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Journey’s Neal Schon v. Everyone: Will Band Members Go ‘Separate Ways’?

The band is fighting over a member's Mar-a-Lago performance, suing over the group's Amex account, and hiring and firing managers. But it's still filling arenas.

By Steve Knopper

Steve Knopper

Early in Journey ’s 2022 arena tour, lead guitarist Neal Schon became convinced people were out to get him. So he stationed two off-duty police officers outside his dressing room, according to sources familiar with the tour. And at a Florida show last spring, Schon and his wife, Michaele , sent an assistant into keyboardist Jonathan Cain ’s dressing room to snoop around — to find what, the sources have no idea.

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Journey’s latest legal clash it’s over the band’s amex card.

From the outside, Journey’s business might seem easy — perform hits like “Wheel in the Sky,” “Any Way You Want It” and “Who’s Crying Now” in arenas and watch the money roll in. Most of those guitar-piano-and-whoa-oh-oh classics are from the ’80s, when Journey dominated rock radio and MTV, scoring eight multiplatinum albums and six top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles, and becoming a bridge between ’70s regular-guy bands like Boston , Styx and Kansas and the more dangerous-looking Bon Jovis and Mötley Crües of subsequent years.

Journey has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide, according to a recent lawsuit involving the band, and Billboard Boxscore reports a career gross of more than $352.5 million on sales of 7.6 million tickets. Journey has also cleaned up on synch licensing for decades — the iconic final scene of The Sopranos in 2007 famously used “Don’t Stop Believin,’ ” and the band’s songs have appeared in Caddyshack (“Any Way You Want It”), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (“Faithfully”) and last year’s season of Stranger Things (“Separate Ways [Worlds Apart]”). And the group’s 2022 tour was one of its biggest ever, nearly doubling the pace of its previous standalone tour in 2017, which took 67 shows to gross $31.7 million.

Recently, though, simmering, passive-aggressive, behind-the-scenes tension between Schon and Cain has blown up into dueling lawsuits and cease-and-desist letters, including one over Cain’s performance at Mar-a-Lago. Journey is hardly the only group to tour and make albums amid acrimony between band members; examples include Sam & Dave , The Kinks and Van Halen . But Journey’s personality conflicts have spread to its business far more than most, and sources say the Schons have run off business and road managers, accountants and longtime band members. In February, Journey’s longtime bank, City National, cut ties with the band, according to sources, hampering the group’s ability to easily pay its day-to-day touring expenses. Even Journey’s official webpage abruptly stopped operating for several weeks in early February before it recently reappeared.

At the Jan. 27 opening show of Journey’s 2023 arena tour, which runs through April, Cain and Schon stood at least 20 yards apart at all times, on opposite sides of the stage at the Choctaw Grand Theatre in Durant, Okla. The 3,000 fans singing along to hit after hit clearly energized the band, especially frontman Arnel Pineda , who sprinted and twirled around the stage. But Cain and Schon barely looked at each other, even when Cain sang these lines from “Faithfully,” the 1983 hit he wrote: “Circus life under the big-top world/ We all need the clowns to make us smile/ Through space and time, always another show.” Another show: Check. Circus life: Check. Shared smiles: Absent.

____________________

Neal Schon has been litigious for years. In 2007, he sued his ex-wife’s mother-in-law for blogging that he didn’t pay child support. The mother-in-law, who has since died, said she didn’t say that and the case was eventually dismissed. (After the publication of this story, Schon texted to point out that he had sued The Daily Mail for running a story based on the blog that referred to Schon as a “deadbeat dad,” which led to a settlement with terms that included a public apology from the British tabloid. “It was all false and damaging,” Schon said by text.) In 2019, he sued Live Nation, then-promoter for the band. And in 2020, along with Cain, he sued then-Journey drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory .

That lawsuit settled in April 2021 , for undisclosed terms, and Smith and Valory soon left the band, leaving Schon and Cain to publicly turn on each other in the months that followed. In October, Schon sued Cain in Superior Court in Contra Costa County, Calif., for “improperly” refusing him access to a corporate American Express account representing “millions in Journey funds.” In Cain’s Jan. 13 response, he accused Schon of “completely out-of-control” spending, charging the band’s American Express card for what Cain said were $1 million in personal expenses, including — in a single month last spring — $104,000 for jewelry and clothes, $31,000 to the Bergdorf Goodman department store and $54,000 toward his insurance premiums.

The dispute between Schon and Cain even involves Trump. Cain is married to the ex-president’s spiritual advisor, Paula White-Cain , and he performed “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” at Mar-a-Lago. He also appeared at a Las Vegas “Evangelicals for Trump” event three months before the 2020 presidential election. In December, Schon sent a cease-and-desist letter that called Cain’s Mar-a-Lago performance “deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach.” (Cain declined to comment and Pineda did not respond to interview requests.)

Journey Band Members Agree to Settle $10 Million Lawsuit and Go ‘Separate Ways’

This combative back-and-forth might suggest the central tension in Journey is between Schon and Cain, the remaining members of the group’s megastar era. But numerous music sources who have worked with the band over the years say the lead guitarist is obsessed with controlling the band with Michaele, a fan since childhood, who took an interest in Journey’s affairs soon after their 2013 wedding. The actual conflict, they say, isn’t Schon vs. Cain, but rather Schon vs. everyone. “He’s just an impossible human being,” says an industry source, who has worked with the band. “Jonathan, he’s a good guy: ‘I wrote “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and I’m blessed.’ Neil’s just ‘I’m a superstar.’ ”

The source refers to a 2018 Tampa Bay Times concert review in which critic Jay Cridlin praised the band’s onstage tribute to the late Aretha Franklin . Schon directly emailed Cridlin afterwards, demanding he change the review — it was Schon who orchestrated the Franklin tribute, not the entire band, as Cridlin had reported. In a Times story he published later about his exchange with Schon, Cridlin wrote, “It seemed odd that Schon would go out of his way to make sure readers knew his bandmates had nothing to do with it.”

The son of a professional singer and a jazz saxophonist and composer, Schon was a teenage guitar hotshot in the early ’70s, when Eric Clapton invited him to jam with Derek and the Dominos onstage at Berkeley Community Theatre, near his home in the Bay Area. Word got around, and both Clapton and Carlos Santana made offers to Schon to join their bands. At 17, Schon picked Santana, then in its post-Woodstock prime, before forming Journey in 1973.

Four years later, frontman Steve Perry ushered Journey into its FM-radio golden age. Perry became the face of the band as Cain underpinned the songwriting with Broadway-style piano and melancholy verses, and Schon electrified the earworms, matching every catchy chorus and Perry high note with a melodic guitar solo.

Over the years, as happens with many successful rock bands, Journey’s business grew into a jigsaw puzzle of financial deals worked out over decades of negotiation. Perry, who quit for good in 1997, landed a deal in which he still makes 1/41 of the band’s net income from recording royalties and touring, after management fees and other expenses. Which means he pocketed roughly $400,000 in 2022 from Journey’s tour alone, according to sources, while sitting at home making TikToks about how much he loves Harry Styles . The remainder is then split among Schon, Cain and Pineda, a cover band singer from the Philippines, whom Schon discovered on YouTube in 2007.

In the early 2010s, according to sources, Schon became more litigious and started spending more money, when he became serious with the former Michaele Ann Holt, whose Oakton, Va., high school friends in the ’80s called her Rock Chic Miss, according to Washingtonian . A Journey superfan and once a Real Housewives of D.C. cast member, Michaele first became famous with her ex-husband, Tareq Salahi , as the White House gate-crashers who joined former President Barack Obama’s 2009 state dinner without an invitation. Two years after that, Salahi reported his wife missing to the police and appeared on TV, begging for her return. “I swear to God, I’m missing my wife,” he said through tears. “This is not a joke.”

It came out later, in Salahi’s divorce filings, that when he made that plea, he neglected to mention that he had already received a call about his wife’s whereabouts. It came from Neal Schon. As Washingtonian reported, Schon told Salahi, “This is Neal. I am fucking your wife.”

In 2013, Neal married Michaele, in a pay-per-view wedding that cost viewers $14.95. One of the three dresses Michaele wore was by Oscar de la Renta. Neal wore a long black coat without a tie. Sammy Hagar and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir attended. So did Omarosa Manigault , the Apprentice villain who later worked in — and still later turned against — the Trump Administration. The San Francisco wedding, held in a white tent, had a winter-wonderland theme, with 36 crystal chandeliers and a four-foot-tall, berry-and-custard white cake. Paying customers could watch for up to 12 hours — more than six times the length of a typical Journey concert. Journey performed, of course, and a portion of the pay-per-view gross went to typhoon relief, a cause Pineda favored. The wedding cost between $1 million and $3 million, according to music-industry sources familiar with the band’s finances.

Journey Takes a Break From Feuding, Returns for Harmonious Concert at Oklahoma Casino

After Michaele left Salahi for Schon, the couple began getting Journey’s publicists to work for them. Emails from the time show Neal and Michaele calling and emailing a publicist late at night, to tweak language and order photos for press releases about Michaele’s divorce. When a publicist responded to an 11:30 p.m. email by saying his business hours were 9 to 5, Neal responded, “sorry we didn’t fit into your biz hours. Lol.” At one point, the publicist emailed, “I rarely answer calls from numbers I don’t have saved. Michaele’s 12:28 a.m response: “Are you still up?”

After she married Schon, Michaele gradually became more involved in various aspects of Journey’s business: She asked to be copied on all band-related emails, according to multiple sources, and sometimes responded by CC’ing as many as 15 other addresses, including those of attorneys and other band employees.

In early 2021, after Smith and Valory settled their lawsuits and left the band, Schon became Journey’s manager.

By the time Schon started managing Journey, he and Michaele had spent six years scrutinizing trademarks and merchandise and ticket sales. And they came to one conclusion: Journey was getting screwed. That meant everyone had to go, so Schon fired or sued managers, accountants, bandmates and promoters, some of whom had worked with the group for decades. John Baruck , who managed the band for 20 years and oversaw its 2017 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the hiring of Pineda as lead singer and the band’s post- Sopranos renaissance? Gone. Peter Mensch , also one of Metallica ’s managers at Q Prime? Gone. Smith and Valory? Gone, when Schon and Cain jointly sued them for $10 million, claiming the two “launched a coup” to take control of the Journey name and “set themselves up for retirement.”

“I took the bull by the horns and started cleaning things up,” says Schon, 68, with matter-of-fact rock star charm on Zoom audio last summer, throwing in a “ha!” or two to illustrate the absurdity of the music business. “It was a mess, I have to tell you, business-wise. It was set up to be chaotic, so you would never be able to have a clue of how messed up it was.”

Schon and Cain took over as Journey’s co-managers in early 2021, splitting the standard 15% fee. (Cain shared some of his 7.5% with Pineda, according to sources.) The idea was to bring order to the business chaos. “I believe the government calls it ‘chaos merchants,’ ” Schon says, in a charming non sequitur, with a soft-spoken laugh. But Schon also created chaos of his own, sources say.

In 2019, the Schons filed a lawsuit against Live Nation, which promoted Journey’s tours, after Michaele alleged that a security employee at the band’s show at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., “violently assaulted” her and threw her into a PA system while she was taking photos near the stage. ( Video on YouTube that seems to show the incident includes no evidence of violence, but it’s blurry, distant and missing several crucial seconds of the alleged confrontation.)

The Schons fired three different law firms that represented them in that case, including one that cited an “irretrievable breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.” They also stopped responding to discovery requests and court orders, prompting an Allen County Superior Court judge to mandate a court appearance. When they didn’t show up, the judge held the Schons in contempt and dismissed the suit last March.

In early 2020, Schon and Cain filed their California Superior Court lawsuit against Valory and Smith, claiming the duo’s “coup” to take over one of the band’s business entities, Nightmare Productions Inc., “placed their own greed before the interests of the band, sowing discontent and discord, jeopardizing the future of Journey.” In a counter-complaint, Valory said Schon and Cain were “deceptive, misleading and false,” and that he and Smith tried to protect Journey from their bandmates’ attempts to trademark logos and song titles to use on merchandise for Schon’s side project, Neal Schon Journey Through Time, which toured briefly in 2019. (Valory, who is no longer in the band, did not respond to interview requests; reached on his cellphone, Smith said, “No, I won’t do a phone interview on or off the record, and if you don’t mind, I have to go.”)

Journey Hires Def Leppard Manager Amid Inter-Band Turmoil

After Schon’s enthusiastic Zoom interview last summer, he declined all further requests to comment. Skip Miller , his attorney, responded to an email list of questions by saying, “Please be advised that your email, and the questions and matters therein, are largely incorrect.” He would not specify which parts were incorrect, but said: “As the band’s founder and leader, Mr. Schon puts Journey above all else. Unlike another band member, he doesn’t think Journey should be involved in politics on any side, red, blue or whatever.” Later, he added, “For Neal Schon, it’s all about making great music for Journey’s fans.”

