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Neal Schon on Journey’s New LP ‘Freedom,’ Ambitious 50th Anniversary Plans

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

It’s been 11 years since Journey released their last studio record, and for a while it was looking like they’d never get around to making one. “Nobody was really interested in making new music,” Journey founder and guitarist and Neal Schon tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from his California home. “It’s very difficult to get new material played and to get people familiar with it before you go out and play live. Everybody in the band was like, ‘I don’t want to do it.'”

The band’s heavy tour schedule also made it difficult for the band to create a new record, but when the pandemic forced the band to cancel their 2020 summer tour with the Pretenders, Schon suddenly had a lot of time on his hands. He filled it by heading into the studio with longtime friend Narada Michael Walden, who joined Journey as their new drummer right around this time, and began writing new tunes that were fleshed out by his bandmates at their home studios, including singer Arnel Pineda from his house in the Philippines.

The result is Freedom , which arrives in stores July 8. It’s a mixture of classic Journey ballads, heavy rockers, and funky numbers they were able to create thanks to the addition of Walden and bassist Randy Jackson into the fold. We spoke to Schon about the creation of Freedom , Journey’s plans for their upcoming 50th anniversary (which may include Santana), why Jackson and Walden didn’t tour with the band this year, and his feelings about Andy Cohen labeling them “Fake Journey” on CNN after their New Year’s Eve performance.

How did the tour go earlier this year? Killer, man. Couldn’t have asked for better shows. We were back in arenas, selling them out. It felt great. Things are moving straight up.

The combination of you and Toto really worked.  Yeah. I’m glad I thought of it. When Billy Idol was originally going to only play the first 28 shows, I suggested Toto for the second half of the tour. Luke [Steve Lukather] and I have been friends for many years. When Billy got sick and had to pull out, I said, “Let’s just put them on for the whole thing.” And it worked out great. The music really fits together. They were getting ready to do a theater tour, so we helped to elevate them in the United States, where they deserve to be.

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Next year, it looks like we’re going to go out and do the same thing. We’ll play secondary markets and some of the main markets we missed the first time around with Toto. We have 40 dates already booked. And then we’re planning on going aboard with them.

It was interesting to hear “Don’t Stop Believin'” as the third song of the set. It sort of changed the gravity of the night since it’s usually the closer. I think we fumbled on that a bit. We wanted to recreate the Greatest Hits [record] the last time we played Vegas at Virgin [Hotels]. We were recreating the Greatest Hits album exactly as it was on the album. That’s where the song came in. We tried it and I ended up liking it. That’s obviously a huge song, but to me, it was never a closer. It’s an up-tempo power ballad. To me, no matter how big the song is, it’s not the closing song of the show. I thought it worked out great.

Tell me how you made this new album Freedom during the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, everybody was at home, obviously. We couldn’t work. I started experimenting a lot and looping a lot from our house. At this time, we had gone through the lawsuit [against former drummer Steve Smith and former basset Ross Valory] and were able to move on. I wanted to work with Narada Michael Walden and Randy Jackson. Narada lives in San Rafael in Marin County. And even though it was a lockdown, he and I were able to get together and start working on ideas.

I spoke to Arnel about a year ago. He was in Manila, but he had a whole home studio setup so he could work on the new songs with you. Tell me about the process of working with a vocalist on the other side of the planet. It was really amazing to watch. I wasn’t aware completely of the new technology that allows you to record anywhere in the world and be exactly in time without any delay. I figured if you were all the way in Manila, it couldn’t work. I thought there would be glitches and delays. But Narada and our engineer, Jim Reitzel, were explaining to me that there’s this new technology out there and it could be exactly in time. Arnel would not have to engineer himself. Jim could actually engineer from Narada’s studio. All Arnel had to do was sing.

Narada told me funny stories about producing his vocals. He’d be singing, and since he wasn’t in a real studio, it would start pouring rain or hailing. They had to stop the session since they’d hear it pounding on the roof.

His voice sounds really strong, like what he sounded like in 2008. All of the wear-and-tear on his voice was gone. It’s so crazy. We brought out a vocal specialist that Randy Jackson had suggested we use. We tried to figure out what was going on with him since he had been struggling for many years. He was always complaining that he couldn’t hear himself. We thought, “Why not invest and have someone come out and assess it?” The guy came out and said, “Wow. With this mix, I don’t understand how he’s hearing anything. You guys have a real problem here. It’s too loud.”

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Our monitor mixer Josh said he knew a guy with fresh years that could come in and help us overhaul our setup. We got him out. It was like, “Snap!” It was that fast. All of a sudden, it started sounding like a record in front of me. I was going to the guys and saying, “Wow! It’s sounding like it’s pre-mixed. And with Arnel sounding so perfect in the mix, we can do what the Grateful Dead have been doing for years. We need to build up our website more, put some money into that, and start giving people live streams.” As long as we mix up the shows, I see us going in that direction.

This is Randy’s first time on a Journey record since Raised on Radio in 1986. What was it like having him back? What did he bring to the table? It’s Randy and Narada. What they bring to the table is their personalities. It’s always a pleasure to be around them, beyond the fact they are both amazing musicians and great people to be around. I knew what I was going to get musicianship-wise, and both brought it. The way we started this album was all drums and guitar. It was really fun for me to not work with a computer from the get-go.

I was in the studio playing live guitar with Narada on all the tracks that we cut. A song like “Let It Rain” was just a jam. I came in one day and went, “I got this riff.” He goes, “Let’s go jam on it.” We went out and jammed on it. It was one take like it was on the record. I went down and arranged it. I didn’t know where it was going. It wasn’t even really a song. I just kept jamming through it.

In a sense, it was like what a lot of people did in the Sixties, like Jimi [Hendrix] if he was working on something and he had [drummer] Mitch Mitchell to work with. He’d just jam through a thing and then throw bass on it afterwards. That’s what we did with that. I threw some bass on it right afterwards. I did my best Jack Bruce impersonation. I sent it down to Randy, and Randy totally got it. He just took what I did and played it better.

I was really pleasantly surprised to hear the rhythm section on this whole album. We have a whole new strut about the album, whether it’s a ballad, a power rocker, or the funk rock, the heavier stuff we have on this album is kind of a new chapter for us.

I really like “Beautiful As You Are.” That’s a suite. It’s one of the longest Journey songs. I think it encompasses everything from Infinity and before that to “Don’t Stop Believin'” and beyond.

It’s the longest Journey song since “Look Into The Future” in 1976. I hated the days when people were looking at their stopwatch and everyone got into that vibe of, “Don’t bore me, get to the chorus.” Why? If they want to get it on the radio, whatever radio is left out there, they’re going to edit it anyway, so why chop the baby’s legs off?

I also really liked “Holding On.” That’s interesting. It’s one of my favorite songs. It’s one of the first songs I recorded with Narada after the first single. It’s just a riff that I had in my head. I laid it down to a drum machine at home and threw a bass on it. I came in with it and went, “I think this is really cool and aggressive; a funky, rock riff that I would love to hear you play on.” I knew he’d fuck it up in a good way, in a funny way, and wouldn’t play it completely straight, like heavy rock. And so he did. He put the syncopated funk on it with the rock, which brought it to a Wired kind of groove, things he did with Jeff Beck years ago.

I think the track is very strong. I shared it with a few musician friends, one being Sammy Hagar. He came back exactly like I knew he would. He went, “Man, I don’t know what you’re doing. You got all these slow songs at the beginning. I can barely get through it. I would have opened up with ‘Holding On.’”

Tell me about picking drummer Deen Castronovo to sing lead on “After Glow.” Well, we got through playing our first shows [in 2021], which started with Lollapalooza and the [Aragon Ballroom] in Chicago. I really wanted to try the two-drummer thing. For some reason, we were putting together a very long show for the [Aragon] in Chicago. We were doing a three-and-a-half hour show with an intermission in the middle. It became a lot for Narada to remember all the material. I suggested bringing Deen back to help out. [Editor’s note: Castronovo played drums in Journey from 1998 to 2015.]

Deen is such a sponge. He remembers stuff I wrote better than I do. I’ll go, “What did I do there?” He’ll be like, “Bro, go back here. Do this, do this …You’re going there too soon.” He has a photographic memory on all Journey material. He knows every lyric, every vocal part, every guitar part. He’s just a wealth of information when you can’t remember your own stuff. He’s also an amazing drummer and an amazing singer.

He came in to help us out and it worked out really great. We got through all the East Coast dates. And then Narada had a mild heart attack. We got him home safely, and Deen continued to stay out with us, God bless him.

At that point, Deen was out with us and continuing to play our shows. We were finishing up the album. And the music to “After Glow” came to me. It’s the last song I wrote on the album. I was playing electric guitar at home and singing the chords and the melody into my iPhone. I went, “Well, Arnel can sing this. Deen can sing it too. But since Deen isn’t drumming on this record and he’s pretty much back in the band, we might as well have him featured as a vocalist, at least on one track.”

