Serious discussion... has Neal Schon relapsed?

[youkeepmewaiting]

Does anyone think he is back on drink or drugs again? His behaviour online has been pretty erratic for a while now and it would go someway to explaining it.

That said, I love Schon, my favourite member of the band.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Does anyone think he is back on drink or drugs again? His behaviour online has been pretty erratic for a while now and it would go someway to explaining it.

That said, I love Schon, my favourite member of the band.

Something is very wrong.

[Archetype]

What was up with the cryptic “if you see something going on next to the stage, take out your phone and record it” thing he posted recently?

[The_Noble_Cause]

What was up with the cryptic “if you see something going on next to the stage, take out your phone and record it” thing he posted recently?

He says concert security has been harassing his wife as she stands and takes pictures. He claims he asked management to allow him to bring his own security detail and was denied. This guy is a little dramatic bitch. Shut up and play.

[Eric]

It seems erratic at first glance... but then you realize that the only pics and videos and promo of the band is through him. Leppard is all over social media every day and there is nothing from Journey?

[youkeepmewaiting]

Yeah Journey's promotion on social media is awful. I could do a better job.

[tj]

Who knows the cause. Perhaps he has always been this way but management or others restrained him from acting out. Prior to the FB/Twitter era, we would have way much less of a chance to see it. Regardless, I gotta think that if SP sees it, it just validates him staying away from the dumpster fire.

[Arkansas]

Idle hands are the devil's workshop, no? Doesn't it seem this happens when not on tour, doing shows, in studio, etc?
The current tour with DL has 2 week breaks in it. Is this when he gets bored, and 'idle' ?

later~

[Hollywood]

Does anyone think he is back on drink or drugs again? His behaviour online has been pretty erratic for a while now and it would go someway to explaining it.

That said, I love Schon, my favourite member of the band.

Something is very wrong.

At this point Journey is just very dysfunctional. The band members have individually gotten better at social media, but the band and management are just terrible at it and it is because of Neal. He would become upset if too many posts were about Jon or Steve or anyone other than him. He's obsessed with this stuff and it just gets old and is certainly not productive.

Neal's wife doesn't need extra security and certainly doesn't need to be taking pictures and video of the band. It is clearly obtrusive. There is a video on YouTube from Hartford of DSB and you can clearly see band security keeping tabs on her while she is videoing and keeping venue security in check. So why do they need MORE security so she can film and photo? She is standing behind the barricade in front of Neal with what looks like an iPad. It is huge the light is on and she's just in the way. This is all unnecessary. The more security groups you have working the more dysfunctional it will become.

Neal makes broad accusations with no foundation in reality. He talks about Live Nation security and conspiracy when at these venues these guys are not Live Nation security, they are really not venue security. They are rent a security people from a third party agency. They might work 10 nights a year doing this. These security guys are just doing their job and do not have it out for his wife. People aren't supposed to be behind the barricade for safety reasons and venue security enforces that not the bands. Now a band security person who has been with the band a long time and watches over members is now tasked with protecting her. What a waste.

And people that behave like Neal is behaving always get what they complain about. Live nation is conspiring against me, then Live Nation has to figure out a way to get Neal to stop acting like this and they end up conspiring about Neal. However, it is only a reaction to what Neal is doing.

I am a huge Neal fan and support his music every way I can, but the personal stuff is exhausting and then you have people like the "Real Music Observer" feed into his BS and it just gets worse.

[The_Noble_Cause]

At this point Journey is just very dysfunctional. The band members have individually gotten better at social media, but the band and management are just terrible at it and it is because of Neal. He would become upset if too many posts were about Jon or Steve or anyone other than him. He's obsessed with this stuff and it just gets old and is certainly not productive.

Neal's wife doesn't need extra security and certainly doesn't need to be taking pictures and video of the band. It is clearly obtrusive. There is a video on YouTube from Hartford of DSB and you can clearly see band security keeping tabs on her while she is videoing and keeping venue security in check. So why do they need MORE security so she can film and photo? She is standing behind the barricade in front of Neal with what looks like an iPad. It is huge the light is on and she's just in the way. This is all unnecessary. The more security groups you have working the more dysfunctional it will become.

