It was January 22nd — Steve Perry’s birthday. His plans for the day included a production meeting at the office with Jonathan, Neal and the road crew, then a session at the recording studio to finish up the new album. While Steve was busy in the meeting, we organized a surprise party for him just down the hall. Everyone had a great time, and Steve was blown away by all the wonderful cards and letters he received for his birthday from many of you — he had quite a bundle to carry out to his car!

When the party was over, we spent a few quiet moments with Steve as he reflected on his personal feelings about the event of the past year, his role as producer of the Journey album, and his plans for the future…

Force: Why don’t we start by talking about the new album. How has it been producing a Journey album?
Steve: Great! It’s been challenging, real challenging. Jon helped me a lot during the last few weeks on some of the vocals; he co-produced some of them. I think we have it listed on the album as “additional production by Jon Cain.” So, Jon’s been doing the vocals with me now, and like I said, it’s been a real challenge especially when the band had problems in the studio in June. Jon, Neal and I decided at that point in time, that we either going to continue to be Journey or there wouldn’t be one, so we went ahead and pulled ourselves together as a three-some. The three of us had always written the songs anyway, and since we were the writing force of Journey — keyboards, guitar and a voice, we decided to finish the album and be Journey. We then added a rhythm section with a couple of bass players and Steve Smith actually played on a couple of tracks.

Force: How do you feel about the album now that it’s nearly completed?
Steve: The album is great! I feel really good about it. I’m so glad that it turned out sounding so much like Journey… it really does. There’s some stone cold Journey sounds there.

Force: Are you looking forward to getting back on the road?
Steve: Oh man, am I! We were talking about the tour today. I’m looking forward ot it a lot. We go out sometime in June, and we’re going to do America, possibly Japan, and we are also discussing some other things.

Force: When is the album actually due out and what is the title?
Steve: The album is due out in April sometime, and te first single will be released shortly before the album release. The album is called “Raised On Radio”

Force: Any idea of what the first single will be?
Steve: That’s hard to pic right now. CBS will help us choose the first single when we are back in New York. It could be ‘Radio’ or ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’ or ‘Suzanne’. It’s too hard to say right now.

Force: Regarding the upcoming tour, have you guys settled on a new drumer or bassist yet?
Steve: No, we’re going to do some of that in New York and some of it here. We’ve got three guys right now for drums and probably about four guys for bass that we’re looking at. We haven’t settled on anyone yet. We’re going to play a bit in New York with this one guy and then come back here to start rehearsals around April. We’re going to run some people through really quickly as we do have some people in mind.

Force: Projecting into the future, do you see another Steve Perry solo project soon?
Steve: Right now I don’t know when or why or how come. It’s too far ahead. I just want to go on a long Journey tuor and play some music again. I’m really looking forward to the tour cause I haven’t really been onstage in a long time. It’s been a couple of years at least since the band went out… three years in September.

Force: Congratulations on your Grammy nominations! How does it feel to be nominated?
Steve: God, it’s amazing! I’m so excited. I was nominated for my participation in ‘We Are The World’ and I’m in there for single (‘If Only For The Moment, Girl’), and possibly for the album of the year. I think there’s also a category for ‘Best Performance By A Group or Duo’

Force: That must be really exciting. Are you going to the ceremonies?
Steve: Yes! I’ve got my tuxedo coming in, with tails and everything Speaking of tails, we’re discussing selling a t-shirt at the Journey concerts that has tails… it’s black and a t-shirt, but it has tails. We were talking about that at the meeting today.

Force: Last time we talked we discussed your Mom’s illness and her passing away in December. That had to be an awful strain this past year trying to do everything else and having your mother so ill
Steve: To be perfectly honest with you, that was a strain the entire year. It was difficult to do the album just because of what happened with the band… then we cut the album and ended up scrapping most of it except for two or three cuts, then we re-recorded the album again but with different people, and all the while I was trying to deal with my mother getting sicker by the day. She had been sick for quite a few years, but the last year was a year that I don’t mind not seeing around anymore. That one can o. It was a strain, and it still IS a strain for me. Today is my birthday, and it’s not the easiest day, you know. This was a day that we were here together, it’s the day she got me here, and this is the first time I’ve ever been without her on my birthday. It’s a hard one– it’s not easy. And it was not easy for her, her sickness, as it was not easy for me with the pressure of the album and the pressure of producing it. It was a conscious decision by the band to have me produce it; they wanted me to do it. It really wasn’t anythng else like some people thought. It wasn’t that Steve Perry was coming back into Journey to change things. It’s the other producers that we were afraid would change the band’s sound. I was for making the band sound like Journey and I think the album will sound like that. the band has changed a lot because we now have the freedom to use different rhythm sections, bass and drums, with any songs that Neal, Jon and I write. That gav us a more creative direction and freedom, but it was also a challenge on it’s own… but it was much more of a strain because Mama was getting progressively more and more ill an then, on December 4th, she died. She died on her mother’s birthday, which was peculiar because her mother died two days after my mother’s birthday.