Will Narada rejoin you on the road at some point, or it’s just going to be Deen from now on? I think it is Deen. Deen is really doing amazing out on tour with us. He’s gotten past a lot of obstacles, and clearly shown that he’s on the right path. He’s playing amazing. He’s singing amazing. He’s a great band member. We know he can withstand the road. It’s not as easy as it looks.

Is Narada still a member of Journey? To me, he’s a musical member. Always. I love working with him. I certainly will write more with him in the future. Randy is not out there either. He’s a musical member too.

Why didn’t Randy join you guys on the road? Randy had back surgery. He’s still recovering. As you know, we started with Marco Mendoza. He played some dates with us and we did the iHeartRadio Festival in Vegas. I was mixing it one day with our long-time mixer, Dave Kalmusky, in Nashville. I was noticing that the bass parts — Marco is an excellent bass player, excellent singer, excellent guy — but it just wasn’t gelling. Him and Deen weren’t gelling correctly for Journey. I felt like the bass was in front of the drums. You try to put a guitar in the middle of that and it’s all squeezed. It just wasn’t feeling right.

The bass has to sit behind the drums with us and do that Motown thing. I talked to Marco about it. He goes, “I’ll keep that in mind.” I thought, [incredulously] “Keep that in mind?” I talked to Deen and the rest of the guys about it and we all agreed that it wasn’t quite gelling. I suggested Todd Jensen at that point. I had played with him and Deen. We had gone on tour with Paul Rodgers [in 1993] and done the Hardline thing. He’s very soulful and coming from that Motown place.

When I played with Paul Rodgers at the Hollywood Bowl years ago with Todd, Steve Perry was there at the soundcheck. He came up onstage and goes, “You guys sound killer. You sound better than ever.” Shortly after that, Todd was in his solo band when he went out. He just seemed like an obvious choice.

Might Randy join the band on the road at some point, or it’s just Todd going forward? I really can’t predict the future. I see Todd as being very solid as being a permanent member. He’s got the right personality and the right type of bass-playing. He’s a no-drama person. He’s an awesome guy, easy to get along with. Very talented, sings well. Seeing that it’s our 50th anniversary coming up — my 50th, the only founding guy now — who knows what’s going to happen?

What are your plans for the 50th? What I’d like to see happen is not going to happen completely on our 50th, but eventually will, is An Evening With. I see us going back into these arenas and doing pretty much what Rush was doing, playing long shows and incorporating everything we’ve ever done, and using little segments of our early, early material as segues into other songs. It won’t be a cheesy medley, but we’ll get musical with it. I’ve also appreciated bands like Zeppelin and Hendrix and the Who that weren’t locked down to anything from night to night. They were ready to allow things to flow in a very natural way. I’d like to do that and incorporate anything.

A dream show for many fans is Santana, Journey, and then an OG Santana encore portion with you, and Greg Rolie, Michael Shrieve, and all those guys. I see that completely. That would make total sense for a 50th anniversary. I’ve been talking to Carlos. I’ve been talking to our agent, and also AEG has been amazing to work with. I love working with them. I think it’s on the horizon. I’ve been talking to Carlos’ manager. Carlos and I were talking about getting together. I’m actually pushing for the end of 2023, if we’re in Europe or we come back here, nothing is in cemented, but we’re talking about going over to Europe, playing some large arenas with Toto, since they are very big over there. And then I said, “Why don’t we add Santana to that bill?”

I recently saw an old poster from Bill Graham days for Day on the Green [in 1982] on Facebook. It was Journey/Santana/Toto. That would be a great stadium tour too.

I saw the Santana reunion show at the House of Blues in Las Vegas back in 2016. A lot of fans were hoping to see that band tour, but it didn’t happen. It wasn’t my wish, but it just didn’t. Politics were involved. Some people were not happy about me doing both gigs. It wasn’t me. I’m happy to play six hours a night. [ Laughs ] I don’t have any tendonitis or anything going on. I’m ready to go.

Are there any talks about more Journey shows with Def Leppard? That’s always a possibility. I’m probably not supposed to mention anything since they’re out there now doing what they’re doing, but we always consider Def Leppard. It’s obviously a great bill. I think we’re strong enough to sell out stadiums without anyone else…In all honesty, we were playing the same places, along with old management, Live Nation, for two decades.

You’re right. The band played too many summers in those same amphitheaters. The show works better in arenas. I think we could have done that years earlier, but Live Nation didn’t have those arenas. They don’t own them. They share them once in a while with AEG, but AEG has a lot of those arenas. They want you to play where they own. The amphitheaters, if there are 5,000 seats that are accountable, the other massive amount of open air space [on the lawn] that people fill, you have no idea how many people are there every night. I had to start going to parking lot attendants because I suspected there was a lot of foul play.

Their main goal is to make money from the parking and beer sales. Exactly. That is the main money, honestly. They don’t care about who is playing there. They care that it’s booked out 24/7. It doesn’t matter if it’s Journey, Santana, or whoever. They care about the parking. The parking is the main money, and the concession stand.

As big as the band has gotten, there’s still a vocal element that refuses to give it a chance without Steve Perry. That’s what Andy Cohen was saying on New Year’s Eve on CNN. He called you guys “Fake Journey.” Are there certain people you simply can’t win over? [ Laughs ] I think Andy Cohen is never going to say that again. He was like a hop, skip, and a jump away from where we were on New Year’s Eve that night. He wanted my wife and I to go over there, and we didn’t do it. He was pissed off. He was also drunk. I think that was a setup anyway.

But when I got the real numbers of what networks had the highest ratings, from the second we went onstage that night on ABC, to when the ball dropped, we totally annihilated all networks put together. That night they had the smallest ratings ever [at CNN]. I plastered that all over the place, and did that with a chuckle. “Here you go, Andy. Thanks a lot, man. You actually elevated it.” As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad PR.

I’ll wrap in a second here, but what’s the status of the Arnel biopic? Are wheels moving on that? I hear all kinds of different things. I think inevitably there will be, but I don’t know if it’s going to be exactly like it was planned out to be. I got word from one of the producers that a lot of people that were involved with the initial movie deal aren’t around anymore. People are getting re-situated at companies. When that happens and new bigwigs come in, you never know what’s going to happen. But I think it’s inevitable there’s going to be a Journey flick, much like the Queen flick.

If done right, that could bring out even more fans to see you guys when you tour. Yeah. It’s really kicking butt now though. There’s going to be a small number of people that are resistant. But I went on social media after we got the new mixer and we started sounding like a mixed record every night, they all went away. We silenced everyone. The real truth of the matter is our biggest fans were saying, “I’ve seen you every decade, from the very beginning, prior to Perry, and going through everything and seeing every different decade, and you’ve never sounded this good.” People are comparing it with the highest levels of what we did in the Eighties.

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Deen Castronovo of Journey (INTERVIEW)

By Leslie Michele Derrough

If you only know Deen Castronovo as the drummer of Journey, then you’re about to be awakened to what this man can really do behind a drum set. Known as being the live backbeat behind such iconic ballads as “Faithfully,” “Open Arms” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” for the last seventeen years, Castronovo actually had his sticks firmly implanted in the harder, faster rhythms of rock and metal before Journey ever came calling. One listen to his work on solo albums by such Shrapnel artists as Marty Friedman and Tony MacAlpine will certainly open your eyes to what this man has the ability to do. “Oh my God, before he joined Journey, not a whole lot of people know this, but he was probably the pioneer of that kind of just uber-exciting drumming,” Friedman told me in an interview last year. “There wasn’t a whole lot of drumming like that before Deen came around and he influenced a whole generation of drummers even before he joined Journey.”

For his most recent adventure, a project pulled together by Frontiers Records president Serafino Perugino and featuring Night Ranger’s Jack Blades and former Whitesnake guitar player Doug Aldrich, Castronovo not only played drums but sang lead vocals as well. Calling themselves the Revolution Saints, their self-titled debut record drops officially on Tuesday, February 24 th , and the reception to the first single and video, “Turn Back Time,” has been much better than anyone had imagined. Chock full of rockers that bring out the best of the trio’s individual strong points, this may not be the last you will hear from them.

Last month while Castronovo was enjoying a beautiful afternoon amongst several rainy days in Oregon where he makes his home, he called in to talk with Glide about his career and what it felt like being thrown in front of the main microphone. You’d be surprised that this self-confessed “Tasmanian Devil from another planet,” a jokester with the energy of ten men, was actually a bundle of nerves being the center of attention.

How in the world did you get suckered into being the lead singer for Revolution Saints?

(laughs) Suckered in, that’s a great, that is exactly what it was (laughs). I was with Journey and we were in New Hampshire and John Baruck, our manager, came to me and said, “I got an offer from Serafino for you to do a record, to play drums and do some vocals.” And I said, “Oh, let me hear the music and I’ll make a decision.” And I heard this stuff and I was like, yeah, that would be fun. This is all Serafino’s brainchild. I mean, this is his baby. So he was throwing names for musicians to be involved in it and he mentioned Jack. I’ve known Jack since I was seventeen and he’s an amazing songwriter, amazing singer; so that was a no brainer. Yes, Jack would be perfect. Then they were throwing guitar names around and he mentioned Doug and I’ve known of his playing since Lion but I knew him playing with Whitesnake and it’s just amazing to watch him play. He’s incredible and an amazing talent. So that was a no brainer too. We just knew that was the combo and we just rolled with it.

