Deen J. Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer, best known for being a member of

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

band

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

acts

Bad English Bad English was an American/British glam metal supergroup formed in 1987. It reunited Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in the Babys, along with Journey guitarist Neal ...

and

Hardline In politics, hardline (or hard-line) is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

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

, Generation Radio and the

Revolution Saints Revolution Saints is an American supergroup conceptualized by Frontiers Records president Serafino Perugino, and formed by Jack Blades of Night Ranger, Damn Yankees and Shaw Blades; Deen Castronovo of Journey and formerly of Wild Dogs, Cacophon ...

. He has been a touring and studio player for

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

, and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

bassist Geezer Butler's GZR.

Early life

Deen Castronovo was born in the city of

Westminster, California Westminster is a city in northern Orange County, California, known for its many Vietnamese refugees who immigrated to the city during the 1980s. They settled largely in Little Saigon, and the city is known as the "capital" of overseas Vietnam ...

and started drumming at the age of 6. He grew up in

Keizer, Oregon Keizer () is a city located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 36,478. It lies in the Willamette Valley, and is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

., where he attended

South Salem High School South Salem High School is a public high school in Salem, Oregon. It was built in 1954 as the second public high school in the city. After South Salem opened, the former Salem High School was renamed North Salem High School. History South Salem ...

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

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missing Perso ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, Rush,

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

and

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...

as musical influences.

Career

Castronovo is the former drummer for bands Wild Dogs,

, and GZR. He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands Generation Radio,

, and

Wild Dogs (1982–1987)

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 Black 'N Blue is an American heavy metal band from Portland, Oregon, United States. The current members are lead vocalist Jaime St. James, bassist Patrick Young, drummer Pete Holmes, and guitarists Brandon Cook and Doug Rappoport . The band ...

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 Shrapnel Records is an American record label founded in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. History Guitarist Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth and Cacophony), one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album ''Un ...

, St. James left the band to also join

. 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.

Bad English (1987–1991)

While working with Wild Dogs, Castronovo met and began working with

Tony MacAlpine Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...

, which led to an introduction to future long-time collaboration partner,

Neal Schon Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...

. Shortly after, Neal would invite Castronovo to audition for a new band with

Jonathan Cain Jonathan Leonard Friga (born February 26, 1950), known professionally as Jonathan Cain, is an American musician and songwriter best known as the keyboardist for Journey. He has also worked with the Babys and Bad English. Cain was inducted into ...

, John Waite and

Ricky Phillips Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and a member of the rock band Styx since 2003, splitting duties with longtime bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of The Babys and Bad En ...

, which became

. After two albums, which included being nominated for Best New Group in 1989 at the

International Rock Awards The International Rock Awards was a United States music award ceremony meant to honor the top musicians in the rock music genre. The awards were broadcast on ABC for three years from 1989 to 1991. The award show is interpreted to have been an atte ...

, Bad English disbanded in 1991. In 1995 a

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

was released.

Hardline (1991–1992)

Again working with

, Castronovo played drums and sang backing vocals on

's debut album '' Double Eclipse''. The album's first single "Takin' Me Down" peaked at No. 37 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...

chart. The album's second single, a cover of the

Danny Spanos Danny Spanos (also known as George Spannos) was an American rock drummer, best known for his 1983 EP "Passion in the Dark" which produced the Mainstream Rock Tracks hit single "Hot Cherie" in Mainstream Rock chart in the summer of 1983. He also ...

song "Hot Cherie," rose to No. 25 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Ozzy Osbourne (1995)

Castronovo appeared on the 1995 release ''

Ozzmosis ''Ozzmosis'' is the seventh solo studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Recorded in Paris and New York with producer Michael Beinhorn, it was released on 23 October 1995 by Epic Records. The album reached number 22 on the UK ...

'', the seventh solo studio album by

. The album reached number 22 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

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.

Journey (1998–2015, 2021–present)

Castronovo continued to be in various bands along with Schon, from

. After a 3-year stint with

Vasco Rossi Vasco Rossi (born 7 February 1952), also known mononymously as Vasco or with the nickname Il Blasco, is an Italian singer-songwriter and poet. During his career, he has published 30 albums (not including unofficial releases) and has written over ...

, 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 A generation is "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively." Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Gen ...

'' (2005), ''

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

'' (2008), ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three c ...

'' (2011) and ''

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

'' (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''. Castronovo was fired by Journey in August 2015 following a June 2015 domestic violence arrest. He was replaced by

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer, producer, arranger and composer. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Journey, Kate ...

on the band's 2015 tour, with longtime drummer

subsequently rejoining the band. In July 2021, Schon confirmed Castronovo's return to Journey as a second drummer alongside

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jaz ...

