The guitarist recently joined an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights host Matt Wardlaw and talked about their preparations for the new tour with Journey:
“We changed the whole set. You know, there’s a whole screen [production] and we’ve been using pretty much the same stuff for like 12 years. So we’ve changed it completely. The stage show is drastically different. It’s going to take a lot of energy.”
“There’s going to be a lot of running around. So I’m working out, trying to get the stamina up and all of that. Vocally, too. You know, I’m having to sing every single day. We did rehearse in L.A. for a two week period
Def Leppard and Journey announced their tour in December 2023. They started their 23-city tour on July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri. Def Leppard’s drummer Rick Allen previously spoke with Nikki Blakk of San Francisco’s 107.7 The Bone radio station and explained why they chose not to do shows with Mötley Crüe in 2024:
“Well, we’d been on the road, on and off, with Mötley Crüe for about 18 months, and we felt as though we kind of covered pretty much everywhere there was to. We started off in the States, went off to Europe, did South America, came back to the States, and then Japan and Australia. And we just felt as though we’d been everywhere. We would always wanna tour with those guys, but we just felt as though it was time for each of us to move on.”
He also reflected on why the band decided to tour with Journey instead:
“Now, we toured with Journey, I forget exactly what year — my memory is terrible; I think 2018, ’17 or ’18 — and it was awesome. I mean, those songs are timeless. And we just thought that it would be great to reach out to them and see if they wanted to do it again. And, lo and behold, they did. So, we just feel as though with a band like us, with a band like Journey, and a band like Steve Miller. I mean, you’re gonna be sitting there in the audience listening to hit songs all night. So, we just feel as though that’s really a good deal, and I think people are really gonna enjoy it.”
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