Guitar Player

The BODY ELECTRIC

YOU CAN’T LOCK Neal Schon down. Sure, his band, Journey — one of the highest-grossing rock groups of all time — has put touring on pause as the world struggles with its first major pandemic in a century. But as you can tell from the epic solos and backing-track jams Schon posts nearly every day on Instagram, nothing gets between him and quality time with his favorite guitars.

“I love doing that, man,” Schon says. “Playing every day is something I need to do. And I think as a guitar player, the more you use your muscles in your hands and everything that is attached to them, the better they work. It frees you up. I believe playing everyday has helped me avoid joint problems, carpal-tunnel problems, and all that.”

But if you think rocking out like a teenager on social media is all Schon has been doing since lockdown, think again. The San Francisco–based guitarist’s impressive career — a wild ride that earned him national renown in 1971, when, at age 17, he joined Santana — continues. And, pandemic or not, he’s been quite busy.

First, Schon has partnered with the “augmented reality” scanning app StraxAR. “It’s a brand-new thing that reacts to

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