JOURNEY Drummer DEEN CASTRONOVO Steps Away From Tour To Focus On 'Personal Health Matters'; Temporary Replacement Announced

Longtime JOURNEY drummer Deen Castronovo has stepped away from the band's current tour to focus on personal health matters. He is being temporarily replaced by Steve Murphy, a drummer, singer, producer and engineer who is also part of THE HIT MEN, a supergroup consisting of super-talented sidemen and sessions musicians.

Earlier today (Friday, November 13),after Castronovo had missed all or part of the band's three recent shows, JOURNEY issued the following statement: "Dear friends, after careful consideration and an extensive year of touring, our talented, longtime drummer Deen Castronovo has decided to step away to focus on personal health matters that require his attention. He has our full support during this time and extends his heartfelt thanks to the fans for the love, encouragement, and kindness he has received. Native New Yorker Steve Murphy who comes to us from working with bands such as ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, TRANS SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, Christopher Cross and Jack Bruce will be joining us for the remainder of November. We look forward to continuing to share unforgettable nights of music with all of you."

For this past Tuesday's JOURNEY concert in Boston, Castronovo left during the show and was replaced by longtime JOURNEY drum tech Steve Toomey, just as Deen was for a show in early October in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At last night's concert in Cleveland, Murphy sat behind the drum kit for the entire show.

JOURNEY keyboardist Jonathan Cain introduced Murphy from the stage, telling the audience: "We're gonna let you in on a little secret. This is Steve Murphy's first gig with the band tonight. Can you believe this drummer right here?"

JOURNEY's "Final Frontier" tour will resume on Saturday, November 14 in Greenville, South Carolina.

The "Final Frontier" farewell tour launched in Hershey, Pennsylvania on February 28. The current leg of the tour kicked off on September 12 in Los Angeles and will conclude on November 28 in San Francisco.

JOURNEY features Neal Schon (lead guitar),Cain (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals),Arnel Pineda (lead vocals),Castronovo (drums, vocals),Jason Derlatka (keyboards, vocals) and Todd Jensen (bass, vocals).

Castronovo 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. Castronovo later admitted that he emotionally, verbally and physically abused his now-wife and said that he will always be indebted to her for calling the police after his 24-day methamphetamine binge.

Castronovo returned to JOURNEY in July 2021 and has been performing with the band ever since, initially sharing the drum duties in the group with Narada Michael Walden.

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.