Journey’s blockbuster 2022 ended with Schon suing Cain, his final remaining bandmate from the “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” years. Schon v. Cain , the legal dispute over the band’s American Express account, is pending in California Superior Court, and representatives for both sides would not comment. By early December, Def Leppard manager Mike Kobayashi confirmed Journey had hired him to take over management from Schon and Cain.

By early February, sources say, Kobayashi was no longer manager.

Over Zoom last summer, Schon says he became suspicious of the people handling Journey’s affairs before he started doing it himself. At one point — he won’t give the date or context — he asked band accountants how many fans attended each amphitheater show he played. “You did OK,” came the response, according to Schon. “You didn’t do as well as two years ago, when you had 19,000. You had 18,500, or 17,000.” His conclusion: The band’s representatives were lowballing him.

So, Schon says, “I would pay guys in the parking lot and say, ‘How many cars are here tonight?’ And they’d say ‘Dude, they’re plus-five miles out’ — that means about 23,000. With a band like Journey, that has hits like Journey has, you can’t just try to squash them down in a box and make them believe that they’re no longer big.”

During Journey’s business purge of the last few years, one of the managers Schon fired was Irving Azoff , the uber-manager who represents the Eagles , John Mayer , Jon Bon Jovi , Gwen Stefani and others. Azoff wouldn’t comment for this story, but in his lawsuit against Live Nation, Schon says he developed a “medical condition” and criticizes Azoff for nixing “continued off-duty law enforcement protection” for the Schons during the band’s tour. In exchange for forgoing personal security, Azoff agreed to provide the Schons with private-jet transportation, according to the lawsuit. (Neither Azoff nor Baruck — Azoff’s former college roommate, who worked at his management company for years — would comment.)

Azoff’s team, Schon says on Zoom, “ended up doing some great things,” but frustratingly kept the band in amphitheaters when he insisted to managers for years that Journey should be headlining arenas. “What I did was follow my gut instinct, and it was just time to move on,” he says. “We tried Q Prime for a second, and it seemed like it was going to be alright, but, you know, politics come into play.” (A rep for Q Prime declined to discuss Journey.)

By then, Schon thought, “We don’t need these guys, man,” as he remembers telling Cain. “I swear to God, I’m mostly doing everything, anyway.”

Over the last few years, as Schon and Cain managed Journey, they had help from CAA agent Jeff Frasco and AEG Live CEO Jay Marciano . (Neither would comment for this story.) On Zoom, Schon lists Journey’s switch from sheds to arenas as his top accomplishment as manager, and some in the concert business agree. “It’s a much bigger statement for a band to headline an arena than a single day at an amphitheater,” says New York promoter John Scher , who booked the band in the ’80s. “Could they be doing better with a different manager? They seem to be doing OK now.”

Schon’s other business priority is Journey trademarks. He says he was amazed to learn that since 1973, Journey hadn’t trademarked its name or logo, despite selling T-shirts for years at venues, as well as retailers from Walmart to Neiman Marcus. After the Schons realized this, in 2019, Neal and Cain registered 20 of the band’s song titles with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for use on T-shirts, caps and hoodies. (Since Journey’s songs and the recordings are already protected by copyright, this would only cover the song titles for use on merchandise.)

“I’d introduce myself to the CEO and I’d say, ‘I’m Neal Schon, the founding member of Journey, and I now own the trademark for all Journey material. And you guys have kind of gotten yourself in a weird position here, because you’ve been selling tons of Journey merchandise for decades, and we’re seeing peanuts, and I’d like to have an electronic audit,’ ” Schon recalls. “Then a legal team would get on the phone with myself and my wife and they’d say, ‘Well, you know, we weren’t really selling it under the name Journey.’ And I’d go, ‘Well, that’s kind of laughable. I have boxes and cases of stuff in my living room and it’s just from your store and it all says Journey on it.’ ” (A Walmart spokesperson said the company was “not aware of any unlicensed Journey-branded products being sold by Walmart.” A Neiman Marcus spokesperson said he would “need to look into” Schon’s claims, then didn’t respond to follow-up inquiries.)

In fact, the Journey “mark” has been the subject of many years of negotiation among past and present band members. In 1985, the band’s company Nightmare Productions licensed it to a separate partnership, Elmo Partners — Perry, Schon and Cain — according to the complaint in Schon v. Valory .

Ex-Journey Frontman Steve Perry Files to Block Former Bandmates’ Song Title Trademarks

In a September filing to cancel the trademarks with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office’s trial and appeal board, Perry declared that Schon and Cain sold the rights to the songs they co-wrote and once owned. As of 2019, according to Merck Mercuriadis , CEO and managing partner of U.K. song-investment firm Hipgnosis, his company owns all recording royalties and publishing that previously belonged to Schon, Cain, Valory, Smith and Herbie Herbert , an early longtime manager who died in 2021. Perry argued that Schon and Cain no longer retained the standing to trademark the songs. Plus, the trio’s 1985 Elmo agreement requires “unanimous agreement and consent” among Schon, Cain and Perry to use a trademarked song for T-shirts or other products.

In his filing to cancel the Schon-Cain song trademark action, which cost him $12,000 in fees, Perry accused the duo of making knowingly “false or misleading” statements. In January, Perry abruptly dropped the motion to cancel the trademarks. Schon used the occasion to rip his current bandmate — Cain — on Twitter: “So much for [Cain] trying to throw me under the bus as he claimed I was blatantly trying to rip off [Perry] while collecting the checks for the very diligent work my wife and I did to protect our Merch.”

While federal trademark registration can be important, Journey already had other ways to assert its rights to logos or song titles associated with the band that appear on merchandise. The band could have protected its holdings through “common-law rights,” says Michael N. Cohen , a Beverly Hills, Calif., an intellectual-property lawyer who specializes in trademarks and represents classic rock bands: “Just by virtue of using the mark, you’ve acquired some degree of rights, but those rights are limited.” In other words, Journey has always had the right to make merchandise deals — just by being Journey.

With Kobayashi gone, Schon seems to have taken over again as manager — with the help of Michaele, whom he recently praised on Instagram for serving as the band’s road manager in 2022, even though the band employed experienced road managers throughout the tour. (Kobayashi didn’t respond to requests for comment.)

By February, Journey may have also lost its bank, and with it the ability to easily pay employees and cover expenses on the road. (A representative from City National declined to comment.) As manager, though, Schon understands an important thing about Journey: If the band puts out a new album every now and then — like last year’s Freedom , which didn’t do nearly as well as its classic ’80s material — the arena dates will keep rolling in.

“Let’s be honest: There’s no new Journey fans,” says Brock Jones , a veteran Nashville and Philadelphia promoter and consultant. “It’s about playing the right markets, playing the right rooms, pricing the right tickets and making sure the package is correct.”

At the Choctaw Grand Theatre, before boisterous fans singing along to every “na-na,” Cain manned his red piano at stage right, while Schon soloed constantly at stage left. After the finale, “Any Way You Want It,” the six band members lined up and group-hugged and fist-bumped, happy to perform again after several months off for the holidays. But Cain and Schon stood at opposite ends of the line. They did not hug each other. They did not bump fists with each other. Finally, Schon bounded off-stage — by himself.

Additional reporting by Bill Donahue.

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Journey Should Probably Go Their Separate Ways

Maybe, just sometimes, not believing in things any longer can be the best idea. Journey have reached an unbelievably dysfunctional point of their lineage as a band, Billboard reports , which stems from a slow burn of issues ranging from the legal to the petty. The main source of strife is allegedly coming from founding member Neal Schon and longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain, both of whom are still actively touring with the band as of this month. According to Billboard, the duo’s mutual animosity began during Donald Trump’s presidency, when Cain, who is married to Trump’s “spiritual adviser,” performed a private set at Mar-a-Lago — a move that Schon declared in a cease-and-desist letter to be “deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach.” In 2021, Schon went on to sue Cain for “improperly” not allowing him access to the band’s American Express credit card; Cain fired back in January 2022, saying Schon had a pathological spending problem and charged $1 million of personal expenses for himself and his wife, a former Real Housewives of D.C. star who crashed a White House state dinner in 2009. Schon v. Cain is now currently pending in a California court.

The duo’s Journey infighting crescendoed that same year during an arena tour. Schon allegedly hired off-duty police officers to guard his dressing room during performances and, at one tour stop, had an assistant snoop around Cain’s room. Cain caught the assistant and retaliated by hiring off-duty police officers as his own guards. “That’s just the level of pettiness and control and conspiracy they came to believe in,” a source explained.

In an interview with Vulture last year, Schon briefly discussed a Journey legal issue that related to the ongoing saga of gaining control of the band’s official trademark. “We’ve never owned our own trademark. All these years, many people lied to us. My wife and I finally got to the bottom of it after investigating for years,” he said . “We were fought hard by everybody, but we managed to obtain the trademark.” A silver lining to the problem, Schon said, was that it allowed him to open up a discourse with former member Steve Perry, who left the band in the mid-’90s. “We’re talking and getting to know each other again,” he told us, “though not trying to get together musically again, but he’s learning who I am now, through a portion of our business that I’m kind of controlling now.” But is he doing it … faithfully?

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Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain (both centre), pictured at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Journey bandmates in legal fight over performance for Donald Trump

Guitarist Neal Schon issues cease-and-desist order to keyboardist Jonathan Cain over performance of Don’t Stop Believin’ at Mar-a-Lago

A member of the rock band Journey has served a fellow bandmate with a cease-and-desist order for performing their hit Don’t Stop Believin’ with several high-profile Republicans for Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month, calling the performance “harmful” to the band.

Keyboardist Jonathan Cain, guitarist Neal Schon and singer Steve Perry co-wrote the 1981 song, which returned to public consciousness 30 years later when it was used in the final episode of The Sopranos.

Cain, 71, is a member of Trump’s inner circle because his wife, the televangelist Paula White-Cain, is the former US president’s spiritual advisor.

In November, Cain performed Don’t Stop Believin’ with Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Kari Lake for Trump at his Florida resort. On Wednesday, it was revealed by Variety that Schon’s attorney had issued a cease-and-desist letter to Cain over the performance.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” along with Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain at a recent event with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/dvSp1z62BX — PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) November 23, 2022

In the letter, Schon’s attorney noted: “Although Mr Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not, and should not be, political.

“Mr Cain’s unauthorised affiliation of Journey with the politics of Donald Trump has the band’s fans up in arms, as is demonstrated by a sample of the attached emails and Twitter comments. This has caused, and continues to cause, irreparable harm to the Journey brand, its fan base and earning potential, especially in light of the forthcoming tour.

“Mr Cain has no right to use Journey for politics … he should not be capitalising on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band,” the letter continued, calling the performance a “harmful use of the brand”.

The letter also states that Schon’s move does not intend to “further add to the animosity that is currently plaguing the band and the relationship between Mr Schon and Mr Cain”.

The two men are currently fighting over access to the band’s finances, with Schon’s lawyers claiming last month that he had been denied access to the band’s financial records and use of its American Express card . Cain’s lawyers responded by alleging Schon was denied access to the card after he used it on “improper personal expenses” worth more than US$1m.

Schon has not responded to Cain’s counterclaim, writing that he will “be following my attorney’s advice and not speak until we are in court where I’ll not have a problem at all. It is what it is.”

The Guardian has contacted Cain about the cease-and-desist. In response to the claims, a spokesman for Cain told Variety on Wednesday: “Schon is just frustrated that he keeps losing in court and is now falsely claiming the song has been used at political rallies.”

Schon and Perry have previously voiced their displeasure over Don’t Stop Believin’ being played at Trump’s campaign rallies, joining a long list of individuals and bands who have spoken out against their music being used by Trump that includes Neil Young , REM, Queen, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Tom Petty and the widow of Luciano Pavarotti,

In 2017, Schon posted several furious tweets after three members of the group visited the White House and posed for pictures with the then-president.

“I’ve stated how I felt about mixing religion and politics and how our music is not of one religion — Democratic or Republican. This is and has been an issue with myself, Mr Cain and his wife,” Schon wrote in a message he later deleted.

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How Did Journey Survive Their 50th Anniversary Tour?

Even the most ardent Journey fan must have been a little surprised when the band insisted their 50th anniversary tour would go ahead amid a bitter legal fight between its two main stars.

Guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain are still set to face off in a courtroom over a dispute stemming from millions of dollars being charged to a company credit card. Both have wound up making personal comments against the other. And while most musicians will fall back on a line like “the show must go on,” there’s got to be a breaking point sooner or later.

