Journey‘s Neal Schon spoke at length about the band’s upcoming Final Frontier farewell tour in a new Rolling Stone interview, offering some (sort of) clarity about his future in and out of the band.
According to Schon, the impetus for the farewell tour was keyboardist Jonathan Cain‘s desire to leave the band after one more road trip, which Cain confirmed last month.
“Well, Jonathan had mentioned that he was wanting to say goodbye at the end of this tour,” Schon said. “At the time, we had a manager, which we don’t anymore … the old story of that. It always manages to come back to the beginning, which is with me here and sort of running stuff … The legacy and the heart of the band I have within myself … I’ve been here since day one, and wherever I go, the heart and soul of the band is going to go with me. Journey goes on.”
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Journey Farewell Tour Plans: Deep Cuts and Possible Steve Perry Reunion?
So, how exactly will it go on? Schon made it clear that he wants to continue performing after Journey wraps up. He might use the “Journey Beyond” moniker, which he’s been teasing on social media for a long time now — but he also might not.
“Well, who knows? Nothing is set in stone right now until I actually get there,” he said. “There’s quite a few names that I’ve gotten trademarks on so I can sort of levitate to what I’m thinking and what I’m feeling at that time.”
In the meantime, Schon is looking forward to reviving some Journey deep cuts on the Final Frontier tour. “We’re doing ‘An Evening with Journey,’ two full sets with an intermission,” he explained. “There’ll be no opener. It’s all Journey. So we’re going to be digging into songs we haven’t done in decades, plus the anthems that everybody loves.”
The guitarist is also open to reuniting with Steve Perry in some capacity on the upcoming tour. “I would welcome him, and I’m sure everybody else would, too,” he said. “If he wanted to just walk on and say hi, this would be the tour to do it, or if he wanted to come on and sing anything or if he just wanted to be a part of it, period.”
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So … Is Journey Ending or Not?
So, to clarify: Do Schon and Co. plan to retire the Journey name after the Final Frontier tour?
It’s still unclear.
“I can’t really speculate at this point. I’m kind of ready to move on,” Schon said. “For one, there’s so many tribute bands out there right now playing whatever show we do. That’s why I’m really glad that we’re going to change things up here and throw in a lot of loops that people don’t expect because there’s so many tribute bands out there doing exactly the same show we’re doing.
“Every time I see something that everybody jumps on, I want to do exactly the opposite. I don’t want to do a nostalgia show after this is over. I want to be creative. I want to bring something completely fresh that is a new version of what Journey was.”
And might that new version be called Journey Beyond?
“Possibly, I don’t know,” Schon said. “I might come up with a better name.”
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