So why are you singing?

You know, that’s a good question, Leslie. I don’t know why and it’s scary as hell. I’m not going to lie (laughs). I’m a drummer that sings background. That’s what I’ve done and to put me in a lead vocal position was scary. Thank God for Alessandro [Del Vecchio, Frontiers in-house producer] cause he flew in from Italy when we were doing vocals and he walked me through it cause I really didn’t know what to do. I heard the demos and he was like, “Just sing what you would sing.” So I did my best. It’s my first time, so everybody please be easy on me (laughs). I’m not a lead singer. It was a lot of fun but yeah, it was very daunting, I have to admit. Being a drummer is easy. I knew I could just go in there and just nail this stuff, and I nailed it in like four days. I got all the songs done in four or five days. But the lead singing part? It was something I really had to dig deep and try and find.

So how do you think the album came out?

It’s good but as a musician you look back and go, man, I could’ve sung that better or I could have done this part or that sounds kind of cheesy, why did I do that? (laughs) I remember talking to Jack about it and he said, “You know, bro, at some point you just got to stick a fork in it. It’s done, it’s done, it’s over, enjoy what you got.” And that’s what we’re doing now.

As long as you don’t get the front singer ego, you’ll be okay.

(laughs) You know what, I’ve got a beautiful wife that would NOT allow that. And I’ve never had an ego in the first place. I’m a drummer! Drummers don’t have egos. We’re in the back and we do what we’re told and we shut up and that’s it (laughs). So yeah, there’s no lead singer ego here. I’m just not that kind of a guy.

How did you meet Jack? You said you were seventeen at the time.

Yeah, I was in a band called Wild Dogs and it was a metal band, a melodic metal band, along the lines of Judas Priest, that type of thing, and the lighting director for Night Ranger and Journey was Kenny Mednick and he was the Wild Dogs manager. Basically we were doing recording in Sebastopol and he had Jack and Jeff Watson [Night Ranger guitar player] come down to listen. And I was in awe, of course. I was freaking out, “Jack Blades, this great star, and he’s listening to this stuff!” (laughs) And they really liked it. It’s heavy metal but it was very melodic, so they liked it a lot. And that’s how we kind of got to know each other. I would see them rehearsing in the same places I was rehearsing in San Francisco and we’d say hi and visit and talk and stuff and we just got to know each other. Then Night Ranger toured with Journey on a couple of tours and we got really tight, got to be buddies, and it was great.

How many songs did you guys go in with?

I think we had fourteen and there were some that were very similar to others and we were like, “That one is not working, I like this one better.” So once they got the final set list together, the songs they wanted us to do, they sent us the files and I just attacked the drums like I did. I remember Jack saying before I did the drum tracks, “Don’t play like the demo. I want you to play like you play. Just do your thing.” And holy crap, I think I just went a little overboard (laughs). I tore it up. It was a lot of fun. So that was it. Alessandro had the songs and presented them to us and I did the drum tracks and sent the files to Jack and he finished the bass tracks up in Seattle. Then we sent them to Doug and he put his awesome spin on it and then it was vocal time. So I had about ten days in between Journey legs to sing vocals. So what I did was, I flew in from Toronto on the second, had a day off the third and then the fourth I was singing until the fourteenth. Then the fifteenth I flew off to resume the Journey tour. It was tight, very tight, but it was fun.

When I talked to Doug last year in Vegas, he was really excited about what Revolution Saints was going to do.

I tell you, he’s a monster. He’s had his thing with Whitesnake and he’s done his projects but to me he’s very undiscovered almost. I mean, he’s just like this amazing player. And I played with all those shredder guys back in the Shrapnel days, with Tony MacAlpine and Marty Friedman and Jason Becker and Joey Tafolla. That’s what I did and he’s just amazing. But I think the most important thing, Leslie, is that he is an amazing person. And that’s what really solidified this thing with us. Cause us three, we all get along and have so much fun and I think it shows on the record.

I didn’t expect it to do anything, honestly. I did not expect it to get the response that we’re getting. I figured people would destroy me as a singer: “Oh this is terrible.” I expected that so I didn’t have any expectations for this and people love it. I’m like, really? Okay, this is kind of cool (laughs). People like it and I’m happy about that and I think us three as people, the chemistry was so perfect and we get along great, like brothers. And I believe that shows in what we did on the record.

Do you think this can be a project that can have a future?

You know, that’s the plan. This has been pretty well received so I believe we’re going to get together in June. Journey has a little bit of time off and we’re going to come into Portland in June and just play together, cause we haven’t played together in a room as a three-piece. We just did the files and did what we did. So we’re going to get together and hopefully if schedules permit, we’ll do some touring. That’s what we’re hoping.

You’ve been with Journey now for almost twenty years.

Seventeen years as of February.

What is the secret to playing with a band that has been around basically forever? How do you keep it fresh without losing the familiarity of the songs?

I think the most important thing for us is to have fun. I’ve known Neal Schon since I was twenty-three. I’ve known Jonathan Cain since I was twenty-three, from Bad English. So it’s a family and that’s the cool thing. We are a family, we are brothers, we would take bullets for one another a million times. Like I was saying earlier with Jack and Doug, Journey is a chemistry, we have a chemistry between all of us, and everybody’s got their own personalities and we go up there and we just have fun. It’s not work. This is a blast. I love playing these songs. Every time I just have a smile on my face the whole show. It’s a blast and we have fun and we feed off each other.

I’ll tell you, when Neal has a rough night, he’s not feeling well or not feeling it, I can sense it with him cause I’ve known him for twenty-five years. And we’re like Eddie and Alex Van Halen, honestly. We really connect. So if he is having a bad night, my brain starts going, okay, what can I do to make it easier for him? Is he not hearing well? And usually that’s what it is. He’s having a hard time hearing something. So I can adjust just by the way he looks at me. I can adjust my playing accordingly. If he’s having a great night, he’ll come over and you just look in his eyes and he’s like, “Go, bro” and we just go, we tear it up (laughs). It’s a beautiful relationship. I’m the little brother he never wanted (laughs). I’m the crazy one in the band. You’ve always got to have one and, well, I’m the clown (laughs)

Now if you can get Ross Valory to smile

Oh he’s another clown but he’s a different kind of clown. He’s almost like slapstick funny. I’m like this big Tasmanian Devil whirlwind and they just look at me and giggle. Like, damn this guy is from another planet. But it’s great and that’s what makes it great. You’ve always got to have one crazy, hyper guy that is running around and being silly, Leslie. That’s what makes it fun.

When you came into Journey, you came in behind two very big, strong drummers with Aynsley Dunbar and Steve Smith. And I have to say that Aynsley is one of my all-time favorite drummers.

I get it, Leslie. He was another big influence on me. Journey was our guilty pleasure. When I was playing metal and playing all this thrash stuff, I would always go back to Journey because of the musicianship and the songwriting. The songs were beautiful. Those songs would touch me, even though I was a freaking metal guy, they touched me. And of course Aynsley’s playing, I mean, come on, he’s a legend, an icon. And Steve Smith as well. And of course Steve Perry. He had his influences like Sam Cooke and guys like that but he is my biggest influence as a vocalist. He really is untouchable. Nobody can beat him. But he’s a big influence and Steve Smith is a major drumming influence on me. And I mean MAJOR. Nobody can touch him. He can play anything.

Were you at all intimidated when you came in cause you had to fill those big shoes.

Oh yeah but the neat thing was that Steve knew me back when I was seventeen and eighteen. He knew of me through Mike Varney, he had done records for Mike Varney, and when I joined the band I actually talked to Steve and said, “Man, can I come over to your house and can you show me some of these parts so I don’t screw them up? I want to make sure I got them as close to your playing as possible because the fans want what they want.” You can’t fill those shoes really, so I don’t believe I filled those shoes so much as I did my best to try and highlight those shoes, you know what I mean. Those songs and those drum parts are perfect so you don’t mess with them. To me, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Smith is a god.

So I went to his house and he showed me “Don’t Stop Believin’” cause I didn’t know what he was doing there. “What the heck are you doing? Oh it’s open-handed, okay, I get that now.” We did that for about a half hour, forty-five minutes, just getting parts, and then he sat down on the drum kit and said, “Let me show you some stuff,” and oh my God, it was like a lesson in humility for the next two hours (laughs). I can’t do that; no, I can’t do that either (laughs) Slow it really, really down cause I’m not getting that (laughs). And he’s so patient. Obviously, we’re very close now and he knows I ripped him off blind (laughs). He’s got a great groove and a great feel. I’m more of a rock drummer and he’s more of a swingy Jazz rock drummer. He’s just got that thing and I think I’ve grown into a better player just being in Journey and really analyzing Smith’s parts. He’s just got a thing, just like Perry. They’ve got a thing all their own and they are who they are and I try my best just to play the songs like they were recorded and written.

