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Deen Castronovo
Castronovo in 2018
Background information
Born	Deen Joseph Castronovo (1964-08-17)August 17, 1964 (age 61) Westminster, California, U.S.
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal speed metal neoclassical metal
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Drums vocals
Years active	1982–present
Member of	Journey[1] Revolution Saints[2]
Formerly of	The Dead Daisies[3] Bad English[4] Dr. Mastermind[5] Wild Dogs[6] Cacophony[7] Hardline[8] Planet Us[9] Soul SirkUS[10] GZR[11] Ozzy Osbourne[12]

Deen Joseph Castronovo^[13] (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer best known for being a member ofhard rock actsBad English,Hardline andJourney. He currently plays drums and sings for the bandsJourney, Generation Radio, andRevolution Saints. He has also played forOzzy Osbourne,Steve Vai,Paul Rodgers, andGZR, withBlack Sabbath'sGeezer Butler.

Deen Castronovo was born in the city ofWestminster, California and started drumming at the age of 6. He grew up inSalem, Oregon,^[14][15] where he attendedSouth Salem High School.^[16] Castronovo said time in band during high school gave him identity and confidence.^[17] Deen citesSteve Smith,Neil Peart,Terry Bozzio,Peter Criss,John Bonham,Alex Van Halen,Kiss,Rush,Van Halen,Led Zeppelin,Phil Collins andAC/DC as musical influences.^[18]

Castronovo is the former drummer for bandsWild Dogs,Bad English,Hardline,Ozzy Osbourne, andGZR. He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bandsRevolution Saints andJourney.

Wild Dogs is an American rock band from Portland, Oregon formed loosely in 1981 by Jeff Mark, Danny Kurth, Matt McCourt, and Pete Holmes. Drummer Pete Holmes was lured away byBlack 'n Blue and was replaced byJaime St. James. The band had an appearance on a compilation series, but before a full album could be recorded withShrapnel Records, St. James left the band to also joinBlack 'n Blue. It was at this point Deen was first discovered by McCourt, who recruited the local, and then only 16-year-old^[19] drummer Castronovo to join the band.

Castronovo played on the self-titled debut albumWild Dogs (1983), the followupMan's Best Friend (1984) andReign Of Terror (1987). The band was known for its live show that featured McCourt's props and Castronovo's showmanship.

While working withWild Dogs, Castronovo met and began working withTony MacAlpine, which led to an introduction to future long-time collaboration partner,Neal Schon. Shortly after, Neal would invite Castronovo to audition for a new band withJonathan Cain,John Waite andRicky Phillips, which becameBad English. After two albums, which included being nominated for Best New Group in 1989 at theInternational Rock Awards, Bad English disbanded in 1991. In 1995 aGreatest Hits was released.

Again working withNeal Schon, Castronovo played drums and sang backing vocals onHardline's debut albumDouble Eclipse. The album's first single "Takin' Me Down" peaked at No. 37 onBillboard'sHot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album's second single, a cover of theDanny Spanos song "Hot Cherie," rose to No. 25 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Castronovo appeared on the 1995 releaseOzzmosis, the seventh solo studio album byOzzy Osbourne. The album reached number 22 on theUK Albums Chart and number four on the USBillboard 200. Castronovo also toured with Ozzy on a portion of the 1995 leg of theRetirement Sucks Tour.

Castronovo continued to be in various bands along with Schon, fromHardline toPaul Rodgers. After a three-year stint withVasco Rossi, he joined Journey, where he would spend the next 18 years and 5 albums as the drummer, backing and occasional lead vocalist.

While not the original drummer for Journey, Castronovo is the longest-serving drummer to date, having played on the albumsArrival (2001),Red 13 (2002),Generations (2005),Revelation (2008),Eclipse (2011) andFreedom (2022).

As a vocalist, he sang "Still They Ride", "Mother, Father" and "Keep On Runnin'" (and on rare occasions, "Faithfully" and "Where Were You") in concert in order to let the main lead vocalists take a break. In the studio, he performed lead vocals on "A Better Life" and "Never Too Late" onGenerations, as well as "After Glow" onFreedom.

Castronovo was fired by Journey in August 2015 following a June 2015 domestic violence arrest.^[20][21][22] He was replaced byOmar Hakim on the band's 2015 tour,^[23] with longtime drummerSteve Smith subsequently rejoining the band.

In July 2021, Schon confirmed Castronovo's return to Journey as a second drummer alongsideNarada Michael Walden.^[24] Following Walden's departure from the group in 2022, he became the sole drummer once again, though they both still appear onFreedom.^[25]

After the Planet Us project did not produce an album, Neal Schon was determined to see the material he had written come to life. At the 2004 annual NAMM Show in Los Angeles, Schon met up with Jeff Scott Soto and tested the waters with a jam session. While in Los Angeles, Schon also attended a showcase featuring Marco Mendoza. Inviting Soto, Mendoza and Castronovo to join him, the new band,Soul SirkUS, began rehearsing and eventually recorded 11 songs for their debut album, World Play. Although all the foundation tracks on the album were originally written for Planet Us, only one completed song from that band was used for Soul SirkUS debut.

In early 2005, with a completed album titledWorld Play (the "black sleeve" version) the band was ready to tour, but Castronovo fell ill due to extreme exhaustion. Soon after, Castronovo bowed out of Soul SirkUS based on his doctor's recommendation and was replaced by Australian drummerVirgil Donati.

