Journey guitarist Neal Schon praises Oklahoma roots, calls new album a 'monster'

After half a century, Neal Schon hasn't stopped believing in Journey — and he plans to continue to do so, faithfully.

Despite formidable obstacles like lineup changes, lawsuits and management shakeups, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band behind iconic hits like "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)," "Faithfully" and "Don't Stop Believin'" keeps chugging along like a midnight train, with new music, a busy tour schedule and return trips up the charts.

"I think it's that connection that we have with our audience. ... I look out there, and we have four generations of fans now. There's some very small kids, there's not-so-small kids — but they are kids — and then there's adults my own age and older. It's crazy," Schon told The Oklahoman in a spring phone interview.

"A band like us, that's been through so many personnel changes and survived them, that means that the musical source of where it all came from, we did some stuff right. We wrote some great songs: They've become classic, they're embedded in stone now, they're not going anywhere. So, we're definitely not a fly-by-night, man, or we would have been gone a long time ago."

Born in Oklahoma, the guitarist and songwriter, 68, co-founded Journey in the early 1970s and has been the only consistent member, having participated in every album and tour to date, including the group's new 15-track collection "Freedom" and the ongoing 2022 trek supporting it.

"My dad was a big band arranger from Tulsa, Oklahoma, my mom was a singer, and I was just brought up in a musical family," Schon said from the road in Dallas en route to Oklahoma City.

"One reason I feel I was put on this Earth was definitely to bring people joy with music — and that's my thing. I think I was born to do that ... and I'm grateful that I was born there."

Journey guitarist embraces Oklahoma roots

During Journey's March concert at Paycom Center, Schon proudly announced to the cheering crowd that he was born just 15 minutes away from the downtown OKC arena.

After both his parents decided to take their music talents into the military, Schon made his debut on the great stage of life Feb. 27, 1954, on Tinker Air Force Base.

Although Schon didn't live in the Sooner State for long — his family soon moved to New Jersey and later California — the 2013 Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductee has firmly embraced his native state.

"And they've embraced me," he said. "I've got three hall of fames I'm in: Oklahoma was the first one, then the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then just recently the Grammy Hall of Fame. ... So, Oklahoma's a special place for me."

Also known for his work with the Latin-rock fusion band Santana and the supergroup Bad English, the musician said he is eagerly looking forward to donating guitars from his impressive collection to Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture.

"He's one of those musicians where you hear his guitar and you know exactly who it is. There's a lot of great musicians in the world, but he has a signature style and a signature sound that everyone knows it's Neal Schon," said Executive Director Jeffrey Moore. "We've met with him several times, we have an oral history interview with him in our archive ... and we're excited to be working with him."

Better known as the OKPOP Museum, the Oklahoma Historical Society landmark is under construction in the Tulsa Arts District, where it is tentatively slated to open in 2023. The museum will be dedicated to the creative spirit of Oklahoma's people and the influence of Sooner State artists on global popular culture.

"Journey's music and a lot of their songs are identified with by an entire generation of Americans. So, it is a large fan base, and it'll be fun to incorporate that," Moore said.

"There's not a part of pop culture where there weren't Oklahomans (that were) significantly influential. Whether it's music, film, television, the stage, comic books, all of it, there are Oklahomans that are right there in the middle."

Journey returns to charts with 'Stranger Things,' new album 'Freedom'

Fifteen years after Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" was famously featured in the series finale of "The Sopranos," Schon and Company got another prime TV moment this year when an eerie remix of "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" was featured in the Season 4 trailer of Netflix's popular series "Stranger Things."

The preview put the 1983 Journey hit back on the Billboard charts, landing it on the Rock Digital Song Sales list in April, months before the remix actually appeared on the fourth season's eighth episode. It also foreshadowed similar revivals for other '80s songs featured this year on the smash streaming show, including Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" and Metallica's "Master of Puppets." 

It's not the only chart success the venerable band has scored this year. "Freedom," Journey's first album of new material in more than a decade, debuted earlier this month at No. 1 on the Current Rock Chart.

"It's a monster of a record. ... I think that it's the closest thing we've ever done to an album like our Diamond Award 'Escape' album that has that many different flavors in it. We go into some some new places, too," Schon said of the new collection, which he co-produced and arranged with drummer/producer Narada Michael Walden.

"I feel it's as exciting or as good as our older stuff that has become classic."

Journey forges 'Freedom' through pandemic musical experiments

Journey's follow-up to their 2011 album "Eclipse" also features longtime keyboard player and primary lyricist Jonathan Cain, "Thrilla from Manilla" vocalist Arnel Pineda and bassist and former "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson, who previously played on the band's 1986 album "Raised on Radio." Some of the songs started out as musical experiments Schon posted on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I felt alienated from my fans, most of all, because I love performing on stage. ... So, I would get (into) these little funky jam sessions in my little studio downstairs in-house, just playing guitar and experimenting with all types of different loops. I would post them every day, and it became a big thing on on Facebook," said Schon, who also released a solo album called "Universe" in December 2020.

"One of them turned out to be our first single that we released, 'The Way We Used to Be,' which was kind of a lockdown song. I sent it to Jonathan Cain, and he wrote the lyrics and sang the rough melody on it. We got Arnel on it, and we stuck it out there — and I think it did quite well. It wasn't your typical Journey song when I wrote it; I felt like it was more of a Faces, Rolling Stones-type vibe, a little roughed up."

Even a half-century into this Journey, Schon said he's holding on to the feeling that the band's future is getting more exciting and successful every day.

"The band right now is firing on all 12 cylinders. ... I'm now managing with the band, and it's a totally different thing. We're doing quite well, with a lot of the politics out of the way," he said.

"Next year is my 50th anniversary for Journey, and as the only original member, I'm proud of steering the ship right."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Journey guitarist Neal Schon relishes musical 'Freedom' with new album