Journey Arguing Over Drummer in Court

Son of Vistalite Black

Son of Vistalite Black

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Ultimate Classic Rock reports that various things Journey members are arguing about includes their drummer. Here are the details followed by a listing of the pop vocal band's various drummers over time. Son of Vistalite Black wishes Deen Castronovo well.

Ultimate Classic Rock: Journey's Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon Are Also Arguing Over the Drummer

Journey's ongoing internal issues aren't limited to American Express cards. Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon are even arguing over who should play drums.

Deen Castronovo missed Journey's Aug. 2 concert in Toronto for unexplained reasons. (According to setlist.fm, "Journey's drum tech Steve Toomey filled in due to a family incident.") He returned a few days later when the group's ongoing tour with Def Leppard reached Fenway Park in Boston; Castronovo was at the drums again on Aug. 7 at Citi Field in New York for Journey's most recent show.

Lawyers mentioned the substitution while laying out a range of disagreements during an initial hearing in a Delaware court after Cain's most recent lawsuit. He wants to restructure Journey's tour management company to help resolve their financial issues. Schon has called the allegations "BS."

Chancery court judge J. Travis Laster wasn't willing to wade into personnel issues. "I'm not qualified to decide who the drummer ought to be," he said during the hearing.

Read More: Journey Bandmates Are Also Arguing Over the Drummer | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jou...ument/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

1973-1974 - Charles "Prarie" Prince

1974-1978 - Anysley Dunbar

1978-1985 - Steve Smith

1986 - Atma Anur

1986-1987 - Mike Baird

Band hiatus

1995-1998 - Steve Smith

1998-2015 - Deen Castronovo

2013 - Neal Schon marries into the cast of "Real Housewives of Washington, D.C."

2015 - Omar Hakim

2015-2020 - Steve Smith

2020-2021 - Narada Michael Walden

July, 2021 -- Castronovo named co-drummer.

November, 2021 - Walden absent from 2022 tour announcement. Castronovo is listed as drummer.

2022: Drum Tech Steve Toomey subs as band lip syncs on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Show.


1973-1974 - Charles "Prarie" Prince

1974-1978 - Anysley Dunbar

1978-1985 - Steve Smith

1986 - Atma Anur

1986-1987 - Mike Baird

Band hiatus

1995-1998 - Steve Smith

1998-2015 - Deen Castronovo

2013 - Neal Schon marries into the cast of "Real Housewives of Washington, D.C."

2015 - Omar Hakim

2015-2020 - Steve Smith

2020-2021 - Narada Michael Walden

July, 2021 -- Castronovo named co-drummer.

November, 2021 - Walden absent from 2022 tour announcement. Castronovo is listed as drummer.

2022: Drum Tech Steve Toomey subs as band lip syncs on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Show.
 
They've had so many good drummers, I'd just tell them to pick the nicest guy who gets along the best with everyone else.
 
I at the time bought the album with Anysley Dunbar
back then purchase mistakes didn't hurt as much. The Green album with them floating on the cover.
After that and hearing them on the radio figured they weren't for me. Greg Rolie I had hopes for.

but to be in court over a drummer is wow unheard of ever since Slappy Wilson threatened Satchmo Lewis on the Riverboat Queen..
Castronovo is an embarrassment to Leo's everywhere; cut it out Dean ;
 
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I was a big Journey fan during the Steve Perry days, but their in-fighting now is just ridiculous.

Pack up your toys and your lawsuits and go home, boys.
 
My take was they're not arguing over Deen Castronovo, but who his sub should be.

But who knows. I love their music but Neal is a difficult person to get along with (he's been married 5 times), and Jon has sort of gone off into a different direction in life. Also, they have a 2nd keyboardist now. Mostly for his singing abilities, but also Jon can't play all the stuff he used.
 
AudioWonderland said:
Atma Anur? Who is that?
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Atma is a ridiculously talented rock/fusion/metal drummer.

Imagine Ralph Humphrey, Harvey Mason, and Joey Jordison had a love child.

Odd times, polyrhythms, double bass, and jazz technique, he was (and still is) a monster player.

And funny how much of his career mirrored Deen Castronovo and had ties to Journey in the 80s.

On Tony MacAlpine's 1st album, Steve Smith played drums. Deen Castronovo is credited with playing drums on Tony MacAlpine's 2nd album, and it was when rehearsing for Tony's tour that Neal Schon discovered Deen in a rehearsal room. What gets lost to time is Deen recorded 1/2 of that album Atma recorded the other half.

Deen is also credited with recording for the band Cacapohony, which featured Marty Friedman (later of Megadeath) and Jason Becker (who replaced Steve Vai in David Lee Roth's solo band). Deen also recorded Marty Friedmans' 1st solo album. Atmar also recorded with Cacophony and recorded Jason Becker's 1st solo album. All in pretty much the same period.

Deen and Atma were the 1,2 punch of drummers on all those 80's Shrapnel records.

Deen got discovered by Neal, and was invited to audtion for Bad English, and the rest is history.

But before that, Atma was discovered by Journey, he got the gig over Mike Baird, Rod Morgenstein, Omar, and a host of other big-name drummers who had auditioned for Journey after Steve Smith was fired.

Atma rehearsed with them for several weeks. But Atma was probably too close to sounding like Steve Smith with the heavy jazz fusion influence. Neal Schon decided to fire Atma and bring Mike Baird back. Mike went on to do the tour for the album Raised On Radio.

Despite all his talent, and being right there with Deen and Journey, Atma just got lost to time.