You said you were like a Tasmanian Devil. Were you like that as a kid too?

Yes, ma’am. When I was six and seven, I was so hyper that doctors in the seventies they gave Ritalin to kids to calm them down. And I was on that for maybe two weeks and I was an emotional nightmare. I was just crying, so emotional. So my mom was like, “Screw this, I’m taking him off this crap.” So she took me off of it and then I went through withdrawals like a drug addict, like shaking and puking and the whole thing. It was really rough on a six year old kid so she got me a drum set (laughs). And the rest is history, man. I mean, seriously, I latched onto KISS. I saw them and I said, that’s what I want to do. I want to be in that band. I want to put make-up on and I want fire and bombs (laughs). KISS was my Beatles. I proceeded on from there, from KISS to Rush and then Rush to Brand X and UK and all those bands that had really progressive drummers. Then of course I heard Journey’s Captured and that was it for me. I was like, what in the hell is this? I love this.

Did you ever get to tell Peter Criss how much of an influence he’s been on you?

You know, I’ve tried a lot of times to reach out to him through my drum company and he’s never responded. But it’s like those guys watched The Beatles and that’s what they wanted to do. I watched KISS and that’s what I wanted to do. Paul Stanley knows. I’ve told him many times that, “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t be a musician. I wouldn’t have even started.” So Paul knows. I don’t think Gene knows. I know Ace doesn’t know. I’m sure Peter gets that a bagillion times a day and is like, “Whatever, another guy, who cares” (laughs). I don’t know but I love him to death. I invited him to a show in New Jersey and we never heard back. I was really bummed. Like, I always wanted to tell him what he did for me but now you can tell him, Leslie, that if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be a drummer. Period. Mr Criss, you are a god, you are an icon, I love you (laughs)

Brian Tichy says the same thing.

You know, Brian is an amazing player. Holy crap, that man is ridiculous. He’s an amazing talent. I’m not in the same league. I’m just working to be the best I can be.

I talked to Marty Friedman last year and he talked about how amazing and innovative you were.

You know, those were amazing days. I know a bagillion guys and everybody’s got their own thing and I’m just grateful that I’ve got kind of my own voice. It’s a hybrid of a lot of players but that’s my voice. They have their influences, I have mine: Smith, Peart, Bozzio and Peter Criss. Those were my guys. That’s what I learned from, that’s what I weaned myself on. It’s a very silver humility, it’s a very silver judgment. I know that I’m good at what I do and I know I could always be better and there’s always another guy right behind me that’s ten years younger that kicks my butt. My son, my little boy, my twenty-four year old, kills me. He smokes me. You ought to hear him play. He’s amazing. My son Kyle plays drums. He’s a metal drummer like in the vein of Slipknot and those kind of things and he does stuff I can’t do. But not only that, he’s a great songwriter, he’s a singer, he plays guitar and bass and keyboards. What the heck did I just make? (laughs) The cat’s in the cradle now. He’s on the road and I try to call and he never answers (laughs). Why do they do that? I keep telling him, yep, the cat’s in the cradle. He’s grown up just like me. Just like me.

Who was the first real rock star you ever met?

Gosh, the first real rock star I think I ever met was, I think it was the guys in Journey, honestly. I was backstage with Kenny, the manager of Wild Dogs, and we went back in the back area and there was Steve Smith and I met Steve and I met Ross. I didn’t meet Neal, Jon or Steve Perry, but I did get to shake hands with those two guys. Then the guys in Night Ranger. I got to meet those guys and those guys were like the first major guys in the Bay Area that I got to meet.

Out of all the songs you’ve ever heard, which one boggles your mind the most in terms of the drums?

I have heard “The Black Page” drum solo with Terry Bozzio and Frank Zappa and I don’t get it. I get it but I think, what in the world. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard in my life. So kudos to Terry Bozzio. He’s another one from another planet. You listen to him and go, man, he’s taken it to the next level and beyond. So “The Black Page” solo. I will never be able to do that. I will appreciate it from a distance.

Have you noticed that the way you play drums today has changed much over the years?

Oh yeah, I was a thrash drummer, a metal drummer, so joining Bad English totally changed my perspective on how to be a colorful player and to play for the song. Then of course joining Journey, oh my God, I’ve grown leaps and bounds. I can’t play that fast anymore. It’s gone, I’m fifty (laughs). It’s just really difficult to do that really fast stuff anymore but I’ve grown into playing more for the song and that I attribute to Steve Smith. Analyzing his parts and being in Journey, you’ve got to play for the song. It’s not all about you so you just play and do the best you can and groove. So yeah, I’ve grown more as a musical drummer for the band instead of like a show monster, like, look how fast I can go. I used to do that a lot. So now I play for the song.

Since I am down here by New Orleans and we’re in the middle of Mardi Gras, I saw you guys riding in the Endymion parade back in 2007. What was that like for you?

You know what, it was surreal. It was very cold and I believe it was just after the hurricane came in and I remember they were still rebuilding. But it was incredible, just being in that place and just being with everybody. I remember playing at like two in the morning, which is difficult for me (laughs). It’s past my bedtime, how am I going to stay awake (laughs). Drink as much coffee as I could. But we had a blast. I remember being bundled up and freezing. It was really cold but a lot of fun throwing the beads out.

What has been your most nerve-wracking experience onstage?

Usually it’s when something is going on technically. We’ve got the in-ears and if the in-ears go out, I’m lost. It’s like, okay, I can’t hear the band because we’re using in-ears, and I have to pull the in-ears out and play off of the band, which when you’ve got the in-ears in, you’ve got the whole band there and when it’s gone you’ve got nothing, cause we don’t have amps on stage, we don’t really do that. That’s nerve-wracking. Trying to switch out a headset while you’re playing, my drum tech gets frazzled but he’s the most amazing drum tech on the planet. He’s boom-boom-boom done, that quick. He’s just on his game. So that would probably be the most nerve-wracking. I’ve had it happen a couple times. There was one time when I was playing and I whipped my arm around my head and I whacked one of my in-ears and shattered it. I literally shattered it in my ear. Those are the nerve-wracking times. The rest of it is just a blast.

What still excites you about playing music?

You know what it is, it’s the spirit of the music, how it touches people, and you can see Journey’s music touches people. You can see people in the crowd singing to “Faithfully” or “Open Arms” and hugging their wives or their girlfriends or significant others and it’s pretty heavy. So being in Journey is a very spiritual thing. I believe it’s spiritual and comes from above and it’s a beautiful thing. Journey’s music lives on because of that, cause it touches people’s spirits, touches their souls and their hearts and that’s huge. So that’s what keeps me going. I love it. It’s a beautiful thing to play in front of twenty-five thousand people and see everybody singing to “Don’t Stop Believin’” or everybody holding their significant other during “Faithfully.” It’s huge. It’s bigger than we are, let’s put it that way. It’s bigger than the collective five of us.

And you’re about to go on the road with Journey again.

I’m ready. We’ve been off since September 18 th of last year. I bought a new home and me and my wife and kids were all moving into that thing. But I’m ready to go on the road, go back to work (laughs).

Are you excited that Steve Miller is opening up for you guys?

I love Steve. I actually played, opening up for Steve Miller back in 1993. I was in Paul Rodgers’ band with Neal and Todd Jensen and we opened for Steve on an entire tour. It was incredible.

Paul Rodgers is one of the best.

Leslie, he is one of the most amazing singers I’ve ever worked with, I’ve got to admit. I’m not lying, every night he was perfect. Even if he had a cold, wasn’t feeling good, he was perfect. It was frightening (laughs). I’ve never seen somebody go out there and sing with such soul and passion and got a 101 temperature. He’s amazing. That was a huge, huge experience for me working with him.

You know, I am who I am and thank God my wife loves me. I’m grateful that she puts up with this. She’s the yin to my yang, definitely. That woman is so relaxed and centered and grounded. And I’m like ARRRR (laughs).

How long have you been married?

We got engaged in Australia, in Sydney, in 2012. We got married a little while after that and it’s been great. But she was my first girlfriend when I was, well, let’s put it this way: I met her when I was nineteen and she was fourteen. I looked at her and was like, oh my God, she didn’t look fourteen, she looked eighteen. But I thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Who the heck is that? I asked my brother and he said, “She’s fourteen.” And it was like the big X from Family Feud . No, you’re not doing that, not getting near that (laughs). So I waited till she was like seventeen and I asked her parents if I could date her and we dated for about six months and then we ended up splitting off and she did her thing and I did my thing.

But we got back together in 2008. I was going through a rough divorce. I had just gone through it, actually. I wasn’t going to go to the Christmas Eve party that my family has. I wanted to stay home and I didn’t want to be around family. So my sister-in-law says, “What if I invite Deidra? Would you come then?” And I was like, “Oh my God, I hadn’t seen her in twenty years. I would love it.” And Deidra wasn’t going to go. “I loved him back then, he’s going to break my heart, nope, nope, nope.” But she went and she got out of the car and I saw her and I started jumping around; not jumping, but oh my God. And my sister-in-law said, “Get in the back, you look giddy.” (laughs) She came in and it was love at first sight again and we’ve been together ever since.

