Journey guitarist Neal Schon is effervescent these days. His band’s trajectory has been ascending ever since “Don’t Stop Believin’” provided the soundtrack to the iconic final scene of The Sopranos in 2007 and current vocalist Arnel Pineda entered the picture. On the eve of a nine-show run at the Hard Rock Hotel, which kicked off April 29, Schon is working in a secret studio in Vegas recording an album with the Woodstock-era lineup of Santana. “We will be finishing right before that residency starts,” Schon says of the Carlos Santana-led project, tentatively titled Santana 4. “Then I have like a day off and we do a rehearsal, and we’re in.”
Life could not be better for Schon, who cofounded Journey with current bassist Ross Valory in 1971, and he’s not taking it for granted. “It’s really wild that at this point in my career things just feel like they’re just opening up,” he says. “It’s really crazy but I have so much going on right now that I’m really excited about. I’ve got a new double-CD that’s called Neal Schon Vortex (due out in June), and we’re pushing to try and get it released just in Vegas while we’re doing a residency at The Joint.”
Schon also plans to offer a few rare guitars from his own personal collection for sale, including the Stratocaster he used on “Lights” and designs he made for Paul Reed Smith. The band itself—which includes keyboardist Jonathan Cain and drummer Dean Castronovo—has no current plans to record a follow-up to 2011’s Eclipse, but will be filming the Hard Rock concerts for a future release. Schon says the multidate run (continuing through May 16) allows Journey to dig into deeper cuts from its catalog amid delivering the hits.
“We’re definitely going to mix it up and we’re going to take chances,” he says. “I’ve also moved to have it all filmed, and what would be the purpose of filming nine shows if you’re going to play the same stuff every night? I really want to dig into all our songs, and we’re going to rejuvenate some old stuff, we’re going to play some new stuff. We’re going to play a lot.”
Mixing it up may include an appearance by Santana himself. (“Carlos is trying to talk me into moving here!” he says.) Then the band gets a break before preparing for another milestone—a concert at the Hollywood Bowl backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles—and a summer tour of Canada.
“I’ve got a great gig with Journey,” says Schon. “It’s proved itself over and over and over. We’ve got a great thing that we’ve worked our asses off to rebuild. We’re one of the very fortunate bands that are still considered classic rock, and we are killing. To come here and do this residency in Vegas is going to be really fun for us because we’re playing the giant places all the time, and love the intimacy with people when we get to play a smaller place.”
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel 8 p.m. May 6, 8-9, 13 & 15-16, starting at $59.50 plus tax and fee. 888.929.7849