Journey’s Neal Schon Talks Perry, Pineda: Exclusive

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Neal Schon (Photo: Marta Giannotti; used with permission)

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Neal Schon—founding member of classic rock staples Journey and Bad English, whose acclaimed career also includes extensive collaborations with Paul Rodgers and Carlos Santana—sits down with Sammy Hagar in an all-new episode of Rock & Roll Road Trip airing Sunday, June 3 at 9 p.m. E/6 p.m. P, on AXS TV.

In Best Classic Bands’ exclusive first look, Schon opens up about the day he brought current Journey lead singer Arnel Pineda into the band in 2007, after discovering the talented vocalist in a YouTube video. Though Pineda’s voice is now viewed as a perfect match to that of Journey icon Steve Perry, the move raised more than a few eyebrows at the time.

Schon explains, “When I first found him, I stumbled across a video clip from YouTube… I tracked him down that night, and I found out he was in the Philippines and he’s singing in perfect English.” Met with an equal dose of laughter and astonishment at the idea of bringing in a relative unknown from YouTube to helm one of rock’s most influential acts, Schon recalls, ”Everybody thought I was crazy!” Eleven years later, and Journey is still a big audience favorite.

Schon also talks about Perry’s upcoming album.

Watch this exclusive clip with Schon and Hagar. Note: the segment contains some strong language

Schon and many of his other Journey bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. At a press conference following their appearance, Schon said: “I had a really great speech written out but I got too choked up. It was very emotional seeing everybody.”

Journey’s 2018 co-headlining tour with Def Leppard is underway and continues into October. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster and here.

Season three of Rock and Roll Road Trip With Sammy Hagar began April 8. It comes to a close with an all-access pass to Sammy’s epic birthday bash on the beach in Cabo San Lucas on June 24.

Hagar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Van Halen in 2007, and is also a #1 New York Times bestselling author, restaurateur and spirits entrepreneur.