We’ve had some highs and lows but I owe her my life, I really do, because she’s my life. It’s God, family and my job, and that’s the way it’s always been. It’s got to be. I’ve got my priorities in order and it’s really important and she’s helped me to keep those priorities in order, which is a huge thing cause I was a mess for a long time. I’ve had issues with alcohol and stuff and it’s been rough but if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I’m at.

And look at Journey. We’re all family now. We’ve got kids and there’s no partying anymore, we’re all grown up and it’s like, I’m fifty, I can’t do that stuff anymore. I’ll die. So for me, I’m in the right band with the right people that really care about me and love me for who I am.

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Journey welcomes drummer Deen Castronovo back into the band

Just as Journey starts playing live again for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the band has announced that Deen Castronovo , who was the group’s drummer from 1998 to 2015, has rejoined its lineup as a second drummer alongside Narada Michael Walden .

On Wednesday, Journey guitarist Neal Schon and Castronovo hinted at Deen’s return in a series of Twitter posts promoting the band’s Chicago concerts this week, on Thursday at the Aragon Ballroom and Saturday at the Lollapalooza festival.

Schon’s post featured the Twitter tags of the Aragon Ballroom and most of Journey’s current members, plus Marco Mendoza — who will be filling in on bass for Randy Jackson this week — and Deen.

Also, Castronovo tweeted on Wednesday a message that reads, “It’s ON!! STOKED to be playing with my brothers in Journey this weekend!! Let’s DO THIS!,” along with the hashtags #deencastronovo, #teamdeeno, #lollapalooza, #aragonballroom, #journeyband and #journeyfamily. The post also featured photos apparently taken at the group’s rehearsals for the concerts.

Then, on Thursday, Schon chatted with fans via a Facebook thread and was asked if Castronovo was back as an official member of Journey, to which he replied, “Yes.” He also noted that both Deen and Narada will be playing drums, adding, “JOURNEY AS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD US BEFORE!!!!”

Castronovo was fired from Journey in 2015 after he was arrested on domestic violence charges involving his then-girlfriend, to whom he’s now married.

In 2019, Castronovo took part in Schon’s short-lived Journey Through Time project, which celebrated Journey’s early music and also featured founding Journey singer/keyboardist Gregg Rolie and, interestingly, Mendoza.

Walden, Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined Journey in 2020 after drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory were fired from the band.

Ok… Double trouble Chicago @NaradaMWalden @DeenTheDrummer Narada Michael Walden and the return of Deen Castronovo on Drums @AragonBallroom @lollapalooza pic.twitter.com/RRHYNi6CuQ — NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) July 27, 2021

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Former Journey Drummer Deen Castronovo One Year Later: ‘I’m So Grateful I Woke Up’ – Exclusive Interview

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you find yourself and rediscover the things that are really important in life.

That’s what former Journey drummer Deen Castronovo has realized in the days and months since June 2015 when he was first arrested for what was initially described as a domestic dispute. Things quickly snowballed and Castronovo eventually found himself facing a lengthy list of charges including rape, sexual abuse and unlawful use of a weapon. He entered rehab and was later sentenced to four years of probation, while undergoing domestic violence and drug counseling.

In November 2015, he spoke with Ultimate Classic Rock and was quite frank, revealing that he had been relieved of his drumming duties with Journey and that maintaining his sobriety was his only focus.

“I’m not expecting to work for a while and if God opens that door, he’ll open that door,” he said. “But I’m definitely not ready and even if somebody asked me now, I wouldn’t do it. A year from now, I don’t think I would do it. I need some time. I don’t ever want to have this happen again. I never want to do this to my band members, to any band member, any band, any friends of mine, any family — this is something that’s life or death and I really better take it seriously. Drumming right now is a beautiful thing that I love to do, but I’m not ready to put the shoes back on and play. I’m just not ready yet.”

Today (June 25), he marks one year of being sober, and he's turned his entire life around for the better. For the first time in 17 years, he’s at home and not on the road touring this summer. The above picture, which was taken last week, shows Castronovo in a happier and healthier place.

“You know, what’s really cool is you finally realize when something like this happens, you realize what’s really important,” he told Ultimate Classic Rock during a new interview that was conducted at the end of May. “Being a father is a huge, huge undertaking. For musicians like us, you’re on the road and you’re working a lot. You don’t have the time to be with your kids as much as you’d like. And then when I was in my addiction, man, I had no time for [Roman, Castronovo’s 11-year-old son] then. It’s so cool to be with him. He was always such a little closed-up boy and now he’s just opened up. You can tell. He’s got his dad back and he’s thrilled. And I’m thrilled. I see it in his eyes. You’re just like grateful that you woke up. I’m grateful that I woke up and that he’s got his dad now. It’s really cool. So yeah, I’m bummed about not being in Journey, of course, but I look at all of the great things that are happening now and being a part of his life and my family’s starting to see the real me again, being reliable. The good totally outweighs the bad at this point, definitely.”

As Castronovo tells us, Roman, his older son Kyle, and his stepdaughters, have all been happy to have their dad back in their life and he’s grateful that they didn’t offer any push-back when he came back into their world on a full-time basis. He admits that at times, maybe he’s around a little bit too much for their taste.

“They always saw glimpses of me and they knew who I was and then they’d see that person go away and then he would come back and go away. There wasn’t so much push-back as I think it was more relief. I think that they believed it, that this really woke me up. Here we are 11 months later and I think I’m driving them crazy,” he says with a laugh. “I call my boy every morning before school and then after school and he’s got such a busy little schedule. I remember talking to him one day and I said, ‘Let’s just hang after school’ and he goes, ‘Wow, Dad, my schedule’s pretty full right now.’ And he’s 11. [laughs] I’m like, ‘Wow, ouch!’ But it’s so great, you know, my family has been so supportive and they’re behind me. That’s what keeps me going, it really does. To wake up every morning knowing, ‘You know what, I can be there for my boys today.’ I can be there for my stepdaughters and I can be there for my family and for you and many people that expect the real me now to be there, I’m there. It’s a good thing.”

Even as his working relationship of nearly two decades with Journey came to a close as a result of the events of last year, he was still able to focus on his sobriety and mending the broken and damaged relationships without having to worry about how he was going to keep the lights on and a roof over his head.

“The beautiful thing is that the band, they were very kind. They left me with a substantial amount of money to make sure that I was taken care of,” he says. “I also have an amazing accountant that made sure that even money that I had no idea I had, was put away and then came back to me and said, ‘Well, you know, you’ve got this and this and this.’ Right now, financially, I’m actually doing very well. Of course, you have to tighten up. It’s the real world now and the fancy cars are gone and things like that. You’re not going out and spending 20 grand on a silly watch and things like that. I finally found my priorities and priorities are definitely not in things that I thought made me happy. I’m filling a hole that only God and sobriety could fill. Nothing else can really take the place of being in the moment and being there for the family and realizing that, ‘You know what? I don’t need any of that stuff.’”

Recently, Castronovo found himself reunited unexpectedly with one of his former Journey bandmates, when he got the call to come in and play drums on Jonathan Cain’s forthcoming solo album, What God Wants to Hear . In an email, Cain told us how it came about and shared his memories of the sessions.

“I called Deen last year when our drummer suddenly left our praise and worship team at New Destiny Church outside of Orlando, Florida. I was performing new songs, for praise and worship I had written for an upcoming album I wanted to record,” Cain recalls. “He hadn't been playing much but upon his arrival I noticed a new excitement for his playing, my music and for God. He continued to come for Christmas and New Year’s, and Easter, where I played more of the album for the congregation. He connected with the music I was writing and was enthusiastic about making it sound great.”

“To have him play and sing on the album was a no-brainer, as he not only knew all the music but had an emotional connection to it as well,” he explains. “Deen's drums provide a strong backbone and a driving pulse that drives the album to the last song. He was a blessing to work with and tracked 14 songs, with other studio musicians in two days! His voice can be heard on the background [vocals] and [it] blends seamlessly. I treasure his friendship and hope the best for his career going forward.”

“It’s probably the most spiritual thing I’ve ever done, really,” Castronovo says of his experience working with Cain on the album. “When we were playing, it flowed [and] it was so effortless. And even my playing, my approach to playing, completely took a 180. You know how I play, I’m very physical and very flashy and very showy and as many chops as you could….this, I went to a lighter stick. I played a smaller kit and the approach was just so effortless and so peaceful. Honestly, playing-wise, there’s not a lot of chops -- it ain’t about that -- but just me playing for the song, the stuff just came out and it was effortless. I’m very proud. I just got the rough mixes the other day. It kind of brought me to tears."

“I’m like, ‘Man, I’m such a different player on this.’ I approached it completely differently. I’m very proud of it. If you’re looking for chops, that’s not where to go,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s not a big riff fest. The songs are beautiful and the musicians that I played with were stellar players from Nashville. Most of the songs really were one and two takes. Just so effortless. I’m grateful I got to do it. That’s when I kind of had the spark and went, 'You know what, you’re getting closer now. You’re getting closer to getting back to playing again.' It kind of brought my love back after that. I was like, 'Man, I forgot how beautiful music could be' and without all of the show and stage and lighting and craziness. It was just pure music for music’s sake. Amazing. I’m very proud of it.”

