Journey debut new song, “The Way We Used To Be”

Today, Journey share their new song The Way We Used To Be.” The song is the multi-platinum band’s first new music since 2011’s album Eclipse, and the first song released by the band’s revamped lineup featuring Neal Schon (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jonathan Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Arnel Pineda (lead vocals), Randy Jackson (bass), Narada Michael Walden (drums) and Jason Derlatka (keyboards, backing vocals). “The Way We Used To Be” marks Walden and Derlatka’s first studio recordings with the band, and Jackson’s first since 1986’s Raised On Radio. The song was produced by Narada Michael Walden at his Tarpan Studios, with co-production by Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. Schon says of the new song:

“The first song “The Way We Used To Be” came out of 1 of the many loops I’d written while the long downtime continued with the pandemic we all had to deal with. So utilizing my time and trying to keep fans in touch I started posting many jams and loops I created very quickly most every day. On “The Way We Used To Be” I laid down the keyboard loop with over-dubbed rhythm and a little blues lead guitar and sent to Jonathan. He sent it back very shortly after with demo vocals and lyrics and I said to myself with a smile – we’ve still got it!

I felt Jonathan nailed the lyrics and melody with haunting chorus “got to get back” – “to the way we used to be.” So this was the complete new beginning chapter for Journey – many more follow the same sequence with all of us collectively writing and working together. We now have over 26 songs that we’ve written and whittling it down to 10 or 12. We are very excited by all the new musical endeavors we’ve created together looking forward to getting back on the road to you.”

Today the band also share the music video for “The Way We Used To Be,” directed & produced by Andrew Seth Cohen & Ryan Kieffer with animation produced by Confidential Creative. Watch it here.

Journey will headline Lollapalooza at Chicago’s Grant Park on Saturday, July 31st. The band have also confirmed “An Evening with Journey: Official Lollapalooza Aftershow” at the Aragon Ballroom on Thursday, July 29th. On Friday, September 18th, the band will be performing at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. More live shows will be announced in the coming weeks.

Neal Schon recently spoke with Rolling Stone about the forthcoming Journey album and tour: “It’s really shaping up. Narada and I have been working nonstop. Jonathan [Cain] is also working from his houses in Florida and Nashville. Arnel is working from Manila. Randy Jackson is working mostly from L.A. I actually can’t wait until we do get together and start putting the show together.” Read the full interview here.

Founded in 1972, Journey, comprised of Neal Schon (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jonathan Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Arnel Pineda (lead vocals), Randy Jackson (bass), Narada Michael Walden (drums) and Jason Derlatka (keyboards), is one of the most famous and beloved American rock bands of all time, having written some of the best-known songs in the modern musical canon. Since the group’s formation in 1973, the band has earned 19 top 40 singles, 25 Gold and Platinum albums, and has sold nearly 100 million albums globally. Their Greatest Hits album is certified 15 times-Platinum, making Journey one of the few bands to ever have been Diamond-certified and their song “Don’t Stop Believin’” has been streamed over one billion times alone.

Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, and 2018’s co-headlining tour with Def Leppard was the band’s most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold, and earning them the prestigious Billboard \”Legends of Live\” touring award. March 2019 saw the release of Escape & Frontiers Live in Japan, a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo featuring the band’s first-ever performances of the albums Escape and Frontiers in their entirety. Journey has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Additionally, the band is the subject of the award-winning documentary, Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey about the band’s resurgence upon adding Arnel Pineda as lead singer after founding member, Neal Schon, discovered the Philippines native on Youtube.