‘The music never ends’: 40 years after last Rupp concert, Journey returns

Everyone knows the song. The opening piano roll underscored by synthesized bass. The guitar riffs that seem to sweep in from nowhere to circle around the melody like hornets.

The voice, seemingly born to rock arenas, unfolding a story of small town-meets-big city romance that culminates in one of the most radio-friendly of pop-rock affirmations.

“Don’t stop belieeeeevin ...”

What we have may well be the signature song of Journey, a tune whose popularity has been reborn through television (“The Sopranos,” “Glee”) and film (“Monster,” “Moneyball”) numerous times since it became a global hit in the fall of 1981.

Technically, “Don’t Stop Believin’” isn’t the band’s biggest hit. It’s not even the highest charting single from the album it came from, “Escape” (it was out-performed by “Who’s Crying Now” and “Open Arms.”) But in terms of reach and out-and-out-appropriation, no other song in the Journey catalog is comparable.

All of this brings us to 2023 and the early days of a concert tour that is bringing Journey to Rupp Arena for the first time since 1983. With it comes a current artistic and commercial profile that makes the band seem like something out of reality TV. Lawsuits. Counter lawsuits. Dropped lawsuits. It all forms a paper trail of legal squabbling that has entangled Journey members past and present.

Where to start? It’s probably best to give the rundown of the current Journey roster first. Guitarist Neil Schon is the only remaining co-founding member, having formed the band in 1973 with keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie after the two left Santana. Steve Perry, the vocalist who made Journey a gold-selling sensation, joined in 1977. Rolie opted out in 1980, making way for Jonathan Cain to take over keyboard duties for “Escape,” the album that sent Journey’s popularity further into the stratosphere. Don’t stop believing, indeed.

The golden age of Journey ended with Perry’s departure in 1987. While there were a few reunions in the ’90s, Perry called it quits for good and largely walked away from the rock star life in 1998. In a 2018 story for “The New York Times,” writer Alex Pappademas outlined the curious encounter he witnessed as the singer was approached by an elder fan during an interview.

“’You look a lot like Steve Perry,’ the white-haired man said.

“’I used to be Steve Perry,’ Steve Perry said.”

Following several other replacements, Philippine singer Arnel Pineda was enlisted as Journey’s lead vocalist and resident Perry sound-a-like in 2007.

That sets the stage. Now, what happened to make the members of Journey – offstage, at least – stop believing in each other?

The friction had seemingly been building for some time. But the tipping point came in a very public way when “Variety” reported in December 2022 that attorneys for Schon had delivered a cease-and-desist order to Cain for performing, you guessed it, “Don’t Stop Believin’” for former president Donald Trump and several Republican allies at his Mar-a- Lago resort.

The letter, according to the “Variety” story, read, “Although Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not, and should not be, political.”

Cain fired back in the same “Variety” story, claiming poor business decisions by Schon and his wife damaged Journey’s reputation more than any moonlighting at Mar-A-Lago. Schon countered again by floating the idea of bringing Rolie back into the band as keyboardist.

Such bickering was prefaced by a different lawsuit from another Journey-man. In September 2022, Perry filed a petition against Schon and Cain over trademark registrations of 20 well-established Journey songs, saying he was never consulted (Perry co-wrote many of Journey’s biggest hits with Schon and/or Cain). Perry withdrew the petition in January.

Enter a perturbed Pineda, who took to social media to voice his unhappiness with the inner-band turmoil and any perceived dissatisfaction his bandmates had with him.

“I’m with the band to sing the legacy,” Pineda tweeted. “If some of them are tired of me being with them, with all means, they can fire me anytime.”

Sounds less like the workings of a longstanding pop-rock troupe and more like barbs traded on “The Real Housewives of D.C.” – the reality show that once included Schon’s wife Michaele as a cast member.

What happened when the members of Journey went back to their corners and came out swinging for a tour-opening concert in Oklahoma in January? Exactly what should have happened. The players performed as a band with a near-bottomless well of hits and deep album cuts. The audience, by many accounts, had a blast.

“It’s good to be back,” Cain told the audience. “All together again.”

A review for “Billboard” magazine by Steve Knopper, however, also said “Schon and Cain consistently kept roughly 20 yards of distance between them.”

The band member most happy to be back onstage? Pineda, hands down.

“It was Pineda’s job to enliven the crowd, which he did, energetically and enthusiastically,” the review said. “He was the one member of Journey who seemed happy to be there, jumping on a pedestal and throwing his head back to hit those high notes, patting Schon on the back, fist-bumping Cain, signing autographs as songs were going on and, long after the others had walked off stage, sticking around for crowd selfies.”

So is Journey, as an ensemble, still believing? Is the band still holding on to that feeling? It seems like the answer is yes, if only by a thread or two. Perhaps the trials – legal and otherwise – it has put itself through of late are reflected better not in the chorus, but in a verse tucked away in the middle of its most familiar hit.

“Some will win, some will lose. Some are born to sing the blues. The movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on.”

Journey and Toto

When: Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14

Where: Rupp Arena, 439 W. Vine.

Tickets: $35-$199.50 at ticketmaster.com.