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Journey's Neal Schon says he and Steve Perry are 'in a good place' before band's 50th anniversary

On the cusp of turning 50, the band that etched “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and “Faithfully” into lighters-up lore is entering “a cleaned-up chapter of Journey.”

That’s according to Neal Schon, the band’s ace guitarist, lone original constant and de facto CEO.

Despite decades of fluctuating lineups and  snarly lawsuits among band members , Journey endures.

On July 8, the band released “Freedom,” its first new album in 11 years that also presents the return of Randy Jackson (as in "American Idol") on bass. The 15-song collection is steeped with vintage-sounding ballads (“Still Believe in Love,” “Live to Love Again”) and soaring melodic rockers (“United We Stand,” “You Got the Best of Me”).

Journey – including longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain,  peppy singer Arnel Pineda , drummer Deen Castronovo and keyboardist Jason Derlatka, adding bassist Todd Jensen for live shows – will hit Resorts World Las Vegas  this month for shows backed by a symphony orchestra before rolling through more arena dates this summer and in early 2023, the band’s official 50th year.

Journey in pop culture: Quarantined family perfectly re-creates 'Separate Ways' music video at home

Regular road warriors who consistently pack arenas and stadiums – their 27 shows this year grossed $28 million, according to Billboard Boxscore – Journey relies on a solid catalog of mega-hits and a devoted fan base that appreciates the familiarity.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers also received a boost from Netflix’s ’80s-centered “Stranger Things” when the show used “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” in the trailer for the just-ended season, launching the song onto Billboard’s Rock Digital Songs chart. The affable Schon, 68, talked with USA TODAY about the band’s complicated legacy, his relationship with former frontman Steve Perry and plans for Journey's golden anniversary.

Santana recovers: Carlos Santana collapsed on stage from heat, dehydration 

Question: Are you amazed at how the Journey train keeps rolling after almost 50 years?

Neal Schon: 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. It’s pretty mind-boggling but also a lot of hard work.

Q: Does the title “Freedom” refer to anything specifically?

Schon: Our ex-manager Herbie Herbert  wanted to call the (1986) “Raised on Radio” album “Freedom” because he always came up with these one-word titles. Steve (Perry) fought him on that and got his way, so we sat on it for many years. When we got through the lawsuit with the ex-bandmates, we made the new LLC Freedom (JN) and when we were tossing around album titles said, why not just call the whole thing “Freedom?" It's for the times right now.

Q: There’s been a bit of a revolving door in the rhythm section. Deen Castronovo is back for the live shows, but Narada Michael Walden played drums on the album, and Randy Jackson is back in the band, at least on record?

Schon: Deen is singing and playing his butt off. He’s such a musical sponge, this guy. He’s been like my little brother for close to three decades and is such a joy to work with. Randy, he’d been working with me diligently this whole time. He’s so many things beyond being an amazing musician and bass player.

Rock in the rain: Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison, Joan Jett combat weather during The Stadium Tour

Q: Will Randy play at any of the upcoming live shows or is Todd Jensen handling those duties?

Schon: Randy is still recovering from some surgery and he stays very busy and Todd fits like a glove. Having said that, I think with our 50th anniversary next year, there’s room for everybody to jump in if they want to participate. We did go through an ugly divorce with (Steve Smith and Ross Valory) with the court proceedings (in 2021, Schon and Cain settled a $10 million trademark lawsuit with the band’s former drummer and bassist). But definitely, if Steve Perry wanted to come on and sing a song, yes. If (original Journey singer) Gregg Rolie wanted to come sing a couple of songs, yes. Randy Jackson (can) come sit in on some of the material – he played on a lot of hits on “Raised on Radio.”

Q: Do you talk much with Steve Perry?

Schon: We are in contact. It’s not about him coming out with us, but we’re speaking on different levels. That’s a start, even if it’s all business. And I’m not having to go through his attorney! We’ve been texting and emailing. He’s a real private guy and he wants to keep it that way. We’re in a good place.

Q: Do you think, after 15 years, that people have accepted Arnel?

Schon: I was diligent in that I wanted to show the massive size of our audience, so I hired photogs to come out every show and shoot the audience and show the size of the crowd to make everybody see, what am I missing? From putting up the different photos every night and the reviews from the fans online, I saw very little of “This is not Journey, man.” I think we just shut everybody up.

JOURNEY Announces New Album, 'Freedom'

Legendary rockers JOURNEY have set "Freedom" as the title of their long-awaited new album, to be released later in the year.

Founding JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon shared the news of the LP's title and track listing in an Instagram post earlier today (Wednesday, February 16). He wrote in an accompanying caption: "Teaser … it's coming and it's loaded @journeymusicofficial @nealschon @bmg_us @frontiersmusicsrl".

"Freedom" track listing, according to Schon :

01. Together We Run (4:49) 02. Don't Give Up On Us (5:23) 03. Still Believe In Love 04. You Got The Best Of Me (5:33) 05. Live To Love Again (5:30) 06. The Way We Used To Be (3:35) 07. Come Away With Me (4:02) 08. After Glow (5:22) 09. Let It Rain (4:40) 10. Holdin On (3:14) 11. All Day All Night (3:38) 12. Don't Go (4:58) 13. United We Stand (5:05) 14. Life Rolls On (4:57) 15. Beautiful As You Are (7:10)

JOURNEY recently completed a month-long Las Vegas residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels. Filling in on bass for JOURNEY for the six shows 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 . Also part of JOURNEY 's current lineup is returning drummer Deen Castronovo , who shared the drum duties in the band last year 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. 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 June 2021, JOURNEY shared a new single, "The Way We Used To Be" . The song was the multi-platinum band's first new music since 2011's album "Eclipse" , and the first track released by the band's revamped lineup. "The Way We Used To Be" marks Walden and Derlatka 's first studio recordings with the band, and Jackson 's first since 1986's "Raised On Radio" . The song was produced by Narada Michael Walden at his Tarpan Studios , with co-production by Schon and Cain .

Since the group's formation in 1973, JOURNEY has earned 19 top 40 singles, 25 gold and platinum albums, and has sold nearly 100 million albums globally. Their "Greatest Hits" album is certified 15 times-platinum, making JOURNEY one of the few bands to ever have been diamond-certified, and their song "Don't Stop Believin'" has been streamed over one billion times alone.