And yet, as Schon proudly posted on social media last week after the tour's last stop, “Journey very successfully just finished our 40 date tour. Onward and upward!” As if that wasn’t enough, he added: “Great new dates coming and next year is going to be amazing! Starting with arenas again then stadiums.” That followed his assertion earlier in April that “things are coming together friends,” when he posted a picture that showed he and Cain nearly – but not quite – within handshaking distance of each other during a show.

That was after things had appeared to fall further apart before the show hit the road. Schon had wanted former member Gregg Rolie to come on tour with them, to place greater emphasis on the band’s five-decade legacy. That resulted in even more badmouthing from the opposing camps, and led singer Arnel Pineda to let some of his exasperation out. “I’m with the band to sing the legacy,” he tweeted. “if some of them are tired of me being with them, with all means they can fire me anytime.”

Another former member – ex-vocalist Jeff Scott Soto – replied to Pineda, telling him: “You have nothing [and] no one to answer to, brother; you’re a kind, gentle and huge heart with a huge talent to match… Stay the course, tour course. I’m proud to be your friend.”

Drummer Dean Castronovo , who recently returned to the band after being dismissed in 2015, told UCR that as even though he wanted to broker a solution between Schon and Cain, it wasn’t possible. “I love both those guys," he recently told UCR. “[I]t’s hard for me to see the turmoil, ‘cause they’re like brothers to me. It breaks my heart to see this, but, you know, this is stuff they just have to work out, as much as I want to be a peacemaker. But I realize it’s gonna take a miracle from God to fix this, so I’m just waiting for God to fix this. It's like, ‘I just pray you work everything out, ‘cause this thing is beautiful and I’d love to end my career with you guys.’”

In the meantime, he added, the show must indeed go on. “[W]e’re professionals,” he argued. “The bottom line is the music is bigger than this BS. That’s the beauty of it. There can be all the squabbling and all the fighting and all the crud that goes along with it — and I know 90 percent of the bands out there have that. Probably all of them have that; they just don't make it public. But the music is bigger than all of that. People look up and go, ‘I don't care if they hate each other.’ The songs are iconic, and they love ‘em.”

Castronovo did hint that it wasn’t so easy to coexist backstage. “We’ve got to go out there and play the best we can, and we do,” he argued. “We leave it at the door and we go up and play and it’s a beautiful two-hour show… then everybody just kind of goes their own way.” He added: “And it’s working. It really is.”

In his own recent interview with UCR , Cain offered another reason to keep going. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I was going to be able to create this kind of lasting longevity when it comes to writing,” he said, adding that he was most proud of the material he’d co-written with ex-vocalist Steve Perry. “[W]e were able to craft these songs with Neal that mean so much to so many people. That’s pretty overwhelming to think about.”

The band’s catalog arguably makes a louder statement than some of the personnel issues over the years. “It’s special when you become a soundtrack of people’s lives, and they bring their kids and say, ‘This is what I listen to when I was a kid,’” Cain said, before offering another insight into how he managed to hit the stage and deliver the goods amid undeniable tension. “I never looked over my shoulder, really,” he explained. “I’d say my father was my mentor – and that was his advice: never look back. So I didn’t, and it’s served me well.”

It seems obvious that the band will continue, but what form it may take remains uncertain. Rolie – whose perspective is interesting as a longtime former member who wound up playing a brief guest-star role on the tour – argued : “Journey has become this runaway freight train with no brakes. People come in and out; there have been all these changes, but Journey keeps going. It just keeps going and going. I'm proud to have been a part of building something like this that has reached millions of people and continues to do so.”

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Jonathan Cain Confirms He Will Tour With Journey Despite Lawsuit

By Andrew Magnotta @AndrewMagnotta

January 11, 2023

Jonathan Cain is for at least the second time in six years dispelling rumors that Journey is breaking up due to a dispute between himself and Neal Schon .

Cain confirmed on Tuesday that he will indeed be with the band next month when it launches its 2023 'Freedom' tour, celebrating Journey's 50th anniversary.

The Journey keyboardist since 1980 shared a photo Tuesday of himself and wife, Paula White-Cain , on a ski trip in Colorado.

"I feel very grateful and blessed to share this time on the slopes with my Baby before hitting the road with Journey," Cain wrote.

Schon filed a lawsuit against Cain last fall in a dispute over the band's finances. The guitarist and Journey founder Schon has repeatedly taken swipes at Cain via social media, and last week revealed that original Journey keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie would be joining the band for its anniversary tour.

While Rolie's pending return cause some uncertainly among fans, it appears all three musicians plan to coexist on the tour, which launches February 4, following a two-night residency in Oklahoma.

Despite Schon's differences with Cain over the years, he has yet to suggest the keyboardist was going anywhere. (Schon and Cain are equal partners in Journey.)

Asked recently by one fan how he and Cain could go about the Journey tour amid their legal feud, Schon answered that both he and Cain would "Channel the great music. Honor it," as they have in the past.

Schon and Cain feuded publicly circa 2017, but eventually reconciled and wrote their 2021 studio album, Freedom , together. Both musicians have noted in the past that their personal and political differences go away when they are focused on music .

Go here for all the Journey live dates .

I feel very grateful and blessed to share this time on the slopes with my Baby before hitting the road with Journey❤️ #grateful #blessed #mountains #love #ski Posted by Jonathan Cain on Tuesday, January 10, 2023

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Jonathan Cain Says He Will Tour With Journey in 2023 Amid Legal Dispute With Neal Schon

Journey will be taking part in their 50th anniversary tour this year, but there's still plenty of intrigue surrounding who will actually be part of the trek. Though guitarist Neal Schon recently hinted that fans would be seeing former keyboardist Gregg Rolie during the tour, the group's longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain revealed in a social media post that he's enjoying some time on the ski slopes before "hitting the road with Journey."

Schon and Cain, the two longest tenured members currently in Journey who both have a stake in the band's business, have been publicly at odds in recent months, with Schon filing legal action against Cain over alleged denied access to the band's financial records.

Back in October, it was announced that Journey would be hitting the road in 2023 with Toto as part of their 50th anniversary tour. Then, a month later, news of Schon's lawsuit against Cain was revealed. The guitarist claimed that he had been denied access to the band's financial records and that Cain had set up an American Express card under the group's name without telling him and that "millions of Journey funds had flowed through it."

Cain countered publicly that Schon's " reckless spending " was at the issue of their dispute, and that he always had access to the financial records but was seeking an extension of his spending limits.

Soon after, Schon began teasing the possibility of Gregg Rolie's return to the band for their 50th anniversary tour. Rolie plays keyboards and preceded Cain in the group. Then, just last week, while teasing the upcoming tour, Schon confirmed to a fan about the Rolie return rumors, " You'll be seeing him ."

Also of note amongst the band's in-fighting is that Schon filed a cease-and-desist against Cain after the keyboardist took part in a sing-along of "Don't Stop Believin'" with several right wing politicians at an event at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Cain's wife, televangelist Paula White-Cain is Trump's former spiritual advisor. Schon has also accused White-Cain of unlawfully accessing the band's bank account , claiming that her "signature has appeared on purported Journey-related bank documents since at least July 2020."

In Jonathan Cain's new social media post, he is posing with his wife on the ski slopes, commenting, "I feel very grateful and blessed to share this time on the slopes with my Baby before hitting the road with Journey," adding hashtags for #grateful #blessed #mountains #love and #ski.

In other Journey news, the band's former frontman Steve Perry recently dropped a lawsuit he had filed against Schon and Cain over song trademarks being used in the band's merchandising. Perry filed the suit back in September of last year. Speaking about Perry's decision to withdraw the suit, Schon initially tweeted out that Cain's claim he was " blatantly trying to rip off SP " were now set to rest. He later added in a separate tweet , "No more lawsuit with Steve. Time to talk."

Journey's upcoming tour gets underway Jan. 27 and 28 in Durant, Oklahoma. You can get tickets for Journey's upcoming tour here .

12 Infamous Rock + Metal Legal Battles

Report: Two Remaining 1980s-Era Members of Journey Hire Bodyguards to Protect Them From Each Other

The SF-founded band Journey is on tour again, but the two remaining 1980s members Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain are suing each other while on tour, and each has allegedly hired bodyguards to keep the other out of their dressing rooms.

The rock band Journey was founded in San Francisco in 1973, and still has a special place in this city’s heart, especially among SF Giants fans . And you may have seen the 2013 documentary Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey , which tells the truly uplifting tale of their permanent Steve Perry replacement Arnel Pineda , whom they plucked from obscurity and homelessness, and whose onstage energy reinvigorated the band’s touring success.

That story had a happy ending, but it was not a happy ending in 2021, when founding member Neal Schon and 1980 (pre-"Don’t Stop Believin’") addition Jonathan Cain fired the remaining original members out of the band via a lawsuit . A yet-again remade version of Journey, with Schon and Cain still in the band (ages 69 and 73, respectively) is currently on tour again.

Journey is fighting over a member's Mar-a-Lago performance, suing over the group's Amex account, and hiring and firing managers. But... it's still filling arenas. https://t.co/4vPx8vEw0t — billboard pro (@billboardpro) March 2, 2023

But your wheel in the sky will be spinning over a new Billboard exposé on the absolutely bonkers Journey infighting between the remaining 1980s-era members Schon and Cain. According to Billboard, the guitarist Schon and keyboard player Cain are currently suing each other while the band is still on tour, are engaged in a separate legal battle over whether "Don’t Stop Believin’” can be performed at Trump rallies , and both have hired bodyguards to keep the other out of their dressing room.

Don't miss this evening at City of Destiny- I HAVE A WORD FOR YOU! Midweek Bible Study 7pm ET, 505 E. McCormick Rd Apopka, FL 32703 streaming LIVE at: https://t.co/vOXfGJ4Pwl & FB #Jesus #BibleStudy #church #orlando #Apopka #CityOfDestiny pic.twitter.com/ZnZB8wMogO — Paula White-Cain (@Paula_White) March 8, 2023

And yes, it may feel like a cheap shot to go after spouses, but here’s a pair of factoids that tell you about the current mindframe of Journey’s most tenured members. Cain is now married to televangelist Paula White, who served as Donald Trump’s “spiritual adviser.” Not to be out-batshitted, Schon’s wife is the 2009 White House gate-crasher and The Real Housewives of D.C. veteran Michaele Schon. (Their 2013 SF wedding was carried on pay-per-view, and the newlyweds ended up suing the city over it.)

In fact, Schon has been on an incredibly litigious kick for years, and fired their manager to make himself manager in 2021. “By the time Schon started managing Journey, he and Michaele had spent six years scrutinizing trademarks and merchandise and ticket sales,” Billboard reports. “And they came to one conclusion: Journey was getting screwed. That meant everyone had to go, so Schon fired or sued managers, accountants, bandmates and promoters, some of whom had worked with the group for decades.”

Which brings us to the current lawsuit between the two Journey members. That lawsuit is essentially a dispute over who gets access to the band’s American Express card . As that suit made its way through the courts, Billboard reports that Schon “stationed two off-duty police officers outside his dressing room,” and “at a Florida show last spring, Schon and his wife, Michaele, sent an assistant into keyboardist Jonathan Cain’s dressing room to snoop around.”

“Cain caught the assistant red-handed, and then hired an off-duty officer to guard his own dressing room,” per Billboard.

And there is the Trump issue. Cain apparently played "Don’t Stop Believin" for Trump at a Mar-a-Lago event, infuriating Schon. As Billboard reports, Cain "also appeared at a Las Vegas 'Evangelicals for Trump' event three months before the 2020 presidential election. In December, Schon sent a cease-and-desist letter that called Cain’s Mar-a-Lago performance 'deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach.'"

Does any of this make you want to see Journey’s current “Freedom” tour? Sorry, they’re not playing San Francisco, or anywhere in the Bay Area. The closest tour date to here is on April 19, some 85 miles away at the Stockton Arena .

Related: City Settles With Journey Guitarist Who Sued Over Cost Of 'Royal, Sexy, Magic' Wedding At Palace Of Fine Arts [SFist]

Image: View of American Rock musicians Neal Schon (left) and Jonathan Cain, both of the group Journey, during an interview on MTV at Teletronic Studios, New York, New York, April 20, 1983. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)

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Journey’s Jonathan Cain Talks Band Feud: ‘Let’s Hit Reset’

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

Just a few months after they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, Journey went into complete meltdown mode. The trouble began near the end of their summer tour when guitarist Neal Schon began unloading on keyboardist Jonathan Cain via Twitter and a series of interviews. He was furious that Cain took members of the group to the White House and posed for photos with Donald Trump (Cain’s wife, Paula White, is the president’s spiritual advisor ). He was also upset that Cain, in his view, minimized his contributions to key songs like “Don’t Stop Believin'” and that he was using the band’s platform to share his born-again Christian views with the fan base.

