“It’s a bulls**t move”: Neal Schon shuts down criticism of Arnel Pineda and hits out at Avenged Sevenfold for Rock In Rio stage issues
Journey‘s Neal Schon and Deen Castronovo have taken a stand against abuse aimed at frontman Arnel Pineda for his recent performance at Brazil’s Rock In Rio festival.
A fan account posted a Facebook video of Pineda’s performance claiming the musician suffered from “severe vocal failure” during the band’s hit song Don’t Stop Believin’.
READ MORE: “Here we are again”: Neal Schon issues lengthy response to bandmate Jonathan Cain’s lawsuit against him
Since then, Pineda has responded to the criticism offering to permanently step down from the band if 1 million fans vote for him to do so.
His statement says: “No one more than me in this world feels so devastated about this… it’s really amazing how 1 thousand right things you have done will be forgotten just cause of this… and of all the places, it’s in Rock In Rio… Mentally and emotionally, I’ve suffered already, and I’m still suffering.. but I’ll be OK.”
He continues, “So here’s the deal here now… I am offering you a chance now (especially those who’ve hated me and never liked me from the very beginning) to simply text GO or STAY right here… and if GO reaches 1 million… I’m stepping out for good… are you game folks? Let’s start.”
Mala voz de Ariel Pineda
Severas fallas vocales mostró Arnel Pineda en la presentación de Journey en Rock in Rio Brasil el pasado domingo 15 de septiembre.
Posted by Behind the Songs on Friday, September 20, 2024
Since the performance backlash, fellow bandmates Schon and Castronovo have spoken out in defence of their lead singer.
Schon shared a video on social media, calling out “fabricated” news online, according to Classic Rock.
“All this absolute garbage fabricated bullshit about Arnel Pineda. Does this look like nobody had a good time? I’m asking you. All fabricated, owed and bought blogs, bullshit,” he says.
In a follow-up post, he elaborates on sound issues – taking a shot at Avenged Sevenfold, blaming their headline set for Journey’s bad sound quality.
“This clip is from Rio, even though we found out much later that we got extremely limited by Avenged Sevenfold. That means that hardly any sound can get out of the PA to the audience,” says Schon. “It’s a bullshit move. Check out the audience. They loved it. The rest of its fabricated crap.”
Responding to a fan question as to why Avenged Sevenfold were chosen to headline, the guitarist replies: “politics”.
Elsewhere, Castronovo also stood up for the band’s singer, putting out his own online statement. Here, the drummer warns trolls against “messing with [his] family” and to “shut it”.
“I know very few who can pull off what Arnel does without ego and with passion and grace,” he wrote. “Back off trolls! You are messing with my family now and I am a rabid protector of my own!”
“This is America, where everyone and anyone can voice their opinion. Consider this though when you do. Is it kind? Is it truth? Is it necessary? We’ve all seen that meme, and it rings true here as it does anywhere it’s posted.
“To the people who get it, thank you, we appreciate you! To the inept… prove it and walk it or shut it!”
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A post shared by Deen Castronovo (@deenjcastronovo)
Journey are currently on tour and are due to play a slew of dates in Japan, with their next live show taking place at the Sub Arena, in Osaka on 19 October.
You can buy tickets at journeymusic.com.
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