Neal makes broad accusations with no foundation in reality. He talks about Live Nation security and conspiracy when at these venues these guys are not Live Nation security, they are really not venue security. They are rent a security people from a third party agency. They might work 10 nights a year doing this. These security guys are just doing their job and do not have it out for his wife. People aren't supposed to be behind the barricade for safety reasons and venue security enforces that not the bands. Now a band security person who has been with the band a long time and watches over members is now tasked with protecting her. What a waste.

And people that behave like Neal is behaving always get what they complain about. Live nation is conspiring against me, then Live Nation has to figure out a way to get Neal to stop acting like this and they end up conspiring about Neal. However, it is only a reaction to what Neal is doing.

I am a huge Neal fan and support his music every way I can, but the personal stuff is exhausting and then you have people like the "Real Music Observer" feed into his BS and it just gets worse.

Well written and well thought-out post. Thanks. Neal has always been outspoken and blunt. Fans like me appreciated that. But now that no BS frankness has largely been replaced by paranoia and delusions of grandeur.

[JourneyHard]

In defense of Neal, I have to say in my personal opinion, if I had to perform the same twelve songs every night for twenty years, I would become very grumpy, too.

Journey is blessed to have so many songs that people love, but it is also a curse. They are forced to play these same songs over and over again. I wouldn't be surprised if Neal hates these songs. Imagine all the other songs he has created on his solo albums and elsewhere. It must be very frustrating that he cannot play any of those, but instead is forced to play the same tired old songs night after night.

[The_Noble_Cause]

In defense of Neal, I have to say in my personal opinion, if I had to perform the same twelve songs every night for twenty years, I would become very grumpy, too.

Journey is blessed to have so many songs that people love, but it is also a curse. They are forced to play these same songs over and over again. I wouldn't be surprised if Neal hates these songs. Imagine all the other songs he has created on his solo albums and elsewhere. It must be very frustrating that he cannot play any of those, but instead is forced to play the same tired old songs night after night.

I don't think anyone is talking about him being "grumpy." He sounds like Ray Liotta at the end of Goodfellas. Paranoid and deeply unwell. For example, accusing Twitter of hacking him almost every day.

[Marabelle]

Well, I would think if he is considering any remote possibility of a conversation with Mr Perry than he should not be Humpty Dumpty and not able to get himself back together in time. Now would not be the time to fall apart.

[Gideon]

He’s lost his fucking mind. Neal needs to communicate to fans via 6 string and never, fucking ever return to the world of social media. Even Donald Trump would be like “Fucking chill dude.”

[Marabelle]

If she loves him so dearly, drag his ass in for an intervention.

[The_Noble_Cause]

He’s lost his fucking mind. Neal needs to communicate to fans via 6 string and never, fucking ever return to the world of social media. Even Donald Trump would be like “Fucking chill dude.”

Funny and accurate.

[steveo777]

He’s lost his fucking mind. Neal needs to communicate to fans via 6 string and never, fucking ever return to the world of social media. Even Donald Trump would be like “Fucking chill dude.”

Sad! True...

[tater1977]

Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Journey’s Neal Schon: Aretha Franklin tribute was my idea, not the band’s

Jay Cridlin

http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/mu ... _171084013

During Journey’s concert on Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, guitarist Neal Schon put a momentary pin in the band’s parade of hits to perform an extended solo, during which photos of the late Aretha Franklin flashed on screen behind him.

Schon would like the world to know that this tribute to the Queen of Soul was his idea and execution, not Journey’s.
I know this because he asked me to alter my concert review to reflect it.

"The correct way to say (it is) Journey’s Neal Schon did the tribute to Aretha Franklin," Schon wrote in an email Monday. "That would be honest journalism of what it was and is."

Let’s back up. I covered the concert on Saturday, and gave it a favorable review, writing that "time hasn’t caught up to Journey and Def Leppard," and saluting both bands for "giving the people what they want." Of the Franklin tribute, I wrote:
"(Schon) took several extended solos during the show, meandering and mugging it up as his fingers flicked across the fretboard. He put some honest-to-goodness heart behind the last one, just before Wheel In the Sky, as the band scrolled photos of the late Aretha Franklin on the screen behind him."

