When Billy Idol had to pull out of Journey’s headlining tour last year because of his health problems, TOTO stepped in. The two bands wrapped up the continuation of their tour with the 50th-anniversary celebration, ‘Freedom Tour 2023,’ this past April. So, Steve Lukather shared his thoughts with Rock History Music about his experience working with Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain; he said:
“We tore up with Journey, so Journey we’re fantastic. Neal Schon and the guys were fantastic; we had a great time. I know they’ve got issues; that’s not my problem. I said to them day one, ‘Love you, Neal, love you, Jonathan [Cain], don’t make me a part of this. I already know what this is, and I just want to play and have a good time. I love you guys.’
Even though the TOTO guitarist knew of Schon and Cain’s issues, he preferred to stay out of it and explained that both tours promoting Journey’s 15th studio album ‘Freedom,’ was a success by adding:
“Everybody got along fantastic. It was great; they treated us great, the audiences were amazing, and our numbers went crazy on Spotify. The merch, and then I think we did what we wanted to do by accomplishing that.”
Now, after coming off of tour, Steve is focusing on the release of his ninth studio album ‘Bridges’ which he describes as a ‘niche album that is for fans who like what he does.’ You can listen to the newly released album below.
You can watch Steve Lukather’s interview with Rock History Music and listen to ‘Freedom’ below.
