Neal Schon talks about Journey's nine-date residency in Las

[tater1977]

Neal Schon talks about Journey's nine-date residency in Las Vegas

http://www.latimes.com/travel/lasvegas/ ... story.html

April 28, 2015, 8:40 AM|Reporting from Las Vegas

Rock band Journey starts its nine-date residency at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel Wednesday, April 29 through Saturday, May 16. What can fans expect? We sat down with founder Neal Schon, who plays lead guitar and sings backing vocals, to talk about the show. Schon was in the midst of recording with singer and legendary guitarist Carlos Santana. .

What are you planning to do with your nine-date set at the Hard Rock Hotel?

We’ll be mixing it up. We have a lot of songs in our repertoire. We’ll be recording and filming all nine shows for a hopeful DVD. When you film and record, you don’t want to record the same songs, so we’ll be playing a lot from the past.

Are you going to do something special that you can’t do on tour?

We have five or six songs everybody wants to hear, and we will throw things at you. Five or six songs are mandatory in the set every night. After that, everything else is moveable. We’ll have five or six other songs in the next show.

What about the set itself?

We are going to come in with our production crew with these amazing lights and an amazing screen in the back. The sound is the most important thing.

You worked with Carlos Santana in the past. Any chance we will see him on stage with you?

I’ve been recording with Carlos Santana and we’ve been knocking stuff out. I would think there would be a high chance of that with the length of time we’re in town and his residency here. He did play with us the last time we were in Las Vegas.

You’re probably going to have repeat audiences. Will you be doing any cover songs or songs from deep in your catalog that we don’t normally hear?

We haven’t gotten that far yet. As time goes on, we’ll get a call from whomever to perform with us. Then you have the fight, and that brings in a lot of people.

When you look out at the crowd at The Joint, who do you expect to see?

Every night, it’s pretty mixed. I definitely feel like there will be three to four generations out there.

Do you think that you draw the younger crowds because “Don’t Stop Believin’” was the final song on “The Sopranos?”

Actually I think the young ones, those who are 12 and younger, can be more attributed to “Glee” doing our songs. “The Sopranos” was a monumental kick.

Did you know “The Sopranos” was going to use your song?

I received an email that was sent to our management that David Chase was contemplating using the song a few months before the final show. I was so busy always working in the studio, and before you knew it, it was there. I was working, and my phone started blowing up. That was the last thing anyone saw.

Do you remember your first trip to Las Vegas?

Boy, all I remember is we played some really funky place. It was probably 1973 or 1974 and I think we played the old Tropicana. I can’t remember. Honestly, I’ve been touring since I was 15 with Santana and I’ve pretty much played everywhere you could possibly play in the world.

Do you remember the first thing that shocked you in Las Vegas?

I don’t remember ever being shocked. The only thing that shocked me was being in Santana. I was 15 and I had to get consent from my parents to tour with the band. We went to Africa, all over Europe. That was a major shock for me.

[tater1977]

http://www.fox5vegas.com/Global/category.asp?c=210064

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[Marabelle]

Bravo for Neal! It's just who he is! Bravo! I truly admire his talent and ambition for music!

[FamilyMan]

Love that they're going to record. Hope we get some deep tracks on this one ala Generations Tour. That ain't a cheap proposition either... recording nine nights. The union show call rates and fees alone could keep you from breaking even. They must be getting serious coin for this residency.

[tater1977]

Journey explores its legendary catalog for Hard Rock Hotel run

http://lasvegasmagazine.com/news/2015/m ... rock-h/#/0

By Matt Kelemen
May 1, 2015


Journey guitarist Neal Schon is effervescent these days. His band’s trajectory has been ascending ever since “Don’t Stop Believin’” provided the soundtrack to the iconic final scene of The Sopranos in 2007 and current vocalist Arnel Pineda entered the picture. On the eve of a nine-show run at the Hard Rock Hotel, which kicked off April 29, Schon is working in a secret studio in Vegas recording an album with the Woodstock-era lineup of Santana. “We will be finishing right before that residency starts,” Schon says of the Carlos Santana-led project, tentatively titled Santana 4. “Then I have like a day off and we do a rehearsal, and we’re in.”

Life could not be better for Schon, who cofounded Journey with current bassist Ross Valory in 1971, and he’s not taking it for granted. “It’s really wild that at this point in my career things just feel like they’re just opening up,” he says. “It’s really crazy but I have so much going on right now that I’m really excited about. I’ve got a new double-CD that’s called Neal Schon Vortex (due out in June), and we’re pushing to try and get it released just in Vegas while we’re doing a residency at The Joint.”

Schon also plans to offer a few rare guitars from his own personal collection for sale, including the Stratocaster he used on “Lights” and designs he made for Paul Reed Smith. The band itself—which includes keyboardist Jonathan Cain and drummer Dean Castronovo—has no current plans to record a follow-up to 2011’s Eclipse, but will be filming the Hard Rock concerts for a future release. Schon says the multidate run (continuing through May 16) allows Journey to dig into deeper cuts from its catalog amid delivering the hits.

“We’re definitely going to mix it up and we’re going to take chances,” he says. “I’ve also moved to have it all filmed, and what would be the purpose of filming nine shows if you’re going to play the same stuff every night? I really want to dig into all our songs, and we’re going to rejuvenate some old stuff, we’re going to play some new stuff. We’re going to play a lot.”

Mixing it up may include an appearance by Santana himself. (“Carlos is trying to talk me into moving here!” he says.) Then the band gets a break before preparing for another milestone—a concert at the Hollywood Bowl backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles—and a summer tour of Canada.

“I’ve got a great gig with Journey,” says Schon. “It’s proved itself over and over and over. We’ve got a great thing that we’ve worked our asses off to rebuild. We’re one of the very fortunate bands that are still considered classic rock, and we are killing. To come here and do this residency in Vegas is going to be really fun for us because we’re playing the giant places all the time, and love the intimacy with people when we get to play a smaller place.”

[ebake02]

Jon posted a short promo for this on their Facebook page last week and he sounded excited and pumped about it. It was an Oscar worthy performance.

[tater1977]

NS - “We’re definitely going to mix it up and we’re going to take chances,” he says. “I’ve also moved to have it all filmed, and what would be the purpose of filming nine shows if you’re going to play the same stuff every night? I really want to dig into all our songs, and we’re going to rejuvenate some old stuff, we’re going to play some new stuff. We’re going to play a lot.”


In light of Deen's ' issues' ...wondering if they will still do this .. or release at a much later date

[The_Noble_Cause]

In light of Deen's ' issues' ...wondering if they will still do this .. or release at a much later date

Wouldn't be the first time a Journey concert dvd never saw the light of day.