That prompted a response from Schon’s publicist, Tom George.

"You said that the band scrolled photos of the late Aretha Franklin. The tribute was done solo by Neal himself. It was a tribute from Neal to Aretha. Can you please change the word band to he or Neal? We want to make it clear it was a tribute from Neal to Aretha."

Requests like this are rare. Of the hundreds of concerts I’ve reviewed, only a few have prompted a response from the artist or their team. Sometimes the feedback is positive. Sometimes it’s negative. Sometimes it’s to correct an error, like a typo or mixed-up song title.

This was a little different. This was Schon demanding full and sole credit for an Aretha Franklin tribute during a Journey show. Putting aside the fact that Journey’s production team also played a role, it seemed odd that Schon would go out of his way to make sure readers knew his bandmates had nothing to do with it.

"Were you at the show? It was very clear Neal Schon was paying a personal tribute to an artist he greatly admired," George said in a second email, copied to the band’s attorney for emphasis.

After further prodding, a few hours later came an email forwarded from Schon himself. While he didn’t comment on Franklin specifically, he said the set’s solos were slotted out every night, and allowed the individual members of Journey, including pianist Jonathan Cain and drummer Steve Smith, a moment of their own in the spotlight.

"The only ones that knew what I was planning were our lighting director and designer," he wrote. "I often do something new EVERY NIGHT. Nobody knows really what it will be. It is my solo section (by myself to do as I please) as Steve Smith and Jonathan Cain do every nite. It’s called improv and that’s precisely why it’s different every night."

Actually, over the weekend, Schon Instagrammed a clip of his Franklin tribute at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, which took place the night before the Tampa concert. But as he tells it, the rest of Journey didn’t know it was coming in Tampa.

Schon had one other issue with my review. At one point I referred to the band’s only other originating member, Ross Valory, as its "founding bassist." Valory was the group’s first bassist, joining even before they adopted the name "Journey," and he wrote and played on their debut album. But Schon drew an emphatic line of distinction between the phrases "founding bassist" and "original bassist."

"I myself started the band with ex-manager Herbie Herbert," Schon wrote. "Everyone else came afterwards including Ross Valory. You can’t rewrite history man. It is what it is."

Journey fans can debate it amongst themselves. What’s not up for debate, according to Schon, is the importance of his solos to the live Journey experience, even if they’re not tied to honoring Franklin’s memory.

"The audience loves it every single night," he said. "It seems that management has more of a problem than anyone as it’s me by myself and tend(s) to get tons of media press that’s not necessarily branded as a Journey brand or song. God forbid lol what’s good for me in the end is good for all."

[perryfan61]

I had to walk away from reading this half way through, I got so mad.

So how can you start a band with just you and a manager....that's not a band, it's a solo act. To say that it's rewriting history to say that Ross was an original member is beyond preposterous....as well as an insult to Ross. To me there's no difference between "original" bassist and "founding" bassist.

Neal is out of control, and his paranoia and delusions of grandeur grow more ridiculous by the day. The man is seriously troubled.

He makes such a point to distance himself from "his" band, he should tour on his own. Oh wait...no one would pay to see him. He needs the band to make money, but he hates the band and its management. No wonder he's totally nuts.

[Memorex]

What a knob. Great player. Excellent player. But seriously distorted thinking.

[Hollywood]

Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Journey’s Neal Schon: Aretha Franklin tribute was my idea, not the band’s

Jay Cridlin

http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/mu ... _171084013

During Journey’s concert on Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, guitarist Neal Schon put a momentary pin in the band’s parade of hits to perform an extended solo, during which photos of the late Aretha Franklin flashed on screen behind him.

Schon would like the world to know that this tribute to the Queen of Soul was his idea and execution, not Journey’s.
I know this because he asked me to alter my concert review to reflect it.

"The correct way to say (it is) Journey’s Neal Schon did the tribute to Aretha Franklin," Schon wrote in an email Monday. "That would be honest journalism of what it was and is."