“I’ve stated how I felt about mixing religion and politics and how our music is not of one religion – Democratic or Republican,” Schon wrote on Instagram. “This is and has been an issue with myself Mr. Cain and his now wife, since he married. I’ve had to fight this whole time to protect the brand I built with Steve Perry, way before Gregg [Rolie] and I picked Cain to replace himself when he wanted to retire from the road back then. Well frankly, I’m tired of having to defend all by my self. [ Journey bassist] Ross [Valory] is no help.”

For weeks on end, Schon slammed Cain and Journey’s management via the Internet. It was hard to imagine how that group could continue in the light of such a nasty public spat, and in December, when Schon announced a special charity show with former members of the group , it seemed like he was looking for an exit strategy. But last month, Journey announced a co-headlining tour with Def Leppard that will keep them on the road for much of the summer without any lineup changes.

Jonathan Cain said very little about the Schon feud while it was raging, but when he came into the Rolling Stone office to chat about his upcoming memoir Don’t Stop Believin’ (much more on that closer to its May 1st release date), we asked him about the whole situation.

What’s the status of your relationship with Neal? Are you on speaking terms? At this point, I’ll see him at rehearsals for the tour. That’s the way we always operate. I move forward. I don’t live in the Bay Area anymore. I have a life with Paula in Florida. He’s got a life with [his wife] Michaele in San Rafael. We meet when we get on the road.

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In your estimation, what caused him to get so angry with you? You’d have to ask him. I can’t speak for him. It was just something that happened. We’ve had a tremendous relationship for 38 years. Any relationship that goes on that long, there’s bound to be bumps in the road. But I think the band and our fans are bigger than all of this stuff. When you read my book, you’ll see the mountains and the struggles that we had to overcome together. There were insurmountable situations where we were like, “How are we going to get out of this one?” Neal and I brought this thing, along with the rest of the guys, back to where it belonged. I’ll always be grateful for that. We’re brothers. I’m proud of that.

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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JOURNEY Announces 'Freedom Tour 2023' With Very Special Guest TOTO

One of the most legendary rock bands of all time, JOURNEY has announced the continuation of their highly successful tour with the 50th-anniversary celebration "Freedom Tour 2023" featuring very special guest TOTO . JOURNEY , diamond-selling Rock And 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" and "Lights" .

Presented by AEG Presents , JOURNEY "Freedom Tour 2023" begins February 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, making stops in Austin, Montreal, Memphis and more before wrapping April 25 at the brand new Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California. The 2023 run includes rescheduled dates in Washington D.C., Hartford, Toronto and Quebec that were postponed earlier this year due to COVID-19.

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

Says 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. 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."

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 04 - Allentown, PA - PPL Center February 05 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena February 08 - 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 01 - Washington, DC - Capital One Arena * March 03 - State College, PA - Bryce Jordan Center March 04 - Hartford, CT - XL Center * March 08 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre March 09 - 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 01 - Memphis, TN - FedExForum April 04 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center April 07 - Springfield, MO - Great Southern Bank Arena April 08 - 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

JOURNEY and TOTO previously joined forces for an early 2022 U.S. arena tour.

JOURNEY is continuing to promote its latest album, "Freedom" , which was released in July via BMG . The LP debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Rock chart.

The members of JOURNEY celebrated the album's release by kicking off a residency featuring special symphony orchestra performances at the new, state-of-the-art Resorts World Casino in Las Vegas.

As JOURNEY '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 Schon , along with longtime keyboard player and primary lyricist Cain and Pineda , one more member was recruited for the LP — bassist extraordinaire Randy Jackson , who had played on JOURNEY 's 1986 album "Raised On Radio" .

Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, JOURNEY has 25 gold and platinum albums, with total sales adding up to over 100 million albums worldwide, earning the band two Diamond Awards with a third on the way for the "Frontiers" album. JOURNEY has also surpassed one billion streams on Spotify .

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Journey announces 50th anniversary freedom tour 2023.

Posted by Buddy Iahn | Oct 17, 2022

Group will be joined by Toto

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 on all dates. Journey, the 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 4th in Allentown, PA – making stops in Austin, Montreal, Memphis and more – before wrapping April 25th 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.

“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.”

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.”

Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets for the US dates beginning Tuesday, October 18th at 10 am local time until Thursday, October 20th at 10 pm local time through Citi Entertainment, excluding Canada, Washington DC and Hartford shows. 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 21st at 10 am local time via Ticketmaster and Journey’s website .

Journey features Schon on lead guitar, Jonathan Cain on keyboards and backing vocals, Arnel Pineda on lead vocals, Jason Derlatka on keyboards and vocals, Deen Castronovo on drums and vocals and Todd Jensen on bass.

Journey & Toto Freedom 2023 Tour Dates:

Feb 4 – Allentown, PA @ PPL Center Feb 5 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena Feb 8 – Savannah, GA @ Enmarket Arena Feb 10 – Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena Feb 11 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum Feb 14 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena Feb 17 – Knoxville, TN @ Thompson-Boling Arena Feb 19 – Bossier City, LA @ Brookshire Grocery Arena Feb 22 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center Feb 23 – Lafayette, LA @ Cajundome Feb 26 – Jacksonville, FL @ Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena Mar 1 – Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena Mar 3 – State College, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center Mar 4 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center Mar 8 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre Mar 9 – Quebec, QC @ Videotron Centre Mar 12 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena Mar 13 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre Mar 16 – Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center Mar 17 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall Mar 20 – Champaign, IL @ State Farm Center Mar 21 – Moline, IL @ Vibrant Arena at The MARK Mar 24 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Mar 25 – Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena Mar 28 – Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena Mar 31 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center Apr 1 – Memphis, TN @ FedExForum Apr 4 – San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center Apr 7 – Springfield, MO @ Great Southern Bank Arena Apr 8 – Wichita, KS @ INTRUST Bank Arena Apr 11 – Casper, WY @ Ford Wyoming Center Apr 13 – Boise, ID @ ExtraMile Arena Apr 14 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena Apr 17 – Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Arena Apr 19 – Stockton, CA @ Stockton Arena Apr 22 – Bakersfield, CA @ Mechanics Bank Arena Apr 23 – Fresno, CA @ SaveMart Center Apr 25 – Palm Springs, CA @ Acrisure Arena

About The Author

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: [email protected]

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Journey – The Brilliant Band Members, Stories & Struggles

The best part was watching Journey grow into this monster. The band was huge, playing these enormous gigs – Neal Schon

Key Takeaways From the History of Journey Band

Table of Contents

Journey’s success and fame can be attributed to their journey of growth, evolving from a jazz-heavy progressive rock fusion band to a mainstream rock sensation.
Guitarist Neal Schon, a founding member, played a crucial role in the band’s inception and continued to be a driving force throughout their career.
The addition of Steve Perry as lead vocalist brought commercial success to Journey, with albums like “Infinity” and “Escape” achieving significant chart positions and producing hit singles like “Wheel in the Sky” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
The band faced challenges and conflicts, resulting in significant lineup changes, a temporary hiatus and legal disputes. But, they managed to reconcile and continue their musical journey with new releases and a dedicated fan base.
The band’s legacy is a reminder that success in the music industry often comes with personal and financial sacrifices, but their passion for music has kept them going, even in the face of challenges.

In The Road Not Taken , Robert Frost popularised the idea that the choices that an individual makes and the path that they choose to follow determines who they will eventually become and whether they’ll fall by the wayside of fate, or end up changing the world.

Neal Schon, guitarist extraordinaire and sole remaining original member of Journey, was according to Bobby Whitlock who first met him in 1970, and played with him briefly when he jammed with Derek And The Dominoes, always going to succeed thanks to his incredible talent and drive.

Even though Schon didn’t end up joining Eric Clapton and Whitlock in their short-lived supergroup, he did impress another guitar legend enough for him to take the teenage virtuoso under his wing and give him his first high-profile, paying job as a guitarist.

That musician was Carlos Satana who believed in the then seventeen-year-old Schon enough to ask him to become a full-time member of his band.

What does Santana have to do with Journey, one of the world’s biggest-selling and most famous hard rock bands?

Well, without the former the latter wouldn’t exist, and if Carlos hadn’t brought Schon into the fold, the band that would go on to sell eighty million records over the course of their, so far forty-eight-year career might not have followed the path that they found themselves on.

From Caravanserai To Journey

Schon stayed with Santana for two years and was part of the line-up that recorded Santana III and Caravanserai and after leaving the band at just 19 years old, found himself teaming up with a fellow Santana veteran, Greg Rolle under the guidance of Herbie Herbert.

A self-proclaimed flower child and Grateful Dead fanatic, Herbert was also Santana’s manager, and by default became Rolle and Schon’s manager when they left the band and the foundation on which he was planning to build his next project, a group of talented musicians who could serve as the backing band for any established artist in San Francisco who needed or required their services.

The Golden State Rhythm Section, which also included former Frumious Bandersnatch members Ross Valory and George Tickner and Tubes drummer Charles “Prairie” Prince was, on paper at least, a great idea.

The musicians all had a flawless pedigree, and when they played together they gelled instantly, the problem with the band was the concept. After they played their first two shows, The Golden State Rhythm Section realized that the idea of being a backing band just didn’t work for them and that they wanted to stretch their creative wings and fly.

And the name? That wasn’t working for them either but by the end of their first show in Hawaii, and after an abortive radio show contest to find them a new name was swiftly brushed under the carpet and forgotten, the solution to their moniker problem appeared out of the ether when one of their roadies suggested that they call themselves Journey .

Journeying To Next

Someone up there must have liked what they heard, as the newly named Journey’s debut mainland show was at a sold-out Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco in front of ten thousand people on New Year’s Eve, 1973.

From there, they jumped straight on a plane and flew back to Hawaii to play another gig, but before they returned to the Bay Area to play a showcase gig for Columbia Records, Prairie Prince left and returned to the Tubes and was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar.

That’s right, THE Aynsley Dunbar from The Mothers Of Invention and David Bowie’s band. As we’ve already said, somebody up there must have really, really liked what Journey was doing.

Whoever it was up there that had taken a shine to the embryonic Journey wasn’t their only fan, Columbia Records liked what they heard too, and in November 1974, the American rock band formed together in the studio to record their debut album (also called Journey ) which was released in June 1975.

It entered the Billboard Chart at one hundred and thirty-eight, which was more than a little impressive, and while the direction of the debut bore little resemblance to the band that they would eventually become less than half a decade later, it did ensure that Journey became a fixture on the map that the rock hungry audiences of America regularly looked to for direction.

The band then took their jazz-heavy progressive rock fusion out on the road to play to anyone and everyone they could to promote their debut to, and after the tour, George Tickner left as the touring schedule that the band had undertaken was just a little too much for him.

Their hard work began to pay off though, as Journey’s sophomore album, Look Into The Future which was released in January 1976, entered the Billboard Top One Hundred shortly after it hit the record shop racks. Granted, it entered the chart at Number One Hundred, but it did make the cut.

While the band was happy with their sure but steady progress, their label wasn’t quite as thrilled.

When Journey recorded their third album, Next in 1977 they tempered their sound and made it a little more commercial in order to try and appeal to a broader audience, but even with a slightly more melodic approach, when it was released, Next entered the chart at Number Eighty-Five, and like it’s predecessors, sales began to fall after the initial week of release.

It seemed as though Journey had reached the height of their fame , and despite the band being “happy” with where they were, Columbia Records were seriously beginning to reconsider their investment. Something had to change, and it had to change fast if Journey wanted to stay with their, still relatively new, label.

The Evolution Of Journey

Even Schon, who wrote most of the band’s early material, later admitted that he thought that their first three records were self-indulgent and should have been more focused than they were.

In an effort to appease their label and increase their record sales, Journey asked singer Robert Fleischman to join the band, reigned in some of their wilder musical impulses, and softened their sound even further. Adopting a similar approach to bands like the, at the time, wildly popular Boston they hit the road with Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and ELP.

But everyone in the Journey camp wasn’t enamoured with Fleischman, and following a series of disagreements with Herbie Herbert, the singer was replaced by Steve Perry who Journey’s manager had met after hearing a demo by Alien Project, Perry’s old band.

Perry joined the band just in time to record their fourth album, Infinity with them, which was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who had flown in after working with Queen .

It was a vastly different album for the band, but the addition of Perry coupled with their new direction and having Baker at the helm paid dividends, and Infinity entered the Billboard Chart at Number Twenty-One in January 1978 and gave the band their first hit single, Wheel In The Sky, which entered the Billboard Hot One Hundred and eventually climbed to Number Fifty-Six.