Castronovo says that with the exception of working on Cain’s album, he’s stuck with his original plan to focus on his recovery first.

“What I promised myself is, I’m going to give myself a year of solid recovery. A real solid, strong base, before I get back on that drum kit and really start knuckling down,” he says. “I’m getting close. I’ve got my new kit and I’m going to be setting it up in the next couple of weeks and then it’s on, bro. It’s not like my phone’s ringing off the hook. [laughs] It’s not like there’s a lot of opportunities at this point, but I’m okay with that. I have faith and I believe that God will open up a door when it opens. Obviously, I’m not ready yet or it would have opened by now. It’s going to take me a little bit of time. I’ve got to get back into playing again and get focused on that, because you know, the last year has been about God, sobriety and my kids.”

“There’s meditation in the morning, there’s reading in the morning and then a meeting -- at least three times a week, I hit a meeting,” Castronovo says, walking us through his daily routine, adding that his life changes have brought additional opportunities

“The great thing is that the door has kind of opened up for me to talk to people. I was actually at a biker rally about a month ago, telling my story to four or five hundred tough bikers. It was so cleansing,” he says. “Next week, I’m heading up to Hazelden-Betty Ford, which is where I went through treatment and I’m going to go talk to the men there. I think they said there was about 47 men in there right now. The counselors and the administration said, ‘Why don’t you come up and share what has happened.’ That’s cool. I love that. It’s amazing to be able to give back. Because that’s what they tell you, you know, in order to keep what you’ve got, you’ve got to give it away. That’s kind of what I’m doing now, is just kids and helping people, being of service. Because you don’t want to be where I was. If I can stop anybody or help anybody or just get through to one guy and just say, ‘You know what, dude? You don’t want to be there.’ 11 months ago, dude, it was the end of the world to me. It really was the end of the world. But now that I’ve got my faculties and I’m thinking clearly and I’m walking more of a spiritual path, it’s like, ‘You know, it wasn’t the end of the world, it was the beginning.’ The beginning of a real life instead of this illusion that I’ve had for eons and years.”

When we spoke with Castronovo last November, he was still under legal orders not to have any contact with his former fiancee. Since then, he’s been able to communicate with her and he’s glad to be back in touch.

“We actually can have phone conversations now and she’s doing very well. Which is a blessing to me. She’s finally taking care of herself. For years, that’s all she was doing was taking care of me. I was a nightmare to take care of,” he admits. “She’s gotten great counseling and she has been taking amazing care of herself. I’m very proud of her. I don’t know what the future holds, but you know, I’ve known her since she was 14. She’ll always be my first love and she’ll always be an amazing friend, no matter what happens.”

“That’s another thing that’s in God’s hands, too. I don’t make any decisions based upon feeling anymore. You’ve really got to sit down and go, 'You know, we both need to take time away, to take care of ourselves,'” he says. “And she just never had that time. She looks amazing [now] -- she was so depressed and worried all of the time, just waiting to find me dead. The way that I treated her those seven years was horrendous. To see her coming back, without me in her life, I mean, I’m her biggest cheerleader now. I want to see her succeed. I want to see nothing but amazing things happen for her. Because she deserves it, just like all of us. We all deserve to have a good solid life for the people we love and the people around us. She’s finally coming out of that and I’m grateful for that. I’m very grateful. I love her to death and I always will.”

Watching some of his fellow musicians in this industry succumb to their addictions, Castronovo is very aware that it could have been him making those same kinds of headlines and he’s grateful that he’s still around to read them.

“Every time I see one of those, really the first thing that comes to my mind is, “That could have been me. Why was that not me?” The way that I was using and drinking would have killed a rhinoceros. I never did anything at half-measure. I went full bore,” he says. “It breaks my heart, but it also brings things into perspective, like, my God, there were a lot of people praying for me, there were a lot of people that were supporting me with whatever positive energy that they were sending my way, [which] kept me alive. God showed me his mercy. He had his hand on my life and I’m totally grateful for that. It hurts. You see these guys and they’re so talented. They were such amazing players and to see them fall to this, that’s what’s so scary. It could be me. The next time, it will be me. If I do this again, it’s just a matter of time. I’ve done the jail, I’ve done the institutions, what’s next? What’s next?”

That’s a question which hopefully will only have good answers as time progresses. For now, Castronovo knows that he’s where he’s supposed to be, something which his family, friends -- and even his former Journey bandmates, continue to reinforce.

“[Jonathan Cain] and Paula [White, Cain’s wife and pastor at the New Destiny Christian Center in the Florida area] are very proud of me. They’ve really been behind me. Neal [Schon] has as well. Neal texts me from time to time,” he says. “But Jon just gave me a chance to restore and not just throw me away. He felt it in his heart, it’s time, ‘Let’s give Deen a shot.’ We stay in contact and he’s my spiritual mentor now. He really is. When I’m having a rough day, because I have days, you know, you see the reviews on the shows and you’re going, ‘Man, they’re doing so good. I wish I could have been there.’ Jon’s like, ‘You know what? It’s okay. You’re where you’re supposed to be right now. You just stay on it.’ Very great. He’s always been that kind of a guy. He’s very encouraging and always has been one of the guys that can be a mediator for whatever the Journey band was going through. He was the voice of reason for us and he is for me too. I think I’ve gotten closer to him than I think I ever have. I was really tight with Neal and Neal and I were brothers and we still are. Neal’s a brother for life. But Jon gave me this shot and I’m very grateful for that, bro. I don’t take this for granted. That’s another thing, I don’t take anything that happens for granted now, good or bad. You don’t take it for granted. It’s either a learning experience, or it’s a place for you to grow and it’s been great.”

Castronovo says that he’d like to go see his former bandmates when they come to town on this summer’s tour -- understandably, he has a few reservations about whether or not he’ll do that.

“They’re coming August 25. You know, I’ll have to see when that day comes. There’s a part of me that really wants to go and just say hi to the guys and give Smitty [drummer Steve Smith, who came back to Journey after Castronovo's departure] a hug and stuff and you know, be with my brothers. But there’s another part of me that goes, is it going to be painful? I mean, obviously. Is it going to be kind of weird? Is it going to make me feel weird? I’ve really got to stay in check with my feelings at that point. It’s a couple of months away, but yeah, I think I’ll go up. I still love the music...I don’t care who’s playing it. Journey was the soundtrack to my teen years. I’m a big fan. I was a fan before I joined. So yeah, I would imagine I’ll come up and visit my guys, definitely.”

Castronovo, who released his first album with the band Revolution Saints featuring guitarist Doug Aldrich ( Whitesnake , Dio ) and bassist Jack Blades ( Night Ranger ), in February 2015 before all of his troubles came to a head, says that project is very likely going to stay on the shelf. He says that he did make an initial attempt to resume activity with the band last fall once he came home and as he looks back now, he’s thankful that didn’t happen.

“I was talking [at that time] to Serafino [Perugino, president of Frontiers Music] and saying ‘I need to do something.’ I mean, I was really jumping the gun, because I was still shell-shocked from everything,” he says now. “It was like, I need to get back and play, I need to get back and play. Doug was like, ‘Dude, yeah, I’m into it.’ I think the last message that I got was from Jack and it said, ‘You know what bro, I’m going to have to bow out. I’m too busy. I wish you the best.’ That was it.”

“That was a good realization for me,” he continues. “It was like, you know what dude, you need to just back off on all of this right now. This is right after I got out of treatment. I was gung-ho. I realize now, thank God, I didn’t do anything. Thank God I didn’t jump back in. Because it wasn’t time. You know, if that door opens, if that’s God’s will for my life, of course I’d do it. I would love it. It was a lot of fun and I was very proud of that record. It was my very first one and it wasn’t too bad. It could have been a lot better, of course. You know, we all nitpick our stuff to pieces. But I would love to. I loved working with Doug and I loved working with Jack. But I’ll tell you, Doug, he’s a monster and what a sweet human being. He was another one...a lot of people scattered, bro. Wouldn’t talk to me anymore -- and Doug was like, ‘You know what bro, I support you. I’m here for you, man. You can do this.’”

“It was the same with the Journey guys,” he says. “They were like, ‘You know what? We love you and support you.’ I’ve learned who cared and who didn’t and that’s another beauty of recovery is you find out who your friends really are. You find out the people that would take bullets for you or stand behind you, no matter how horrible the things that you did were. I’ve got real friends now, bro. Real friends. The people that weren’t my friends, they have scattered -- and that’s okay. You know, at first it hurt, but now I’m okay with it.”

“When it’s time, the doors will open and I’m certainly not forcing them open. I’m not begging for work,” he concludes. “If somebody wants to work with me and give me a chance, I’ve got stacks of documented urinalysis [tests] from Hazelden. I signed up for that Hazelden Connections program. For 18 months, they do random tests on you and every one of them have been negative. I’ve got a stack of them. So if anybody does ask me and go, ‘Well, we don’t know if you’re really sober,’ I’m going to bring in a wheelbarrow full of tests and go, ‘Here, look through them all. If you see anything positive, let me know.’ But it’s been good. Thank God for that program. And I’m probably going to sign up for another 18 months after this 18 months is up. I just like the accountability.”

