JOURNEY: Neal Schon rockin' it over the weekend
Neal Schon pulled out all the stops for his benefit at the Independent in San Francisco on Friday.
The Journey and sometime Santana guitarist played a mammoth two-set, 33-song show he called Journey Through Time to aid Bay Area Fire Relief efforts. He was backed by two former Journey bandmates, singer-keyboardist Greg Rolie and drummer Deen Castronovo, plus Castronovo's current Dead Daisies bandmate Marco Mendoza on bass.
The evening included a number of early Journey deep cuts from the Rolie era plus plenty of material from the Steve Perry years, which Castronovo sang. Schon closed with a pair of Santana classics sung by Rolie, the original vocalist on "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" and "Oye Como Va."
MORE BIG 95 MUSIC NEWS: Monday, February 12th
Happy 40th anniversary to Van Halen. The band’s self-titled debut album was released on February 10th, 1978 and features “Runnin’ With the Devil,” “Jamie’s Cryin'” and a cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me.”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were big winners at the Pollstar Awards Thursday in Los Angeles, taking home trophies for both the Major Tour and Rock Tour of the Year. Keyboardist Benmont Tench and drummer Steve Ferrone were on hand to accept the awards. Petty’s manager, Tony Dimitriades, won for Personal Manager of the Year. Roger Waters won Most Creative Stage Production for his Is This the Life We Really Want? tour.
Steven Tyler will perform at a benefit for the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation on March 6th at the Avalon in Hollywood.
Jon Bon Jovi will headline a charity show benefitting the Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Westchester County, New York on March 4th.
Donny Osmond, who had a hit with “Puppy Love” when he was 14, tells Las Vegas Magazine he still sings it today as a grandfather! Donny and Marie have resumed their residency at the Flamingo.
John Lloyd Young, who won a Tony as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys on Broadway and reprised the role in the movie version, begins a 12-night run at New York's Café Carlyle next Tuesday.
Rock of Ages, which played more than 2300 performances on Broadway, will take such classic '80s tunes as "I Wanna Know What Love Is," "Here I Go Again" and "Don’t Stop Believin’" on a national tour this fall.