Let’s back up. I covered the concert on Saturday, and gave it a favorable review, writing that "time hasn’t caught up to Journey and Def Leppard," and saluting both bands for "giving the people what they want." Of the Franklin tribute, I wrote:
"(Schon) took several extended solos during the show, meandering and mugging it up as his fingers flicked across the fretboard. He put some honest-to-goodness heart behind the last one, just before Wheel In the Sky, as the band scrolled photos of the late Aretha Franklin on the screen behind him."

That prompted a response from Schon’s publicist, Tom George.

"You said that the band scrolled photos of the late Aretha Franklin. The tribute was done solo by Neal himself. It was a tribute from Neal to Aretha. Can you please change the word band to he or Neal? We want to make it clear it was a tribute from Neal to Aretha."

Requests like this are rare. Of the hundreds of concerts I’ve reviewed, only a few have prompted a response from the artist or their team. Sometimes the feedback is positive. Sometimes it’s negative. Sometimes it’s to correct an error, like a typo or mixed-up song title.

This was a little different. This was Schon demanding full and sole credit for an Aretha Franklin tribute during a Journey show. Putting aside the fact that Journey’s production team also played a role, it seemed odd that Schon would go out of his way to make sure readers knew his bandmates had nothing to do with it.

"Were you at the show? It was very clear Neal Schon was paying a personal tribute to an artist he greatly admired," George said in a second email, copied to the band’s attorney for emphasis.

After further prodding, a few hours later came an email forwarded from Schon himself. While he didn’t comment on Franklin specifically, he said the set’s solos were slotted out every night, and allowed the individual members of Journey, including pianist Jonathan Cain and drummer Steve Smith, a moment of their own in the spotlight.

"The only ones that knew what I was planning were our lighting director and designer," he wrote. "I often do something new EVERY NIGHT. Nobody knows really what it will be. It is my solo section (by myself to do as I please) as Steve Smith and Jonathan Cain do every nite. It’s called improv and that’s precisely why it’s different every night."

Actually, over the weekend, Schon Instagrammed a clip of his Franklin tribute at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, which took place the night before the Tampa concert. But as he tells it, the rest of Journey didn’t know it was coming in Tampa.

Schon had one other issue with my review. At one point I referred to the band’s only other originating member, Ross Valory, as its "founding bassist." Valory was the group’s first bassist, joining even before they adopted the name "Journey," and he wrote and played on their debut album. But Schon drew an emphatic line of distinction between the phrases "founding bassist" and "original bassist."

"I myself started the band with ex-manager Herbie Herbert," Schon wrote. "Everyone else came afterwards including Ross Valory. You can’t rewrite history man. It is what it is."

Journey fans can debate it amongst themselves. What’s not up for debate, according to Schon, is the importance of his solos to the live Journey experience, even if they’re not tied to honoring Franklin’s memory.

"The audience loves it every single night," he said. "It seems that management has more of a problem than anyone as it’s me by myself and tend(s) to get tons of media press that’s not necessarily branded as a Journey brand or song. God forbid lol what’s good for me in the end is good for all."

Good lord.

[tj]

Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Journey’s Neal Schon: Aretha Franklin tribute was my idea, not the band’s

Jay Cridlin

http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/mu ... _171084013

During Journey’s concert on Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, guitarist Neal Schon put a momentary pin in the band’s parade of hits to perform an extended solo, during which photos of the late Aretha Franklin flashed on screen behind him.

Schon would like the world to know that this tribute to the Queen of Soul was his idea and execution, not Journey’s.
I know this because he asked me to alter my concert review to reflect it.

"The correct way to say (it is) Journey’s Neal Schon did the tribute to Aretha Franklin," Schon wrote in an email Monday. "That would be honest journalism of what it was and is."

Let’s back up. I covered the concert on Saturday, and gave it a favorable review, writing that "time hasn’t caught up to Journey and Def Leppard," and saluting both bands for "giving the people what they want." Of the Franklin tribute, I wrote:
"(Schon) took several extended solos during the show, meandering and mugging it up as his fingers flicked across the fretboard. He put some honest-to-goodness heart behind the last one, just before Wheel In the Sky, as the band scrolled photos of the late Aretha Franklin on the screen behind him."