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

Soul SirkUS (2004–2005)

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 Soul SirkUS is a band that initially featured singer Jeff Scott Soto, guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Marco Mendoza, and drummer Deen Castronovo, later replaced by Virgil Donati. History After the failed Planet Us project with Sammy Hagar did no ...

, 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. Soon after, Castronovo bowed out of Soul SirkUS based on his doctor's recommendation and was replaced by Australian drummer Virgil Donati. Ultimate there were 3 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.

Revolution Saints (2014–present)

While still with Journey, Castronovo,

Jack Blades Jack Martin Blades (born April 24, 1954) is an American rock musician. He has worked in the bands Rubicon, Night Ranger (as bassist and one of the lead vocalists), and Damn Yankees (as one of the founding members). He has also recorded with ...

(

Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, ...

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...

and

Shaw Blades Shaw Blades is an American musical duo/group formed by Tommy Shaw of Styx and Jack Blades of Night Ranger, both of whom played in the supergroup Damn Yankees. It is an informal duo which has produced two albums between other projects, 1995's '' ...

), and

Doug Aldrich Doug Aldrich (born February 19, 1964) is an American hard rock guitarist. He founded the band Burning Rain with Keith St. John in 1998 and has played with Whitesnake, Dio, Lion, Hurricane, House of Lords, Bad Moon Rising and Revolution Saints. ...

(

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...

, Dio, The Dead Daisies) formed

. The band, where Deen served as lead vocalist and handled drumming duties, released its self-titled debut album on February 24, 2015. A follow-up album, '' Light in the Dark'', was released on October 13, 2017. The album was ranked #8 on Dr. Music's 2017 "Album of the Year" list.

Gioeli-Castronovo (2017–present)

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.

Generation Radio (2020–2021)

In 2020, Castronovo joined the supergroup, Generation Radio. He plays drums and shares lead vocals with

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American bassist, vocalist, pianist, record producer and songwriter. From 1999 to 2021, he was a member of the country pop group Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born ...

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

, Jason Scheff, lead vocalist and bass player for

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Chris Rodriguez and Tom Yankton. 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.

Other projects

Castronovo's first big gig came at the age of 16 with a band called The Enemy, who opened up for bands like

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...

and

Foghat Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up ...

. He has played in

Cacophony Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words. The term was first used in this sense, perhaps by during the mid-20th century and ...

, Dr. Mastermind,

Planet Us Planet Us (pronounced ''Planet-uss'') was a short-lived supergroup that formed in 2002 with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals, Neal Schon on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass, and Deen Castronovo on drums. The band later recruited a fifth member—famed ...

(a short-lived supergroup with

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

, Michael Anthony,

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

and

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

, and GZR (formed by Black Sabbath bassist

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

), as well as in backing bands for

, and Matthew Ward. He also played on the song "Smoke of the Revolution" on the

solo album ''Late Nite'' (1989). After working with Paul Rodgers, he began doing session work with

, with whom he made two albums. Steve later called for him to audition for

, which resulted in him recording ''

'' and doing a South American Tour with Ozzy. After Ozzy, he began doing session work for producer

Michael Beinhorn Michael Beinhorn is a North American record producer, composer, author and musician. He has produced albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Hole, Violent Femmes and Marilyn Manson. Career 1977-1983: Early Years, Material, Herbie Hanco ...

, recording with Social Distortion, Geezer Butler's solo project and

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

. 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 keyboardist

Gregg Rolie Gregg Alan Rolie (born June 17, 1947) is an American singer and keyboardist. Rolie served as lead singer of the bands Santana and Journey – both of which he co-founded. He also helmed rock group The Storm, performed in Ringo Starr & His A ...

Personal life

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 and ultimately replaced by

on the band's 2015 tour. On June 29, 2015, Castronovo was indicted by a Marion 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). In a plea bargain, Castronovo pleaded guilty to five domestic violence misdemeanor charges and received a suspended sentence of four years of probation.

Discography

References

External links

Official Deen Castronovo Website
*
Interview with Deen Castronovo July 30, 2011
UnRated Magazine
REVOLUTION SAINTS Feat. DEEN CASTRONOVO, DOUG ALDRICH, JACK BLADES: 'Freedom' Video August 18, 2017
BLABBERMOUTH.NET
Deen Castronovo
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

Indie Pulse Music {{DEFAULTSORT:Castronovo, Deen 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 Musicians from California Musicians 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