Neal Schon recently shared an image labeled “Journey Beyond” on his social media, with the Twitter caption: “Into the future.”
Could this be an indication of his intent to step away from Journey, the band he co-founded in the early ’70s? A trademark filing for the phrase “JOURNEY BEYOND™” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office offers some clues.
The trademark is intended for use with musical sound recordings, including downloadable music files and pre-recorded CDs, as well as musical video recordings, according to uspto.report, an independent trademark research tool. Schon filed for the trademark in April, shortly before posting an initial image with the words “Journey Beyond.” He has since used the phrase in hashtags, sparking fan speculation.
The trademark is still pending and awaits assignment to an examining attorney, according to uspto.report.
Is ‘Journey Beyond’ a new Neal Schon project? Schon previously formed an offshoot band, Journey Through Time, active in 2018-19 with former Santana and Journey bandmate Gregg Rolie, Journey drummer Deen Castronovo, and ex-Journey bassist Marco Mendoza. The group released an album in 2023 from their 2018 debut show, a benefit for North Bay Fire Relief in San Francisco.
Schon has time for solo endeavors as Journey is experiencing a rare year without a major tour, having only played a few one-off shows.
Meanwhile, Schon’s longtime bandmate Jonathan Cain has returned to performing solo faith music and is working on new songs, though it’s unclear if they will be part of a follow-up to Journey’s 2022 album “Freedom,” the band’s first release in over a decade. Castronovo is completing the sixth album for Revolution Saints, a side project where he is the frontman.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first use of the name “Journey Beyond.” In 2020, Anthrax’s Joey Belladonna formed a tribute band under the same name, focusing on Journey’s ’80s material. They later changed their name to Beyond Frontiers. Belladonna, who sang a Journey song during his Anthrax audition, also covered Journey’s “Keep on Runnin"” on Anthrax’s 2013 EP “Anthems” and has performed Journey songs both as a solo act and with Steel Panther.