It was enough to convince the band that their new musical direction was the right one to pursue and more than enough to persuade Columbia Records to keep them around.

Change isn’t always easy, and Aynsley Dunbar wasn’t as keen on Journey’s new direction as the rest of his bandmates were, and following an awkward and difficult tour to promote Infinity , he was sacked by Herbert and replaced by former Montrose drummer Stevie Smith.

With Dunbar firmly in their rearview mirror, Journey with Smith in tow recorded their fifth album, Evolution in 1978 and released it in March 1979. It did slightly better than Infinity reaching Number Twenty in the Billboard Chart, but it did something that its forerunner didn’t. It gave Journey their first Top Twenty hit.

Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ climbed to Number Sixteen and made sure that every rock fan with a radio in America knew who Journey was. They weren’t just a name on the map anymore, they were a rock and roll destination that an entirely new generation of fans decided to pack their bags and head directly toward for an extended vacation.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

The Evolution tour was a revelation for the band and was so successful that it saw them having to increase the size of the stage show and the venues that they were used to playing. It also added roughly five million dollars to the band’s bank balance, which just confirmed their status, both to the band and their label, as bonafide rock stars.

By the time they recorded their sixth album, Departure, Journey was firing on all cylinders, and armed with 19 songs they embarked on a mission to solidify and magnify their success.

They succeeded and the resultant twelve-song record (the seven “weakest” numbers were dropped during the final mix) gave the band their first top ten album and their first top ten hit, as the lead single Anyway You Want It reached number eight in the Billboard Hot One Hundred.

It was also the last Journey record that founding member Greg Rolle would play on, as he left the band shortly after the end of the Departure tour, to spend more time with his family and work on his own solo career.

But Rolle didn’t leave Journey high and dry, as he pointed them in the direction of the man he thought should replace him, and the individual who would help to shape the future sound of the band, Jonathan Cain.

Escaping To The Frontier

With Cain onboard, Journey’s meteoric rise to the upper echelons of rock and roll superstardom continued unabated, and their next record Escape was their most successful to date and remains a firm fan favorite.

Critically acclaimed and voted the best AOR (Album Oriented Rock) album of all time by the readers of British Heavy Metal Bible Kerrang! In 1988, Escape was Journey’s first album to soar straight to the top of the album charts when it was released in July 1981.

It also gave Journey four top ten singles, Still They Ride On, Open Arms, Who’s Crying Now, and arguably the song that the band will be remembered for long after they and every single one of their first, second and third generation of fans are long gone, Don’t Stop Believin’.

Described as being the perfect rock anthem by music critic Mike DeGagne, Don’t Stop, despite what the bands fans and critics alike think, wasn’t Journey’s biggest hit.

It wasn’t even the biggest hit on Escape, but thanks to the power of rock radio, and then-newcomer on the block, MTV it’s still the song that everyone remembers.

If you ask anyone to sing a Journey song , they’ll start smiling and either humming or singing Don’t Stop, as the tune has become a cultural phenomenon that has ensured that the band will never be forgotten.

Escape led to Journey having to found their own fan club, it enabled them to support the Rolling Stones and pushed them to record a song for the soundtrack to Disney’s 1982 Science Fiction spectacular, Tron.

Journey had managed to do what few hard rock bands before them had done. They’d successfully crossed over into the mainstream and had become one of the most famous bands in the world.

And the Journey ride didn’t stop there. It didn’t even pause for breath, and in the middle of their 1982 tour to support Escape , they returned to the studio to record their eighth album Frontiers, which like Escape before it, went straight to the top of the Billboard album chart when it was released in February 1983, spawned another four ( Separate Ways, Faithfully, Send Her My Love and After The Fall ) top thirty singles and went on to sell six million copies.

And the tour that the band undertook to support it saw them playing the sort of venues that only the NFL could fill and included a sold-out show in Philadelphia that saw eighty thousand rabid Journey fans singing along with the band.

Raised On Radio

Fearing that if they continued at the same sort of pace they’d burn out, Perry, Schon, and the other members of the band decided to take some time off in 1984.

During the lull in Journey activities, both Steve Perry and Neal Schon recorded and released solo albums, with Schon deciding to frame his as a band effort rather than using his own name to release the resultant record.

The release of the solo, and sideband in Schon’s case, records did lead to some speculation in the music press that Journey might be over, to which Schon responded by telling the interviewer that the band was too important to all of the members to let go and the reason that they’d taken time out was ton esquire that it could, and would continue.

When the band confirmed, following a conversation between Schon, Perry, and Cain, that they’d be returning to the studio to record a new album in 1986, their fans and the press heaved a collective sigh of relief.

Raised On Radio proved to be a difficult album to make, as singer Perry assumed production duties and a few months into making the record, with the assistance of Herbie Herbert he fired long time bass player Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith, citing the age-old musical differences as the reason for their termination.

With a record to complete, Perry and Herbert drafted Randy Jackson and Larrie Londin to help Journey finish their ninth album.

When the record was finally released in April 1986, despite yielding five singles and the top ten hit Be Good To Yourself and climbing to Number Four on the Billboard Chart, Raised On Radio was seen as a reluctant, rather than a triumphant success it failed to attain the same commercial high as Journey’s previous release.

So Long Steve Perry

Undaunted by the commercial performance of Raised On Radio (which still sold millions of copies, but didn’t sell the additional millions that Columbia hoped a Journey record would), Journey hit the road for a sold-out stadium tour in 1986 that finally culminated in Alaska at the beginning of 1987.

Things weren’t all great in the Journey camp though as Herbie Herbert and Steve Perry had continually clashed throughout the tour and by the time it was over, neither man wanted to spend any time in the other company. A line needed to be drawn in the sand, and Perry was the one who picked up a stick and drew it.

Perry decided that enough was enough, and told Schon and Cain that he wanted out, but the keyboard player being the most pragmatic member of the band told that rather than quitting, he should just take some time out. The singer agreed, and Journey decided that it was time that the band and its members needed to go on a break.

Eight Years And A Few Bands Later

What was initially supposed to be a short time out, eventually turned into an extended eight-year hiatus, during which Schon, Cain, and Perry only played together once in 1991 at a Bill Graham memorial show.

As 1995 crawled into view, Steve Perry called Schon and Cain and told them that he’d be willing to return to Journey as long as Herbie Herbert wasn’t involved with the band anymore. Cain and Schon promptly fired their friend and manager and hired Eagles manager Irving Azoff to replace him.

With a new manager in place, Journey, including the previously fired Stevie Smith and Ross Valory reunited and began to write and record their tenth album, Trial By Fire.

Even though the record delivered the top twenty hit single When You Love A Woman , when it was released in October 1996, it woefully underperformed and is still one of Journey’s worst-selling albums.

The band, especially Schon, rightly blamed the record’s lack of success on the fact that it was heavy on ballads and didn’t include the sort of uptempo, high-energy, hard rock anthems that the band’s fans expected them to write, record release, and play.

And playing had also become a contentious issue for the band. Perry, following a hiking accident in Hawaii, had discovered that he needed a hip replacement and had kept putting the surgery off.

The singer, as it would later be discovered was also plagued by a number of other physical ailments, and rather than giving the band’s fans anything less than one hundred percent, he kept delaying the band’s muted tour plans.

Journey couldn’t tour to promote their record, which meant that the record, as far as the band being able to get out and play the songs from it for their fans was concerned, was dead in the water.

Back On The Road

It had been more than twelve months since the band had released Trial By Fire, and as Perry was still reluctant to commit to any firm touring schedule, following a difficult conversation with Cain, Steve Perry stepped away from Journey for good and went into semi-retirement.

Worried that the band wouldn’t be the same without Perry, Smith also announced that he was leaving Journey. In the aftermath of two of its longest-serving members leaving the band, Journey, or rather the other members of the band, set about finding replacements for their departed comrades. Deen Castronovo, a musical acquaintance of Schon and Cain became Journey’s new drummer while former Tyketto and Tall Stories singer Steve Augeri were brought in to replace Perry.

The band finally started touring again in 1998 after contributing a new track to the soundtrack for the film Armageddon and as the millennium dawned they once again entered the studio to record their eleventh album, Arrival which was finally released in April 2001.

Whether it was due to the climatic shift in the musical landscape, or the fact that the band’s fans were just older and had moved on from their wild teenage rock and roll years, their latest opus failed to make the mark that the band hoped it would. It entered the Billboard Chart at Number 56, and its lead single fared even worse.

The future wasn’t as bright as it had once seemed and Journey, following a brief tour in 2001, decided to take 2002 off to rethink their future.

From Then Until Now

Aguri’s tenure in the band was brief due to his deteriorating health, and he was eventually replaced by Jeff Soto from Talisman while the band was on tour with Def Leppard in 2006. Soto spent less than a year in Journey before he in turn was replaced by Arnel Pineda in 2007, who is still a member of Journey and is their second longest-serving vocalist.

In recognition of their incredible contributions to the music industry, Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Just when it looked like things were finally getting back on track with the band, it was following an ongoing dispute Journey fractured into camps with the official band being led by Schon and Cain and an unofficial version being led by Valory and Smith.

That’s when things started to get ugly with both parties threatening to sue each other and hurling lawsuits around like they were going out of fashion. It was an incredibly dark period in the band’s history that was finally resolved in April 2021, and both parties when the legalities were concluded were able to walk away feeling as though they had won a partial victory.

Success, as far as Journey is concerned, is an incredibly costly experience, both personally and financially.

Following the conclusion of their ongoing legal battle, Journey released a single The Way We Used To Be in June 2021 and Neal Schon has promised that the release will shortly be followed by a new album. And when it does appear, we’ll be the first in line to buy it, as just like their millions of other fans, we’ll never stop believin’ in Journey.

Journey Band Members Timeline

As you now know, Journey has had several notable members throughout its long and successful musical journey. From the early days to the present, the band has seen talented musicians come and go. Let’s take a look at the timeline of the prominent members, categorized by their respective roles in the band.

Founding Members of Journey:

1. neal schon (guitarist).

Joined Journey in 1973 as one of the founding members.
Continues to be an integral part of the band’s lineup till today.
Known for his exceptional guitar skills and iconic solos.

2. Gregg Rolie (Keyboardist, Vocalist, and Drummer)

Also a founding member of the band in 1973.
Contributed as the main vocalist, drummer, and keyboard player.
Played a significant role in shaping the band’s early sound.

3. Ross Valory (Bassist)

Joined the band in 1973 as a founding member.
Known for his melodic bass lines and occasional backing vocals.
Has had intermittent periods with the band, but remains an important member.

4. George Tickner (Guitarist)

One of the founding members who played guitar.
Actively contributed to the band’s early years until his departure in 1975.

Drummers from Journey:

1. prairie prince (1974-1978).

Joined the band, replacing Prairie Prince.
A renowned drummer from The Mothers Of Invention and David Bowie’s band.
Contributed to Journey’s early success and played on their debut album.

2. Aynsley Dunbar (1973-1974)

Joined Journey in 1974 after the departure of their original drummer.
Was an established musician and brought his solid drumming skills to the band.
Left the band in 1978, but played an essential role during their formative years.

3. Steve Smith (1978-1985, 1995-1998)

Known for exceptional drumming skills during Journey’s most successful era.
Featured on albums like “Escape” and “Frontiers” among others.

4. Larrie Londin (1985-1986)

Temporarily replaced Steve Smith during his departure from the band.
A short but notable tenure in Journey.

5. Mike Baird (1986-1987)

Filled in for Londin during Journey’s “Raised on Radio” Tour.

6. Deen Castronovo (1998-present)

Officially joined the band in 1998, known for versatile drumming and vocals.
Served as the band’s drummer until 2020 when he was briefly replaced by Narada Walden.
Rejoined Journey in 2021, becoming the current member.

7. Narada Walden (2020–2022)

Temporarily filled in for Deen Castronovo as the band’s drummer.
Made notable contributions during his tenure with Journey.

Lead Singers of Journey:

1. steve perry (1977-1998).

Joined Journey in 1977 and became the band’s lead vocalist.
Known for his powerful and distinctive voice, he played a pivotal role in the band’s success.
Perry’s tenure with the band lasted until 1998 and included hit albums like “Escape” and “Frontiers.”

2. Steve Augeri (1998-2006)

Joined Journey as the successor to Steve Perry.
Fronted the band for nearly a decade, releasing albums like “Arrival” and “Revelation.”
Departed from Journey in 2006 due to health issues.

3. Jeff Scott Soto (2006-2007)

Joined Journey as the lead vocalist following Augeri’s departure.
Performed with the band for a short period covering various international shows.

