Castronovo is the former drummer for bands
Wild Dogs,
Bad English,
Hardline,
Ozzy Osbourne, and
GZR. He plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands
Revolution Saints and
Journey.
Wild Dogs (1982–1987) Wild Dogs is an American 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 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, St. James left the band to also join
Black 'n Blue. It was at this point Deen was first discovered by McCourt, who recruited the then 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).
Bad English (1987–1991) While working with
Wild Dogs, Castronovo met and began working with
Tony MacAlpine, which led to an introduction to future long-time collaboration partner,
Neal Schon. Shortly after, Neal would invite Castronovo to audition for a new band with
Jonathan Cain,
John Waite and
Ricky Phillips, which became
Bad English. After two albums, which included being nominated for Best New Group in 1989 at the
International Rock Awards, Bad English disbanded in 1991.
Hardline (1991–1992) Again working with
Neal Schon, Castronovo played drums and sang backing vocals on
Hardline's debut album
Double Eclipse. The album's first single "Takin' Me Down" peaked at No. 37 on
Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album's second single, a cover of the
Danny Spanos song "Hot Cherie," rose to No. 25 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Ozzy Osbourne (1995) Castronovo appeared on the 1995 release
Ozzmosis, the seventh solo studio album by
Ozzy Osbourne. The album reached number 22 on the
UK Albums Chart 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) in 2008 Castronovo continued to be in various bands along with Schon, from
Hardline to
Paul Rodgers. After a three-year stint with
Vasco Rossi, he joined Journey, where he would spend the next 18 years and 5 albums as the drummer, backing and occasional lead vocalist. 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 on the band's 2015 tour, with longtime drummer
Steve Smith subsequently rejoining the band. In July 2021, Schon confirmed Castronovo's return to Journey as a second drummer alongside
Narada Michael Walden. 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) Castronovo was invited by Neil Schon to join the band
Soul SirkUS. The 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. 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. Ultimately there were three 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 in which Castronovo appears.
Revolution Saints (2014–present) While still with Journey, Castronovo,
Jack Blades (
Night Ranger,
Damn Yankees and
Shaw Blades), and
Doug Aldrich (
Whitesnake,
Dio,
The Dead Daisies) formed
Revolution Saints. 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. This was followed by
Restless Spirits in 2019. In 2022, Blades and Aldrich left the band and were replaced with
Jeff Pilson and
Joel Hoekstra. This lineup released
Eagle Flight in 2023, and
Against the Winds in 2024.
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.
Generation Radio (2020–2021) In 2020, Castronovo joined the supergroup, Generation Radio. He played drums and shared lead vocals with
Jay DeMarcus (Keyboards),
Jason Scheff (Bass),
Chris Rodriguez (Guitar), and Tom Yankton (Guitar). 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. He left Generation Radio to rejoin Journey and was replaced on drums by
Steve Ferrone.
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 and
Foghat. He has played in
Cacophony,
Dr. Mastermind,
Planet Us (a short-lived supergroup with
Sammy Hagar,
Michael Anthony,
Joe Satriani and
Neal Schon),
Social Distortion, and
GZR (formed by Black Sabbath bassist
Geezer Butler), as well as in backing bands for
Vasco Rossi,
Paul Rodgers, and
Matthew Ward. He also played on the song "Smoke of the Revolution" on the
Neal Schon solo album
Late Nite (1989). After working with Paul Rodgers, he began doing session work with
Steve Vai, with whom he made two albums. Steve later called for him to audition for
Ozzy Osbourne, which resulted in him recording
Ozzmosis and doing a South American Tour with Ozzy. After Ozzy, he began doing session work for producer
Michael Beinhorn, recording with Social Distortion, Geezer Butler's solo project and
Hole. 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. ==Personal life==