Despite his historical past as Journey’s founding bassist, Ross Valory admits he’s now not in contact together with his former bandmates.

Valory was there from the start, his preliminary stint in Journey operating from the band’s begin in 1973 by means of his first firing in 1985. The bassist returned to the lineup in 1995 and stayed till his acrimonious dismissal in 2020.

During a latest dialog with Total Rock, Valory revealed that he now not 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 company coup d’état” to take control of the band’s name.

“So many individuals are interested by what went unsuitable,” 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 level is we should always discuss what went proper,” Valory continued. “All these fabulous musicians which have come below that roof over the many years, the musicians that stay, the band that is still, with Arnel [Pineda] singing and Jonathan and Neal. They proceed to this present day. I want them the most effective.”

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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.”