MR

‘Congratulations and have fun on your 2026 farewell tour’

A comment Arnel left on Deens Instagram post

I wouldn't be surprised if Arnel was out of the band.

Thanks for posting. I also found it odd. Maybe an attempt at humor? Maybe a hardball negotiating tactic?

I'm not entirely sure why, but I've been figuring Arnel won't be a part of things going forward since talk of Cain leaving. I think his absence lately and reports of a legal battle with his (ex?) wife over in the Philippines has his attention focused elsewhere as it maybe should be. This catalog also fries singers as we well know, and he's been doing it a lot longer than anyone else so maybe he's thinking this is enough and call it good at this point. This jumping off point makes sense.

He's still in the promos...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi7xvrj_5dE

FamilyMan wrote:He's still in the promos...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi7xvrj_5dE

Arnel is prone to emotional swings. Remember when he suddenly offered his resignation after the 2024 Brazil festival? It wouldn't surprise me if he has now made a sudden decision to bail. I also wouldn't be surprised if the band hadn't updated their tour promos yet.

However, in all likelihood, I expect this too shall pass and he will be on the stage.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Thanks for posting. I also found it odd. Maybe an attempt at humor? Maybe a hardball negotiating tactic?

Or, maybe just bad english.
Or, maybe he never felt like part of the band.

Monker wrote:Or, maybe he never felt like part of the band.

I took it as he was just goofing around with them. But given everything going on it could have been a warning shot or even worse.

This band just can't go a week or two without the drama.

Andrew posted to Facebook that Arnel is contracted through the end of the tour, for 2yrs.

youkeepmewaiting wrote:‘Congratulations and have fun on your 2026 farewell tour’

A comment Arnel left on Deens Instagram post

Apparently Deen has now pulled the post entirely. This tour is off to a great start.....

Monker wrote:Andrew posted to Facebook that Arnel is contracted through the end of the tour, for 2yrs.

I saw that post. It doesn't matter what contract is signed if a person is restricted from leaving the country due to legal troubles.

If that is the case , his passport won't be validated to leave , and US officials won't issue a visa.

If all of this is just Arnel craziness, then where's the announcement from him and the band that nothing is wrong ?
Silence .

JohnH wrote:

Monker wrote:Andrew posted to Facebook that Arnel is contracted through the end of the tour, for 2yrs.

I saw that post. It doesn't matter what contract is signed if a person is restricted from leaving the country due to legal troubles.

If that is the case , his passport won't be validated to leave , and US officials won't issue a visa.

If all of this is just Arnel craziness, then where's the announcement from him and the band that nothing is wrong ?
Silence .

Well, per a post above, Deen deleted the thread. Neal already commented that Arnel and Jon are still in the band because of The Voice fallout. Neal probably thinks the fans are fucking crazy and doesn't want to deal more shit. IMO.

I wouldn't want to enter the USA anyway. For all he knows, he may end up drinking out of a toilet in some detention center awaiting deportation to some random country he has never been to.

I don't think Arnel would have any issue getting into America, regardless of the legal issues. Cain's wife can make a phone call and get his visa sorted if they need to. The rules are different in Trumps America now

youkeepmewaiting wrote:I don't think Arnel would have any issue getting into America, regardless of the legal issues. Cain's wife can make a phone call and get his visa sorted if they need to. The rules are different in Trumps America now

I mostly agree with you. Except it isn't exclusive to Trump. That's just the way this world works. The wealthy always get what they want. And I'm not intending that as a criticism of Pineda or Journey. I'm just pointing out that when big money is involved, that's the way things go.

This sounds like a publicity stunt to make casual fans think Steve Perry is coming back for the Farewell Tour. They are doing this to drive up ticket sales. In the end, Arnel will be on stage. But at this point, do they even need Arnel? They have other singers ready to pick up the slack and they are only doing the dirty dozen plus five other songs. That is a cake walk. Arnel doesn't even have to be there.

JourneyHard wrote:This sounds like a publicity stunt to make casual fans think Steve Perry is coming back for the Farewell Tour. They are doing this to drive up ticket sales. In the end, Arnel will be on stage.

As mentioned, Arnel has engaged in online drama like this before. I don't think it's strategic. In some cases, it sounds like a cry for help.

