MR

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jonathan-cain-journey-interview-2022/

Narada officially out. Jason officially a full member (however Monker wants to define it). No new music live until after Freedom is released this Summer.

Some other interesting comments.

Not one single mention of Randy either other than a summary about the revolving door of band members.

So Deen is back a full time member?

Abitaman wrote:So Deen is back a full time member?

I would say "yes", it certainly appears that way.
With no mention of Randy, there is also no mention of Todd. It may be that Todd is still considered solely a fill-in until Randy returns. But that is leap....

The way I read Cain's comments, seems like Narada's no longer being with the band was more of a Cain/Schon decision than Narada electing not to tour. There's no denying how capable Narada is as a drummer but Deen was always the ideal drummer for Journey... so I'm scratching my head even more after reading this as to why put Narada through the motions of recording/producing but then saying he's not the best fit when touring starts. Regardless, Narada and Neal remain great friends so things went down amicably at least.

Excited to hear more about this mystery August show.

DK23 wrote:Excited to hear more about this mystery August show.

Jon’s smoke and mirrors routine about that August show will probably stir up the Perry loons too and get the bullshit rumors and wishful thinking started again too.

DK23 wrote:The way I read Cain's comments, seems like Narada's no longer being with the band was more of a Cain/Schon decision than Narada electing not to tour. There's no denying how capable Narada is as a drummer but Deen was always the ideal drummer for Journey... so I'm scratching my head even more after reading this as to why put Narada through the motions of recording/producing but then saying he's not the best fit when touring starts. Regardless, Narada and Neal remain great friends so things went down amicably at least.

Nvm. Neal responded to a comment on FB with the following:

I’ll continue to work with Narada as he and I basically molded the new album together and co produced it also.
I think the road life was a little much and he’s chooses to stay at home and work his magic in the studio.
He worked so hard on this up coming Journey album Freedom taking on producing vocals with Arnel and he sounds amazing.

DK23 wrote:

DK23 wrote:The way I read Cain's comments, seems like Narada's no longer being with the band was more of a Cain/Schon decision than Narada electing not to tour. There's no denying how capable Narada is as a drummer but Deen was always the ideal drummer for Journey... so I'm scratching my head even more after reading this as to why put Narada through the motions of recording/producing but then saying he's not the best fit when touring starts. Regardless, Narada and Neal remain great friends so things went down amicably at least.

Nvm. Neal responded to a comment on FB with the following:

I’ll continue to work with Narada as he and I basically molded the new album together and co produced it also.
I think the road life was a little much and he’s chooses to stay at home and work his magic in the studio.
He worked so hard on this up coming Journey album Freedom taking on producing vocals with Arnel and he sounds amazing.

Narada only did like two shows. Why even experiment with two drummers if Narada was not liking the road anyway. IMO, adding the extra vocals helps cover for any issues Arnel is having, and adds another lead vocal break for Arnel. Those are the true reasons why Deen is back. Jonathan may have a tiny point that Deen played the old songs for years and Narada has a different take on the songs...but, I doubt that is the main reason.

Todd may have signed a contract to do a tour...but they seem to have not decided beyond that. No, they are not "full members of Journey"...what they are calling "full members" just means they have longer term contracts, or some time of full time employment with Elmo Brothers. They are employees of whatever Elmo Brothers has evolved into....Elmo is "Journey", THAT is who Nightmare licenses the name to.

It seems like people believe that calling somebody a "full member of Journey" means they share part ownership of the Journey name, or band, or in a more powerful position. Or, are part of the license. Last I looked; Nightmare owns the name and Elmo has a license to use it. Funny thing is, last I looked, Steve Smith and Ross are still in leadership positions in Nightmare. They are more connected to the Journey name than Arnel, Deen, or Todd...unless they reformed Elmo and added people to it, but I doubt either Neal nor Jonathan will want to do that.

Playing Journey songs is second nature to Deen and it shows. At the shows where Narada participated, Deen came across as his conductor. Why would they want to make a switch to someone with less ownership of the songs?

It probably helps that Deen sings too

Neal and Jon are the only partners in the band/brand, with the remaining three on salaries? Or does Arnel have a % of the partnership? Does anyone know for sure?

danielb wrote:Neal and Jon are the only partners in the band/brand, with the remaining three on salaries? Or does Arnel have a % of the partnership? Does anyone know for sure?

Elmo Brothers happened before ROR to allow only Perry/Cain/Schon to have the Journey license...no Smith or Valory. Elmo Brothers became NOMOTA after TBF....to remove Steve Perry from the corporation that was licensed to use the Journey name. That left only Schon/Cain. Then the lawsuit happened, which was settled. You can argue that the lawsuit may have changed that ...but it is extremely unlikely that Schon and Cain are going to agree to allow a third person in and reduce their control. When we know the what corporation holds the license, we can verify who controls it.

Narada is a legend, he played drums with Jaco Pastorius and Chick Corea and produced some of the biggest hits in R&B and pop music history (notice, not ROCK) by Mariah Carey, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston among others. It's hard to believe it would be his choice to go out on the road playing in a boomer rock band at this point in his career.

Or perhaps he simply didn't play the songs with as much authority as Deen, as Cain hints at.

Jeremey wrote:Narada is a legend, he played drums with Jaco Pastorius and Chick Corea and produced some of the biggest hits in R&B and pop music history (notice, not ROCK) by Mariah Carey, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston among others. It's hard to believe it would be his choice to go out on the road playing in a boomer rock band at this point in his career.

IMO, plans were changed. I think they wanted to tour last summer with Narada and Randy Jackson. But, "whatever" happened with their record contract, their management, and constant changes. Maybe the lawsuit was settled too late and everything became rushed and a tour couldn't happen that summer. Then Randy had TV commitments, and hasn't been mentioned at all lately, Deen was available and Narada was still messing with the album (according to Neal) for months. In the middle of all that they released the first single with a video of a cartoon Journey concert with a lineup that never even played together. It seems to me that it is only recently that things are settling down a bit.