Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey"
WORLD PREMIERE AT TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2012
News: April 2012: Everyman's Journey premieres at the Tribeca Film Festive in San Francisco.
UPDATE - New Journey, Pat Benatar featuring Neil Giraldo & Loverboy tour dates have been posted on the tour page.
01/23/12: Welcome to 2012! Jon's wines are taking off and so is the next leg of the Journey tour.
Jon will be a judge at the San Antonio Cocktail Conference. It is "The Original Cocktail Competition" sponsored by Fee Brothers Bitters and Red Bull; being held on January 28, 2012 at 4:30pm, hosted at the Bohanan's Bar in San Antonio. Spectators can watch for free. See the link above for more details or check out this news article.
Jonathan Cain who has made wines in Nor Cal since 2005 under the name DelaCain-- along with partner, Dennis De:LaMontanya-- have changed the name of their business to Finale Wines.
Finale had a showing and bottle signing Cain attended last night at Wine Merchant Wine Shop at Ferry Plaza downtown, San Francisco.Hosted by Ziggy the Wine Gal. radio personality from KRUSH and owner, Debbie Zachareas, it is the first time Finale Wines have been offered at a Bay Area retail store. The event was huge success where aficionados and Journey fans tasted flights that included 2009 Sonoma Coast, pinot noir, - Chanconne - 2007 and 2008 Finale cab and the 2008 Grand Finale. Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant has signed bottles on hand for Journey fans that want the personal touch. Jonathan had this to say after the tasting- "We look forward to doing business with Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants in the months to come. Debbie has a fantastic operation and we are proud to be represented at her shop."
09/01/11: Steve Augeri catches up with the Journey boys at a show; August 2011
08/30/11: Check out the Pictures page for some shot of Jon and some baseball legends at the PNC Park.
08/04/11: Journey with special guests Foreigner and Night Ranger
In conjunction with building the Rhodes family a new home, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is holding a holiday gift drive benefiting children in the American Addition neighborhood and underprivileged youth across Columbus. Gift donations will be collected at the Journey concert on Friday, August 5th at Crew Stadium and at the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build site Friday, August 5th through Thursday, August 11th.
Please help make an extreme difference for these youth and bring new, unwrapped gifts to the drop off locations.
07/28/11: Don't forget to watch Journey perform on the NBC Today Show tomorrow morning July 29th! Check local listings in your area for time and channel.
05/31/11: Jon's brother Tommy "Mugs" Cain has started a page on Facebook. Join Mugs's page by pressing the "Like" button.
Facebook: Tommy "Mugs" Cain
05/28/11: Update from JCain Boca Raton Florida
Just taped an amazing piece with the band and Jim Axelrod--well known political
television CBS correspondent saluting our song "Don't Stop Believin'" It has
been 30 years since the song was released--the taping was an in depth look at
the creation and the amazing longevity the song has had over the years. From
Escape to the Sopranos to Glee to Rock of Ages--It has been an anthem for three
Generations. Jim had some amazing questions for us--a few we hadn't even thought
about!
It is to air on Sunday morning on CBS once it is edited -- so we will let you
all know when it will be aired.
Below is my South America impressions piece
along with a few photos--
Cheers,
Jonathan Cain
05/28/11: South America Impressions
South American Journey Tour Impressions 2011 –Jonathan Cain
Hola, Journey fans! Had such a good time playing in Latin America I’d thought I’d share some personal highlights of the trip. The tour began back in March and the weather was perfect.
As some of you might know, we toured in Chile, Panama City, and Puerto Rico before with great success—this latest tour included Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela as well. Since one of my passions is wine—I went to Santiago two days early to tour one of my favorite regions Apalta, where there are two of my favorite wineries, Casa LaPostolle and Montes. Co-incidentally, President Obama had just spoken in Santiago and was in all the newspapers and news channels. I arrived in the morning, was greeted by our promoters and whisked away to the hotel. When they showed me to my suite the manager told me Obama had slept there the night before!
When I told the promoters assistant I where I wanted to go she looked at me like I was crazy. There was a highway that went straight down there I said. I needed a hotel and a tour reservation for the wineries so she began to arrange them for me. I was okay to drive down alone so she went about finding me a rental car so I could make it there before dark. It would be an adventure.