JOURNEY was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, and 2018's co-headlining tour with DEF LEPPARD was the band's most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold, and earning them the prestigious Billboard "Legends Of Live" touring award. March 2019 saw the release of "Escape & Frontiers Live In Japan" , a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo featuring the band's first-ever performances of the albums "Escape" and "Frontiers" in their entirety. JOURNEY has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall Of Fame . Additionally, the band is the subject of the award-winning documentary "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey" about the band's resurgence upon adding Arnel Pineda as lead singer after founding member Neal Schon discovered the Philippines native on YouTube .

JOURNEY will team up with TOTO for a North American tour in February, March, April and May.

Last August, Schon gave a college radio simulcast interview to WMSC and WNUW where he discussed the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's upcoming studio album. He said: "I learned how to play keyboards better than ever during the pandemic, which I'd never really done before. And that's where our first single [ 'The Way We Used To Be' ] came from. [I sent it to] Jonathan [ Cain , keyboards], and he did the lyrics on it and put a rough vocal on it. And then we had Arnel sing it, and we cut it and re-cut it in the studio, and it was just released. And a lot of people went, 'Wow, man. I love it.' 90 percent of people love it; the other 10 percent went, 'I don't think it sounds like JOURNEY .' I go, 'I never wrote it to be a JOURNEY song.'"

According to Schon , he and his bandmates had written over 30 new songs for the upcoming JOURNEY record. "Some of 'em are unmistakably JOURNEY without sounding like another song that we have; it just sounds like a new version of the band," he said. "It's ballistic, man. And there's no lack of guitar on this record. So I'm excited about it getting out there. I think any guitar player out there is gonna love this record, because I'm just kind of unleashing on this record — like I do a lot live, but sometimes hold back in the studio. I don't think it's O.D.ing on the guitar at all and going overboard, but I like to check out the times and where I see music going. I usually have a pretty good gut instinct about it, and I feel like the late '60s, the time and era of early Jeff Beck with Rod Stewart and [ LED ] ZEPPELIN when they first came out, Jimi Hendrix , the CREAM with [ Eric ] Clapton and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker , that whole era, there's a lot of younger kids out there, younger generation, that never got to experience that era. So I'm feeling like that is the era that I grew up in and that's what I truly love doing and the type of music I love playing, so I'm going more there and I'm writing for that, to be able to do that on stage. And I think it's really gonna trip some people out, when we finally do get this album out there and can combine it with all the hits that we do have."

He continued: "There's certain songs that are being mixed by Bob Clearmountain , that mixed our 'Raised On Radio' record, and he's made it sound really amazing, really pulled it together. You have mixers out there sometimes that have this incredible ability to take work that you've done throughout a year, even though they were recorded at separate times, and different sounds here and there, and they pull it all together and they make it sound like it's a tight album that has a focus sound-wise."

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   FUMING MOUTH – debut new single ‘D...

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As one of the world’s most beloved rock bands,  Journey  continues to create new music and thrill audiences night after night in sold out arenas worldwide in conjunction with AEG as their promoter.

Emerging from the pandemic with a supercharged new studio line-up, today, the members of Journey unleash the first single “ You Got The Best Of Me ” off their forthcoming studio album,  Freedom  –  due out July 8  via Frontiers Music Srl – available for pre-order  HERE . 

You Got The Best Of Me” will be followed this summer by an epic, fifteen-track set of new original songs that brings back the grand scale of the group’s greatest moments, along with updated and bold new directions and sounds. 

“I wanted kind of a punky rendition of ‘Any Way You Want It’”,  says the group’s founding member, guitarist, songwriter, and producer  Neal Schon  about the single.  “I usually don’t go in saying I’m going to look for something like that, but then it just came to me, like “Wheel in the Sky” did years ago. It just kind of flew out of my mouth.

While the forthcoming album was made with visions of arena and stadium stages, it started from humble beginnings. In 2020, as COVID swept the globe, Schon was stuck at home like the rest of us.  “During the pandemic, there wasn’t much to do,”  he says.

I spent a lot of time in my little studio at home, learning how to play keyboards and looping. Some of those ideas ended up being songs. So it kind of came out of nowhere.

LISTEN TO THE NEW SINGLE “YOU GOT THE BEST OF ME”   HERE

As the band’s legend continues to grow larger and their touring gets bigger,  Freedom  will be the first album of new material to be released in eleven years, since 2011’s  Eclipse,  and in addition to longtime keyboard player and primary lyricist  Jonathan Cain  and vocalist  Arnel Pineda , one more member was recruited for the upcoming album — bassist extraordinaire  Randy Jackson , who had played on Journey’s 1986 album  Raised on Radio .

Freedom tracklisting

Together We Run Don’t Give Up On Us Still Believe In Love You Got The Best Of Me Live To Love Again The Way We Used To Be Come Away With Me After Glow Let It Rain Holdin On All Day and All Night Don’t Go United We Stand Life Rolls On Beautiful As You Are

For ticket info click  HERE

 Journey and AEG have announced four exclusive Las Vegas show dates featuring special symphony orchestra performances at the new, state-of-the-art  Resorts World Theatre . 

Tickets for the special engagement are on sale now. For more info click  here . 

CONNECT WITH JOURNEY 

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Journey is back with a new lineup and new music

• Updated: Sep. 14, 2021, 3:11 p.m. |
• Published: Sep. 14, 2021, 5:49 a.m.

Arnel Pineda, left, and Neal Schon of the band Journey perform on day three of the Lollapalooza music festival on Saturday, July 31, 2021, at Grant Park in Chicago. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP) Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP

• Gary Graff, special to cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Journey’s members have a simple message for those who figured it was a band least likely to headline at Lollapalooza, a festival that’s long celebrated the current and cutting edge.

Don’t stop believin’.

The group, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 2017, indeed won raves and a big Hulu TV audience for its July 31 performance in Chicago’s Grant Park, which had tens of thousands singing along to “Don’t Stop Believin’” and the group’s parade of other hits. It’s part of a series of post-pandemic shows Journey, debuting a new lineup, has been playing this summer, with a Las Vegas residency slated for December.

And all that has been accompanied by new music. A single and animated video, “The Way We Used to Be,” came out in June, and Journey has recorded a new album -- its first since “Eclipse” in 2011 -- though it hasn’t yet announced a release date.

It’s safe to say that despite some harsh critics still out there, the journey goes on and on and on and on...

“Journey has become a crossover with kids, more than people realize,” says Jonathan Cain, keyboardist and guitarist since 1980 and a chief architect behind Journey’s nine-times platinum “Escape” album, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. “There’s a lot of factors there. ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ was in ‘The Sopranos’ (finale), and on ‘Glee.’ It’s the most-performed karaoke song, one of the top five wedding songs, and then you have ‘Open Arms’ and ‘Faithfully’...

“We have permeated the young culture, and we still have the fans who were with us back when everything happened. We’re very blessed in that way.”

This Journey resurgence, in fact, comes after one of the darker chapters in the band’s 48-year history.

It was only a few years ago, back in 2017 that guitarist and co-founder Neal Schon was sniping at his bandmates, primarily Cain, via social media, even as the group was touring together. The issues, other than a band visit to the White House (Cain’s wife, televangelist Paula White, was one of Donald Trump’s advisers) were unclear and seemed to have little effect on the band’s performances.

Now Schon -- who formed the band in 1973 after a tenure with Santana -- acknowledges that “there was a period there where some things weren’t really right, and it took time to figure out what was going on and what to do about it.” And those things became clear on March 3, 2020, when Schon and Cain announced they’d fired co-founder and bassist Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith for an alleged “attempted corporate coup d’état” to take over the Journey and all of its trademarks.

Valory and Smith were supported in a countersuit by former frontman Steve Perry and former manager Herbie Herbert, but Schon and Cain moved forward while the matter was being litigated.

“Everybody wanted to own the brand, and I felt there was a takeover going on,” says Schon, who had started another band, Journey Through Time, that included Santana bandmate Greg Rolie, another Journey co-founder. One of the group’s old managers, in fact, even suggested Schon should quit the band he started, which only strengthened his resolve to establish new order to the group, which has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide.

“The ship is not going down. No one’s stealing the brand,” declares Schon, 67, who’s limited by the legalities from talking about too many specifics. “Things took a turn, businesswise, that I didn’t like, and that Jonathan didn’t like and we decided not to go along with it. There were a lot of unrealistic statements that were being made by different people and us not really talking and just believing what others were saying.

“Once I actually sat and talked to Jonathan, we cleared everything up and got rid of the divide-and-conquer scenario and realized we had a lot more to say musically together, as brothers.”

Journey also changed management and did some other housecleaning and legal reshuffling, as well as working on settling trademark issues that hadn’t been firmly established in the past.

“It was sort of a shocking thing, that brothers had come to that,” Cain says. “We had to sort it out. You get lemons, you make lemonade -- what else are you gonna do? It’s probably not that out of the ordinary for bands to do this kind of stuff, and it’s usually based on greed or whatever. I really am glad it’s behind us, that’s all -- and I wish everybody well, really. I have no ill will towards anyone.”

Journey now comprises Schon and Cain, as well as Arnel Pineda, the Filipino singer who joined in 2007 after Schon saw his performances of Journey songs on YouTube. Randy Jackson of “American Idol” fame returns in the bass slot, which he filled from 1985-87 -- though Marco Mendoza is filling in while Jackson recovers from back surgery. New to the lineup is Narada Michael Walden on drums, while Jason Derlatka, who’s been a hidden adjunct member for live performances, is now a full-time member on keyboard.

And, in a surprise move last month, Deen Castronovo, drummer from 1998-2015, is also back in the fold.

“We’re moving forward -- that’s all I can tell you, man,” says Schon, who put out an instrumental solo album, “Universe,” last fall and last month auctioned 112 of his guitars for more than $4.2 million. “It still sounds like Journey, but there is definitely a different strut in the rhythm section with Randy and Narada. It’s bombastic. It’s rocking. It’s majestic, and it’s soulful.

“I believe we got in a bit of a rut, for me, in the latter years of just playing exactly the same thing every night. It doesn’t have to be like that. We have so much material, and I think it’s great music and can all be brought to life in a new way and an updated way. That’s what we’re pursuing now.”

Journey has more than 20 songs it’s been working on for the new album, much of it being worked on remotely between Schon and Walden on the West Coast and Cain in Nashville and Florida. “The Way We Used to Be” is a case in point, growing from a piece of music Schon and Walden constructed and then sent to Cain for lyrics and additional melody.

Jonathan Cain of the band Journey performs on day three of the Lollapalooza music festival on Saturday, July 31, 2021, at Grant Park in Chicago. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP) Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP

“The lyric has a sort of angst to it, and the question was ‘can we ever get back?’” explains Cain, 71, who also released a new Christian rock single, “Oh Lord Lead Us,” last month. “There’s that frustration of being separated, by the pandemic, and a little fear in it. It just had enough for me to go, ‘OK, then we’ll just put a little R&B thing on it and story tell it and get to that chorus, which fit right into what (Schon) had.”

Both Schon and Cain say the new album is in its finishing stages. It has a tentative title that they’re not revealing yet, but the package is being designed by Jim Welch, who worked with the band on several albums, including “Infinity,” “Departure” and “Escape.” “It’s typical Journey, I think,” Cain says. “We’re back to our old sound, but it’s got a little bit more on the bottom end. It’s got fire. It’s just a little bit more edge to it. Neal’s playing his butt off, and it’s very driven, very cool. The songs came very interestingly. I like it a lot.”

For Schon, meanwhile, “I’m just all about moving forward right now. I’m making so much music and there are so many positive things happening. I’ve bought a lot of new guitars and I’m having a blast playing. We’ll get all this other (stuff) taken care of and behind us, and then it’s just full speed ahead. I can’t wait.”

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Journey Reflects on New Album, Whether Steve Perry Could Return for 50th Anniversary Shows (Exclusive)

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The rock legends of Journey are approaching nearly half a century of hitmaking with a new No. 1 album and a Las Vegas residency, to boot! ET was with the icons in Sin City for an exclusive look at their orchestral show and to get the inside story on their first new music in more than a decade. 

