NEAL SCHON Says He Is Not To Blame For JOURNEY Not Touring In 2019

December 29, 2018

Neal Schon says that he will embark on his "Journey Through Time" tour next year because two of his JOURNEY bandmates want to work on outside projects.

In addition to Schon, "Journey Through Time" features founding JOURNEY and SANTANA singer/keyboardist Gregg Rolie, ex-JOURNEY drummer Deen Castronovo, bassist Marco Mendoza of THE DEAD DAISIES and THIN LIZZY, and a musician named Chris Collins.

Explaining his decision to play shows away from JOURNEY, Schonwrote on his blog: "I was told by management [John Baruck] that we all would take all of 2019 off, except for possibly a few dates near the end of the year leading into 2020 and that Jonathan Cain [and] Steve Smith [had] other things they wanted to do. At that point, I decided to go out and have some fun with Gregg Rolie, Deen Castronovo, Marco Mendoza, Marti Frederiksen and Chris Collins and dip into our catalog — deep tracks (from the beginning and beyond)."

He added: "That, my friends, is the way it REALLY went down instead of trying to blame me for [JOURNEY] not playing next year."

Schon previously said that fans attending the "Journey Through Time" tour can expect "the whole catalog with many surprises. I'll be playing music from EVERY album and mixing it up constantly," he added.

"Journey Through Time", minus Collins, made its live debut this past February as a benefit concert for the victims of the fires that devastated the North Bay in October 2017. The group's set leaned heavily on material from JOURNEY's first six albums, all of which featured Rolie.

Neal referred to Deen as "the baddest ass singing drummer on this planet," while Castronovo commented on his participation in "Journey Through Time", saying: "I will do the best I can with the songs you and I love, grew up with, and cherish. I'm no [Steve Perry] nor an [Arnel Pineda] but will try to honor the 'voices' and the legacy. I owe you all this."

JOURNEY and DEF LEPPARD's 2018 North American co-headline tour grossed $97.1 million from 1,003,198 tickets sold, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. The trek included 56 dates across the United States, plus two shows in Canada.

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