Former Journey Singer Steve Augeri Won’t Come Back If Offered

Former Journey vocalist Steve Augeri recently appeared on the Chuck Shute Podcast, where he offered his thoughts on the band’s current dispute between Arnel Pineda and guitarist Neal Schon. He also explained why the two should make up and get over their personal conflicts.

“Look, if you asked me about them or if you asked me about my next-door neighbor and if their marriage was kind of rocky, it’s the same thing. It’s not my business; it’s none of my business. However, it’s a relationship that’s going on for 50 years, and that’s extraordinary just to achieve that milestone. And if you don’t have cracks in your foundation, I don’t know — you must also walk on water. ‘Nobody’ walks on water. They’ve been together this long. There’s a good chance that they could… I’m sure they could patch things up, except things have been a little rocky lately, more so than ever.”

He added: “That’s all I can say. It’s theirs to work out, their issue to work out. And I hope they do — for the sake of the band and equally for the sake of the fans because you can’t help but think that it affects them as well.”

Augeri also elaborated on why he himself has no desire to rejoin Journey. “Well, I would probably say no and no,” he said. “And I’ll tell you why. If they asked me to go, for starters… Look, I’ve had my day in the sun, I’ve had my run, and I think it was wonderful. Arnel has done that, and probably twice as long as I’ve been there, and he’s done it magnificently.”

One might say that Journey has a bit of a shady reputation due to internal tensions within the band or, more specifically, due to Neal Schon’s clashes with other members. With Steve Perry’s litigation against Schon and Jonathan Cain and Neal’s current legal difficulties, tensions are running high between Arnel Pineda and the guitarist after Pineda issued an ultimatum and dared Schon to fire him.