Current:Home > MarketsJourney guitarist Neal Schon talks touring essentials, prized guitars and favorite songs-InfoLens
Journey guitarist Neal Schon talks touring essentials, prized guitars and favorite songs
View Date:2024-12-23 19:37:22
In a new series USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives whether it's at home, on the set or on the road.
Guitarist Neal Schon starting making waves on his instrument as a Bay Area teen during the summer of love in 1968, and eventually joined Carlos Santana's band at 17 in 1971. He's never looked back.
Schon, who teamed up with Santana band colleagues and went on to found the radio-hit jauggernaut Journey, is back on the road this summer hitting stadiums and arenas around the country along with '80s giants Def Leppard. Now 70, Schon seems more dialed in than ever.
"I love what I do. I'm in good health since I've been taking care of myself for the last 20 years, after a bunch of years doing everything you shouldn't be doing," Schon says with a laugh. "Besides, I like being involved in all the details of our tour. And the business people don't enjoy you as much when you're paying attention."
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox.
The road inevitably presents an array of challenges for all touring musicians, but combine a legendary band with the comforts that come with success and the months ahead promise to not be as hard as they once were. Schon shares with us some of his on-the-road rituals, his passion for guitars and the best way to travel.
Journey guitarist Neal Schon dishes on his backstage ritual
While rock band green rooms have been known to be dens of iniquity, that's not the case for Schon, who prefers to prepare for an upcoming gig by sitting with his guitar.
"I don't really even listen to music backstage before going on, but I'll play music," he says. "That's one way to stay young when you're older, practicing all the time. I play many hours a day, because you never stop learning on your instrument."
Schon's says his father was a jazz musician and bandleader, and he remains intrigued by getting new and innovative sounds out of his six-stringed instrument. "I'm finding ways to incorporate horn lines into my playing. Now, that might not work with a Journey song, but it's fun to challenge yourself. So before we go on, that's what I'm doing. That, and just chilling out."
What is Neal Schon's favorite guitar?
Schon just laughs at the question. "I've had more guitars in my life, but right now I still have about 750 or so," he says. "They're all great, and I don't really have one in particular that I favor."
The guitarist says that depending on what model his is playing, his style will immediately shift. "If I'm playing a Fender Telecaster or Strat(ocaster), or if I'm playing a (Gibson) Les Paul, I'll play totally differently. I also have jazz-style guitars such as a Gibson 335 and an L5. Big hollow body guitars that can produce feedback if you're not careful, but they can also provide such a huge, huge tone."
A number of years back, Schon sold a number of his prized guitars including a Fender Stratocaster known as the "Lights" guitar, as it was used during the recording of Journey's 1978 "Infinity" album which featured the hit song, "Lights." The price? $65,000.
The best and worst things about being a touring band all summer, according to Neal Schon
We all love our beds. And that's what Schon dreams of when he's on the road with his band.
"If I could beam myself from the stage to my home bed, that would be amazing," he says. "To be in that bed and not in a hotel, wow. But that said, we as a band have made a lot of friends at a lot of nice hotels in cities around the world, and if you're kind to the people there, they are kind to you. So it's not that bad at all."
At this point, says Schon, being in a traveling band is second nature. "Remember, I started this life when I was a kid," he says. "I'm not only used to it, but I don't see myself stopping either."
For Neal Schon, the days of barnstorming the country by bus are long gone
Schon's touring memories are filled with now comical memories of trying to get some rest on a loud, cramped bus as he and his bandmates shuttled from city to city trying to make a name for themselves. No more. These days, those journeys have wings.
"For us, it's a (private) plane, definitely," he says. "We've flown private for years now, and it's hard to break away from that. It's still the best and safest way to get from one gig to another."
In fact, some recollections from tours past include many a black-and-blue ride. "I did many, many years in a bus, with those tiny bunks. Then there were the private coaches, but they were really expensive and then you learned what roads in the country were no good. In some states, I'd find myself literally bounced onto the floor in the middle of the night."
Neal Schon reveals his favorite Journey songs
Asking Schon about his favorite Journey tunes is a bit like the proverbial request for a parent to name their most adored child. Can't be done.
"The truth is the audience makes all those hits come alive, honest," he says. "I've played these songs so, so many times, whether it's 'Lights' or 'Wheel In The Sky' or 'Faithfully,' but the emotions that run through me each time as you play them never gets old, especially when you see how the audience is moved."
For Schon, filling the air with those classic songs is all about trying to be a guitar therapist. "You're trying to remove people from whatever kind of funk is going on in their lives," he says. "The music becomes the ultimate healer."
What Journey opening act made a huge impression on guitarist Neal Schon?
Countless bands have opened for Journey over the band's five decade existence. But one group left a particularly huge impression on Schon.
"It was Bryan Adams," he says. "This was in the '80s and he was just out with his (1983) album 'Cuts Like A Knife,' and I remember listening to them and I thought, 'Wow, he's amazing, and his band is amazing.'"
Schon has high praise in particular for Adams' guitar player, Keith Douglas Scott. The Canadian ace "plays slowhand, meaning, only what's necessary to serve the song. But one day I was walking past his dressing room and I hear the most amazing sounds and I couldn't believe it, it was him. Just really experimental guitar. I'd love to co-headline with them again. Bryan Adams and Journey really go well together.
veryGood! (7743)
Related
- Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
- Virginia lawmakers say they have deal on ‘major components’ of budget, including rebates, tax cuts
- Federal judge: West Virginia can restrict abortion pill sales
- Bare electrical wire and poles in need of replacement on Maui were little match for strong winds
- John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
- California man to be taken to Mexico in 3 killings; 4th possible. What you need to know.
- Suburban Milwaukee police officer, 2 civilians hurt in incident outside hotel
- High cholesterol contributes to heart disease. Here's how to lower it.
- Threat closes Spokane City Hall and cancels council meeting in Washington state
- You'll Have a Full Heart After Reading John Stamos' Message to New Mom Ashley Olsen
Ranking
- New Jersey will issue a drought warning after driest October ever and as wildfires rage
- China sends aircraft and vessels toward Taiwan days after US approves $500-million arms sale
- New Mexico governor demands changes to make horse racing drug-free
- Bachelor in Paradise Season 9 Reveals First Look: Meet the Bachelor Nation Cast
- Moana 2 Star Dwayne Johnson Shares the Empowering Message Film Sends to Young Girls
- How Katy Perry's Daughter Daisy Has Her Feeling Like She's Living a Teenage Dream
- White man convicted of killing Black Muslim freed after judge orders new trial
- Want to be an organic vegetable farmer? This program is growing the workforce.
Recommendation
-
A herniated disc is painful, debilitating. How to get relief.
-
See Ryan Reynolds Send XOXOs to Wife Blake Lively in Heart-Melting Birthday Tribute
-
Notre Dame opens season against Navy with pressure on offensive coordinator Gerad Parker
-
Supreme Court says work on new coastal bridge can resume
-
After entire police force resigns in small Oklahoma town, chief blames leaders, budget cuts
-
Bachelor in Paradise Season 9 Reveals First Look: Meet the Bachelor Nation Cast
-
Zillow offers 1% down payment to attract more homebuyers
-
Much of Florida under state of emergency as possible tropical storm forms in Gulf of Mexico