4. Arnel Pineda (2007-Present)

Became Journey’s lead vocalist after being discovered through YouTube.
With his remarkable vocal range, he helped the band regain popularity with new audiences.
Continues to captivate audiences worldwide as Journey’s current frontman.

Keyboardists of Journey:

1. stevie “keys” roseman (1980-1983).

Filled in for Rolie during Journey’s Departure Tour.
Assumed keyboard duties temporarily.

2. Jonathan Cain (1980-present)

Joined Journey in 1980 and became an essential member.
Took over keyboard duties and co-wrote many hit songs.

Bassists and Guitarists from Journey:

1. steve perry (1978 – 1987, 1995 – 1998).

Many fans might not know that Perry also played guitar on some of the band’s tracks
His contributions as a guitarist added depth and creativity to Journey’s music

2. Steve Smith (1978 – 1985, 1995 – 1998)

Steve Smith also proved his proficiency as a guitarist during his time with the band
His ability to switch between drums and guitar added a dynamic element to their performance

3. Randy Jackson (1986 – 1987)

Randy Jackson’s diverse musical background brought a fresh perspective to Journey’s sound
Jackson later became a well-known TV personality and one of the judges on American Idol.

4. Todd Jensen (2021-Present)

Joined Journey as a bassist for their Las Vegas residency, starting on December 2021.
A seasoned musician with an impressive resume, having played with artists like SEQUEL, HARDLINE, and HARLOW.
Filled in on bass for Journey during the six shows of their residency

Throughout the band’s history, Journey has seen multiple personnel changes, but their music and legacy have continued to resonate with fans across generations. These talented individuals have each made significant contributions, leaving an indelible mark on the band’s evolution and success.

Frequently Asked Questions about Journey

Q1: what is journey’s net worth.

As of July 2023, Journey Band’s net worth is $8.87B.

Q2: Is Arnel Pineda still with Journey?

Yes, Arnel Pineda is currently the lead singer of Journey.

Q3: Are any of the current Journey members originals?

No, none of the current members of Journey are original members. The original members of Journey include Gregg Rolie, Neal Schon, Ross Valory, and George Tickner.

Q4: When was the last time Steve Perry sang with Journey?

The last time Steve Perry sang with Journey was in 1991. After leaving the band in 1998, he rejoined briefly for a reunion album and tour in 1996-1997, but they parted ways again after that.

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LEGENDARY ROCK BAND JOURNEY ANNOUNCES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY FREEDOM TOUR IN 2024

Louisville, KY (September 25, 2023) – Following the success of the 2023 Freedom Tour, legendary rock band JOURNEY has announced a new round of shows for their 50 th Anniversary Freedom Tour 2024 featuring very special guest TOTO. JOURNEY – Diamond-selling Rock & Roll Hall of Famers – will take the stage in 30 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 2024 begins Friday, February 9 in Biloxi, MS – making stops in Raleigh, Louisville, Omaha, Las Vegas and more – before wrapping April 29 in Bridgeport, CT. The tour will stop at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville on Saturday, February 24. Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, September 29 at 10am online at AXS.com only. The KFC Yum! Center box office will begin selling tickets for the event on Monday, October 2. 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 is a 3x Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame. Jon Cain is a recipient of two BMI songwriter awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey. Of the tour, Neal Schon says, “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, “Honored to take our timeless songs on the road with another band whose songs are also timeless, Steve Lukather and TOTO. It will truly be a musical evening to be remembered.” 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, “"We are thrilled to have been asked to join our dear friends Journey on the road again. We had such a blast the last couple of tours across North America together. Great success and so much fun. It is truly one big happy family, and it is a great night of music. Can't wait to see you all out there soon in 2024!”

IMPORTANT EVENT INFORMATION

Show Name: Journey: Freedom Tour 2024 Show Date/Time: 7:30 pm Saturday, February, 25, 2023 Location: KFC Yum! Center | 1 Arena Plaza | Louisville, KY 40202 Ticket Prices: $149.50, $125, $85, $65, $49.50, $35 How to Purchase Tickets: Tickets on sale beginning at 10 AM Friday, September 29 at axs.com The KFC Yum! Center box office will not begin selling Journey tickets until Monday, October 2. The box office is currently open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm. Download Tour Admat HERE Download approved JOURNEY assets HERE Download approved TOTO assets HERE

What will Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight rules be? It depends on who you ask.

Jake Paul pushed back on speculation his fight against Mike Tyson scheduled for July 20 in Texas will be an exhibition .

“Mike and I want this to be a pro fight, full face shots,'' Paul said Wednesday night during an interview on Fox News. "We’re submitting that request to the (boxing) commission. It’s an all-out war.''

But Tyson, during an April 2 interview on Fox News , told Sean Hannity the fight would be an exhibition.

And Bryce Holden, the promoter for the fight, told USA TODAY Sports earlier Wednesday he has submitted no requests to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR), which oversees combat sports in the state and determines whether a fight will be a pro bout, an exhibition or approved at all.

Holden, the principal of Holden Boxing LLC, declined to discuss whether he will request the bout be a pro fight or exhibition. But he said he's in talks with officials who regulate combat sports in Texas. The bout is set to be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

A matter of ongoing speculation, the rules for the Tyson -Paul fight scheduled for July 20 remain undetermined, the promoter told USA TODAY Sports.

“It’s just been conversations to understand what could be possible, what is impossible and then us speaking to the camps (of Tyson and Paul),’’ said Holden, who added that he is “hoping to get to a resolution here soon.’’

What remains undecided is whether the fight will be a sanctioned pro bout or exhibition along with the number of scheduled rounds, whether the rounds will be two minutes or three minutes long and the weight of the gloves.

“We’re aware that a lot of people have grown interested in the distinction and what’s going to happen and take place,’’ Holden said. “But for now it’s just, I’m close to the guys at the (Texas) commission, we have a good working relationship, so we’re talking a lot about the event as a whole.’’

Who will make decision on fight rules?

The Texas Department of Licensing Regulations (TDLR) initially told USA TODAY Sports an exhibition in Texas calls for two-minute rounds and 16-ounce gloves instead of the 10-ounce gloves Tyson used to deliver devastating knockouts during his pro career.

But subsequently, the TDLR said, “Rules are not fixed and each bout is subject to review.’’

The TDLR has declined comment on whether the proposed fight between Tyson and Paul would be a pro fight, exhibition fight or what rules would be used. Tela Mange, communications manager for TDLR, said a determination cannot be made until a promoter submits the fight cards.

Holden confirmed with USA TODAY Sports he has not submitted fight cards that would include details he is negotiating with TDLR officials.

Mange said by email, “TDLR carefully reviews fighters for each bout, examining their backgrounds (record, age, win/loss streak, amount of time spent out of the ring between bouts, etc.) to determine whether a contest should be a professional bout, an exhibition, or whether a contest should happen at all, based on whether an opponent is outclassed because of experience or other factors.’’

Tyson, who will be 58 in June, is 50-6 with 44 knockouts and last fought professionally in 2005 . Paul, 27, is 9-1 with six knockouts since turning pro in 2020.

Tickets for the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight

Tickets are expected to go on sale within the next 45 days, Holden said.

He did not provide information about ticket prices but did say he thinks a sellout is possible in the 80,000-seat stadium.

“I definitely think we can sell it out,’’ Holden said. “I think the interest in this event, we knew would be strong, but the way it’s entered the zeitgeist has been pretty incredible. Moreso than I imagined.’’

Follow reporter Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11

Thiago Moises of Brazil reacts after his victory over Melquizael Costa of Brazil in a lightweight fight during the UFC 283 event at Jeunesse Arena on January 21, 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC)

The Journey Doesn't Scare Thiago Moises

A week after his March 16 win over Mitch Ramirez, and Thiago Moises was back home in Brazil and ready for the next phone call from the UFC.

That’s the life for a lightweight on the rise in one of the sport’s toughest divisions, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

WATCH: Conor McGregor Career Marathon

“I just want to get better, keep improving, and show a better version of Tiago my next fight,” Moises said. “But it's also important get the body to rest and get the mind a little rest. Also, because we go through so much stress during the whole camp, during fight week, and the fight itself, also, it's a lot of pressure. So I think it's good for a little bit of rest so we can reset and go a hundred percent again. So right now I'm going to just enjoy my family, enjoy my friends, lift some weights and get back to training slowly.”

These days, Moises and his family aren’t spending all year in Florida while he trains at the American Top Team gym. For the last four months, the Moises clan have been back in Brazil before the 29-year-old from Sao Paulo finishes up training camps in the sunshine state.

Thiago Moises of Brazil poses for a portrait backstage during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)

“My wife wanted to be closer to our family,” he said. “That's why we are here.”

So the boss has spoken?

“Yeah, if I don't listen, she beats me up,” laughs Moises. But in all seriousness, stability outside the Octagon is a good recipe for success in it, and Moises was firing on all cylinders in his bout with Ramirez, who replaced Brad Riddell on short notice. It was the perfect example of a high risk, low reward fight for Moises, who quickly interrupted.

“To be honest with you, this was high risk, zero reward,” laughed Moises, who halted the UFC newcomer in the third round at the UFC APEX. Well, he did get two paychecks for the win, so that’s a positive, but as far as a fight that was going to move him back into the rankings, a victory over Riddell had the chance for him to do that. Against Ramirez, he would drop with a loss, but move nowhere with a win.

Thiago Moises of Brazil reacts after his victory over Mitch Ramirez in their lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“I respect Mitch a lot, but this was his first fight in the UFC and he lost on the Contender Series, so I had nothing to gain from this fight and he had everything to gain,” said Moises. “So there was a lot of pressure on my shoulders because, as you said, I was supposed to fight Brad Riddell, everybody knows Brad Riddell, and everybody was looking forward to that fight. I think it would have been a great fight. Unfortunately, he pulled out and I had to fight Mitch. So I put a lot of pressure on myself. I’ve got to beat this guy and this fight cannot be even close because I cannot go there and win a close decision against Mitch. I’ve got to dominate and finish him because otherwise I'm going to look bad. So that was my mindset going to the fight. But I was able to just put that aside when it came down to our fight and I was just ready to get in the cage and focus on the game plan and do my best.”

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His best was more than sufficient as he took the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards before closing the show in the third. It was a nice reminder that he is among the best in the division.

“Yes, one hundred percent because, as I told you, this was his debut and I had fought a main event against (UFC lightweight champion) Islam (Makhachev). I fought all those veterans and I'm just 28 years old. So I feel that I have a lot of room to grow still. I keep getting better every day and I know I'm going to get to the belt sooner than later.”

Moises, who turned 29 a week after the Ramirez fight, is in a good place in his career. He gave Makhachev a fight in 2021 before getting submitted in the fourth round, he already holds wins over Alexander Hernandez, Bobby Green and Michael Johnson, and has finished his last three victories. Expected to be next up is Ludovit Klein, and while it isn’t the man he called out – Dan Hooker – Moises will always step up when his name is called.

“We get paid to fight,” he said. “I’ll fight anybody, just tell me where and against who. I'll be there. I'm going to sign the contract and I'm going to show up.”

See you in June.

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Col. Oscar Perez's journey from Colombia to police chief

Elma Street in South Providence is where it all began for Providence police Col. Oscar Perez.

On a cold December night, 13-year-old Perez flew with his dad from Medellin, Colombia, to New York.

It was his first time on a plane.

"They gave me a warm napkin. I thought it was something warm to eat. My dad and I looked across the aisle and someone was washing their hand with it," said Perez.

At the time, he did not speak any English and did not have a jacket for the cold weather he would soon encounter.

His uncle was a mechanic in Providence and helped Perez by putting them up in an attic on Elma Street.

He said his dad spent his days working, while Perez attended Roger William Middle School.

“Somebody was making fun of my sneakers," he said.

It led to a fight, and Perez was suspended.

“I got suspended and sent home and my dad, he gave me a lesson I’ll never forget," he said.

His dad told him, “You came to this country to make something happen.”

Perez said he replied, "I need a pair of Nikes or I’m not going back.”

MORE NEWS: Providence Mayor Smiley will deliver Budget Address on Wednesday

Four months later, his mom, grandmother, and three siblings arrived from Colombia.

He said their arrival helped keep him on track.

“For me, it was the values instilled into me by my father, my grandmother was extremely religious as was my mother may her rest in peace," said Perez.

After high school, he went to college, and eventually accomplished his dream of joining the Providence Police Force.

“I will always say this is the country of opportunities. I’ll be the first person to pick up a rifle to defend this country," said Perez.

Now, in his office, he proudly displays photos of his own family.

Two grown children, and his wife Trinidad, who was his teenage sweetheart.

Perez said he has only fired his gun twice while an officer.

One of those times was during a highway shooting in Providence in November 2017.