In the Journey box set, he's only referred to as "a local kid." In Mike Baird's epic interview about auditioning for Journey, he only refers to Atma as "I heard they got somebody" before saying he was eventually called back weeks later.

But as I grew up in San Francisco where Atma lived at the time, I had several chances to see him around town and got to know him a bit. His road cases had the Journey logos painted on them from his short time in the band. A monster player who just never got over the hump to be in the public eye.

I recently found him on Instagram and he now lives in Poland, playing jazz and fusion music locally there.
 
bongoman said:
Considering the State Fair of their career, they should put an animatronic bear in the drum seat.
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Journey is playing Minute Maid Park tomorrow night, followed by the Alamodome on Friday and Target Field on Monday. Hard to think of a band that played to bigger crowds during the State Fair of their career. Supposedly co-headlining with Def Leppard, but still ... stadiums!
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Atma is a ridiculously talented rock/fusion/metal drummer.

Imagine Ralph Humphrey, Harvey Mason, and Joey Jordison had a love child.

Odd times, polyrhythms, double bass, and jazz technique, he was (and still is) a monster player.

And funny how much of his career mirrored Deen Castronovo and had ties to Journey in the 80s.

On Tony MacAlpine's 1st album, Steve Smith played drums. Deen Castronovo is credited with playing drums on Tony MacAlpine's 2nd album, and it was when rehearsing for Tony's tour that Neal Schon discovered Deen in a rehearsal room. What gets lost to time is Deen recorded 1/2 of that album Atma recorded the other half.

Deen is also credited with recording for the band Cacapohony, which featured Marty Friedman (later of Megadeath) and Jason Becker (who replaced Steve Vai in David Lee Roth's solo band). Deen also recorded Marty Friedmans' 1st solo album. Atmar also recorded with Cacophony and recorded Jason Becker's 1st solo album. All in pretty much the same period.

Deen and Atma were the 1,2 punch of drummers on all those 80's Shrapnel records.

Deen got discovered by Neal, and was invited to audtion for Bad English, and the rest is history.

But before that, Atma was discovered by Journey, he got the gig over Mike Baird, Rod Morgenstein, Omar, and a host of other big-name drummers who had auditioned for Journey after Steve Smith was fired.

Atma rehearsed with them for several weeks. But Atma was probably too close to sounding like Steve Smith with the heavy jazz fusion influence. Neal Schon decided to fire Atma and bring Mike Baird back. Mike went on to do the tour for the album Raised On Radio.

Despite all his talent, and being right there with Deen and Journey, Atma just got lost to time.

In the Journey box set, he's only referred to as "a local kid." In Mike Baird's epic interview about auditioning for Journey, he only refers to Atma as "I heard they got somebody" before saying he was eventually called back weeks later.

But as I grew up in San Francisco where Atma lived at the time, I had several chances to see him around town and got to know him a bit. His road cases had the Journey logos painted on them from his short time in the band. A monster player who just never got over the hump to be in the public eye.

I recently found him on Instagram and he now lives in Poland, playing jazz and fusion music locally there.
Click to expand...
I always like telling Mike Baird's story about what he went through to get the Journey gig. They treated him like crap, of course, until he finally came back with the attitude, "OK, you mother*******, follow me!" Then, he got the gig, but of course, it didn't last. I think perhaps it had something to do with his appearance, sorry to say. Mike was over overweight and bald at the time. He eventually slimmed down and started wearing a "piece," but that didn't keep him in the band. He probably got fed up with them. What has he been doing lately? Good drummer.
 
Honestly I’m surprised that a replacement keyboard player has that much power in Journey.
 
BobC said:
I always like telling Mike Baird's story about what he went through to get the Journey gig. They treated him like crap, of course, until he finally came back with the attitude, "OK, you mother*******, follow me!" Then, he got the gig, but of course, it didn't last. I think perhaps it had something to do with his appearance, sorry to say. Mike was over overweight and bald at the time. He eventually slimmed down and started wearing a "piece," but that didn't keep him in the band. He probably got fed up with them. What has he been doing lately? Good drummer.
Click to expand...

That really had nothing to do with it. At the end of the tour, in 1987, the band went on hiatus. Perry essentially quit the band, but on paper, it was called a "break."

Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain formed Bad English.

Steve Perry released his 2nd solo album, did a small tour, and then disappeared from the music industry.

Journey didn't come together again until the end of 1995 to work on Trial By Fire. At this point, the record company insisted the band reform the Escape era lineup.

Baird wasn't retained after the tour he did because the band for all intents and purposes the band didn't exist after the tour. It's hard to play drums for a band that doesn't exist.

Baird continued to enjoy a career as a studio drummer into the mid 90s. I'm not exactly sure what happened to him after the studio scene dried up.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
That really had nothing to do with it. At the end of the tour, in 1987, the band went on hiatus. Perry essentially quit the band, but on paper, it was called a "break."

Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain formed Bad English.

Steve Perry released his 2nd solo album, did a small tour, and then disappeared from the music industry.

Journey didn't come together again until the end of 1995 to work on Trial By Fire. At this point, the record company insisted the band reform the Escape era lineup.

Baird wasn't retained after the tour he did because the band for all intents and purposes the band didn't exist after the tour. It's hard to play drums for a band that doesn't exist.

Baird continued to enjoy a career as a studio drummer into the mid 90s. I'm not exactly sure what happened to him after the studio scene dried up.
Click to expand...
I'm glad to know Mike wasn't fired. He's is on Facebook. I hope he's doing well.
 
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