Journey’s Deen Castronovo is out of the band.
The group announced the news, citing health issues that caused the drummer to drop out of two shows mid-concert in the past month.
The latest incident happened on Tuesday last week Boston, when he was replaced by his drum tech, Steve Toomey, as an emergency fill-in partway through the show, Variety reports.
On 8 October in Oklahoma, Castronovo left the stage after just two songs and was hospitalised, with Toomey also completing the show that night.
Journey performed on Thursday night in Cleveland with a new drummer, Steve Murphy, and later announced that Murphy would be stepping into Castronovo’s shoes as their full-time drummer going forward.
“Dear Friends,” a note to social media read. “After careful consideration and an extensive year of touring, our talented, longtime drummer Deen Castronovo has decided to step away to focus on personal health matters that require his attention.
“He has our full support during this time and extends his heartfelt thanks to the fans for the love, encouragement, and kindness he has received.”
The message was also shared on Castronovo’s personal Facebook page.
Castronovo joined Journey in 1998, replacing original drummer Steve Smith, who left or was fired from the rock band on multiple occasions due to musical disagreements.
Castronovo was forced out of the group in 2015 after being charged with assaulting a woman. He came back to rejoin the lineup in 2021.
