JONATHAN CAIN On JOURNEY's Final Tour: 'It's Time For Me To Close The Chapter'

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Rock & Roll High School" podcast, hosted by two-time Grammy Award-winning producer and music executive Pete Ganbarg, JOURNEY keyboardist Jonathan Cain once again spoke about the band's ongoing "Final Frontier" North American tour. JOURNEY announced the trek last November, describing the run as a "heartfelt goodbye to the fans who've been with us." The tour features Cain alongside founding guitarist Neal Schon, lead vocalist Arnel Pineda, keyboardist and vocalist Jason Derlatka, drummer and vocalist Deen Castronovo and bassist Todd Jensen.

Asked how the "Final Frontier" tour has been so far, Cain said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's a grind. This is a 'one off, two on, one off, two on,' so there's a lot of that. And so you're getting consumed getting to the gig, and then playing the gig, and then... When we have four shows in a week, it's pretty grueling. And we're doing 'evening with', so it's two hours and 15 minutes every night… There's no support [act], no. So it makes it doubly hard for Arnel."

Asked if he is still enjoying playing these songs for an audience, Jonathan said: "I do. I think it's the only thing, the only reason I'm still out here is the fans. It's time — it's time for me to close the chapter. It's a beautiful time to say goodbye, for me. We're 45 [years together with me as a member of JOURNEY] this year. I'm so honored to celebrate 45.

"After playing the stadium tour with DEF LEPPARD last year, I just felt like we've done it," Cain explained. "And we're just repeating ourselves. The new albums don't seem to move the needle. That's why I've gotten into Christian music, because I can still sing a melody there and praise the Lord, and it still gets received… I'm leaving something behind, and I get to express my melodic and spiritual self there. So it's a good place for me to be right now."

Cain is a devout born-again Christian whose minister wife Paula White-Cain became the first female clergy member to pray at a presidential inauguration following U.S. president Donald Trump's latest victory and now serves as the first female primary spiritual adviser to a U.S. president.

Jonathan embraced faith-based music with 2016's "What God Wants To Hear" and released a Christmas LP, "Unsung Noel", the following year.

In 1976, Cain released his first solo record, "Windy City Breakdown". Three years later, he joined the band THE BABYS, and in 1980 became a member of JOURNEY, rounding out the songwriting genius behind the defining album "Escape".

Schon and Cain have publicly feuded over several issues, including Neal allegedly causing over $1 million in personal expenses to be charged to the band's shared American Express card and Schon demanding that Cain stop playing events for Trump.

Last October, Schon said that "everything" was "cool" between him and Cain, adding that he has "had some great conversations with Jonathan lately and some great meetings with him for the first time in many years."

Earlier this month, JOURNEY extended its massive "Final Frontier Tour" with 40 additional North American dates this fall. Presented by AEG Presents, the newly announced leg begins Saturday, September 12 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California and concludes with a hometown finale show on Saturday, November 28 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

The "Final Frontier Tour" launched on February 28 in Hershey, Pennsylvania and has continued to deliver packed arenas, explosive performances and a hit-filled set celebrating JOURNEY's legendary career. Night after night, fans have experiences timeless classics, including "Don't Stop Believin'", "Any Way You Want It", "Faithfully" and "Lights".

Press photo courtesy of Rick Hoganson of Hoganson Media Relations