Neal Schon recently shared a rare interview of Steve Perry on Instagram and showed his importance to Journey, after infighting with Jonathan Cain.
“Journey came from San Francisco. The group was built around Neal Schon by a gentleman named Herbie Herbert and Gregg Rolie,” Perry replied in that interview when asked about where Journey came from.
The singer continued, “They kept on picking Neal in high school while he was just a kid and brought him in, and they built a band around Neal. I got to meet the guys later on because I had a childhood friend who knew their manager and through that connection, I got to meet Neal.”
Schon has been opening up about his contributions to the founding of Journey in his social media accounts for a few days. “Schon began his musical career at a young age, showing prodigious talent on the guitar,” the musician recently shared his biography on Facebook.
The post added, “He joined Santana at the age of 15 and played a significant role in the band’s success during the early 1970s. In 1973, he co-founded the band Journey, which would go on to become one of the most successful and enduring rock bands of all time.”
“As the lead guitarist of Journey, Schon played a pivotal role in shaping the band’s sound, contributing iconic guitar riffs and solos to many of their hit songs,” it went on.
“His technical proficiency, melodic sensibility, and emotive playing style have earned him widespread acclaim from fans and fellow musicians alike.”
Neal had posted similar messages before as well.
“Neal Schon the original and only Founder in Journey that’s been there from the very early inception in 72 and have played on every single show / never canceled once!” the rocker shared on X in August.
“Co-wrote and played on every single album … Jon Cain I asked to join in 81.”
Relationships within the band have been a bit complex these days. In December 2022, Schon gave a cease and desist order to Jonathan Cain after Cain played ‘Don’t Stop Believin” for former President Donald Trump. Schon stated that he shouldn’t use Journey for politics. In July this year, Cain filed another lawsuit against Schon and accused him of misusing the band’s credit cards. It led to the cancellation of a UK and Ireland tour.
