Deen Castronovo

Deen Joseph Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline.

He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands Journey, Generation Radio, and Revolution Saints.

He has been a touring and studio player for Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler's GZR.

Deen Castronovo was born in the city of Westminster, California and started drumming at the age of 6.

He grew up in Salem, Oregon., where he attended South Salem High School.

Castronovo said time in band during high school gave him identity and confidence.

Deen cites Steve Smith, Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio, Peter Criss, John Bonham, Alex Van Halen, Kiss, Rush, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Phil Collins and AC/DC as musical influences.

Castronovo is the former drummer for bands Wild Dogs, Bad English, Hardline, Ozzy Osbourne, and GZR.

He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands Revolution Saints and Journey.

Wild Dogs is an America 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 by Black 'n Blue and was replaced by Jaime St. James.

The band had an appearance on a compilation series, but before a full album could be recorded with Shrapnel Records, St. James left the band to also join Black 'n Blue.

It was at this point Deen was first discovered by McCourt, who recruited the local, and then only 16-year-old drummer Castronovo to join the band.

Castronovo played on the self-titled debut album Wild Dogs (1983), the followup Man's Best Friend (1984) and Reign Of Terror (1987).

The band was known for its live show that featured McCourt's props and Castronovo's showmanship.

While working with Wild Dogs, Castronovo met and began working with Tony 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 with Jonathan Cain, John Waite and Ricky Phillips, which became Bad English.

After two albums, which included being nominated for Best New Group in 1989 at the International Rock Awards, Bad English disbanded in 1991.

In 1995 a Greatest Hits was released.

Again working with Neal Schon, Castronovo played drums and sang backing vocals on Hardline's debut album Double Eclipse.

The album's first single "Takin' Me Down" peaked at No. 37 on Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The album's second single, a cover of the Danny Spanos song "Hot Cherie," rose to No. 25 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Castronovo appeared on the 1995 release Ozzmosis, the seventh solo studio album by Ozzy Osbourne.

The album reached number 22 on the UK Albums Chart and number four on the US Billboard 200.

Castronovo also toured with Ozzy on a portion of the 1995 leg of the Retirement Sucks Tour.

Castronovo continued to be in various bands along with Schon, from Hardline to Paul Rodgers.

After a 3-year stint with Vasco 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 albums Arrival (2001), Red 13 (2002), Generations (2005), Revelation (2008), Eclipse (2011) and Freedom (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" on Generations, as well as "After Glow" on Freedom.

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 titled World Play (the "black sleeve" version) the band was ready to tour, but Castronovo fell ill due to extreme exhaustion.

Castronovo was fired by Journey in August 2015 following a June 2015 domestic violence arrest.

He was replaced by Omar Hakim on the band's 2015 tour, with longtime drummer Steve Smith subsequently rejoining the band.

In July 2021, Schon confirmed Castronovo's return to Journey as a second drummer alongside Narada Michael Walden.

Following Walden's departure from the group in 2022, he became the sole drummer once again, though they both still appear on Freedom.

After the Planet Us project did not produce an album, Neal Schon was determined to see the material he had written come to life.