"Hearing it when it was finished it was definitely emotional," lead guitarist Neal Schon tells ET's Denny Directo of their new album, Freedom , which marks their first full-length release in 11 years. "We had recorded this album in a way different way because of COVID." 

The band recorded Freedom entirely separate from one another, laying down their respective parts individually in different parts of the world. 

"You get lemons, you make lemonade," says keyboardist Jonathan Cain, revealing the surprising silver lining they discovered through the process. "We were stuck at home. We were supposed to be on tour with The Pretenders and everything got shut down. So we just thought, 'Why not?' And we also made the record for half the price. ... We spent half the money, so we got a blessing from it." 

"It will never be the same," vocalist Arnel Pineda chimes in with a laugh. "So we'll do the same thing again to save money, right?" 

Creatively, the band drew on both past and present experiences while striving to stay true to the heart of what fans have come to know and love about them. 

"I feel that we encompassed like a lot from Infinity to where we are now in this album," says Schon, referencing Journey's 1978 full-length featuring their first Billboard Hot 100 hit, "Wheel in the Sky." 

"It's very diverse, it's very musical," he continues. "I’m happy with that. I think it really represents that band well."

In 2023, Journey will celebrate 50 years in the biz. To commemorate their golden anniversary, the group has planned a slew of upcoming performances into the years ahead, including stadium shows and -- in their words: "More pyro!" and "Firing bombs onstage right, bro!" 

With more than 100-million records sold, 19 Top 40 singles and 25 Gold and Platinum albums under their belts, Journey remains one of the best-selling bands of all-time.

Pineda has been a part of that success for 15 years after replacing lead singer Steve Perry in 2007. The 54-year-old says his life went "from black to white" when joining the group. "These guys, I owe so much to them," he says. 

As for whether they would bring back former band members Perry and Gregg Rolie for the anniversary shows, Schon is open to the possibility. 

"I think that those two guys were a big part of the band," he says, "and I think that, you know, if the city permits, I think the fans would overall love it."

Just last week, Journey rocked two of four planned performances from July 15-23 at Resorts World Theater in Las Vegas alongside Violution Orchestra. Only ET was with them for the soundcheck. 

"So much came to life with that orchestra," gushes drummer Deen Castronovo. "I mean, they were already beautiful songs and they have such a life of their own. But when you get that orchestra, it's so lush, man. I mean, it's amazing sounding. It really is." 

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Latest news.

Journey Release New Studio Album 'Freedom'

Journey's Las Vegas residency kicks off July 15.

The iconic rock group JOURNEY releases their brand new studio album titled Freedom via BMG.

On the heels of their stellar Fourth of July performance on CNN's The Fourth in America special earlier this week, emerging from the pandemic with a supercharged new studio line-up, the release of JOURNEY's epic, fifteen-track set of new original songs brings back the grand scale of the group's greatest moments, along with updated and bold new directions and sounds.

As the band's legend continues to grow larger and their touring gets bigger, Freedom is the band's first album of new material to be released in eleven years, since 2011's Eclipse, and in addition to legendary founder, guitarist, writer and producer Neal Schon - along with longtime keyboard player and primary lyricist Jonathan Cain and vocalist Arnel Pineda, one more member was recruited for the upcoming album - bassist extraordinaire Randy Jackson, who had played on JOURNEYs 1986 album Raised on Radio.

To help commemorate the new release, JOURNEY and AEG announced four exclusive Las Vegas show dates featuring special symphony orchestra performances at the new, state-of-the-art Resorts World Theatre. The residency kicks off July 15. Tickets for the special engagement are on sale now.

Listen to the new album here:

JOURNEY Tour Dates

July 15 - Resorts World Theatre - Las Vegas, NV*

July 16 - Resorts World Theatre - Las Vegas, NV*

July 20 - Paso Robles, CA - California Mid-State Fair

July 22 - Resorts World Theatre - Las Vegas, NV*

July 23 - Resorts World Theatre - Las Vegas, NV*

July 27 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingly Coliseum

July 29 - Las Cruces, NM - NMSU Pan American Center

July 30 - Lubbock, TX - United Supermarkets Arena

August 5 - Mount Pleasant, MI - Soaring Eagle Casino

August 6 - Canton, OH - Tom Benson Hall of Fame

August 8 - Canandaigua, NY - CMAC Performing Arts Center

Sept 17 - Sparks, NV - Celebrity Showroom at the Nugget Casino Resort

*with symphony orchestra

March 1 - Washington, DC - Capital One Arena

March 9 - Quebec City, Canada - Centre Vidéotron

March 12 - Toronto, Canada - Scotiabank Arena

Play Broadway Games

TICKET CENTRAL

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The legendary rock band journey celebrating the 50th anniversary freedom tour 2023.

October 17, 2022 – One of the most legendary rock bands of all time, JOURNEY, announces the continuation of their highly successful tour with the 50th Anniversary Celebration Freedom Tour 2023 featuring, very special guest TOTO. JOURNEY , Diamond-selling Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will take the stage in 38 cities across North America with their catalog of global chart-topping hits, including "Don't Stop Believin”, "Any Way You Want It", "Faithfully", "Lights" and more.

Presented by AEG Presents, JOURNEY Freedom Tour 2023 begins February 4 in Allentown, PA – making stops in Austin, Montreal, Memphis and more – before wrapping April 25 at the brand new Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, CA. The 2023 run includes rescheduled dates in Washington DC, Hartford, Toronto and Quebec that were postponed earlier this year due to covid.

Citi is the official card of the JOURNEY 50th ANNIVERSARY Freedom Tour 2023. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets for theU.S. dates beginning Tuesday, October 18th at 10am local time until Thursday, October 20th at 10pm local time through Citi Entertainment (excluding Canada, Washington DC and Hartford shows). For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com. A limited number of exclusive VIP Packages are also available. These exceptional offers can include an amazing selection of reserved seated tickets, custom merchandise and much more.

Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, October 21 at 10am local time HERE

JOURNEY features Founder,Neal Schon (lead guitarist, ), Jonathan Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Arnel Pineda (lead vocals) Jason Derlatka (keyboards, vocals), and Deen Castronovo (drums, vocals) and Todd Jensen (bass). Neal Schon, 3x Hall of Fame inductee: Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy Hall of Fame. Jon Cain is a recipient of two BMI songwriter awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey.

Neal Schon: “We are all thankful and overwhelmed by the success of our Journey Freedom Tour 2022 this year and have added a new run of dates for 2023” says JOURNEY Founder Neal Schon. “We are looking forward to hitting the road again with our very good friends Toto! Come join us for a special evening full of fun and Rockin’ good memories. See you soon Friends.”

Jonathan Cain adds “Excited to perform for our fans as we tour next year with Toto. The combined hits of both bands represent a couple of decades of excellence that have become a soundtrack for people’s lives. The music of Journey along with the music of Toto is an example of “certain music” during “uncertain times”.

Very special guest TOTO, who have collectively streamed more than 3.3 billion plays on Spotify alone based on hits including “Rosanna”, “Africa” and “Hold the Line”, will join JOURNEY on all dates.

TOTO’s Steve Lukather shares, “'On behalf of myself and the band, we are very honored and excited to do this tour with our old and dear friends JOURNEY. Gonna be a great night of music, and as all the guys are lifelong friends... a blast off stage as well.”

FREEDOM TOUR 2023 DATES

February 4 Allentown, PA PPL Center

February 5 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena

February 8 Savannah, GA Enmarket Arena

February 10 Columbia, SC Colonial Life Arena

February 11 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum

February 14 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena

February 17 Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena

February 19 Bossier City, LA Brookshire Grocery Arena

February 22 Austin, TX Moody Center

February 23 Lafayette, LA Cajundome

February 26 Jacksonville, FL Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena

March 1* Washington, DC Capital One Arena

March 3 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center

March 4* Hartford, CT XL Center

March 8 Montreal, QC Bell Centre

March 9* Quebec, QC Videotron Centre

March 12* Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena

March 13 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre

March 16 Buffalo, NY KeyBank Center

March 17 Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall

March 20 Champaign, IL State Farm Center

March 21 Moline, IL Vibrant Arena at The MARK

March 24 Sioux Falls, SD Denny Sanford PREMIER Center

March 25 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena

March 28 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena

March 31 Tulsa, OK BOK Center

April 1 Memphis, TN FedExForum

April 4 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center

April 7 Springfield, MO Great Southern Bank Arena

April 8 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena

April 11 Casper, WY Ford Wyoming Center

April 13 Boise, ID ExtraMile Arena

April 14 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena

April 17 Eugene, OR Matthew Knight Arena

April 19 Stockton, CA Stockton Arena

April 22 Bakersfield, CA Mechanics Bank Arena

April 23 Fresno, CA SaveMart Center

April 25 Palm Springs, CA Acrisure Arena

*Rescheduled date. ON SALE NOW.

ABOUT JOURNEY

Since the group's formation in 1973, JOURNEY has earned 19 top 40 singles, 25 gold and platinum albums, and has sold over 100 million albums globally. Their "Greatest Hits" album is certified 15 times-platinum, making JOURNEY one of the few bands to ever have been diamond-certified, and their song "Don't Stop Believin'" has been streamed over one billion times alone.

JOURNEY was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, and 2018's co-headlining tour with DEF LEPPARD was the band's most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold, and earning them the prestigious Billboard "Legends Of Live" touring award. March 2019 saw the release of "Escape & Frontiers Live In Japan", a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo featuring the band's first-ever performances of the albums "Escape" and "Frontiers" in their entirety. JOURNEY has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall Of Fame. Additionally, the band is the subject of the award-winning documentary "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey" about the band's resurgence upon adding Arnel Pineda as lead singer after JOURNEY Founder, Neal Schon discovered the Philippines native on YouTube.

The members of TOTO are celebrating an accomplishment few bands have achieved in the modern era. Cumulative streams of the ensemble’s repertoire

now exceed 3 billion plays. Amongst the most listened to recordings, “Africa” accounts for over one billion streams at Spotify alone. This year the song was recertified by the RIAA 8X Platinum.

Over the past decade, the band has had a major renaissance in popularity like few bands at this point in their career. The audience is truly multi-generational, becoming younger with each passing year. Joining Steve Lukather and Joseph Williams are band members bassist John Pierce (Huey Lewis and The News), drummer Robert “Sput” Searight (Ghost-Note, Founding member Snarky Puppy, Snoop Dogg), keyboardist Dominique “Xavier” Taplin (Prince, Ghost-Note), multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Warren Ham (Ringo Starr) and keyboardist / background vocalist Steve Maggiora,. This line-up marks the fifteenth incarnation of Toto in consideration of band members or sidemen who joined or exited. Individually and collectively, few have had a larger imprint on pop culture than the members of TOTO. The family tree can be heard on an astonishing 5000 albums that together amass a sales history of a half a billion albums. Amongst these recordings, NARAS applauded the performances with hundreds of Grammy nominations.

With now 45+ years together and literally thousands of credits, including the biggest selling album of all time: Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and accolades to their names, TOTO remains one of the top selling touring and recording acts in the world. They are the benchmark by which many artists base their sound and production, and they continue to transcend the standards set by the entire music community, being simply synonymous with musical credibility. They are pop culture and are one of the few 70’s bands that have endured the changing trends and styles continuing to remain relevant.

About AEG Presents

Combining the power of the live event with a focus on true artist development, AEG Presents is a world leader in the music and entertainment industries. Operating across five continents, the company has an unparalleled commitment to artistry, creativity, and community. Its tentpole festivals and multi-day music events — which include the iconic Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and the legendary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival alongside British Summer Time at Hyde Park, Stagecoach, Hangout Festival, Electric Forest, and Firefly — continue to set the bar for the live music experience. AEG Presents promotes global tours for artists such as The Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Taylor Swift, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Kenny Chesney, Paul McCartney, and Katy Perry, in addition to — through its network of clubs, theatres, arenas, stadiums and renowned partner brands such as The Bowery Presents, Concerts West, Frontier Touring, Goldenvoice, Madison House Presents, Marshall Arts,

Messina Touring Group, PromoWest Productions, and Zero Mile Presents — creating and developing an unmatched infrastructure for artist development and audience reach. More information can be found at www.aegpresents.com.

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Rory mcilroy belts journey's 'don't stop believin' after 2024 zurich classic of new orleans win with shane lowry, share this article.

No city throws a party like the Big Easy.

After a boozy lunch to celebrate the 2023 Ryder Cup led Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy to team up for this week’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the good friends were in the perfect place to celebrate their playoff win over Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer on Sunday night.

McIlroy and Lowry made par on the first playoff hole at TPC Louisiana in Avondale to earn their 25th and third PGA Tour wins, respectively, and got the party started shortly after by jumping on stage to sing “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey.

Believe it or not, the world No. 2 wasn’t that bad.

This is not a drill. Rory McIlroy singing Don't Stop Believing pic.twitter.com/y5PkEDoqo4 — Brody Miller (@BrodyAMiller) April 28, 2024

Based on how the evening has started, fans may see McIlroy and Lowry dancing at Cafe Negril on Frenchmen Street later tonight.

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Music Producer and Talent Manager Jacquelene Cerra (JacqMadeTheBeat) to Depart for Military Service

In a surprising turn of events, Jacquelene Cerra, widely known in the music industry as  JacqMadeTheBeat , has announced her departure from the music scene to embark on a new journey of building a solid foundation for her future. The esteemed music producer and talent manager, whose prowess behind the soundboard has shaped the careers of numerous artists, revealed her decision to enlist in the army for military service.

Cerra’s impact on the music industry has been nothing short of remarkable. With her keen ear for sound and innate ability to bring out the best in artists, she has cemented her place as a force to be reckoned with in the competitive world of music production. From crafting chart-topping hits to nurturing emerging talent, her contributions have left an indelible mark on the landscape of contemporary music.

Her decision to enlist in the army reflects her desire to lay the groundwork for a solid future. Cerra sees military service as an opportunity to gain valuable skills and experiences that will serve her well in her personal and professional endeavors. While her departure may leave a void in the music industry, her determination to build a strong foundation for her future speaks volumes about her foresight and ambition.

Throughout her career, Cerra has been a beacon of inspiration for aspiring artists and industry professionals alike. Her passion for music and relentless pursuit of excellence have earned her the respect and admiration of colleagues and fans worldwide. As she embarks on this new chapter, her legacy as a trailblazer in music production and talent management will undoubtedly endure.

While Cerra’s absence will be felt within the music community, her departure serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of seizing opportunities for personal and professional growth. As she prepares to transition from the studio to the barracks, her fans and peers alike offer their heartfelt support and best wishes for her future endeavors.

Jacquelene Cerra ‘s decision to leave behind the glitz and glamour of the music industry to build a solid foundation for her future underscores her determination and ambition. While her departure may mark the end of an era in music, it heralds the beginning of a new chapter in her remarkable journey of personal and professional development.

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The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

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Big Hit Music is set to host a worldwide audition to form a new boy group

B ig Hit Music, the powerhouse behind global sensations like BTS and TXT, is opening its doors to aspiring talents worldwide with the announcement of the '2024 Big Hit Music Global Audition.' This exciting opportunity, unveiled on April 2, beckons young male talents born after 2006 to showcase their skills and charisma without constraints.

The audition, breaking barriers between online and offline realms, promises an inclusive platform for budding stars. From May 2 to August 31, hopefuls can submit their entries online via the official website. For those preferring a more traditional approach, offline auditions will be held from June 1 to August 31 across 17 international locations, spanning vibrant cities like Hawaii, Vancouver, Sydney, and more.

Offline auditions offer a unique twist, welcoming on-site registrations starting an hour prior to the audition, ensuring no talent goes unnoticed. Venues including The Source OC in Orange County, California, USA, and select cinemas in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Jakarta will host these events, inviting both participants and visitors to soak in the excitement.

Big Hit Music emphasizes the comfort and enjoyment of all participants, pledging diverse events to lighten the audition atmosphere. "We will prepare various events to ensure that applicants can participate without feeling burdened and enjoy themselves. We ask for the active participation and interest of talented individuals who want to showcase their talent and charm," the label stated.

A Glimpse into Big Hit Music's Journey

Formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, Big Hit Music traces its roots back to 2005 when it was founded by Bang Si-hyuk. Under the umbrella of Hybe Corporation since March 2021, the label boasts a roster including soloist Lee Hyun, and beloved boy groups BTS and Tomorrow X Together (TXT).

From the inception of 8Eight in 2007 to the groundbreaking debut of BTS in 2013, Big Hit Music has continuously shaped the K-pop landscape. The label's journey, marked by collaborations and launches, hasn't been without challenges, including the disbandment of groups like GLAM due to controversies.

Despite the hurdles, Big Hit Music persevered, nurturing talents like Lee Hyun and TXT. The label's evolution culminated in its rebranding as Hybe Corporation, with Big Hit Music emerging as its flagship label. This transformation reflects a commitment to innovation and growth, setting the stage for a new era of entertainment.

As the '2024 Big Hit Music Global Audition' unfolds, it symbolizes not just a search for new talent, but a celebration of diversity and creativity. With doors wide open and opportunities abound, the stage is set for the next generation of stars to shine.

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Composing the Trial Chambers

Meet the musicians behind the 1.21 Update soundtrack!

What melody captures the moment of meeting a breeze for the first time? And what does successfully navigating a trap-filled trial chamber sound like?

Take a musical journey into the trial chambers and listen to the Tricky Trials album on your favorite streaming platform – today! In fact, why not listen along as we speak to the three composers behind these beautiful tracks : Kumi Tanioka, Lena Raine, and Aaron Cherof to understand what composing for a game like Minecraft is like, what inspired them, what challenged them, and more!

A musical journey into the trial chambers 

Trial chambers are a very special feature of the Tricky Trials Update not just because they’re full of traps, tricks, and treasure; but because each trial chamber you find will have a different layout, different mobs to do battle with, and different challenges to face!  