He was one of the first to arrive to the incident.

“I don’t think anyone wants to shoot their weapon as an officer," said Perez.

He said looking back, he sees the young man on Elma Street, and the struggles he endured to get here.

“It makes you reflect, that if you work hard and you want certain dreams. No matter where you come from, even if you don’t know the language. Not even knowing what hello means. You can do it. I’m the chief. Proud moment but I have a big job," said Perez.

Col. Oscar Perez's journey from Colombia to police chief

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How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam

A mexican drug cartel is targeting seniors and their timeshares..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

Hello, James.

Hey. How’s it going?

Yeah. I’m not having much luck. So the problem is funding. And all of my money is in Mexico, all of it.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Katrin Bennhold. This is “The Daily.” A massive scam targeting elderly Americans who own timeshare properties has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico.

Once you move forward and make your payment, if anything were to happen, he will directly pay you the full amount of what you’re entitled to, including the gains. He will pay you the full amount.

You’ve got all my money. It’s been sent. I sold a freaking house.

Listen to this. I sold a house that I grew up in so that I could come up with funds to send to Mexico.

I don’t even have anything from the sale, nothing.

My colleague Maria Abi-Habib on one victim who lost everything and the people on the other side of the phone.

That’s it. That’s it. There’s nothing —

You know what? That’s what has been said every freaking time. Every time, just pay this. That releases the funds.

But that’s why we won’t allow it to happen again. This is the last time, James.

It’s Friday, April 12.

Maria, you’ve been looking into this scam that’s targeting Americans. Where did your investigation start?

So several weeks ago, I received a phone call from a lawyer based in St. Petersburg, Florida, who had been contacted by a family who was very concerned that the father, this man named James, was in the middle of being scammed. He’d sent hundreds of thousands dollars to Mexico. And he was considering sending another $157,000 when his daughter decided to call up this law firm and try to get her father to stop, stop sending money to Mexico.

So I called him a few weeks ago as I was trying to understand what was going on.

Hi, James. How are you?

Good. Thank you.

He’s asked that his last name be withheld for privacy concerns because he’s quite embarrassed about the story that I’m about to tell you.

You’re retired now, but what were you doing for work? And if your wife was working, what was her job?

I was with the Highway Patrol.

James is a retired state trooper from California. And his wife Nikki is a former school nurse.

She was born in ‘51. So 71-ish.

Two. She’s just reminded me, 72.

And they’re both in their early 70s. And they own this timeshare that is in Lake Tahoe, California. And they bought it in the 1990s for about $8,000.

And for someone who did not grow up vacationing in a timeshare, remind me how exactly timeshares work.

Timeshares are essentially vacation properties. And they tend to be beach resorts. And multiple people can buy into this property. The ownership is a shared ownership. And this gives you the right to use the timeshare for one to two weeks out of every year.

And so James and Nikki used their timeshare every other year with their daughters. But as they hit retirement age and their daughters are growing up and starting their own families, they’re just not really using it that much anymore. And timeshares require the owners to pay off yearly maintenance fees. And so they’re starting to think about maybe letting go of their timeshare and selling it.

Then one day, in late 2022, James gets a phone call from a company that is purporting to be based out of Atlanta, Georgia called Worry Free Vacations.

Worry Free Vacations?

That sounds enticing.

Yeah. And they start off with a simple question, which is, do you want to buy a timeshare? And James says, I already have a timeshare. And then they say, great. Well, what about selling the timeshare? Do you want to sell? There’s this Mexican businessman, and he’s interested in your timeshare. And he’s willing to buy it for about $20,000.

So we figured, well, what the heck? If we can make a few bucks on it, we’ll go for it.

And James jumps at the opportunity.

And did he do anything to try and verify that this was real?

Yeah. So remember, James is former law enforcement. And he feels very confident in his abilities to sniff out untrustworthy people. So he goes online, and he googles this Mexican businessman and sees that, yeah, he is a real person.

He’s a very well-respected individual in Mexico, very well off. And —

And this makes James feel at ease, that he’s selling to a legitimate person, that Worry Free Vacations are who they claim to be and that he’s going to double his money overnight, essentially.

And what happens next?

Well, a couple of weeks after he makes the agreement with the buyer, he’s told that he needs to send a couple thousand dollars to facilitate the purchase.

What does that mean, facilitate?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I can’t remember specifically whether it was supposed to be cross-border registration —

So he’s being told that there are these fees that are paid directly to the Mexican government.

Or SPID or some other fee that was Mexican government required or not.

A lot of these fees are the same types of fees that you would pay in the United States for a real estate transaction. So he begins wiring money to an account in Mexico.

After that —

— a few days later, we get a notification. Well, everything went well, except that we have to pay an additional fee.

Every time that he sends one fee, he’s being told that he’s got to send another fee right afterwards.

Does he get suspicious at any point?

His wife is suspicious. After the first couple of payments, she starts saying, this does not feel right.

But James is the former law enforcement officer, right? And he’s the one that basically handles the family finances. And he’s confident that all of this is going to work out because he’s being told that the buyer of the timeshare will reimburse James for all of these fees once the sale goes through.

Michael from the Worry Free Vacations was constantly reassuring me the money’s in that account. Check with the commercial escrow account. It’s there. It’s just these fees have to be paid, and you’re being reimbursed for all of this.

They’re sending James documents that show all of the reimbursements that he’s owed and how much money he’s going to get. And this just makes him feel like all of this is kosher.

We have this commercial escrow company that was involved out of New York. So there was an air of legitimacy that I was comfortable with.

Maybe OK, these guys just need one more fee and everything is going to finally be cleared.

But about a year in, James starts to get suspicious. He begins asking questions because he wants his money.

And every time I asked, hey, is there a way I can get a partial release of these funds, there was always no, these funds have to be paid from your account before they’re released.

But Worry Free Vacations, they pivot. And they tell him that, listen, there are all these complications. It’s going to be really hard to get your money out from this transaction.

I could pay about $30,000 and change to reinvest the $313,000 into an environmentally-conscious development in Loreto, Mexico.

Instead, we’ve got this other investment opportunity in Mexico.

And I’m sure you know where that is, over on the East Coast of Baja.

And that is going to make you a huge return, even more money than you had thought that you were going to make, much more than the $20,000.

I’m supposed to have 54 million pesos in a Mexican bank account.

So this is now no longer just about his timeshare. They are now partners in a real estate investment.

Right. And there’s this whole new round of fees and fines associated with that.

So how many payments would you say?

Quite a few. Couple dozen at least, maybe more.

When was your last payment?

It would have been 17 January.

Uh-huh. And what was that for?

Good question.

And all along, he believed it was necessary to pay these costs just to get the money that he’s owed.

The amount of money that I’ve sent to Mexico is just freaking exorbitant. And I mean, it is approaching $900,000 or more.

And at this point, he’s sent about $900,000 to Mexico over about a year and a half.

Nearly $1 million.

That was almost all the money that he and his wife had saved for their retirement.

It also included money from the sale of James’s childhood home and money that he had borrowed from his daughter and son-in-law, about $150,000 from them.

It’s awful. So they were completely cleaned out by these guys.

Yeah. And this is when his daughter asks a law firm to look into this, which is the point in the story when I meet James. And when we start talking, it was clear to me that he just did not know what to think, even after losing this much money.

So this started in 2022. When did it end?

We’re still in it.

And he’s still talking to the scammers.

And as a matter of fact, presently, there was a request for $157,000 and change to clear up this whole thing. It would clear the entire issue out. Now —

And James is even considering putting a second mortgage on his house to send that money that he’d been promised would finally clear all this up — one final payment of $157,000.

It really sounds like he’s still wanted to believe that this was somehow legit.

Yeah. It was pretty clear to me that he was being scammed. But I didn’t definitively know what was going on, so I asked him if he could start recording his phone calls with the scammers.

Would you be so kind as to do me a favor?

Would you be willing to give them a call and record them?

[LAUGHS]: I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been recording them.

And it turns out he already had been.

Worry Free Vacations.

So he shared the recordings of these calls that he’d had with these scammers over the last year or so. And it was just remarkable. It gave me huge insight into how the scam worked and the way that it sounded over the phone.

Is this is Michael in? I think he’s trying to call me. I couldn’t get through pick up.

Yes, I believe he did try to call you, sir. Give me a second. I think he’s only going to be in for a couple of minutes. One second.

There are two main takeaways for me listening to these calls.

Good afternoon. Michael McCarthy.

Michael, I missed your call. I was trying to pick up.

Yeah, don’t worry. Yeah, I figured something was wrong with your phone. Everything OK?

The first is that these scammers had really gotten to know James so well, and they really made James believe that Worry Free was a company that was working for him.

That’s why we need to hurry up and get this money over to you. Because hey, I’m losing my mind too. I’m not even here to convince you, James. I’m not — I’m your broker, and —

One of the things they continuously say is, trust me.

Look, I’m doing everything I can in my power and will on my end. So James, just look — like I told you from the get-go, I’m going to resolve this. And we are doing it. I just need you to focus on the goal.

They would refocus the conversation on what James needed to do to get his money back.

Look, if you make your payment as a security deposit, right away they will release the funds to you. With these —

And the other thing —

I’ve been having so much trouble trying to reach you, and I have not been successful.

— is that the scammers had created this elaborate cast of characters.

Why don’t you answer my calls?

And some of them were really aggressive. James shared a recording of this one man who claimed to be an agent for the Mexican government. And he basically started yelling at James.

I don’t care if your wife is at the hospital. To be honest with you, I don’t give a damn! But you know where I do give a damn? It’s your money, and my name is written all over it! Do you understand?

And he even threatened James. If James didn’t pay off these fines, then he would lose all the money that he’d sent to Mexico already.

You could get the best lawyer you want. You could get whoever you want. And this is not a threat. This is facts. But anyways, who am I to convince you, right?

Well, thank you for the information. And — are you still there? Hello?

Wow. So these scammers were basically doing a good cop, bad cop routine to stop James from walking away and to squeeze every last penny out of him.

If you provide me your email, contact information, I will certainly be happy to forward all of the wire transfer information from my bank account to you so that you can see where those funds went.

Yeah, that would be great. I have your email.

James asks me, a reporter who’s based in Mexico, who speaks the language, if I could help him figure out where his money had gone to.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your assistance.

I’m just doing my job. Thanks again, and we’ll talk soon.

And the only way that I could figure that out was to understand who was on the other side of the phone.

We’ll be right back.

So Maria, who was on the other side of that phone line?

So by the time that I’d met James, I’d already gotten a tip from US law enforcement agencies that they were seeing a new trend. Mexican drug cartels were getting involved in the timeshare scam industry.

Drug cartels?

Yeah. And not just any drug cartel. This is one of the most notorious, violent, bloody drug cartels that exists in Mexico and Latin America, the Jalisco New Generation cartel. And when I looked at James’s bank records, guess what? All the money that he was sending was going to various bank accounts that were all located in Jalisco state in Mexico.

Wow. So why would the drug cartels get into the timeshare scamming business?

It is a huge business. The FBI told me that it’s about $300 million in profits over the last five years.

But the thing is is that the potential for it to actually be multitudes more is huge. Because the FBI estimates that most of the scams are actually not even reported. In fact, only about 20 percent are. So that means the total timeshare scam business could actually be much larger than the $300 million that they have knowledge of over the last five years.

But wait. I thought the drug business was a pretty lucrative business in itself. So why get into the scamming of elderly people for their properties in Lake Tahoe?

Well, you have to remember that these drug cartels, they’re not just doing one thing. They’re doing multiple things. They’re essentially conglomerates. Because it’s really expensive to run a cartel. You need to pay off officials, both Mexican and American. You need to maintain basically an army in order to secure your routes up to the United States, ports of entry into Mexico from Colombia. And any big business, you need to diversify your income to make sure that you keep the money flowing. Because you never know when one business is going to be shut down by authorities or taken over by your rivals.

We’ve reported that they’re now in the avocado business and the construction business. And timeshare fraud is basically no different than any of those. So we’re seeing that the cartels have their fingers in many pies, the legitimate and the illegitimate economy here in Mexico.

It’s kind of fascinating to think of these drug cartels as like sprawling diversified business empires. But when did the cartels first get into the scamming business?

So Jalisco New Generation started about 15 years ago.

And when they started to consolidate their empire in Jalisco state, they found that there were all these scam timeshare call centers all over the state that were being run by various players, and that this was a huge, huge moneymaker. Because essentially, all you have to do is call up retired senior citizens in the US and Canada. It doesn’t take that much money to run that kind of a scheme. There’s no product you’re making.

So essentially, they conducted a hostile takeover of these call centers. They went in. They kicked down doors and dragged out the people who were managing these call centers by their hair and threatened to kill them unless they gave up the call centers or started handing over a cut of what they made. And slowly, slowly Jalisco New Generation cartel took over the entire timeshare fraud industry.