After a short nap, I got in the rental car and headed out of the bustling city to a quaint town three hours southeast of Santiago, Santa Cruz to stay the night. I noticed there was a lot of smog there—much more than I remembered the last time I had been to Chile--when we played Vina del Mar. On a day off I got to tour another wine region that time called Casa Blanca. Chile was one of the safer places to travel in South America so I wasn’t worried about getting carjacked or mugged. As I drove down the highway I noticed vineyards appearing along the side of the road. San Antonio is known for white wine and pinot noir but since I had little time to get to the hotel I didn’t stop to visit. As I ventured toward Santa Cruz I stopped seeing signs and was worried I might have missed a turn. To my amazement, my Blackberry picked up my location on GPS and verified I was indeed on the right road.
Santa Cruz seemed like a low to middle class community with a variety of houses people lived in, from shanties to prefab apartment buildings. There were no malls and high-end restaurants here—only the basic shops—and strangely enough—a casino. When I found the hotel and checked in I realized that Santa Cruz Plaza Hotel was the nicest place in town. I had an amazing meal in the restaurant and the rooms were tidy and new. There was a wine shop that sold a lot of the regional brands and a wine bar that poured the same.
The next morning I set out to Apalta to make my ten o’clock tour. What I found interesting about this wine country was there were no shops or tasting rooms in town other than the hotel that sold the wine from the region. Unlike Napa, tours here seemed to be by appointment only. The gates of many of these wineries were closed with armed guards in guardhouses. Driving past acres of vineyards, down a rustic two-lane road, I arrived at my destination and was greeted at La Postalle by a young, English-speaking Chilean for my tour. Since I was the only person for his ten o’clock time slot, he spent extra time showing me the fine details of how they crafted their brand. Merlot was harvested that night and the women were hand sorting the grapes when I arrived. He told me they only used woman because of their attention to detail. The 12 million dollar winery was built twelve years ago by the family that owns Grand Marnier. They brought in expert Frenchman skilled in viniculture to supervise the operation. The gravity driven, biodynamic farmed; winery was a high tech work of art. Five levels—it was carved into the bedrock and took three years to complete. The wine I tasted was “otherworld divine” Blackberry and pepper on the nose: rich deep fruit with soft tannins that lasted on the palate. The chardonnay, Alexis, I tasted was excellent as well. Alexis was the name of the heiress from Grand Marnier who had overseen the vineyard for the family. She lives in Switzerland and visits the winery from time to time.
Moving down the road I stopped at Montes and had another amazing tour. They began in the eighties and have been one of my faves for years. Syrah is making a strong statement in Chile and Montes has a brand called Follie, which is an amazing example of how “terroir” can affect the profile of a wine.
As I made my way back to Santiago, I thought of stopping in San Antonio but got a call from our camp to return for interviews the next day—another time—I thought. As we did TV and radio interviews at our hotel it was obvious Chile was excited to have us back again. They loved our greatest hits but asked about the new album and seemed interested in checking out our new music. The concert in Chile was a sell-out and we played for ten-thousand people.
The next morning we jumped in vans and headed off to the airport. After standing in line for immigration-- we headed to Buenos Aires for a night off. Buenos Aires is a sprawling city with over twenty million people—and the airport was an hour drive from the city. Argentina is famous for beef so the crew had organized a private dinner at a well-known steakhouse. Argentina is also famous for the wines. Malbec from the Mendoza region is a stand out and was a perfect complement to our steak dinner. The lady that worked for our promoter told us of the political struggles going on in Argentina. They make it hard for local business by imposing harsh taxes and laws. We heard that during the elections they pass out food to the poor in return for their vote.
Traveling to San Paulo Brazil, we found the similar sprawling, big city vibe with lots traffic and smog. People here speak Portuguese, not Spanish and have their own currency known as real. We stayed in great hotel that had an amazingly large gym connected to it. A huge mall was in walking distance that sold just about anything you could ask for. There were other malls that carried high-end brands like Chanel and Prada. No lack of disposable income here! We dined in one of the many Churascarias – men running around serving meat on skewers---anything from beef, chicken, sausage and beyond! We found the natives friendly at Hooters where the crew and I had lunch close to the hotel.