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Journey looked after me despite firing me, says Deen Castronovo

Fired Journey drummer Deen Castronovo reveals how his bandmates took care of him after drug addiction downfall

Deen Castronovo is grateful for the moral and financial backing Journey gave him after they fired him last year.

The drummer was dismissed following years of alcohol and drug abuse that led to him being sentenced to four years’ probation for assaulting his fiancee.

He’d been arrested after a 24-day methamphetamine binge – and later publicly accepted responsibility for his actions, saying: “Domestic violence is a choice.”

[]( http://www.teamrock.com/news/2015-11-05/deen-castronovo-journey-domestic-violence-is-a-choice )

Since then, he’s kept in touch with former bandmates Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain – and his only recent musical commitment has been recording for Cain’s worship music album What God Wants To Hear .

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Castronovo tells UCR : “The beautiful thing is that the band were very kind. They left me with a substantial amount of money to make sure I was taken care of.

“Neal texts me from time to time, but Jon gave me a chance. We stay in contact and he’s my spiritual mentor.

“I have days, you know, you see the reviews on the shows and you’re going, ‘Man, they’re doing so good. I wish I could have been there.’

“Jon’s like, ‘It’s okay – you’re where you’re supposed to be right now. You just stay on it.’”

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The drummer has enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with his children, and says he rebuilt his friendship with his former fiancee once his non-contact court order expired. But he accepts that his supergroup Revolution Saints is unlikely to return in the near future, and he admits it might be a while before he finds any further work.

“I’ve got my new kit and I’m going to be setting it up, and then it’s on,” he says. “It’s not like my phone’s ringing off the hook – but I’m okay with that.

“I’ve got to get back into playing again and get focused on that. The last year has been about God, sobriety and my kids.”

And Castronovo finds all the stark warnings he needs when he hears of musicians’ deaths as the result of drug addiction. “Every time I see one of those, the first thing that comes to mind is, ‘That could have been me,’” he reflects. “The way I was using and drinking would have killed a rhinoceros.

“It hurts – you see these guys and they’re so talented. It could be me. The next time, it will be me. If I do this again it’s just a matter of time. I’ve done the jail, I’ve done the institutions. What’s next?”

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band , a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.

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DEEN CASTRONOVO's Absence From JOURNEY's New Year's Eve Performance Explained

JOURNEY drummer Deen Castronovo was unable to join his bandmates for their performance at of "Any Way You Want It" and "Don't Stop Believin'" in New York City's Times Square for "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest" after testing positive for COVID-19. Filling in for him was his longtime tech Steve Toomey .

Asked by a fan on Instagram why Deen didn't play with JOURNEY at last night's event, guitarist Neal Schon responded: "Covid".

Castronovo appeared to be looking forward to playing with JOURNEY in New York. On Thursday (December 30),he shared an Instagram photo of him behind his kit and added the following caption: "Hope you all had an AWESOME Holiday ! Off to NYC🗽to perform with @journeymusicofficial for @rockineve! Who will be ringing in 2022 with us?!"

Castronovo returned to JOURNEY in July and has been performing with the band ever since, initially sharing the drum duties in the group with Narada Michael Walden . Walden , bassist Randy Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined JOURNEY in 2020 following the band's acrimonious split with drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory . Jackson — who previously played with JOURNEY during the mid-1980s — was forced to miss all the recent gigs because he is reportedly recovering from back surgery.

Filling in on bass for JOURNEY for the band's recent Las Vegas residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels was Todd Jensen , a veteran musician who has played for various artists, including the bands SEQUEL , HARDLINE and HARLOW , as well as David Lee Roth , Ozzy Osbourne , Steve Perry , Alice Cooper and Paul Rodgers .

Prior to the residency, Jackson had been replaced at JOURNEY 's 2021 shows by Marco Mendoza , who had played several shows in 2019 with Castronovo and JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon under the "Neal Schon's Journey Through Time" banner.

In March 2021, Castronovo revealed that he was on opiates for over a year while waiting to get his back surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 57-year-old musician, who had been sober for nearly five years after being fired from JOURNEY , shared his ordeal in an Instagram post. He wrote: "Opiates are evil and the withdrawals are murder."

Deen was dismissed from JOURNEY in 2015 following years of alcohol and drug abuse that led to him being sentenced to four years' probation for a variety of charges involving his now-wife.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Journey (@journeymusicofficial)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Neal Schon (@nealschon)

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Deen Castronovo Admits Journey Turmoil Drove Him Insane

Journey drummer Deen Castronovo has given insight on the recent turmoil within the band, noting how difficult it was to observe the discourse between Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain .

The drama between Schon and Cain stemmed from millions of dollars charged to a company credit card . The musicians took public shots at the other, and the battle led to lawsuits from both sides. Somehow, the bandmates managed to tour together in 2023, but it was an uncomfortable situation to say the least.

“Everybody was separate,” Castronovo explained during an appearance on The Jeremy White Show . “And it was hard for me to see guys that I’ve known since 1989 not talking. It used to drive me insane. I remember one time I said to both of them, ‘Guys, you don’t know what it’s like to lose it all. I lost it all. God it’s horrible. You don’t want to lose it.’”

READ MORE: Journey Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Schon and Cain have since settled their differences and Journey is once again hitting the road for an expansive tour in 2024.

“Those guys have been together for 45 years, 40 years, something like that,” Castronovo noted. “That’s a long time to have some petty arguments. But they worked it out.”

Castronovo Says Journey Is ‘A Brotherhood Again’

According to Castronovo, the feeling around Journey is much more positive these days.

“It’s fun to be on the road again instead of, ‘Oh God, I hope I don’t say anything that’s going to hurt somebody or is going to piss somebody off,’” the drummer explained. “[Shon and Cain have] mended the fences. We’re on one jet instead of two now. Everybody’s getting along great. And you can see it in the performances. It’s not a fake smile like, ‘Ugh, I hate that guy.’ It’s real.”

By 97.1FM The Drive | July 30, 2021

Journey welcomes drummer deen castronovo back into the band.

Castronovo was fired from Journey in 2015 after he was arrested on domestic violence charges involving his then-girlfriend, to whom he’s now married.

Walden, Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined Journey in 2020 after drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory were fired from the band.

Ok… Double trouble Chicago @NaradaMWalden @DeenTheDrummer Narada Michael Walden and the return of Deen Castronovo on Drums @AragonBallroom @lollapalooza pic.twitter.com/RRHYNi6CuQ — NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) July 27, 2021

Music and Concerts | Journey’s 50th anniversary tour makes its way…

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Music and concerts, music and concerts | journey’s 50th anniversary tour makes its way to norfolk with a ‘dirty dozen’ in store.

Journey is back with its 50th-anniversary tour, headlining arenas this spring before spending a chunk of the summer on a stadium tour with Def Leppard.

Guitarist and founding member Neal Schon and keyboardist/guitarist Jonathan Cain say that today’s band has never played better.

“Finally, it sounds like the Journey everybody knows,” Cain said of the group, which formed in 1973 in San Francisco. “It’s back to the ’80s, that’s what it sounds like.”

Journey with special guest star Toto is coming to Scope Friday.

Schon and Cain are the two remaining members going back to the early 1980s when Journey was churning out hits like “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Any Way You Want It” and “Open Arms.” The two reflected on the band during a recent video interview, including on recent lawsuits, disputes and personnel changes, and regaining a level of popularity that has Journey back on the road.

But there were more issues to come – this time between Schon and Cain. Schon sent a cease-and-desist letter to Cain after Cain joined a sing-along of “Don’t Stop Believing” at a November 2022 event for former president Donald Trump. Cain’s wife, Paula, had worked as a spiritual advisor to Trump. Schon took offense to Cain’s performance, noting that Journey never was and never would be a political band.

Then last year, Schon and Cain traded lawsuits over a financial account for the group. The bandmates hashed out their differences without the courts, they said.

“All we really did was get fed up with the legal and having legals talk instead of us,” Schon said. “We talked for a couple of hours and we talked through it all. I think that’s what fixed everything.”

Now Schon and Cain are leading Journey (with Pineda, Castronovo and Jensen) on one of the band’s biggest touring years. Fans can expect to hear Journey’s biggest hits — the “Dirty Dozen” as the band has nicknamed them — with a handful of new or deeper cuts. This makes crafting set lists a challenge but it’s a problem many bands would welcome.

“We just have a massive catalog,” Cain said, “with so many great songs that we don’t get to.”

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Scope, 201 E. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk

Tickets: Start at $49.50

Details: sevenvenues.com

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Journey joins pink floyd and bob marley on the billboard charts.

