Soul SirkUS was a band that initially featured singer

Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American Rock music, rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is perhaps best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and the lead vocalist for Journey (band), Journey i ...

, 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 not produce an album, Neal Schon was determined to see the material he had written come to life. According to Schon, "I was angry because we had plans and I had done a lot of pre-work. I wrote a lot of songs, about 30 or more, and I had just done a lot of work and put a lot of energy into it. ... A few days later I cooled off and I just re-grouped and got to my senses and I put the pieces of the puzzle back together again with some different guys."Neal Schon '05 intervie
discusses birth of Soul SirkUS
(See the Planet Us article for further history leading to the formation of Soul SirkUS). Schon had heard of the reputation of Soto, mainly due to coverage on the AOR-focused websit
MelodicRock.com
Jeff Scott Soto '05 interview which detailed his history with the band

Talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

. At the 2004 annual

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Schon met up with Soto and tested the waters with a jam session: "Jeff brought his drummer and his bass player down and we sort of sketched out a little set, even though we didn’t have time to rehearse. We did some

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and Journey songs and we did some

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

and some blues. We played a little 45-minute set and the people pretty much went off; they loved it. Immediately, I knew we had some chemistry and that it would work." While in Los Angeles, Schon also attended a showcase featuring Mendoza (known for his work with

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

) and was impressed with his ability. Inviting Soto, Mendoza and Journey's drummer Castronovo to join him, the new band 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. That song was "Peephole", originally entitled "Peeping Through a Hole" on the Planet Us version. The rest of the album was developed by Soto who took Schon's lengthy instrumental tracks and "chopped them down" into songs which he added his vocals to.SoulSirkUS interview wit
Schon & Soto from Feb. 2005
/ref> In early 2005, with a completed album ready (albeit only available online through th
Soul SirkUS
website) the band was forced to postpone their first tour when Castronovo fell ill due to extreme exhaustion. Soon after, Castronovo bowed out of Soul Sirkus based on his doctor's recommendation Melodicrock.com 200
Interview with Deen Castronovo
/ref> and was replaced by Australian drummer Virgil Donati. Schon decided to take advantage of Donati's unique style and remixed the ''World Play'' album with Donati's drum tracks while adding five new songs. The updated lineup then embarked on a short but well-received tour of the U.S. and Europe. The remixed ''World Play'' album was re-released with new artwork on the European-based Frontiers Records label. A live concert performed at the famed Fillmore theatre in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

was recorded for a potential DVD that has yet to be released by the band and may not be.Schon interview
discussing future of Soul Sirkus
/ref> Since the end of the 2005 tour, the band has not reconvened due to the members' various other commitments. In the summer of 2006, Soto was selected as the "temporary" lead vocalist for Journey replacing

Steve Augeri Steve Augeri (born January 30, 1959) is an American rock music, rock singing, singer best known for his work as the lead singer of Journey (band), Journey from 1998 to 2006. He has also provided lead vocals for Tall Stories (band), Tall Stories, ...

. Historically, Neal Schon and Deen Castronovo have also played together in Journey,

Bad English Bad English was an American/British hard rock 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 Ne ...

, Hardline, and

Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...

' backing band. Castronovo also played on Schon's song "Smoke of the Revolution" from the ''Late Nite'' album. In 2014, Castronovo and Mendoza again joined Schon on his ''So U'' solo album. In 2019, Schon, Castronovo and Mendoza toured together in Neal Schon's Journey Through Time, which also included former Journey keyboardist Gregg Rolie.

Discography

* ''World Play'' (3 editions: 1. black sleeve: original (with Deen), 2. green sleeve: American edition of remaster, 3. yellow sleeve: 3a. European edition of remaster ncl bonus DVD 3b. Japanese edition of remaster ncl bonus track

History

Discography

Notes

External links