Journey has been on an interesting…well…journey the past couple of years. Now, the band apparently has two active drummers.
Guitarist Neal Schon confirmed that drummer Deen Castronovo is back in the band via Facebook and in two photos shared via Twitter.
Ok… Double trouble Chicago @NaradaMWalden @DeenTheDrummer Narada Michael Walden and the return of Deen Castronovo on Drums @AragonBallroom @lollapalooza pic.twitter.com/RRHYNi6CuQ
— NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) July 27, 2021
The Power behind Us 🔥🔥🔥🔥@JourneyOfficial @DeenTheDrummer @NaradaMWalden pic.twitter.com/W5P5EWAA42
— NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) July 29, 2021
This now means that Journey will have two drummers on stage during shows: Castronovo and Narada Michael Walden. Walden, of course, came into the fold along with bassist/former American Idol judge Randy Jackson in May 2020 following the firing of founding bassist Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith.
Valory and Smith were fired from Journey in March 2020 following an alleged “attempted corporate coup d’état” by the bassist and drummer of Nightmare Productions, Inc., one of Journey’s corporate entities. Valory and Smith allegedly thought Nightmare Productions had control over the Journey trademark. However, Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain have the “sole, exclusive, irrevocable right to control the Journey Mark, including the Journey name.” Following this incident, Schon and Cain filed a lawsuit against Smith and Valory, which was amicably settled in April 2021.
As for Castronovo, he served as Journey’s drummer from 1998 until August 2015. He was fired from the band following a June 2015 arrest on a domestic violence charge. Castronovo would blame his actions on drug addiction during a July 2015 hearing. He would end up serving four years on probation and was ordered to complete a 75-day drug rehabilitation program.
Journey is set to headline the Bud Light Seltzer stage at Lollapalooza tomorrow (July 31) at Chicago’s Grant Park. A live stream of their set will be streaming on Hulu at 9:30 PM ET. Complete streaming details can be found at Hulu.com/Lollapalooza.