Despite his history as Journey’s founding bassist, Ross Valory admits he’s no longer in touch with his former bandmates.
Valory was there from the beginning, his initial stint in Journey running from the band’s start in 1973 through his first firing in 1985. The bassist returned to the lineup in 1995 and stayed until his acrimonious dismissal in 2020.
During a recent conversation with Total Rock, Valory revealed that he no longer talks to his former Journey bandmates.
“I haven’t been in touch with anybody except for maybe [former drummer] Steve Smith once in a while,” the bassist explained. “Everybody’s moved on with their lives.”
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Valory and Smith were both fired from Journey in 2020 following a dispute with Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain who claimed the rhythm section was attempting an “ill-conceived corporate coup d’état” to take control of the band’s name.
“So many people are curious about what went wrong,” Valory noted to Total Rock, looking back on his tumultuous exit from the band. The bassist then explained that he prefers to focus on the positive, most notably the impressive legacy that Journey created.
“My point is we should talk about what went right,” Valory continued. “All those fabulous musicians that have come under that roof over the decades, the musicians that remain, the band that remains, with Arnel [Pineda] singing and Jonathan and Neal. They continue to this day. I wish them the best.”
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Valory released his debut solo album, All of the Above, in April. During a conversation with UCR at the time, he described what it was like to move into solo work decades into his career.
“There are many aspects of what I’m doing – either in terms of writing, arranging, recording, promoting, interviewing – that are all too familiar to me,” Valory explained. “However, this time I’m in the room alone, so to speak. Sometimes I’ve just been struck. It’s like a lightning bolt. It’s like, ‘Is this really happening?’ Because I waited a long time to do this, and it took a lot of time and energy to build up to this. Pinch me. That’s all I can say.”
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff