Neal says Jon is leaving Journey

[Gideon]

Neal posted on Twitter that Jon told the band tonight that he’s leaving Journey:

Check it out: https://x.com/nealschonmusic/status/197 ... 83094?s=46

UPDATE:

Neal clarifies that Jon will leave after the 26-27 tour and that "we will have a couple of great years."
https://x.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1976694142899204323

[The_Noble_Cause]

Neal posted on Twitter that Jon told the band tonight that he’s leaving Journey:

Check it out: https://x.com/nealschonmusic/status/197 ... 83094?s=46

As mentioned already in this forum, the rumor was this tour was a farewell tour. Now we know WHO is saying farewell. But this is more unprofessional BS. Where is Cain's statement? Where's the press release? Neal is already re-tweeting bootlickers telling him "as long as you're in the band it's still Journey." Jon is co-owner. The name Journey might not even be Neal's to use after this.

Fans have long pointed out that Cain seemed miserable up there and his evangelical Trumpian views have become a flashpoint for some fans. Still, I am saddened to hear this news. It was sad when we lost Ross too. What is left?

[danielb]

What's wrong with these guys? Thinly veiled insults between band members, or rather from Neal to Jon, instead of a proper press release like any other professional band?

Like TNC, I interpret this to mean the next tour will be Jon's last.

Is Neal legally able to continue as Journey? Only with Jon's blessing and him taking a part of the profits?

[The_Noble_Cause]

This news prompted me to listen to some of JC's most recent interviews...

On an October 2nd edition of The Strang Report podcast (no idea what this is), Jon says the following at 20:27:

"I'm coming with an EP at the end of the year and then of course we go on the Journey tour, umm, uhh, in 2026 on our farewell journey tour, so i'll be saying goodbye to that and I'll prolly move on to ministry."

https://youtu.be/rprRTxAIze0?si=VvTDRK3uQJX_XuQp

Sounds to me that there was a unified plan for a farewell tour (based on what I heard thru the AEG grapevine and this interview). Neal's tweet is off-message and odd. Is Cain even going to be on this final tour?

[danielb]

Since Journey is no longer a creative entity, as in a band releasing new studio albums regularly, it begs the question "What is Journey?".

Personally, I find the JTT approach much more rewarding. Longer shows with more interesting setlists, covering all of Journey, not only the dirty dozen.

I can see how the Journey name is good for business, but artistically speaking, the band died a long time ago.

Journey today = Neal and whatever he decides to do (JTT?).

[The_Noble_Cause]

Personally, I find the JTT approach much more rewarding. Longer shows with more interesting setlists, covering all of Journey, not only the dirty dozen.

As Kevin Cronin recently learned, sometimes starting out on your own isn't that financially viable. JTT did how many shows total? A handful, right? While I'm sure they can pack niche markets / smaller venues, can they be successful in the long run?

[Jeremey]

Isn't the closest parallel here maybe Foreigner, where Mick Jones was basically the "one guy" for the last years until he couldn't tour anymore, or maybe those old Motown groups that tour for decades with an ever-changing cast of performers like the Temptations, etc?

Although I think Mick has/had much more creative input in the songwriting than Schon has, as much as Neal wants to claim it's "his" band he would have never written those songs without the partnership of Perry and Cain.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Isn't the closest parallel here maybe Foreigner, where Mick Jones was basically the "one guy" for the last years until he couldn't tour anymore, or maybe those old Motown groups that tour for decades with an ever-changing cast of performers like the Temptations, etc?

Mick seemed to own Foreigner completely. Under the current arrangement, Neal and Jon run Journey 50/50.

[jestor92]

Going to be fun seeing Journey court once Schon tries touring as Journey.

[jrnyman28]

If this is accurate, it sounds to me like Jon is stepping down from touring. I can imagine him remaining equal partner and “allowing” Neal to continue touring as Journey.

[The_Noble_Cause]

If this is accurate, it sounds to me like Jon is stepping down from touring. I can imagine him remaining equal partner and “allowing” Neal to continue touring as Journey.

The only thing Jon has said so far is that 26-27 is a farewell tour.
Neal's "Journey Beyond" Twitter logo indicates to me that he won't be allowed.

[Monker]

Wow, I kind of predicted this a while back.

Schon/Cain (Freedom LLC) do not own "Journey". Unless something has changed, Nightmare owns "Journey" and they license the name to Freedom LLC. So, if Jonathan is no longer going to tour and Neal does not want Jonathan to have a say in what the band does, Neal would have to get a new LLC and Nightmare would have to be willing to grant a new license to that LLC....or, Nightmare would continue granting a license to Freedom LLC knowing Jonathan is not contributing to the band in any way; touring, recording, etc.

IMO, Nightmare should give a license to Neal to only be able to tour/record as "Neal Schon's Journey", or something similar. But, that is just my opinion...and I have not looked at this in a very long time so Nightmare may have done something like sold the Journey trademark to Neal. I guess we will see in a couple years, after the tour and Neal decides what is next.

I think Jonathan made a good decision for himself and his own best interests at this point in his life. He's in his 70's...he should enjoy this part of his life on HIS terms...so should Steve Perry, and Neal.

I think a "neat idea" would be to have "Neal Schon's Journey" as a residency in Vegas and have an open invite for past members of the band to join the show whenever the may want to. That could be fun.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I think a "neat idea" would be to have "Neal Schon's Journey" as a residency in Vegas and have an open invite for past members of the band to join the show whenever the may want to. That could be fun.

How many past members are even on good terms with the guy? You are looking at a very shallow pool.

[Gideon]

This is legitimately the end of an era for me.

My parents raised me a Journey fan even though Perry was long gone before I was born.

I'm 34 now, I've seen them in concert dozens of times since 2005, and the Neal/Jon partnership has been the bedrock of the band for me.

Now that Perry and Cain are both gone, that's it for Journey as far as I'm concerned.

Neal's amazing, but he's just 1/3 of that magical partnership, and Neal alone isn't Journey despite what he may think.

[danielb]

And now the news is out in the absence of a press release

https://blabbermouth.net/news/neal-scho ... s-ministry

[The_Noble_Cause]

And now the news is out in the absence of a press release

https://blabbermouth.net/news/neal-scho ... s-ministry

Exactly as Neal intended. We've seen this movie multiple times.

[The_Noble_Cause]

This is legitimately the end of an era for me.

My parents raised me a Journey fan even though Perry was long gone before I was born.

I'm 34 now, I've seen them in concert dozens of times since 2005, and the Neal/Jon partnership has been the bedrock of the band for me.

Now that Perry and Cain are both gone, that's it for Journey as far as I'm concerned.

Neal's amazing, but he's just 1/3 of that magical partnership, and Neal alone isn't Journey despite what he may think.

I feel the same.

[danielb]

Could it be that this back and forth between Neal and Jon is a calculated move to create publicity for the tour? Probably not but it almost appears too dysfunctional.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Could it be that this back and forth between Neal and Jon is a calculated move to create publicity for the tour? Probably not but it almost appears too dysfunctional.

It's always coming from one side. Cain usually releases polished statements through intermediaries. Since losing proper management, Neal just shoots from the hip all the time on social media and it's gotten way worse since he married Salahi.

[Gideon]

UPDATE:

Neal clarifies Jon will depart AFTER the 2026-2027 tour and that it will be "a couple of great years."

https://x.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1976694142899204323

[The_Noble_Cause]

UPDATE:

Neal clarifies Jon will depart AFTER the 2026-2027 tour and that it will be "a couple of great years."

https://x.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1976694142899204323

Typical half truths for attention and clicks. So pathetic. I stand by what I heard. This is a farewell tour. I wouldn't be surprised if Arnel is done also.

[Monker]

UPDATE:

Neal clarifies Jon will depart AFTER the 2026-2027 tour and that it will be "a couple of great years."

https://x.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1976694142899204323

Typical half truths for attention and clicks. So pathetic. I stand by what I heard. This is a farewell tour. I wouldn't be surprised if Arnel is done also.

Well, I think Arnel will be done.

I was not going to mention this until after it happened...just to be sure it did happen. But, Fil wrote me back and basically said he was going to do an analysis video on that autotune bit. I would expect him to do the entire concert video...I asked him to also look at a newer video to verify they are still using autotune, but he did not reply to that. I am not sure how long it takes him to do these...but it's pretty bad timing for Journey.

He just released a video about the Eagles, again...they are using prerecorded vocals that are tuned....for ALL lead vocals (not just Don Henley) AND even backup vocals. So, if you go to an Eagles concert - NONE of the vocals are live...and have not been for at least a couple years. Pretty crazy.

[The_Noble_Cause]

UPDATE:

Neal clarifies Jon will depart AFTER the 2026-2027 tour and that it will be "a couple of great years."

https://x.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1976694142899204323

Typical half truths for attention and clicks. So pathetic. I stand by what I heard. This is a farewell tour. I wouldn't be surprised if Arnel is done also.

Well, I think Arnel will be done.

I was not going to mention this until after it happened...just to be sure it did happen. But, Fil wrote me back and basically said he was going to do an analysis video on that autotune bit. I would expect him to do the entire concert video...I asked him to also look at a newer video to verify they are still using autotune, but he did not reply to that. I am not sure how long it takes him to do these...but it's pretty bad timing for Journey.

He just released a video about the Eagles, again...they are using prerecorded vocals that are tuned....for ALL lead vocals (not just Don Henley) AND even backup vocals. So, if you go to an Eagles concert - NONE of the vocals are live...and have not been for at least a couple years. Pretty crazy.

Thanks for the update. I follow his channel. I actually emailed him recently about a country star on a "farewell tour." Been lipping for years. Fil does great work.

[The_Noble_Cause]

This news prompted me to listen to some of JC's most recent interviews...

On an October 2nd edition of The Strang Report podcast (no idea what this is), Jon says the following at 20:27:

"I'm coming with an EP at the end of the year and then of course we go on the Journey tour, umm, uhh, in 2026 on our farewell journey tour, so i'll be saying goodbye to that and I'll prolly move on to ministry."

https://youtu.be/rprRTxAIze0?si=VvTDRK3uQJX_XuQp

Sounds to me that there was a unified plan for a farewell tour (based on what I heard thru the AEG grapevine and this interview). Neal's tweet is off-message and odd. Is Cain even going to be on this final tour?

Neal has now clipped and is tweeting out this very soundbye from Cain I posted earlier. Is he lurking on here? Dude, get a real PR team and get a statement out there.

[Eric]

I’ll worry about this in 2 years. Their 50th anniversary tour was 3 years.

[Arkansas]

Geddy Lee recently said that the new RUSH tour (major cities residency) will add a keyboard player. Interesting timing...

later~

[Journey/Survivor]

Since Journey is no longer a creative entity, as in a band releasing new studio albums regularly, it begs the question "What is Journey?".

Personally, I find the JTT approach much more rewarding. Longer shows with more interesting setlists, covering all of Journey, not only the dirty dozen.

I can see how the Journey name is good for business, but artistically speaking, the band died a long time ago.

Journey today = Neal and whatever he decides to do (JTT?).

At this point I have far more interest in a JTT type of project than the actual Journey shows.

In recent years Journey have been playing nothing but the hits, and not even playing the hits with as much energy as they had in the past.

I'd be much more interested in a high energy set of deep cuts, and preferably in smaller venues. And at more reasonable ticket prices!

[The_Noble_Cause]

Cain's management sent out an update this afternoon (per UCR.com):

"Jonathan Cain remains an active member of Journey, and any reports suggesting otherwise are inaccurate," according to a news release. "He is fully dedicated to touring with the band over the next couple of years and has only expressed plans to retire at a later time."

Again, Neal has created a mess.

[Journey/Survivor]

Cain's management sent out an update this afternoon (per UCR.com):

"Jonathan Cain remains an active member of Journey, and any reports suggesting otherwise are inaccurate," according to a news release. "He is fully dedicated to touring with the band over the next couple of years and has only expressed plans to retire at a later time."

Again, Neal has created a mess.

Or possibly like danielb said, a publicity stunt of sorts to help sell tickets?

Although, the statement from Cain's management is more or less saying the same thing that Schon said. That Cain is touring with Journey for 2026 and 2027 and retiring. The statement from Cain's people does not state that he will be touring past 2027. Maybe he'll stay with Journey into and past 2028? But his management did not state that he will. Just that he's committed through 2027.

Technically, Cain's management did not name specific years at all. They just said the "Next couple of years," which would read like 2026 and 2027.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Or possibly like danielb said, a publicity stunt of sorts to help sell tickets?

Ever notice these stunts only originate from one side? And then, invariably, they have to be retracted/clarified/deleted etc.

Although, the statement from Cain's management is more or less saying the same thing that Schon said. That Cain is touring with Journey for 2026 and 2027 and retiring.

Neal's tweet made it sound like Cain had suddenly quit. He only clarified with the 2026-2027 part later.

The statement from Cain's people does not state that he will be touring past 2027. Maybe he'll stay with Journey into and past 2028?

Cain's statement doesn't acknowledge Journey's future after 2027 for a likely reason: the band (in this form at least) will be done.