JourneyHard wrote:This sounds like a publicity stunt to make casual fans think Steve Perry is coming back for the Farewell Tour. They are doing this to drive up ticket sales. In the end, Arnel will be on stage. But at this point, do they even need Arnel? They have other singers ready to pick up the slack and they are only doing the dirty dozen plus five other songs. That is a cake walk. Arnel doesn't even have to be there.

I doubt Journey would any where near a major tour act without a dedicated lead sing. And, NEITHER Deen or Jason are try lead singers of the Journey caliber. This would never work.

This is just a case where the fans blew up a grammar error from Arnel. One word wrong and people believe he quit the band. One letter change from "your" to "our" and it's not an issue.

Monker wrote:This is just a case where the fans blew up a grammar error from Arnel. One word wrong and people believe he quit the band. One letter change from "your" to "our" and it's not an issue.

I heard from someone in the know that Arnel was "butt-hurt" over The Voice and 49ers performances without him there. So there you have it.

Monker wrote:

JourneyHard wrote:This sounds like a publicity stunt to make casual fans think Steve Perry is coming back for the Farewell Tour. They are doing this to drive up ticket sales. In the end, Arnel will be on stage. But at this point, do they even need Arnel? They have other singers ready to pick up the slack and they are only doing the dirty dozen plus five other songs. That is a cake walk. Arnel doesn't even have to be there.

I doubt Journey would any where near a major tour act without a dedicated lead sing. And, NEITHER Deen or Jason are try lead singers of the Journey caliber. This would never work.

This is just a case where the fans blew up a grammar error from Arnel. One word wrong and people believe he quit the band. One letter change from "your" to "our" and it's not an issue.

Wow, that's a LOT of typos and such. My eyes are so bad nowadays. Just call me froy the sequel.

I would imagine it was pulled down because of this:
https://youtu.be/1eqlAsXrkkc?si=qgTGynOooQ7uDoH2
And Neal, of course, had said it was 1000% live or something.
I bet Fil has already heard from Schon.

I also saw an AI post from somebody about "Get your tickets for the Steve Perry/Journey reunion tour of '26!" with a full on official looking graphic of Steve with the band on Facebook the other day. It looked pretty "official" but it was from some "media outlet" as everyone apparently is now...

Ridiculous times we are living in.

As far as "There are other singers willing to take up the slack" - one or two songs is one thing. Deen doing an entire tour on lead vocals is an entirely different animal. If you listen to his speaking voice, he is uber thrashed. And yeah, I love his singing voice and his drumming, but I have a very tough time thinking he could pull off an entire tour on lead vocals. Maybe I am wrong.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:I heard from someone in the know that Arnel was "butt-hurt" over The Voice and 49ers performances without him there. So there you have it.

Don't you think he should be? Is Arnel the lead singer of Journey or is he not? If he is, then he should be up there. If he can't be there (visa, divorce, or whatever), the band should not do the performance, it dilutes the band, creates conjecture on the band's future, and Schon - of all people should know this. Don't go off brand. Stick by and support your band "Brother" (as Deen always calls Arnel). But Neal thinks everybody is replaceable. While that is correct, what a crappy msg to send to the guy that pulled the band out of oblivion. Imagine if Schon couldn't do it and they got Steve Vai to play (which would rock, actually). Neal would be all over Twitter spouting off and raging at the band members talking about how he is the only member that matters and it's not "Journey" without him. I guess Neal doesn't have enough money, and to hell with the other members. With Jon, I could care less due to his maga idiocy and his completely sour demeanor when he is on stage with Journey.

Granted these were both televised performances with large audiences... but it's not like everyone doesn't already know who Journey is and hasn't heard DSB a bazillion times. It wouldn't have killed them to miss those two performances- And did those performances detract or enhance the band? Well, the video linked above definitely didn't help. Didn't see The Voice, so I dunno.

Think of "The Sopranos" finale. Perry absolutely wouldn't agree to it unless he knew how it was used. Even though I'm sure it meant huge dollars for the Jon, Neal, and Steve. But if it was used in a way that was detrimental to the song or the band, he wouldn't have agreed to it. THAT is smart.THAT is preserving the band and protecting your image. What Neal and crew are doing, to me, is hurting their image.

This band's drama has killed them for me. I don't see myself buying a ticket, farewell performance or not.

brywool wrote:Don't you think he should be? Is Arnel the lead singer of Journey or is he not? If he is, then he should be up there. If he can't be there (visa, divorce, or whatever), the band should not do the performance, it dilutes the band, creates conjecture on the band's future, and Schon - of all people should know this. Don't go off brand. Stick by and support your band "Brother" (as Deen always calls Arnel). But Neal thinks everybody is replaceable. While that is correct, what a crappy msg to send to the guy that pulled the band out of oblivion. Imagine if Schon couldn't do it and they got Steve Vai to play (which would rock, actually). Neal would be all over Twitter spouting off and raging at the band members talking about how he is the only member that matters and it's not "Journey" without him. I guess Neal doesn't have enough money, and to hell with the other members. With Jon, I could care less due to his maga idiocy and his completely sour demeanor when he is on stage with Journey.

Yes and no. While I think it dilutes the brand and the public image of what/who Journey is, I also understand Neal's frustration. What did he say in Behind The Music? Something about how he wanted to get "a bunch of guys that actually wanted to work." I also think of Herbie saying how you gotta make hay while the sun still shines. If promoting the tour was important to Jon and Arnel, they could be there.

brywool wrote:This band's drama has killed them for me. I don't see myself buying a ticket, farewell performance or not.

I really haven't decided yet. There's not much to celebrate.

Neal's clearly of a mindset that the music - not the members - makes the band now. And why shouldn't he feel this way? Songs like DSB and SW's have shown the hits have staying power the musicians themselves don't. And those of us yearning to see a 2026 version of the Houston Summit Concert of our youth are in the minority. Look at Foreigner - not a single original member will be on stage this year, sans those handful of shows with Gramm, and apparently there is still a demand. I'm not sure Neal cares anymore if Journey plays a stadium or a shed... he just wants to be on stage, and doesn't seem to mind if those on stage with him didn't write or record one note of what they play. The only thing that will be at all interesting about Journey's future is if it's still called Journey.

FamilyMan wrote:Neal's clearly of a mindset that the music - not the members - makes the band now. And why shouldn't he feel this way?

I think he is of the mindset that HE is the band now. All of the press materials have been written to exalt him as the creator, and to dishonestly erase or diminish the contributions of others - like Herbie. I don't think he is driven by a benevolent appreciation of their popular music at all. I think he actually resents having to play so much of Cain's cheeseball crap night after night.

FamilyMan wrote:I'm not sure Neal cares anymore if Journey plays a stadium or a shed... he just wants to be on stage, and doesn't seem to mind if those on stage with him didn't write or record one note of what they play.

He spoke lowly of several of the venues Live Nation would have them play. With AEG, they were back to arenas, where he felt they belong.

Typical PR from the real journey now Paua Dean White...yea the same chick who banged benny hinn.
And the WH crasher who had Neal bail her out of a marriage.
Didn't know you could that but that's journey now.

I don't think arnel cares 1 cent about the 2 women.
Just that he us legally bound to tour.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:He spoke lowly of several of the venues Live Nation would have them play. With AEG, they were back to arenas, where he felt they belong.

To be fair, I'm not impressed with Live Nation venues as a concert goer myself either.

ebake02 wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:He spoke lowly of several of the venues Live Nation would have them play. With AEG, they were back to arenas, where he felt they belong.

To be fair, I'm not impressed with Live Nation venues as a concert goer myself either.

Some of my best Journey concerts were in muddy fields. But I don't care either way tbh. I was simply responding to Family Man's claim that Neal doesn't care about the venue and only desires to be up on stage. I don't think that's true. He thought the band deserved better than some of the Live Nation venues and since switching to AEG, they have done better.

It appears that Arnel has a concert in the Philippines on February 13th.
Shouldn't he be in Journey rehearsals by then?
My guess is that any deep cuts for this tour will be handled by Deen and Arnel will stick to the dirty dozen.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BtHDF8M2g/

The_Noble_Cause wrote:It appears that Arnel has a concert in the Philippines on February 13th.
Shouldn't he be in Journey rehearsals by then?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BtHDF8M2g/

Seeing this would piss me off if I were Neal and Jon. A 3 hour set over 60+ dates is very demanding even if Deen and Jason sing a few so there is no way in hell I would let my singer fly back home 2 weeks before the tour starts to play a show and put that added strain on his voice.

Arnel likely joins rehearsals towards the end. Plus, the band is no stronger to vocal assistance should there be a need.