we first got him. His vocals sound very, very good. We’re planning on a full album release in 2021 before we get back to touring. We did book our first show of 2021. We’re going to be headlining Lollapalooza in Chicago on July 31st unless they move it. My fingers are crossed that everyone is going to get the vaccine and feel good and get back to it. I’m just so looking forward to playing with the new band. Post Malone is headlining at the same time as us about a mile away on another stage. It’ll be interesting.

How have the new members changed the band’s sound? Do you have a different groove now? You have to hear it for yourself. It still sounds very much like Journey thanks to the songwriting, my guitar playing, and the vocals. But the rhythm section is definitely a powerhouse. Narada has been known for years, and Randy Jackson is a completely monstrous bass player. Some people may not be aware of his work, but they have credentials that go way, way back. Randy and I have always been pretty in tune, and Narada and I are in tune. And now it’s coming together. It’s got a new strut to it.

There’s nothing we really can’t play. I’ve got a track I laid down with Narada the other day. I sent it to Arnel and he was freaking out. He said, “This sounds like brand-new Hendrix or Prince. Please write more of that.” And I was just messing around. It was just a jam we did and it turned out to be monstrous. We’re creating. We aren’t afraid to go to new places. It’s easy to stay safe and write where we have always been. We have a bit of that so we don’t lose everyone, but at the same token, this is a new chapter of Journey. I want to go where we have not gone before.

Why did you leave Azoff management and sign with Q Prime? It was a long time coming from myself. I had a falling out with old management and just didn’t agree with a lot of things the way they were coming down or the way that things were being treated that I was bringing up. I felt like they made it seem like I was an outcast even though this was a band that I started. Azoff actually said to me, “Why don’t you quit?” at one point. I said, “I’m not quitting. I’ve been here all my life. Why don’t you quit?”

We kind of went at it. Finally, I made the move. I said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen from here, but I feel like it’s time.” I remember that I talked to Peter Mensch over at Q Prime about a year before that, telling him that I really wanted to make a change. He said that contractually we had to get to this point before we could do anything. When we finally got to that point, I called Peter back up. He said, “This is a no-brainer. We’d love to manage you.”

I’m really happy. They understand the guitar. Cliff [Burnstein] is awesome. I’ve only talked to him a few times, but I can tell we’re on the same wavelength. I send him stuff, unfinished and finished, and I’ll crank up the guitar and he goes, “Oh, yeah. That’s it.” Then we’ll get on the phone with Jonathan [Cain], myself and him, and Jonathan will go, “Do you want the softer version?” They’ll go, “No, we don’t want the softer version. We want the heavier version.” I love the guys.

You and Jonathan Cain are clearly in a much better place than you were a few years ago. How did you patch things up? We found out that there was a lot of miscommunication that I felt was coming from management. The divide-and-conquer situation was going on. They were saying I said things that I didn’t say. I heard it had happened with other bands from guitar techs that I had been with. It was happening in the Van Halen camp between Eddie and Sammy. I was just like, “I’m seeing the same scenario.”

Once we got past all the crap and we talked everything out, we found out that a lot of it was just b.s. and we were actually good. Him and I are still very tight as songwriters. There’s still magic there. He’s still creating amazing music, even without me, but us together, we create something that really sounds like Journey.

Some fans were surprised to see him play in the house band at the White House during the RNC a few months ago. What did you think about that? You know what? I learned to just stay in my music lane through that whole fiasco. I think everyone knows my feelings about politics and religion in music. I just decided that I was going to keep my friendship with him and the music with him. We’re still creating great stuff. I got to a place where I said, “It’s a free world. Everyone has the right to do whatever they want to do.”

In a way, it’s like Mick and Keith. They are two very different people, but they come together in a band and it works. Exactly. That tension leads to great music and not agreeing … Jon and I always have been like that. We’re like bookends with all the music in between. Where we start from is two completely different places. He usually starts from music, melody, and piano. I start from a rocking track. There’s a lot of melody on the new songs we’ve been laying down. We’ve gotten very comfortable with singing on it right afterwards with Narada helping me, giving me the confidence, and so I have a lot of the melodies. I recall even in the old Journey with Steve Perry when I’d hum a few things and he’d go, “Oh, I like that.” Then he’d do his own thing to it. There’s a road map there if you aren’t afraid to put it down.

How about tour-wise? The Pretenders 2020 tour was called off. Might you go out with them in the future? I don’t know what management has planned. We love playing with the Pretenders, but I don’t know if that’s where they are going or even if they are available. I definitely enjoy playing with them. They have so many great songs. Chrissie [Hynde] was very nice. The whole band was. I felt that it was complementary to our show, even with Def Leppard. I don’t know what Peter and Cliff are thinking over at Q Prime, but I’m definitely open to that. And I love the Def Leppard guys. I’m open to that, too. But this time we have to bring our PA. [ Laughs ]

I’ve heard rumblings about a biopic about Arnel. Do you think that’s going to happen? I think it’s something that will come down. The story of me finding him on YouTube is sort of unbelievable. I remember when I first told people I had found him. They were like, “Come on, man. Did you just make this up?” It was like a Cinderella story that was too good to believe. We made the documentary [ Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey ] off the fact we found him in Manila, not New York or L.A., and I heard his voice and went, “This is the guy. I know it’s the guy.” Apparently Warner Bros. thinks is a great story too. I think they are going to make it. I don’t know when. I don’t believe they’ve even started. I think they are still writing the script.

Who would play you? Uh … the only meeting we had took place when we last played in Vegas. They were they talking about Joaquin [Phoenix]. That’s what this director said. [ Laughs ] I was like, “OK!” [ Laughs ]

You could play yourself, I suppose. Have you thought about that? I have not thought about that, but it’s not ruled out. I’d probably prefer not to. It’s gotta be so time consuming. At one point, I was going to try and get into some movie stuff and I was taking some acting classes. Everyone was like, “You look like a young James Caan.” This was way back in the Eighties. There were a couple of producers that were approaching me. But I went on a set and thought about it and auditioned and I was like, “Wow. This is so time-consuming. I can do four albums in the time it takes to do one movie.” I’m too impatient. I like to move quickly, so I doubt I’d be the right choice for it.

Is your Journey spinoff band Journey Through Time something that can get back on the road in the future? Fans loved seeing you back with Gregg Rolie and playing the really old songs. I was met with a lot of resistance from some of the former band members and the trademark guy that was sort of working for Journey, I’m finding out. There were many trademark issues I’ve gotten to the bottom of. I’ve cleaned everything up 1,000 percent. There were too many handshake deals and money deals and no real contracts. I was like, “OK, it’s time for all this to stop and for everyone to get treated fairly and equally.”

They were having a real problem with me using Neal Schon’s Journey Through Time, the name of the band. I don’t see why. It has been my journey from my life and the fans loved it. But to tell you the truth, I foresee us being able to do that with the new band; I foresee us being able to play in two different places. I feel like we can play these outdoor festivals with bands like Phish or for that audience and dive into the older material and play that stuff very well and take it to a new place.

Also, we can play in the 20,000-seaters or the coliseums we were doing with Pretenders and Def Leppard. I feel like it’s two different audience we can play to. The main thing is just playing longer where you can dive deeper into the older stuff and making it all work together.

Do you think you could bring Gregg Rolie into the fold at some point, at least for the jam-focused shows? We might talk about that. I’d have to see what Jonathan thought about that. But it’s not really on my plate right now. It’s something I definitely enjoyed. We were picking up speed very quickly before it was taken down. We had a whole tour that was ready to go. And then Gregg unavailable and then [drummer-vocalist] Deen [Castronovo] wasn’t available. There was a lot of politics involved.

Are you close to resolving the legal dispute with Steve Smith and Ross Valory? Unfortunately, no. [ Laughs ] We will, eventually. I have confidence that we will. It is going to be what it is. We’ve already made that choice and we’re moving on. But we’re not about to get held up, either. We’re going to start playing and ultimately we can settle this and come to a mutual agreement.

Do you ever see a day in the future where you’d play with them again? Who knows? I’ve known these guys for a long time. I didn’t agree with the way they went about business. I had been in a situation in the band with management and some of them for a long time where I felt like they were trying to make me leave. I was catching on to a lot of things that I’m getting to the bottom of now, business-wise.

I spoke with Steve Perry a few weeks ago. He says he misses playing live. As just a fan of his, are you hoping he’ll tour? I am. I was hoping he would tour when he released his record a couple of years ago. After going through the pandemic, I imagine that most everyone that has ever toured is dying to tour. I miss it so much, that energy you get from the audience that you throw back. I’m totally missing that. I’m sure everyone that has ever been onstage is missing that. I’m hoping that he would really do it. He should. He sounds in good voice and he could do it. I hope he’ll actually do it because he talked about it last time.

Are you still hoping that at some point in the future, the two of you will be able to sit down and be friends again? I’m still trying to talk to him directly on the telephone. For some reason, I don’t know if it’s him or his attorney, they do not want us to talk, or he feels uncomfortable. I’m sitting in the same place where I’m waiting to get on the phone or get together and have some coffee, but it just isn’t happening and it’s not because of myself.

It’s crazy that one rock band can get so complicated with all these feuding factions. It’s just people playing music together that a lot of people love. You know what? There’s a lot of things that get in the way, the conquer-and-divide thing. I believe that that’s been happening with him, too. When we got inducted into the Hall of Fame, I felt really connected to him again where it was emotional to see him after not seeing him for a long time. He was moved too. I felt, “Why is all this other crap happening for so long? Why did I feel like we couldn’t get together and talk?”

But at the end, it went right back to that. I watched him do the first interviews that he did. He talked very highly about myself like I’ve always talked about him and how happy he was to see me and the rest of the guys, but he said it was mainly me he was happy to see. And then all of a sudden, in all the interviews after that, after the first two where I felt like he was speaking from the heart, it took a left-hand turn and I was never mentioned again. It’s very weird, man. I felt like politics, once again, were in the way.

I guess the one constant in the whole Journey saga is you marching forward and keeping it alive. It is the ship I’ve been in from the very get-go. I’m the only guy that’s been there for every show, every record, every date. I’m the only guy. And my heart is still in it. We’re definitely moving forward and I’m happy with what I’m hearing. I’m moving. I’m going forward. I’m not going to sit in neutral and wait for things to settle out.

We’ll soon be approaching our 50th anniversary. It’s kind of mind-boggling to me, even sitting here telling you it’s been 50 years for me. It should be a great one. What I do know is that we’ve hardly spent any time abroad, but we are going to be taking this around the world and playing in countries and cities we’ve never been to before. Anytime we’ve done this before — like our first first show with Arnel [in Chile] when the audience went wild — we’d never been there before, but they went crazy. His audition was in front of 30 million people. He was scared to death. I had to push him out onstage.

I really feel like late 2021 and certainly 2022 will be a celebration of live music. I’ve got butterflies about the vibe I’m getting or what it’s going to be like when we put our show together. We’re not just going to play the same old show. We’re going to be adding a lot of new stuff. I know Randy and Narada, because I’ve jammed with them before.

It’s going to conform into a whole new thing. They aren’t afraid to try anything right on the spur of the moment onstage, which is where I’ve always been. I play by ear. If you go there, I’m going there, man. I learned to do that playing with Carlos Santana and Rolie and all the original Santana guys. I’m from that school and I love it.

I think we’ll construct a set in a way where we’ll have time for all of it and it won’t have to stay the same every night. We don’t have to conform to that. Everyone will be able to carry it and feel strongly about improvising on the spot and going with it.

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• >> Entertainment
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• >> Kats

Journey singer Arnel Pineda on fronting his favorite band

The 54-year-old Pineda, who has taken over for Steve Perry with the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, is tearing up Las Vegas as Journey wraps up an eight-show residency.

S imilar to that famous song, Arnel Pineda’s fairy tale goes on, and on, and on, and on …

The Journey singer, who has taken over Steve Perry’s former domain, is tearing up Las Vegas. The band is entering its second and final weekend of an eight-show residency at the Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Journey performs at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Next up is a Dec. 18 date at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

As rock fans are readily aware, Pineda grew up impoverished in Manila. As he says, “I sang my way out of poverty,” first from the streets and then landing a spot in local rock cover bands in his early teens.

Pineda was able to eat, but he never imagined rock stardom.

But in 2007, guitar great Neal Schon caught a YouTube video of Pineda and his band, The Zoo. The singer’s life changed immediately. Within months, he was singing for 20,000 fans at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile.

The 54-year-old Pineda took time from his vocal warmup (keeping the humidifier humming throughout) at the Theater to talk of his rise to fame:

Johnny Kats : Do you look around you and wonder “How did I get here?”

Arnel Pineda: (Laughs.) Yeah, no kidding. I’ve been with them for 14 years now, and I still do. But I’m still remembering the day Neal called me in and said that I am in the band. It was Dec. 5, 2007, at the Hilton hotel in Healdsburg, California. That was when I became a member of Journey.

What was that first show in Chile like for you?

I was nervous, scared. They were nervous. We were all nervous. There were thousands of people, and it was broadcast all over Latin America. But I was just telling myself, psyching myself up, “I can do this. I need to do this right.” But I also thought, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

You had one show with Journey, guaranteed, right?

Yes, I mean, you’ve only been dreaming to be with this band, even for one song. And now you’re doing the whole thing, the whole set. So, even if you fail, you have four, five good songs you’ve performed with them out there onstage. I’m already happy, like, fulfilled if that happens.

You have cover band cred then, right?

True! And then I can go back to the Philippines, and I can brag about it forever and ever. You know what I mean? Like a kid, you know, it was like that. It was not about fame and fortune. It’s about me being a big fan and being grateful to have this magical moment.

You have talked about being homeless in the Philippines as a kid. You still often think about that period of your life?

Of course. I am a parent now. I am a father now to my kids. I don’t want them to go through what I went through, because it was bad. I mean, no kids in the world should deserve a life like that.

What was life like in those days?

Oh, my God. Imagine you’re living in a space about 20 square feet, and you have six kids, and you’re squatting on a riverside, which is so dirty and so polluted you can’t drink. There is a hole where you open up a piece of wood and go to the bathroom, and that’s it. When you all need to sleep, you just get out a very thin, like, mattress to sleep on, all six of you.

It happens everywhere, doesn’t it?

It’s not only happening in the Philippines, certainly. It’s happening all over the world. This is why I have my foundation (Arnel Pineda Foundation Inc.) to help these little angels. It is one thing for adults to suffer, but don’t bring these little angels into it.

How did you become a singer?

When I was 5 years old I was hearing (sings) “Great balls of fire!” and “Go, Johnny, go!” Then it was the mighty Beatles. Then there was a transition when I heard the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson, his voice. “Ben” and “I’ll Be There,” those songs, I loved singing. I just kept listening to rock songs, rock bands. Journey, of course, always. Also Judas Priest. Iron Maiden. I love Rush. I met Geddy Lee at the Rock &Roll Hall of Fame. I grabbed his hand and said, “I just want to say, I am a big fan!” He was so surprised, he was actually speechless.

You met Steve Perry there, too, yes?

Yes, yes I did.

How did that go?

He was super-nice, very friendly. I didn’t know what to expect, because I had never met him, and I had been waiting for 35 years to meet him. But he was so gracious, and super-helpful to me.

Did he have any advice for you?

He whispered something to me, through my assistant, Yul (Sessions), which I learned after the meeting. He said, “Tell him to take care of his voice.” He wants me to sing for a long time.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts . Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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Classic Rock News

By kslx | february 8, 2023, journey lead singer arnel pineda hints at more band drama.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the legal battles between  Journey  members  Neal Schon  and  Jonathan Cain , but it seems there’s even more drama going on with the band. In case you missed it, Journey’s current lead singer,  Arnel Pineda , recently posted a series of cryptic tweets that suggest he’s unhappy with how things are going with the group. 

“(I’)m with the band to sing the legacy..if some of them are tired of me being with them, with all means, they can fire me anytime..,”  he tweeted . “and don’t lecture me about spiritual BS..#walkthetalk.” 

And that’s not all. He  followed up  with, “all i know? is #ivepaidmydues so stop reminding me where i came from..coz it’s in my heart everyday..”

He added, “you just don’t pay attention..im not a slave..im a human being like anybody else..#wrongiswrong #rightisright that simple..” 

So far none of the current Journey members have commented on Pineda’s remarks, although  Jeff Scott Soto , who had a short stint as Journey’s lead singer from 2006 to 2007, did respond.

“You have NOTHING or NO ONE to answer to brother, you’re a kind, gentle and huge heart with a huge talent to match, it’s the age old crap when you achieve success and happiness, there are many who want to break you down! Stay the course, YOUR course, I’m proud to be your friend!”  he tweeted .

Regardless of all the drama, Journey continues on their 50th anniversary tour. The trek hits Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Journey’s Jonathan Cain Says Donald Trump Will Be a ‘Legend’ if Reelected in Jail

Jonathan Cain is defending Donald Trump after the former president was convicted on 34 felony counts . But even if Trump ends up running for reelection from a jail cell, the longtime Journey member says “it will make him a legend.”

Asked if he thought Trump was innocent of the charges, Cain told Kitty Chrisp from London’s Metro newspaper: “Put it this way, there might have been some misdemeanors. Crimes, as they’re calling it. But yes, I do.”

Years before his New York trial, Trump was the source of a very public falling out between Cain and Journey bandmate Neal Schon . Cain, who’s married to Trump’s spiritual advisor , visited Trump’s White House press room in the summer of 2017 with singer Arnel Pineda and now-former bassist Ross Valory – apparently without Schon’s knowledge .

READ MORE: Ranking All 52 Journey Songs From the ’80s

Schon immediately began expressing surprise and dismay . Subsequent news reports then misrepresented the trip as group-sanctioned, which Schon angrily reiterated was not the case. ( NBC , for instance, reported that “Journey, the Band, Poses for Pictures in the White House Press Briefing Room.”)

Schon later confirmed that the group had met specifically to discuss the implications of such an official visit and that he’d argued against it – “ many, many times .” In these discussions with management and counsel, “they both agreed that there should never be anything to do with religious beliefs or politics with Journey.”

‘He Can Run for President From Jail’

As the rhetoric heated up, Schon even seemed to be hinting at a breakup . The deteriorating situation led to a flurry of lawsuits , but they were dropped when Cain and Schon eventually mended fences .

Trump’s conviction was related to an alleged scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush-money arrangement with a porn actor who claimed they had sex. After serving between 2017-21, Trump is now seeking re-election as the Republican party’s presumptive nominee . He has not yet been sentenced .

“I think it was unfair what happened,” Cain told Metro . “It was a sad day for the United States but I think he’s a fighter. He has a chance. They can’t stop him legally. He can run for president from jail.”

See Neal Schon Among Rock’s Forgotten Supergroups

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Next: Photos From Throughout Steve Perry's Career

Journey to celebrate 50th anniversary with 30 shows in 2024: See where they're headed

Journey is continuing the celebration of its five-decade career with a run of 2024 shows.

The 50 th Anniversary Freedom Tour kicks off Feb. 9 in Biloxi, Mississippi and will play 30 dates in North America through April 29 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. local time on Sept. 29 via ticketmaster.com.

Toto, which supported Journey on their tour earlier this year to celebrate their "Freedom" album, will again join Journey founder, guitarist Neal Scho n, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, lead singer Arnel Pineda, keyboardist Jason Derlatka, drummer Deen Castronovo and bassist Todd Jensen as show openers.

Journey's tour finds the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers tearing through a set list of anthems including "Any Way You Want It," "Faithfully," "Be Good to Yourself" and, of course, "Don't Stop Believin'."

When "Freedom" arrived in July 2022, Schon told USA Today that the album title was originally tapped for the band's 1986 release, "Raised on Radio," but then-singer Steve Perry didn't like it, "so we sat on it for many years … when we were tossing around album titles said, why not just call the whole thing 'Freedom?' It's for the times right now."

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Schon was also sanguine when reflecting on the band’s legacy.

"It’s quite an accomplishment and I’m very proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve gotten through emotional and personnel changes and survived," he said. "It’s pretty mind-boggling but also a lot of hard work."

More: Journey co-founder George Tickner dies: 'Fly free above the stars'

Here are Journey's 2024 Freedom Tour dates

*Sioux City on sale Thursday, October  5