That prompted a response from Schon’s publicist, Tom George.

"You said that the band scrolled photos of the late Aretha Franklin. The tribute was done solo by Neal himself. It was a tribute from Neal to Aretha. Can you please change the word band to he or Neal? We want to make it clear it was a tribute from Neal to Aretha."

Requests like this are rare. Of the hundreds of concerts I’ve reviewed, only a few have prompted a response from the artist or their team. Sometimes the feedback is positive. Sometimes it’s negative. Sometimes it’s to correct an error, like a typo or mixed-up song title.

This was a little different. This was Schon demanding full and sole credit for an Aretha Franklin tribute during a Journey show. Putting aside the fact that Journey’s production team also played a role, it seemed odd that Schon would go out of his way to make sure readers knew his bandmates had nothing to do with it.

"Were you at the show? It was very clear Neal Schon was paying a personal tribute to an artist he greatly admired," George said in a second email, copied to the band’s attorney for emphasis.

After further prodding, a few hours later came an email forwarded from Schon himself. While he didn’t comment on Franklin specifically, he said the set’s solos were slotted out every night, and allowed the individual members of Journey, including pianist Jonathan Cain and drummer Steve Smith, a moment of their own in the spotlight.

"The only ones that knew what I was planning were our lighting director and designer," he wrote. "I often do something new EVERY NIGHT. Nobody knows really what it will be. It is my solo section (by myself to do as I please) as Steve Smith and Jonathan Cain do every nite. It’s called improv and that’s precisely why it’s different every night."

Actually, over the weekend, Schon Instagrammed a clip of his Franklin tribute at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, which took place the night before the Tampa concert. But as he tells it, the rest of Journey didn’t know it was coming in Tampa.

Schon had one other issue with my review. At one point I referred to the band’s only other originating member, Ross Valory, as its "founding bassist." Valory was the group’s first bassist, joining even before they adopted the name "Journey," and he wrote and played on their debut album. But Schon drew an emphatic line of distinction between the phrases "founding bassist" and "original bassist."

"I myself started the band with ex-manager Herbie Herbert," Schon wrote. "Everyone else came afterwards including Ross Valory. You can’t rewrite history man. It is what it is."

Journey fans can debate it amongst themselves. What’s not up for debate, according to Schon, is the importance of his solos to the live Journey experience, even if they’re not tied to honoring Franklin’s memory.

"The audience loves it every single night," he said. "It seems that management has more of a problem than anyone as it’s me by myself and tend(s) to get tons of media press that’s not necessarily branded as a Journey brand or song. God forbid lol what’s good for me in the end is good for all."

Neal: Hey, Steve Perry, please come play with me and I will subject you to this kind of crap too.

[Gideon]

God. Damn.
What a fucking douchecanoe.

Can’t wait for TNC to see this

[RedWingFan]

I think all the attention that Perry is getting with this new single and CD release has pushed Schon over the edge. I feel bad for the other 4 guys having to deal with that asshole.

[Gideon]

I think all the attention that Perry is getting with this new single and CD release has pushed Schon over the edge. I feel bad for the other 4 guys having to deal with that asshole.

Nah, this has sadly been going on for months before anyone had a clue SP was coming back.

[slucero]

"douchecanoe"


okay... I'm taking that.

[RedWingFan]

Has any other band members commented on Perry's return to the music scene? I don't follow any of them on social media.

[tater1977]

Has any other band members commented on Perry's return to the music scene? I don't follow any of them on social media.

All I've seen is Jeff, Deeno, Arnel and Neal's welcome back.

[marco17]

Has any other band members commented on Perry's return to the music scene? I don't follow any of them on social media.

All I've seen is Jeff, Deeno, Arnel and Neal's welcome back.

Augeri did too, but nothing from the others.

[RedWingFan]

Has any other band members commented on Perry's return to the music scene? I don't follow any of them on social media.

All I've seen is Jeff, Deeno, Arnel and Neal's welcome back.

Augeri did too, but nothing from the others.

Thanks guys