Flying on to Lima, Peru we found the airport situated around a barrio. Once we got into the main city, however there were historical squares, with churches and fountains hundreds of years old. We spent a day sightseeing and then headed to the ocean for dinner. I found the food to be some of the best in all of South America. While dining in Peru, there is quite a variety to choose from--ceviche, grilled seafood, and wonderful meat dishes with tasty sauces. The home of “pisco sour”—a native cocktail made from locally produced pisco--they also have exotic fruit I have never seen before-- they make into ice cream and desserts.
The Lima coastline—a rugged series of cliffs and sandy beaches is similar to Santa Monica and Malibu. Except for the smoggy haze, the weather was also quite nice in Lima. It hardly ever rains or gets cold here except for the coast, which can get chilly marine microclimate.
Caracas, Venezuela was next, a city surrounded by jungle-like mountains. The disparity in classes was obvious as we from the drove from the airport noticing the terraces of shanties that lined the hillsides. Most of them had no windows and were made from corrugated sheet metal and plywood painted in bright colors like purple and blue. Since there are obvious political differences between America and Venezuela, we did not venture from out our hotel here. It was the smallest venue on the tour but was sold out and well received. Departing the next morning, we got some looks at strange looks at the airport from the locals. Believe it or not, we dined at Benihana, in the mall of the hotel had and an excellent tepanaki dinner.
Surprisingly, Guatemala City seemed like a Westernized city. Burger King and Cinnabon at the malls. McDonalds and Starbucks on every other street corner. We were to play a charity for a group of citizens that were helping young disabled children. Most of these kids were abandoned, needing food, shelter and rehab. It was held at a nice arena helping to promote the cause. I asked at the meet and greet to meet a few of the kids who had come to attend the concert. They told me no one had ever asked to see the children the concert was meant to help. I was shocked! They brought three kids backstage—all helped by this amazing local outreach. I met a five year old boy who had been taught to walk—all from the extensive rehab these folks were doing.
At the airport I found a store selling local rum—Ron Zacapa. I put a bottle in my suitcase to sample when I got home. It is now my favorite!
In Panama City, we found, that 6,000 fans would come to see Journey. We had played there before with Cheap Trick and 38 Special in 2002 and there was a nice buzz about the band. It is an International melting pot where South America seems to come for business and trade. The canal—is being expanded by a group of engineers from all over the world to allow for more ships to distribute goods. We ate at an amazing Spanish restaurant here –dining on roasted pig.
Landing in Mexico City, we were met by a friendly security team who offered to take us to their favorite gourmet Mexican restaurant for a day off. For appetizers we ate ant eggs—“mescole”--in oil and herbs—on tortillas---a seasonal Mexican delicacy. No one knew what they were eating until they tasted! They were actually delicious! Along with the crew, Ross and I planned a trip to the Aztec pyramids, Teotihuacán , and were led around the park by Gorilla Tours—a father son team that did an amazing job of explaining the ruins and sharing the spiritual ways of the ancient ones. Gasping for air when we reached the top, we all climbed the Pyramid of the Moon. When we had finished touring the park we went to Gorilla’s lair and drank pulque—an ancient cactus libation and some homemade tequila. Rich in aloe vera—pulque has a citrus sweet flavor. The next night, when we arrived to perform at the venue, bootleggers were selling our swag in a big way. Tents and stands cluttered the front of the arena—all selling various versions of our logos. Since there was nothing legally, we could do to stop these bootleggers we asked the crew to buy some items for ideas for our next tour. The show in Mexico City was sold out—10,000 plus. Another success!