“Keeping the trial chambers in mind framed my entire composition process. Especially “Deeper”, which felt like a piece closely tied to my visualization of the trial chambers: new colors, materials, and a sense of intentional design in an otherwise chaotic space.” – Lena Raine

Lena Raine is no stranger to challenges. Having gained her degree in composition, Lena struggled to break into music, and instead focused her early career on her love of game design. Later, she was able to combine her passions for composing and video games by writing the music for Celeste. Since then, she’s composed music for several video games, including Minecraft! Composing for the Tricky Trials Update proved a little challenging for Lena, too as she wanted to do something she’d not tried before: 

“I was determined to try out some new sounds for “Deeper”, but nothing I did seemed to work. I spent two days recording, but I didn't like where it was going. So I made the radical decision to scrap everything and start again (which was really tough after 2 days of work!) What I ended up with, however, ended up becoming one of my favorite tracks. “Deeper” isn’t as dark as some of the Nether tracks, but it speaks to a slightly darker side of the Overworld, and evokes a feeling of constrained darkness.” Lena Raine

Aaron Cherof , who has been composing for games for fifteen years and worked on the soundtrack for the Trails & Tales Update, used darkness in a different way in his composition process – by creating one of his tracks while sleeping. This is a level of multitasking I can only dream of – and even then it doesn’t happen!  

I’ve been composing for a long time, but having a musical idea come to me in a dream is something that’s only happened twice in my entire life! “Watcher” had been rattling around unfinished in my head for a while, so it spent a lot more time “in the oven” than my typical songs. Working on this update was the inspiration I’d needed to give “Watcher” form, and finish it! It’s pretty magical to hear it out in the world after being trapped in my head for so long!” – Aaron Cherof

Kumi Tanioka worked at Square Enix until 2009 before going freelance, and now as well as composing music for a variety of games (including Minecraft!) she publishes her own original albums, and performs her music live. For Kumi, the challenge of creating music for the Tricky Trials soundtrack was all about trying to find a perfect balance, not just for her but for Minecraft fans who create their own worlds within the game.

“I never want to destroy the world that Minecraft fans have in their minds, and I also want to express my own feelings in the music, too. Finding the balance between how far to go and where to restrain myself while also making Minecraft fans happy was difficult!” Kumi Tanioka

A Chorus of New Challenges 

"I hope players can enjoy a feeling of nostalgia even when listening to songs they’ve never heard before as they embark on an adventure through the unknown." - Aaron Cherof

I’ve never thought of myself as a competent combat player, but for this update I’m determined to give the trial chambers my best shot, and clasp my blocky hands around one of the smashing new weapons: the mace! Of course it’ll probably take me hundreds of attempts and lots of broken armor, but you know what they say! If at first you don’t succeed, run away screaming try, try again. 

Kumi Tanioka tried something new in her composition process, too – to surprising ends!

“For the first time,  I used an instrument called aquarion  [a glass xylophone]. I love the sound of the piano, so I really wanted to use its tone, but I had been struggling to express something new with only the piano. Then I heard the aquarion, and the instrument really resonated with me. I immediately thought of a motif for a Minecraft song! Another track, “pokopoko”,  includes a new sound that we created using a bamboo instrument . It’s a simple but warm tone, and it allowed me to approach the world of Minecraft from a different perspective.” Kumi Tanioka

I think I might try and learn from Kumi, and approach the trial chambers from a different perspective, too. Perhaps the breeze just wants to be my friend? And if that’s the case, then maybe I shouldn’t thwack it with a sword? Sure, befriending the breeze wouldn’t be a conventional way of trying to get a trial key, but according to Lena Raine sometimes breaking with convention is sometimes a good thing.

“There are a lot of composers playing with microtonal compositions, or breaking from western tonality. As a composer who primarily works within conventional harmony, I've always wanted to try writing less "normal"-sounding music, and I played a lot with a sense of tuning in the second half of 'Endless'. I wanted to toy with the perception of tonality (which instrument feels out of tune with which?) and was pleasantly surprised by the result!” – Lena Raine

Unexpected Surprises

The mace is one of the new weapons coming as part of the 1.21 Update!

Aaron Cherof understands the trepidation and excitement of approaching a new challenge. When composing the track for one of the music discs, breaking new ground dirt blocks was something really important to him. 

“Without spoiling it for players who haven’t discovered it yet, the music disc was really exciting, as well as being unknown territory for me. My goal was to write something that hadn’t been explored musically within the world of Minecraft before. Inspired by some of my favorite music, I tried to filter that through a different lens. In the end, I hope the music disc track can also inspire players to try venturing into unfamiliar waters on their own creative journeys!” Aaron Cherof

Consider me inspired, Aaron! On top of claiming the mace and befriending the breeze, I’ll now be going on a hunt for the music discs included in this update so I can bring the feeling of the trial chambers home with me, starting with the wonder you feel when you first uncover that rectangular structure deep underground. This quiet sense of amazement is something Kumi Tanioka wanted to preserve in her compositions, too: 

“These songs are for listeners who love the Minecraft universe, who love Minecraft music, and while of course you can listen to my songs separately as a soundtrack, I hope that you will take some time to listen to my music while playing. I wrote my songs in the hope that players who are on a journey inside Minecraft will not wake up from that dream world. On the contrary, I hope the music will help them immerse themselves in their Minecraft world even further, and enjoy it even more.” - Kumi Tanioka

Hypnotizing melodies 

Kumi Tanioka’s music is so dreamy that I can find myself utterly hypnotized while mining for resources (I want all the new decorative blocks coming with the Tricky Trials Update!). Of course mindless mining can be a little dangerous in the trial chambers, especially if you stumble across a trial spawner! Then things get tense really quickly , something Lena Raine has tried to weave into her music.