Interesting. Were you able to find any of these call centers?

So these call centers are pretty hard to find. They look like any other storefront. But I was able to visit two that were located in an upscale neighborhood in Guadalajara, which is the capital of Jalisco state. And it was just really perturbing because it was just so normal. Two villas about a mile away from each other outside. Outside of one villa, parents were walking by, holding their children’s hands as they did drop off at school.

It was right next to a park where people taking their morning exercise or their dogs for a walk. There was no real sign that the cartel was doing business there. But a few months before, Mexican law enforcement had found the bodies of eight young people who had used to work at one of these call centers and said that the Jalisco cartel had killed them.

Wow. What happened?

So I wasn’t able to talk directly to any of the victims’ families. They’re just too scared. But in general, this is usually how it starts.

The cartel seeks out English speakers to work for their call centers. Sometimes they don’t even tell them what exactly they are doing. They would tell the recruits that the job was adjacent to the hotel industry.

You have to remember, Jalisco is a huge, huge tourism magnet for Americans and Canadians and others. And the cartel would get their call lists from bribing hotel employees to give them the names of people who stayed at these hotels and also at the timeshare resorts. And the people who would work at the call centers are provided the names and a manual of what you need to do when you call, like a loose script of how to try to suck as much money as you can out of these people up North in Canada and the States.

So we don’t know for sure what exactly happened with the eight young Mexicans who were killed last year. But through an intermediary, one sibling told us that when their family member knew what their job actually was, they became extremely uncomfortable and tried to leave the call center and find another job maybe.

But the Jalisco New Generation cartel is known for being extremely brutal. They chop off heads, and they’ll put them on the gates of a playground, for instance. So that everybody in the neighborhood knows what went down. And in this case, it’s possible that they wanted to send a warning that there’s no defection from their timeshare call centers.

So basically making a very scary example of these guys, in case anyone else is thinking about quitting one of the call centers.

Exactly. And one man, who runs an organization who advocates for missing people and actually organizes search parties to comb the forests of Jalisco state looking for the missing, says that he knows of about 30 people who have disappeared from the call centers in Jalisco state since 2017. So while Americans and Canadians might be losing much of their life savings, in Mexico, this is actually deadly.

Are the authorities doing anything about this?

Not really, other than the fact that these two call centers were shut down. The authorities haven’t arrested others. They’re not putting pressure on Mexican banks, for instance, to look into these payments coming from senior citizens in the US or Canada. And you have to remember that people are really afraid. But you also have to remember that in Mexico things are not that clear. There is a lot of corruption and government collusion with organized crime and cartels.

And the tourism industry, it is huge in Mexico and particularly in Jalisco state. This is a multi-billion dollar industry. They don’t want Americans or Canadians or Europeans who are coming to Jalisco for its beautiful beaches and its mountains to hear about these stories regarding the cartels being involved in the tourism industry and think, I’m not going to send my family there for that beach vacation. It’s just simply too dangerous.

So everybody has an incentive to have the scam continue, whether because they’re too afraid and don’t want to speak out or because they’re in on it.

So in a way, local authorities have an interest in sweeping it under the carpet in order to just maintain this idea of a tourist destination.

Exactly. I mean, the spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office was very responsive to me until I told her what I wanted to ask her questions about. And then she just simply never answered any of my texts or phone calls.

So Maria, based on everything you know, all the information you have, would you say that you’re confident that the cartels were the ones who scammed James?

Yes, 100 percent. Everything I’ve seen points in that direction.

What did James say when you told him this?

So it took him quite a while to really allow himself to believe it. On the advice of his lawyers, he stopped picking up the phone calls. And about a week ago, they stopped after the scammers kept trying to call him.

But you said he was in it for over a year. Why do you think it took him so long?

Can you tell me, after all of that had been presented to you, why do you think you weren’t willing to be entirely convinced?

Well, I actually asked him that question.

That’s a very good question. Why wasn’t I able to pick up on that right away? And I think in the back of my mind, I’m finding out that I’m a little more stubborn than I thought I was.

And for him, it was pretty complicated.

And I think that I didn’t want to believe that I had fallen for this. I didn’t feel I was that foolish and stupid when it came to this. You know? I guess I didn’t want to believe that I could be fooled.

To come to terms with the fact that he had lost so much money was to come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t the person that he thought that he was, that he wasn’t this kind of clever former law enforcement officer who was used to fighting the bad guys and winning.

I’m disappointed in myself. There’s a huge level of anger towards the perpetrators. And all of those things wrapped into one. And part of that, I think, contributes to not wanting to actually believe that I was wrong.

Hmm. Yeah, I hear you. I’m sorry. I can hear the pain in your voice.

[LAUGHS]: Yeah.

Some of it’s based on shame, right? That he lost all this money, everything that he’s worked for, and the fact that this was all supposed to be money that his children and his grandchildren were going to inherit. And now it’s gone.

And have you told your daughter that you think you’ve come to terms with the fact that this might have been a scam?

Oh, she’s been involved. Yeah. They know.

My daughter does.

I’m sorry. This is a tough time.

So I’ve got to make some sort of arrangement to compensate them for this on top of our regular debt. So yeah. It’s been a swell experience, all of it brought on by my — evidently, my stubbornness to believe that I couldn’t possibly be a victim.

How’s your wife doing throughout this whole process, with this new knowledge?

She’s not real happy, obviously, at all. I hear a lot of “I told you so.” And at this point, I’ve got no defense. She’s absolutely right. There’s no question about it.

Do you worry this is going to affect your marriage?

Yes, there has been an effect.

And do you think that at this point there’s any way for James and his family to get some kind of justice or at least find some kind of closure?

Ay. Justice? Unlikely.

At this point, I’m not necessarily expecting much in the way of restitution.

And as for closure, it’s a little bit too soon to tell. In a way, James has gone through several stages of acceptance for what happened. There’s fear. There’s shame. There’s resignation. And now he’s talking to me partly because he feels like it’s a public service, that he needs to be vocal so that other people don’t go through what he’s gone through and fall for the scam. And I think it also helps him feel a little bit empowered in a situation for over the last year and a half he was at the mercy of these people who were calling him multiple times a week.

I want to try to get as much information to as many of these official organizations as possible. I have a streak of anger through me now that I’ve developed to the point where I’m not going to let this go.

Well, Maria, thank you.

Thank you for having me.

Here’s what else you need to know today. OJ Simpson, the football star who was accused and later acquitted of murdering his former wife and her friend, died of cancer at his home in Las Vegas, his family said Thursday. He was 76.

Today’s episode was produced by Astha Chaturvedi and Will Reid, with help from Clare Toeniskoetter and Lindsay Garrison. It was edited by Brendan Klinkenberg and Michael Benoist, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Rowan Niemisto, Dan Powell, Pat McCusker, and Will Reid, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

[THEME MUSIC]

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Katrin Bennhold. See you on Monday.

April 17, 2024 • 24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
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April 14, 2024 • 46:17 The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’
April 12, 2024 • 34:23 How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam
April 11, 2024 • 28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
April 10, 2024 • 22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma
April 9, 2024 • 30:48 How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall
April 8, 2024 • 30:28 The Eclipse Chaser
April 7, 2024 The Sunday Read: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’
April 5, 2024 • 29:11 An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth
April 4, 2024 • 32:37 Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen

Hosted by Katrin Bennhold

Produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi and Will Reid

With Clare Toeniskoetter and Lynsea Garrison

Edited by Brendan Klinkenberg and Michael Benoist

Original music by Marion Lozano , Rowan Niemisto , Dan Powell , Pat McCusker and Will Reid

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence.

A massive scam targeting older Americans who own timeshare properties has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico.

Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The Times, tells the story of a victim who lost everything, and of the criminal group making the scam calls — Jalisco New Generation, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.

On today’s episode

Maria Abi-Habib , an investigative correspondent for The New York Times based in Mexico City.

A man in a plaid shirt and a woman wearing a red sweater are linking arms looking away from the camera. They are standing outside on a lawn with trees in the distance.

Background reading

How a brutal Mexican drug cartel came to target seniors and their timeshares .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Katrin Bennhold is the Berlin bureau chief. A former Nieman fellow at Harvard University, she previously reported from London and Paris, covering a range of topics from the rise of populism to gender. More about Katrin Bennhold

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Haney vs Garcia Tickets: How much are tickets to see Saturday's fight?

Here is the cost to witness Saturday's fight in Brooklyn

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Boxing. Ryan Garcia's latest bizarre outburst: he identifies "as a woman" after being pushed by Devin Haney to report him for "a hate crime"
Boxing. Mets eject Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney from their stadium: They kicked us out for no reason

T he anticipation for this weekend's big fight between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney has also been reflected in the media coverage and economic figures, with tickets hitting astronomical figures to watch the April 20 fight at the Barclays Center in New York.

Devin "The Dream" Haney and Ryan "KingRy" Garcia square off in a 12 round bout for the WBC super lightweight title, currently held by the Californian fighter.

Haney will come into this bout with an undefeated record of 31 fights, and will look to extend his legend against Garcia to establish himself as one of the most notorious boxers in North America.

Whilst for his part, Ryan Garcia is looking to return to glory after his painful loss to Gervonta Davis and with the momentum of his last victory over Oscar Duarte but it's the tickets who currently have everyone talking.

The menu of options for those who wish to attend the show is much more varied, as tickets can also be purchased for $1,566 dollars which also has a very close view of the ring but according to the Seat Greek website, tickets range from $24,000 to the most affordable at $139 dollars.

The most privileged location is Row 5 of Zone 24, which can be purchased, according to the same website, for $24,500 each ticket showing just how crazy the prices for the highly anticipated show down are getting.

Ryan Garcia vs Devin Haney PPV: Where to watch the fight and how much does it cost?

The exclusive broadcast of the fight between Garcia and Haney is through PPV by DAZN. The price for PPV is $69.99.

The monthly subscription to the platform is $19.99 with a 12-month contract or $24.99 month-to-month in the U.S. While the annual subscription to DAZN would come out to $224.99.

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Aug 25, 2023; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Nelly Korda tess off on the fourth hole during the

As Women's Sports Continue to Thrive, 2024 Chevron Championship Purse Gets a Big Boost

The Chevron Championship is offering a $7.9 million purse, a boost of more than 50% from last year, continuing the rise of golf prize money and women's sports in the U.S.

Author: Jeff Ritter

The LPGA has a star, women's sports are on fire and the Chevron Championship is offering a jackpot.

It's all coming together for the LPGA and Nelly Korda, age 25 and the top-ranked player in the world, is at the center of it. She enters this week in Houston chasing a fifth straight title and second major championship. Korda is the first U.S. player to win four straight events since Nancy Lopez won five in a row during her nine-win rookie season in 1978. ( Lopez even landed on the cover of SI for it .)

The Chevron has given its purse a significant boost this year — more than 50% — to $7.9 million after last year's event paid $5.2 million. On Tuesday the LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said the new purse is in line with the event's star power and the sponsor's commitment to it.

“This is about the best players in the world coming together to play for something that really matters, so that’s first and foremost,” Marcoux Samaan said during a news conference. “But I think them playing for a purse that is commensurate with their world-class talent, which I say all the time is really important. I think it’s a symbol of how Chevron views the value of our athletes and of the LPGA. It’s how the world views the talent of our athletes, and so it’s practical because obviously playing for more money when you’re the best in the world is important.

"By getting a purse to 7.9, to having a long-term commitment with a partner that sees it's about building something that matters over a long period of time. And it takes time to change things. It takes time to move mindset. It takes time to bring fans into a community."

Women's sports have received some extra juice thanks in part to former Iowa guard and newly drafted WNBA player Caitlin Clark, who spurred record TV ratings for women's college basketball this season. The women's national championship game, where Clark's Hawkeyes fell to South Carolina, recorded a higher TV rating than the men's championship the following night.

The Chevron's purse bump also continues a trend in women's golf. Earlier this year the USGA announced that the total purse for this summer's U.S. Women's Open would be raised to $12 million, up $1 million from last year's event at Pebble Beach.

This year's Chevron winner will receive a $1.2 million first-place check, a jump from last year's $780,000 claimed by Lilia Vu, who enters this week No. 2 in the rankings.

Players who miss the Chevron cut will also receive $10,000 — the largest stipend on Tour and double from last year's event.

Current Purses in Women's Golf Majors

US Women's Open - $12 million (2024)
KPMG Women's PGA Championship - $10 million (2023)
AIG Women's Open - $9 million (2023)
Chevron Championship - $7.9 million (2024)
Amundi Evian Championship - $6.5 million (2023)

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