Monterey Mexico has a drug cartel war going on with the police, so it was a little tense as we landed and were met by our new security team. Whisked away to our hotel it was a play and wave, so we got out and back to hotel for some sleep and a day off on Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is one of those places most folks forget to consider for vacation but every time we play there I am amazed at how tropical and balmy the island can be. The prices are reasonable the food is delicious and there are beautiful beaches everywhere. Home to Bacardi rum distillery, great golf courses and a brand new Trump resort—it has a lot to offer—complete with historical, old world charm. We stayed at a hip hotel that had a private beach and a gym and spa. On show day, I got up early and jogged down in Old San Juan by the cemetery where the local heroes are all buried. I ran all the way to El Morro and the gate by the water—that used to be the place all visitors who arrived by ship would enter. A quick rain shower came and cooled my jets as I finished up. I headed back to have breakfast in a quaint local bakery. In old San Juan there are blue stones that pave the streets—left by the Spanish who used them as ballast during their long voyages from Europe and other distant parts. Many of them fell in love with the island and never returned so the blue stones from the unused ships were used to pave most of the remaining streets downtown. I ate dinner at a chic, new, restaurant, just blocks from the hotel, Boca Thai. The head chef used to be part owner of a trendy place downtown San Juan called, Firefly. Latin-Asian cuisine is his specialty at Boca Thai and his pot stickers with truffle sauce and Pinole were simply divine. The evenings were so perfectly seducing—so I left my doors open to my room and let the ocean ambience gently rock me to sleep.
Dealing with security lines, customs aside, it was one of my favorite tours. From the vineyards of Chile to the pyramids of the Aztecs in Mexico City—it is rare to get to see such splendor, while playing rock shows with a band that is moving quickly through a region. The hotels, food and wine were splendid, crowds were enthusiastic, our crew was fantastic! Everyone had done a great job—months of preparation all paid off! The band and I are spoiled by such effort and we salute them!
In the end the road can be a lonely place, but this road was filled with surprise and adventure. I thank God for my blessed life. I can only say Hola! Rock and roll has been very, very good to me!
05/23/11: "What's Up With Jonathan Cain".
Jonathan Cain update for jonathancain.com
On the eve of the release of our new album, Eclipse I thought it would be time for some insight on how things have been going in my world and the Journey camp during the making of our new CD—“Eclipse”.
After writing “City of Hope’ in a hotel room in Manila I was inspired by Arnel and his story. We needed an album in which he could express his personality and our core beliefs. It would be the rock record that Neal had wanted to make for a long time.
Neal and I began writing the rest of the songs in February. We used my studio, Wildhorse in Marin County and worked in two-week intervals. I would take the tracks home to Nashville and complete the lyrics and rough vocal ideas.
One of the first ideas, “Anything is Possible” came out a bunch of notes I had scribbled down over a period of five years. It was to be the answer to Don’t Stop Believin’ –or so I thought. When I finished it and played it for my daughters—they approved.
Returning to Fantasy to record our new album was a trip down memory lane. The place where we recorded two of our biggest albums Escape and Frontiers had re-opened after being abandoned for years. Not much had changed in the rooms so it was like going back in time. During the early Eighties, Randy Jackson was always there—recording with his band Taxi and producing projects for people, sticking his head in to listen to our playbacks. David Lee Roth had a solo album project there and would come into the common lunchroom cracking jokes and making us laugh. Roy Sigle, the old manager and his assistant Nina were gone so the Fantasy staff was all new and friendly-- we would be well looked after during our stay.
Living in my home and driving to Berkeley was a treat. Hotels can be depressing so to be able to sleep in a great bed, make strong black coffee and cook my own meals was a bonus—as well as having a world-class studio outside my driveway. Wanting my own wheels--I had kept my supercharged, 2006 GT Mustang to tool around in. I had been trying to sell it online with no luck at all. Guess it was meant to be-- cause the financial officer of my bank bought it and ended up taking it back to Nashville when I was through recording the album. The well- worn trip over the Richmond Bridge reminded me of recording and rehearsing with the Journey back in the Eighties---the days it seemed we ruled the airwaves and played “Day on The Green” for Bill Graham.
Unlike so many of our album projects, we were going to go into the studio—unrehearsed. Kevin Shirley only had so many weeks he could spare so we decided to wing it--on the fly. I had recorded the demos at Wildhorse with Neal and made CD’s for everyone in advance—so everyone had an idea of what we were going for.
During this time, Arnel had been on a tour raising money for his foundation so he came two weeks before the recording process took place. We wrote “She’s a Mystery" and he brought a fine song with him ”To Whom It May Concern".