Ultimately there were three editions of the album. The Black Sleeve version was the original with Castronovo drumming, the Green Sleeve version was an American edition remastered, the Yellow Sleeve had two versions: a European edition of remaster that included a bonus DVD, and a Japanese edition of the remaster included a bonus track. The Black Sleeve version is the only one with Castronovo.

While still with Journey, Castronovo,Jack Blades (Night Ranger,Damn Yankees andShaw Blades), andDoug Aldrich (Whitesnake,Dio,The Dead Daisies) formedRevolution Saints. The band, where Deen served as lead vocalist and handled drumming duties, released itsself-titled debut album on February 24, 2015. A follow-up album,Light in the Dark, was released on October 13, 2017.^[18] The album was ranked #8 on Dr. Music's 2017 "Album of the Year" list.^[26] This was followed byRestless Spirits in 2019.

In 2022, Blades and Aldrich left the band and were replaced withJeff Pilson andJoel Hoekstra.^[27] This lineup releasedEagle Flight in 2023, andAgainst the Winds in 2024.

Johnny Gioeli and Castronovo first played together on the debut Hardline album,Double Eclipse, which was released in 1992. 25 years later, the two were reunited in Italy to commence work on the debut Gioeli-Castronovo album,Set The World On Fire, available July 13, 2018. Both men have continued on their musical paths since they last saw one another, with Gioeli continuing to lead Hardline as well as being the lead singer of Crush 40 and Axel Rudi Pell's band, while Castronovo spent time with various bands.

In 2020, Castronovo joined the supergroup, Generation Radio. He played drums and shared lead vocals withJay DeMarcus (Keyboards),Jason Scheff (Bass),Chris Rodriguez (Guitar), and Tom Yankton (Guitar). The band performed their first live concert on October 28, 2020, in Nashville, TN. All proceeds from the concert benefited the ACM Lifting Lives COVID Relief Fund. The group released its debut album on August 12, 2022.^[28] He left Generation Radio to rejoin Journey and was replaced on drums bySteve Ferrone

Castronovo's first big gig came at the age of 16 with a band called The Enemy, who opened up for bands likeBlue Öyster Cult andFoghat. He has played inCacophony,Dr. Mastermind,Planet Us (a short-lived supergroup withSammy Hagar,Michael Anthony,Joe Satriani andNeal Schon),Social Distortion, andGZR (formed by Black Sabbath bassistGeezer Butler), as well as in backing bands forVasco Rossi,Paul Rodgers, andMatthew Ward.

He also played on the song "Smoke of the Revolution" on theNeal Schon solo albumLate Nite (1989).

After working with Paul Rodgers, he began doing session work withSteve Vai, with whom he made two albums. Steve later called for him to audition forOzzy Osbourne, which resulted in him recordingOzzmosis and doing a South American Tour with Ozzy. After Ozzy, he began doing session work for producerMichael Beinhorn, recording with Social Distortion, Geezer Butler's solo project andHole.

He has released an instructional video entitled "High Performance Drumming" in 1991, and has been involved with the Boys & Girls Club of Salem.

In 2019, he toured with guitarist Neal Schon on the "Journey Through Time" tour, which features former members of Journey performing songs from the band's entire discography (including some no longer performed by the official Journey). He acted as the drummer and shares lead vocal duties with keyboardistGregg Rolie.

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Castronovo was arrested on June 14, 2015, and charged with fourth-degree assault and menacing after police say he physically injured a woman. As a result, he was dropped immediately from upcoming Journey performances^[29] and ultimately replaced byOmar Hakim on the band's 2015 tour.^[30] On June 29, 2015, Castronovo was indicted by aMarion County grand jury on felony charges of rape, assault, sexual abuse, unlawful use of a dangerous weapon, and contempt of court (violation of terms of bail after the June 14 arrest).^[31] With nine of the original charges dismissed, Castronovo pleaded guilty to six charges and received a suspended sentence and four years of probation.^[32] Castronovo has since recovered from addiction and states he is sober. He said in 2023, "I'm doing great, clean and sober, working hard, doing what I need to do – and I put God first, family second. My job is third, where before it was all the other way around."^[33]

• Official Deen Castronovo WebsiteArchived September 2, 2013, at theWayback Machine
• Deen Castronovo atIMDb
• Interview with Deen Castronovo July 30, 2011UnRated Magazine
• REVOLUTION SAINTS Feat. DEEN CASTRONOVO, DOUG ALDRICH, JACK BLADES: 'Freedom' Video August 18, 2017 BLABBERMOUTH.NET
• Deen CastronovoArchived October 23, 2020, at theWayback Machine The Dead Daisies
• Former Journey Drummer Deen Castronovo Gets Back To Music: Exclusive Interview December 15, 2017 Ultimate Classic Rock
• Deen Castronovo on 'Freedom' and Revolution Saints! December 9, 2017 Music Matters Magazine
• Journey's drummer Deen Castronovo helps re-build Oregon school CBSNews.com
• Neal Schon Delivers "Journey Through Time" iHeartRADIO
• Neal Schon Goes Deep Into His Past at Solo Benefit Show Ultimate Classic Rock
• [1] Indie Pulse Music

• 1964 births
• Living people
• American heavy metal drummers
• Journey (band) members
• Soul SirkUS members
• Bad English members
• Hardline (band) members
• The Ozzy Osbourne Band members
• Planet Us members
• Drummers from California
• Drummers from Oregon
• People from Keizer, Oregon
• People from Westminster, California
• 20th-century American drummers
• American male drummers
• GZR members
• Cacophony (band) members
• The Dead Daisies members
• Revolution Saints members
• South Salem High School alumni

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