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NEW YORK, NY - JULY 29: (L-R) keyboard player Jonathan Cain, guitar player Neal Schon, singer Arnel ... [+] Pineda, drummer Deen Castronovo, and bass player Ross Valory of the band Journey performs\ at the 2011 Today Summer Concert series at Rockefeller Plaza on July 29, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Journey has long been one of the bestselling bands in the U.S. For decades, the rock group has outpaced so many of their competitors in the industry in one specific manner, as Americans never seem to tire of their music.

This week, Journey’s Greatest Hits , the singles-packed compilation from the band, hits 800 weeks on the Billboard 200. It ranks as the third-longest-charting title on the ranking of the most-consumed albums in the U.S., and Journey is in incredible company by reaching this milestone.

Journey is just the third musical act to see one project live on the Billboard 200 for at least 800 weeks. They join a club that includes both Pink Floyd and Bob Marley, two of the most beloved names in music history.

For many years now, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon has ranked as the album with the most weeks spent on the Billboard 200. The rockers are in a very distant first place, and the public isn’t done with that title just yet.

This time around, Dark Side of the Moon is back on the Billboard 200 after falling away some time ago. As of this frame, the project has lived on the roster for 989 weeks, and that number increases with some regularity.

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In second place on this list of the longest-charting titles in the history of the Billboard 200 is Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers. That compilation has earned 830 stays on the tally, including this week.

This time around, Journey’s Greatest Hits falls down the chart, though it’s not in danger of disappearing from the tally. The compilation slips from No. 71 to No. 90, tumbling nearly 20 spaces. It shifted 12,376 equivalent units in the past tracking period, which is down a little more than 3% from the period before, according to Luminate.

It will be some time before another album reaches 800 weeks on the Billboard 200, but it certainly will happen again. Metallica’s self-titled project has now spent 746 frames on the list. Behind that title comes Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits , which has yet to reach 700 stays.

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Former Journey Drummer Deen Castronovo One Year Later: 'I'm So Grateful
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Deen Castronovo of Journey
Deen Castronovo
Journey Brings Back Former Drummer Deen Castronovo
Former Journey Drummer Deen Castronovo Gets Back to Music

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Feelin' That Way w/Gregg Rolie & Deen Castronovo
14 сентября 2020 г
Deen Castronovo "Patiently"
Deen Castronovo in Meet and Greet
Deen Castronovo JOURNEY Signing Autographs Team Derek
Journey with Deen Castronovo

COMMENTS

Deen Castronovo
Deen Joseph Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline.He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands Journey, Generation Radio, and Revolution Saints.He has been a touring and studio player for Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers, and Black Sabbath ...
How Tragedy and Triumph Sparked Deen Castronovo's Comeback
Deen Castronovo may never have been busier. He's completing a huge Journey tour with Toto, and preparing for Revolution Saints' fourth LP Eagle Flight.Castronovo is also part of Neal Schon's newly ...
How Journey's Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain Finally Mended Fences
They're doing so with a renewed brotherly bond between co-founding guitarist Neal Schon and longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain. As drummer Deen Castronovo tells UCR, Journey's main songwriters ...
Deen Castronovo Explains How Journey Keeps It Together Onstage
Deen Castronovo tells UCR how Journey delivers the hits with a smile amid Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain's legal battle in April 2023. Deen Castronovo tells UCR how Journey delivers the hits with a ...
Journey
Journey plays "Who's Crying Now" and Mother, Father" at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho on April 13, 2023. Deen Castronovo sings lead vocals on "Mother, Fath...
Deen Castronovo
Deen Castronovo. 59,451 likes · 1,828 talking about this. Drums論 | Vocals for Journey
JOURNEY Rejoined By Drummer DEEN CASTRONOVO
Drummer Deen Castronovo has rejoined legendary rockers JOURNEY. According to JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon, Castronovo will share the drum duties in the band with Narada Michael Walden, who joined ...
Journey [Deen Castronovo]
Mall of Asia, Manila, Philippines, March 14, 2009Deen Castronovo - drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Keep on Running", "Still They Ride", "Mo...
Neal Schon on Journey's New LP 'Freedom', Big 50th Anniversary Plans
[Editor's note: Castronovo played drums in Journey from 1998 to 2015.] ... Him and Deen weren't gelling correctly for Journey. I felt like the bass was in front of the drums. You try to put a ...
Deen Castronovo of Journey (INTERVIEW)
Deen Castronovo of Journey (INTERVIEW) If you only know Deen Castronovo as the drummer of Journey, then you're about to be awakened to what this man can really do behind a drum set. Known as being the live backbeat behind such iconic ballads as "Faithfully," "Open Arms" and "Don't Stop Believin'" for the last seventeen years ...
Journey welcomes drummer Deen Castronovo back into the band
Courtesy of Journey. Just as Journey starts playing live again for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the band has announced that Deen Castronovo, who was the group's drummer from 1998 to 2015, has rejoined its lineup as a second drummer alongside Narada Michael Walden.. On Wednesday, Journey guitarist Neal Schon and Castronovo hinted at Deen's return in a series of ...
JOURNEY's DEEN CASTRONOVO Reflects On The Depth Of His Drug-Addiction
During an appearance on the January 31 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", JOURNEY drummer Deen Castronovo, who famously completed court-ordered drug rehabilitation in 2015 ...
Journey
During the 2006 and 2007 tours with Jeff Scott Soto, Deen usually sang Open Arms and Faithfully.
JOURNEY Returns To Live Stage With Revamped Lineup Featuring DEEN
Castronovo's 17-year tenure with JOURNEY ended in 2015 when the group fired him after his arrest for a variety of charges involving his now-wife (including physical abuse, coercion, and unlawful ...
Neal Schon Hints Journey Could Be Planning a Las Vegas Residency ...
Journey's Neal Schon is hinting that his famous band may be one of the next artists to schedule play a residency at the new Sphere venue in Las Vegas. ... current Journey drummer Deen Castronovo ...
Journey Firing 'Had to Be Done,' Former Drummer Deen Castronovo Says
Former Journey drummer Deen Castronovo has had a turbulent 2015, and now he's facing the music. On June 14, the musician was arrested and charged with physically abusing and harassing his now-ex ...
Former Journey Drummer Deen Castronovo One Year Later: 'I'm So Grateful
That's what former Journey drummer Deen Castronovo has realized in the days and months since June 2015 when he was first arrested for what was initially described as a domestic dispute.
Journey looked after me despite firing me, says Deen Castronovo
Deen Castronovo is grateful for the moral and financial backing Journey gave him after they fired him last year. The drummer was dismissed following years of alcohol and drug abuse that led to him being sentenced to four years' probation for assaulting his fiancee. He'd been arrested after a 24-day methamphetamine binge - and later ...
Drummer Deen Castronovo: On a New Journey after Losing Everything
For former Journey drummer and singer Deen Castronovo, that was then and this is now. Without rehashing what is now old and certainly unpleasant news, this past summer Deen faced a series of ...
A Backstage Interview With Deen Castronovo of Journey
A Backstage Interview With Deen Castronovo of Journey___Watch the latest videos by subscribing here: http://ddar.io/subscribeFollow us on Instagram: https://...
DEEN CASTRONOVO's Absence From JOURNEY's New Year's Eve Performance
January 1, 2022. JOURNEY drummer Deen Castronovo was unable to join his bandmates for their performance at of "Any Way You Want It" and "Don't Stop Believin'" in New York City's Times Square for ...
Deen Castronovo Admits Journey Turmoil Drove Him Insane
Journey drummer Deen Castronovo has given insight on the recent turmoil within the band, noting how difficult it was to observe the discourse between Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. The drama ...
Journey brings its 'Dirty Dozen' to Norfolk Friday
This version of Journey produced the 2022 studio album "Freedom" and was on tour with drummer Deen Castronovo (a Journey member from 1998 to 2015) replacing Walden and Todd Jensen joining on bass. But there were more issues to come — this time between Schon and Cain.
Journey welcomes drummer Deen Castronovo back into the band
Just as Journey starts playing live again for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the band has announced that Deen Castronovo, who was the group's drummer from 1998 to 2015, has rejoined its lineup as a second drummer alongside Narada Michael Walden.. On Wednesday, Journey guitarist Neal Schon and Castronovo hinted at Deen's return in a series of Twitter posts ...
Journey's 50th anniversary tour is making its way to Norfolk with a
This version of Journey produced the 2022 studio album "Freedom" and was on tour with drummer Deen Castronovo (a Journey member from 1998 to 2015) replacing Walden and Todd Jensen joining on bass.
Deen Castronovo
704 likes, 11 comments - deenjcastronovo on February 12, 2024: "The sun may be risin' ☀️ in Sunrise, FL, but Journey is bringing the thunder tonight!! LET'S ...
JOURNEY
Journey Freedom tour 2022 debut at the PPG Paints Pittsburgh, PAFor exclusive full concert footage & more live music videos like this, SUBSCRIBE: https://ww...
Journey Joins Pink Floyd And Bob Marley On The Billboard Charts
[+] Pineda, drummer Deen Castronovo, and bass player Ross Valory of the band Journey performs\ at the 2011 Today Summer Concert series at Rockefeller Plaza on July 29, 2011 in New York City ...