The album was to be a concept album and Neal and I had stumbled upon Tantra—an ancient, Hindu belief that all energy is one—woven into an endless circle. I became fascinated with the mystical concept and after some research, decided to make it the theme of the album—spiritually---sensually and physically relating back to the—“many is one” idea. It had power and mystery and songs flowed easily. Sitting alone, looking out the window at Wildhorse, writing lyrics was empowering. I was back with my old friend for one last project. I should mention here that my longtime tech, Doc Shaffer, of 19 years had died of cancer last year. I got to say good-bye to him one afternoon-- on one of his last days. He had helped me build my place and poured his heart and soul into keeping it running. I soon realized it was my first time working on a project when he wasn’t there. His presence was everywhere I looked -- I was at a loss without him. A few times I broke down as I plugged in gear, reading his writing, admiring his amazing wiring and connections he carefully fabricated for me. I laughed as I noticed a can of Doc Shaffer “fish assholes” a joke he created –that was proudly displayed on one of the diffusers. I prayed everything would work without him --and it did. Doc we miss you.
I had found some more notes in my studio in a spiral notebook I had written years ago. They were scribbled on hotel stationary—
“One light shining bright…is made from many colors… just like
Every ocean's made from many drops of rain
One soul takes many shapes
To make up the human race...one fire...many lives
Share the same sun everyday
Old beliefs let us down
Many roads lead to heaven
One love...many faiths all share
A world in search of grace
Across the universe
The same force that moves the earth is
In my heart
Makes me whole…
Wash my doubt and fear away”
The words fit the melody to a ballad Neal and I had been working on. Unknowingly, I had written the opening verse to the song, Tantra, three years ago. Excited, I worked through the afternoon into the night and when I was finished-- I wept during the final playback. Was I just too emotional or was this song--special?
Days later after hearing “Tantra” our manager, John Baruck called me and said it had happened to him as well. I was in the right place at the right time creating in a magical place.
Kevin headed up the production and we quickly got some great tracks. It came to a halt as Ross got the flu and couldn’t make it in to record for a week—so things slowed down a bit during the middle of the project. We soon got back on track as a band and finished Chain of Love, To Whom It May Concern and Resonate.
It was almost nostalgic to record and sing backgrounds on the very same spot we all gathered around one microphone and sang Don’t Stop Believin’, Stone in Love and Who’s Cryin’ Now. Full circle—the endless tantric circle was coming into play before us. After we sang the backgrounds on the song “Tantra,” Deen was so moved he had tears and hugged me. It was starting to take shape as our mystical circle was being completed.
In the final weeks I hammered out with Neal--the songs Resonate, Chain of Love, Human Feel and Ritual. We were originally going to record five or six songs. We had ended up with twelve in a matter of five weeks.
After living with the mixes Neal and I went back to Wildhorse, one last time, for guitar overdubs and rough mixes. It had been the very place that we wrote the songs for Trial By Fire, put the band back together in 1998 and wrote “Arrival”, “Red 13” and “Generations". After finishing up the rough mixes with Neal we set up a tripod and took one last picture together. The next day Wildhorse was dismantled and packed up in boxes. I had sold the house on the hill I had lived some thirty years. I wasn’t ready for the events and emotions that followed.
When you have lived in a house for thirty years, belongings get stuck in all the nooks and crannies. I searched through drawers looked in the corners of closets and found things we had forgotten. As I packed up the last few things I knew I would find pictures and memories that would remind me of how much of life I had lived there.
The house had been vacant for three weeks and when I came back to work in the studio. I arrived late in the evening to an empty shell .The only furniture that remained was a bed in the master suite and a TV we would leave behind. As I lay down to close my eyes I heard a creaking sound in the bay window that sounded as if something was pulling the walls from the outside. The creaking got louder and louder --as I felt a strange pressure in the room push on the windows. I sat up and saw two ink black apparitions floating above the fireplace. A coldness and a strange smell had come over the bedroom until it was obvious something or someone was preying on the leftover life force that we had left behind. I had heard about these ghosts floating into empty places and thought they were green. These were black and made them seem evil in nature. Was I seeing things or was this really happening? I hadn’t even had a drink on the airplane. I felt a shiver as watched their reflections loom in the mirror above the fireplace. The next moment they drifted toward the windows and vanished into the night…as if something I had startled them to run away. I was so tired I lay back down and drifted off to sleep trying to surround myself in the white light of meditation. Would they return? Who were they? I wondered. In the days that followed, I found that they would not return. Maybe my presence ran them off. I wasn’t sure. How strange to have witnessed entities revealing themselves on the last week of my stay.
