Journey drummer Deen Castronovo is stepping away from the band in the middle of its farewell tour to focus on “personal health matters.”
Castronovo, 62, was forced off stage during the band’s Boston concert on Tuesday – just over a month after the rocker was hospitalized following a medical emergency during a performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 8.
“Dear Friends, After much consideration and a long year of touring, our talented longtime drummer, Deen Castronovo, has decided to step aside to focus on personal health matters that require his attention,” the band said in a statement Friday.
“He has our full support during this time and expresses his sincere thanks to the fans for the love, encouragement and kindness he has received.”
The “Don’t Stop Believin'” rockers said drummer Steve Murphy – who has previously worked with the Alan Parsons Project, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Christopher Cross and Jack Bruce – will join the line-up for the remainder of their Final Frontier tour.
Murphy made his debut with the group in Cleveland on Thursday night.
Castronovo was helped backstage at the BOK Center in Tulsa after finishing the second song of the concert last month.
He returned to the stage two days later when the tour resumed in San Antonio, Texas, but was forced to leave midway through Tuesday’s show at Boston’s TD Garden, fans reported on Setlist.fm.
Drum tech Steve Toomey replaced him and the band cut several songs from the set.
Journey’s Final Frontier Tour features guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain and vocalist Arnel Pineda. Pineda joined the band in 2007, replacing original frontman Steve Perry.
Castronovo initially played drums and contributed vocals to Journey from 1998 to 2015 before returning to the group in July 2021.
His career also includes stints with Bad English and Hardline, as well as performances alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers and Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler.
Journey will next play Greenville, South Carolina on Saturday before wrapping up their U.S. tour in San Francisco on November 28.
The trek was initially billed as the legendary rock band’s farewell tour, but they recently hinted they weren’t ready to call it quits.
“Your love, energy and passion for this music reminded us how much we still share and how much this journey means to all of us,” Schon posted on Facebook on November 2.
“What started as ‘The Final Frontier’ is now more like ‘The Long Goodbye.’ We let our hearts – and the connection we feel with you every night – help us guide what comes next.
Gn entert