“One of my favorite things to do in ambient music is to have this sense of tension bursting at the seams. I put some explosive processing on a track, while holding it back with gating, only letting it out occasionally. This creates a wonderful sense of tension where suddenly an unexpected 'scream' comes from the synth before it ducks down again, giving you an uncertain surprise!” Aaron Cherof

This update is filled with surprises , from the breeze’s wind charges triggering everything from switches to tripwires, to the way enemies scale based on the size of your adventuring party! Aaron Cherof dropped a few surprises into his compositions too, in celebration of Minecraft turning a very big number: 

“ It’s Minecraft’s 15-year anniversary this year , and I wanted to celebrate that by using mostly minimalistic instrumentation. Piano has always been at the heart of Minecraft music, and many of the songs I wrote for Tricky Trials have piano at their core – along with a few extra surprises along the way for listeners. I hope players can enjoy a feeling of nostalgia even when listening to songs they’ve never heard before as they embark on an adventure through the unknown!” – Aaron Cherof

"I never thought I would be part of building the Minecraft world again, so I feel very honored to have been able to create these three songs." – Kumi Tanioka

What's your favorite track?

Asking a composer to pick their favorite track is a bit like asking me to pick my favorite wolf variation – impossible! But of course I asked them anyway.  

“Of course, I like all three songs because I put my heart and soul into them, but I especially like “ pokopoko ”. In this track I wanted to express a bird's-eye view of the world of Minecraft while delving a little more freely into it. To craft “pokopoko”, I travelled throughout the Overworld, listening to all the great Minecraft music as I explored , and then I imagined the world I wanted to express.” – Kumi Tanioka

"It’s hard to pick a favorite! But I think if I had to narrow it down to one, it’d be “Featherfall”. I love the journey of the song, and the simplicity of the duet between the piano and music box at the heart of it. I fell in love with the melody while writing it, and I think I could live in the coda of the song forever." – Aaron Cherof

“’ Deeper ’ really sticks out for me. Perhaps because it's a bit of a weird one in terms of how I came up with it, because I had to throw away two days’ work and start from scratch! On my second attempt, I started with a glitched-out piano synth which can be heard after the intro, before it goes into the main groove. The way it cuts up the rhythm into different rhythmic groupings was really inspiring to start playing with polyrhythms and build up the mood. I also played with the processing on the synths to create this wonderful sense of tension.” – Lena Raine 

What’s your favorite track of the Tricky Trials album ? Listen to it today on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you like to listen! 

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Steve Perry: ‘My Heart Bleeds Daily to Be in Front of People And to Sing for Them’

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

Steve Perry has kept a low public profile ever since he shared a lockdown rendition of the 1963 Beach Boys classic “In My Room” in April, but he tells Rolling Stone that since that time, he’s been busy creating new music. “I have a studio and I’m always writing and always recording stuff,” he says. “I have lots of music, so much stuff.”

First up is an acoustic version of his 2018 comeback LP Traces that he plans to release on December 4th. “It’s eight songs from the Traces record done acoustically and I’m really proud of it,” he says. “It’s called Traces Alternate Versions and Sketches . I cut the vinyl in Abbey Road. I’m really pleased with the sonics and I’m really pleased with the simplicity of the song and the lyric and the chords, which is basically what it’s stripped down to.”

Perry dropped out of the public eye in 1998 when he was sidelined by a hip injury and Journey opted to hire a new vocalist to take his place. “I had my time,” he says, “and I was very pleased with all the history I was fortunate to be around and I was proud of my musical contributions to any of it.”

He was drawn back to music after losing girlfriend Kelly Nash to breast cancer in 2012. “I made a promise to her that I would not go back into hibernation,” he says. “If something was going to happen to her, she asked that I wouldn’t do that because she felt it would make everything for naught. Those were her words. I kept that promise.”

He released Traces in 2018 and went on an extensive media tour to support it, but he didn’t play any live shows. Perry last toured in 1995 and the only time he’s played to a live audience since then took place in 2014 when he joined the band Eels at three shows.

“E [Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett] and I became friends and he kept busting my balls saying, ‘When are you going to come out and just sing a couple of songs on our little tour?'” Perry recalls. “We’d always laugh, but I’d always go to his rehearsals because I love the band. He said, ‘Is this the year you’re going to do it?’ I said, ‘OK, what do you want to do?’ We worked up a bunch of songs and lowered the keys so I’d feel comfortable.”

The first appearance took place May 25th, 2014, at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. Perry joined Eels for their original tune “It’s a Motherfucker” before closing the show with the Journey tunes “Open Arms” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.”

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“Oh, my God,” Perry says as he thinks back to that night. “I forgot what it was like to be in front of people. I had forgotten that this voice [I have onstage] doesn’t belong to me. In a studio, I can probably get 80 or 90 percent of it. But that extra 10 or 20 percent only happens in front of a crowd.”

The three Eels appearances raised fan expectations that Perry might finally return to the road. It hasn’t happened so far, but the singer says that a tour remains a real possibility. “It’s always been on my mind,” he says. “My heart bleeds daily to be in front of people and to sing for them.”

One thing holding him back is the physical toll any tour would take on his body. “I’ve got some physical injuries from touring,” he says. “It’s a tough thing, touring. People don’t realize. It’s like sports. I’m watching baseball these days and there’s injuries. People’s backs and necks start to go out. It’s a young man’s game, but I do miss it.”

During Perry’s long absence from the road, Journey reinvented themselves as a touring powerhouse, especially after Arnel Pineda took over on vocals in 2008. But it’s been a contentious journey marked by persistent band infighting. Earlier this year, the band parted ways with drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory after a business dispute over the band’s copyright.

“I have no clue what that’s all about,” Perry says when the matter comes up. “I’ve been out of that band since May of 1998.”

When told that fans continue to fixate on his tenure in the band and pray for some sort of reconciliation, he laughs. “I don’t know what people think rock & roll is about,” he says. “Are we supposed to be like Bo Peep, sheep herders that are kind and loving? No. We bump heads like motherfuckers. But from that comes beautiful music like ‘Open Arms’ and other songs.”

Still, fans will likely never let go of the fantasy that everything can go back to the way it was in 1981 when it seemed like the band was in harmony and singing “Kumbaya” together offstage. “I don’t understand what these people base their thinking on,” he says. “There never was any ‘Kumbaya’ with us. But were the Chicago Bulls singing ‘Kumbaya’? How about the [San Francisco] 49ers with Bill Walsh? What are we talking about here?”

For now, Perry is focusing strictly on his own career, far away from the battles of Journey. “The acoustic Traces is going to close the Traces chapter,” he says. “Then I’m opening up another chapter next year at some point.”

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