Before I surrendered my home I wanted to make sure my backyard vineyard was taken care of. Turns out the harvesting of pinot noir grapes had to be expedited early--due to varmints eating the fruit. Javier, the vineyard manager took the grapes to De La Montanya for sorting and crush. They picked a half a ton of fruit that remained on the vines. The two hundred plants will yield about 24 cases. I plan to donate some of this special wine to various charities.
When the morning had come to lock the front door and return to the airport. I turned the key from the outside and pulled the door to make sure it was locked. I became transfixed in a moment… These are lyrics from a song I wrote in Nashville weeks later.
"Standing on the front porch as I close the door to walk away
A flood of memories rain down on me…end of story turn the page
This house was my safe harbor…leavin’s like losin’ my best friend.
And it breaks my heart to turn the key on a place I’d thought I’d always be
I guess good-bye means…I’m never comin’ back again”.
It was the end of an era…pages of my life…I will never forget.
Returning to Nashville, I worked with my daughter Madison on a few songs we had written together. Kim Tribble, our songwriting partner had been working with David Kalmusky, a talented young, Canadian engineer. When I heard a project he had played for me I wanted to use him for Madison’s demos. The demos went down smoothly and the roughs sounded amazing. I had a hard drive with our album, “Eclipse” with me and asked him to mix the song. “Anything Is Possible”. David had shared our vision of making “Eclipse” a big sounding rock album. When I heard what he had done I sent the mix off to Neal and John Baruck for comments. They loved what they heard and we made the decision to let David Kalmusky—to do the final mixes of our album.
Because of time limits with Kevin, we needed to give Arnel a few more passes on a few songs before we began the mix down session. Arnel flew from the road to Nashville and sang brilliantly for five days—completing the master vocals to our new album.
Neal came back to Nashville for the mixdowns and worked tirelessly with David on the final tweaks while I stayed the “neutral set of ears” and gave my comments after they were finished. Neal and I were thrilled with the mixes. The size and width of the CD was huge. Even Kevin Shirley gave his blessings to our new sound.
David mastered the CD and Eclipse was completed here in Nashville—coast to coast the mystical tantric circle was intact again. On behalf of all the members of Journey we hope you enjoy our new CD—“Eclipse”.
The tour page has been update with all the confirmed Journey tour dates. Please see where you can check out Journey this summer.
02/22/11: Well, February 23, 2011 is a day that many Journey fans have been waiting for. The first show of the 2011 - 2012 World Tour. Las Vegas is the place to be. Journey will be pulling out the classics and introducing a few new songs off the up coming new CD "Eclipse". "Eclipse" is due out on May 24th.
You can check out Jon's latest interview here at Boomerocity.com.
02/15/11: Glee may not have won the Grammy for "Don't Stop Believin'"; but Jon and his daughters Liza and Madison thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Journey has two concerts coming up next week; Las Vegas and Reno. A world tour will follow starting in late March.
You can now follow Jonathan Cain on Twitter. Follow Jon's tweets throughout the tour, TheJonathanCain. You can also follow Madison Cain at TheMadisonCain.
12/21/10: We here at Jonathancain.com wish everyone a joyous holiday and a prosperous new year. See you on the 2011 Journey World Tour.
Jonathan, Rhonda & Tracy
11/06/10: An update from Jonathan Cain.
Jonathan Cain update for Jonathan Cain com
Much has happened to “where I live” since the last tour ended. Not only did we buy a house and move to Nashville, we had our California house on the market for 7 months. After living in that house on a hill for over 30 years--we moved all our stuff out of our Marin home. It finally sold in late September – the first home I ever purchased with my ex-wife Tane, a place I tied my horse, where I ran to lick my wounds after my divorce in 1987, where I courted and married my wife, of twenty two years, Liz It was the birth place of our three children, Madison, Weston and Liza, the grounds that all four of our dogs were buried—along with the countless hamsters and bunnies that came into our lives. I marveled when I looked at the empty house, how my Liz had re-decorated every square inch—the garden and pool looked like something out of Home and Garden when she was done with it. Nashville had been calling for seven years and our move there--felt like the right thing to do. After living there for over a year, leaving our Marin home for sale, there was only memories when I came back. We had moved on as a family. I was only there to wrap up the sale, hand over the keys and sign the papers. Seeing old friends at Starbucks I was asked how the family was and told how we were missed. We moved suddenly without a going away party. I confess it felt good to know they cared.
Before handing the house over to the new owners, I felt I had unfinished business. A vineyard on our hillside where pinot noir needed harvesting and Neal Schon wanted to come over to my studio to finish up some guitar parts for the new upcoming Journey album. I also downloaded my analog tapes onto digital formats that required baking tapes for sometimes as long as eight hours. It was strange being in the studio alone without Doc--my beloved tech who died last year of liver cancer. Doc Shaffer worked tirelessly for seventeen years not only for me but for Journey on countless projects. Before I went on the road we shared a bittersweet visit. I spent an afternoon with him at the hospital two days before he passed.
The Nashville move was tedious and it took several Mayflower truckloads to transport the layers of belongings and keepsakes we had accumulated over the years as a family to Tennessee. The part I procrastinated on and dreaded the most-- tearing the 1500 square foot recording studio apart I built back in 1991. It took weeks to sort through --but with the help of some friends and Brent Jeffers, my keyboard tech, I was successful in vacating Wildhorse Studio--a space that helped me create over nine CD’s and countless Journey projects—including writing material for the new album to be released next year, which Neal and I started-- back in late January this year.
Fittingly, Neal Schon came over to my studio in October to play some guitar on the new Journey album (due out next April) before I had the place taken apart. Pictured is the two of us on the last day of the recording session. As we hugged that afternoon, I got caught up in emotion recalling the memorable musical events that had taken place there. Not only did we crank out Neal’s Beyond the Thunder, and Soul Sirkus there—I recorded and mixed 8 solo albums—spanning genres from pop to jazz to new age. Elvin Bishop, Greg Allman, and yes-- even Steve Perry-- all sang there. This was the space that Neal and I put Journey back together in 1997. A clubhouse that we could create in Wildhorse proved to be a needed tool for us to continue to hone our sound.
In June, with Kevin Shirley at the helm as producer, the recording for the new Journey album began at Fantasy Studios over in Berkeley, where we did Escape and Frontiers. We laid down the basic tracks that Neal and I had created during the early part of 2010. It was inspiring being back in the studio we had so much success in the 80’s. Not much had changed except that the old console had been replaced by a newer SSL. The tracking went quickly as Neal and I brought in several new songs we demoed on the weekends at Wildhorse to add to the mix. The staff was friendly and helpful during the time we were there and I even got to see some Giants games right over the Bay Bridge at AT+T Park. A concept album--the new release is a departure from what we have done in the past. It has a hard-hitting rock edge with soul-searching lyrics. Arnel soars along with some of Neal’s best playing -- the band is solid as ever. I look forward to next spring when we will release it—probably at Walmart.
It has been nice to have the year off the road—giving me the time to accomplish the many tasks of moving. It felt like I’ve had one foot in California and the other in Nashville – wrapping of the sale of the house and creating the new Journey CD. Life in Nashville has been fun and productive. I started the year performing with my daughter, Madison at the ‘Blue Bird Café” where we shared the stage with other talented singer/songwriters. In the spring I was asked to be part of “Tin Pan South” a songwriter’s event that lasts for about a week. I was asked to be special guest performer as I kicked off the event at the Rutledge. ASCAP asked me to perform at the Hard Rock Café with Brett James and JD Souther, for a sold out crowd. It has been fun to attend the various events in Nashville, walking the red carpet with Madison at the CMA and CMT award shows. We recently attended the ASCAP award show where they honor songwriters who have had big songs played by famous country artists like Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley and others.
I will have my first official Nashville release on the upcoming Pure Country 2 soundtrack album, “I Found In You” a duet I sang and composed with Sara Darling and Jimmy Nichols (legendary keyboardist for Faith Hill and many others). Next spring another talented and pretty singer-songwriter, Lindsey Hagar will release a song I wrote with her titled “Skin Deep.”
Our daughter Madison has been singing at various charity events for ARF, NAMM and TJ Martel. She has been writing some terrific new songs here with an incredible pool of amazing writers. I have been fortunate to be part of a couple of them myself. Madison has a terrific manager,Scott Simon and has a new website, www.madisoncain.net. She is scheduled to go into the studio soon to record with famed producer Paul Worley who produced the Dixie Chicks and most recently Lady Antebelum.
Our other teen-agers Weston and Liza, the twins have taken to Nashville quite well. They love their new school and have made some great new friends. Weston spent a couple of weeks playing in the JAM program. Kids form bands and rehearse all week and perform a concert on Friday and Saturday nights. Wes also played drums at the NAMM show with Miles Schon and Madison for the Governor’s charity downtown. It was Father’s Day and I jammed with them on a version of Lovin Touchin’--incredible experience! Weston practices his drums daily in our new studio and is really getting quite good. Liza has been taking piano, guitar and voice lessons. She will probably end up playing and singing with her sister on the road…sound familiar?
My wine venture, delaCain has been making some noise in the Nashville market. I partnered up with Horizon Wine and Spirits and have had wine socials. I have personally gone around meeting wine shop owners and to let them taste our wines. Once my partner, Dennis DeLaMontanya wraps up his harvest we will blend and bottle our 2008 Napa cabernet from Atlas Peak in a couple of weeks. Chanconne, our pinot noir, will also be blended and bottled.
I might have sold my house but not my heart. Wes and I recently went out to the World Series in San Francisco at AT+T Park. It was on my bucket list and to be in the stands while the Giants clobbered the Texas Rangers was awesome. The PA was cranked and the orange and black was flowing everywhere you looked. I got to say hello to my friend, Brian Murphy from Murph and Mack on KNBR, the sports station in the Bay Area. Finally, I believe I finished my memoir I have been working on for the last four years. “Mixed Blessings” is a coming of age story set in the Italian neighborhood where I grew up in Chicago back in the Fifties. I hope to find a publisher soon.
All of us look forward to next year—a tour that spans South America, Europe, The States and Asia. Plans are to begin in April. See you all then!
Regards,
Jonathan Cain
PS: Here is a picture taking at the opening of Dolly Parton's musical "9 to 5".
Here is Paulo Fazioli, Jonathan and the "Faz".
Here is a shot I found with Michael Bolton and Anita Baker. TJ Martell Gala on March 22, 2010; I and gave Bolton an award for all the work in his foundation.
08/17/10: Madison Cain and Jonathan Cain did an online interview last night with Bob Merrick and in studio guest Pauly David. The Baub Show can be found at www.thebaubshow.com, scroll down to "Listen Here" and choose "Select a past episode". Madison and Jonathan are on episode 55.
05/18/10: Here is a link to part of Jonathan's speech advocating for music education on Capital Hill at NAMM's Congressional Reception held on May 12 at the Capitol Visitor Center; Taylor Dayne was also in attendance. Video Link
Jonathan’s Fazioli!
Jon with "The Faz"
We recently had the chance to visit with Jon in the studio. He has a new baby in the house. A 7.6 foot black Fazioli grand piano. “The Faz” hails from Italy and when Jon plays it, this piano just sings with the smoothest tones you can imagine.
The Fazioli Sound can be summarized as follows:
CLEAR: A sound which harmonic components are evenly present throughout.
UNIFORM: A timber that presents equal characteristics in every area of the keyboard.
WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE: A sound that goes from ppp (pianissimo) to fff (fortissimo), without any distortion in fff (fortissimo)
LONG DURATION: The duration of the sound is extremely important for the legato and cantabile playing thus the sound must not decay rapidly.
SELECTIVE: This means the pianist is able to achieve distinction of the single parts (voices), especially during the performance of polyphonic works.
The Faz looks forward to meeting all of you on the road this summer! You can check out other Fazioli's at www.fazioli.com.
There is no sheet music available for the "Bridal March". Here is an mp3 that you can right click on the link and download to your computer. Bridal March
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