Force: I know it was really tough dealing with alot of the press as they were spreading all the rumors about Journey, saying ‘why is the album taking so long, etc’ when they didn’t understand what was going on.
Steve: I think that’s what should be said now. It was a very difficult year for the band alone, not to mention that the lead singer of the band was going through an awful lof of emotional bleeding and I’m just glad now that Mom’s not being hurt, tortured or humiliated anymore, so that’s great. I could be selfish and wish she was here, but I wouldn’t want to put her through that… not that there is anything I could do about it anyway.

Force: Would you like to comment now on your break up with Sherrie?
Steve: Sure, I think it’s time. I think the Force members would like to know and this is a good place to surface it versus “Entertainment Tonight.”

Force: That happened in 1984?
Steve: It was in June, it’s been about a year and a half. She and I were kind of in and out, but by the time 1985 hit, it was history. That’s why I say 1985 was a difficult year for more than the three reasons, because I was going through the emotional stress with my mother, wishing that Sherrie was there. We were good for each other, but not right for each other and then, again, not good for each other but right for each other. I know that’s hard to explain, but it’s very easy to be truly in love with someone but not be able to work it out. It happens every day, but it really had never happened to me. I never really and truly, from the bottom of my heart, fell in love with someone like I did with Sherrie, and I believe that the same goes from her side… and it always will. I think that when you do love someone, you never stop loving them, you just have to deal with it. That’s rough. It’s just something that you have to face, and it’s maybe just not the right time or maybe it’s just not right at all. But the hardest part is that, once you do fall in love with someone, you’re there… and if you pull out, then you never really were in love with them. That’s what I think personally for myself at least. And it makes it very difficult because I deal with it on a daily basis. Not one day goes by that I’m not thinking baout her or wishing that I could see her, but all the while knowing that seeing her isn’t the best thing for her or me because it just stirs up some complex emotions that I’m just not wanting to look at right now. It’s very difficult, so I would just want to add that Sherrie was a very special lady for me and she meant an awful lot to me and … (pause) it just didn’t work out for us.

Force: Well, it’s been a couple of hard years on you. Has there been anything…
Steve: Wonderful? (laughter) There you go, let’s talk about the positive now!

Force: How about your new hobby, helicopter flying?
Steve: Well, I’m still flying helicopters, but I haven’t done it in a while. It’s really a blast! I was flying down to see Mom; while I was working on the Journey album, I was having these people fly a helicopter up here. I had actually set it up so that I could fly down to see her once in a while, but I wanted to get that connection so that at the drop of a phone call, I could get there quickly if I had to.

Force: Did you fly yourself?
Steve: Yeah, I piloted the helicopter, but I wasn’t alone. I had a pilot with me. Hovering isn’t easy, taking off and flying is, but coming in and hovering is difficult. The thing I really like about flying is there were a few times with this pilot when we’d be flying around and I’d say, “God, look at that peak over there… put her down there” and he’d set it right down, turn it off and we’d hang out in the snow. It’s just so free to be able to get to the peak of a mountain that might take you a good hike of maybe two days, and you just land on the mountain.

Force: Well, that pretty much answers the questions our Force members have. Anything else you’d like to say to them to wrap things up?
Steve: If there was one thing I could say to the fans, it would be for them to protect their lives, protect their health, protect themselves from things and people who might want to take those things away from them. Then you can live, enjoy music and live yuor life to a much better, things that can hurt you, whether that’s drugs, too much booze, or too much of anything. Just protect hteir lives because it’s a precious gift that they’ve been given to be somewhere they’ve never had a chance to be before and to be here and to have an opportunity to see alot of things and to try to do things with and for their families and themselves. It’s just very important to protect themselves from thing that can hurt them. I just hate to see people get all screwed up. It sure changes your life when certain things happen to you… you’ve got to respect your life a little bit, it’s a special privilege that people take too lightly, until it’s gone or until it’s damaged. If you damage yourself or hurt yourself, you just wish you could be back where you were when you thought you were unhappy.

Force: Any New Year’s resolutions?
Steve: Yeah, to eight-six 1985! And I’m going to try to have a really, really great time on tour. I’m looking so forward to the tour that you can’t belive it. I can’t wait to travel around the country playing in arenas with Journey again. It’s been too long! And just to stay healthy so I can have fun… that’s pretty much my resolution!

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The “Raised On Radio” tour has been rolling across the country since September, with the band playing to jam-packed, sold out arenas night after night. The response from audiences has been overwhelming, and last issue we shared reviews and comments from both rock critics (newspapers, magazines) and Force members. For this issue, we decided to see how the band felt, so we caught up with Steve, Neal & Jonathan backstage at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX, where they were playing the second of two sold out shows. Neal & Jonathan spoke with us before the show later that evening, after the show, we talked with a very candid Steve Perry, as he shared his thoughts on…

… the “Raised On Radio” tour

We’re having a great time out here. Journey is doing better than ever, and we have a lot of faithful friends who stuck with us for a long time. The Dallas shows were also special for me because I flew out a good friend of mine, Randy Goodrum, to see them. He worked with me on my solo project, and I hadn’t seen him in quite a long time because of Journey’s hectic schedule. Randy is an extraordinary songwriter in his own right; he wrote ‘Foolish Heart’ with me as well as the lyrics for ‘Oh, Sherrie.’ He was also involved n some of the vocal co-production for “Raised On Radio.” We’ve been having a great time. He wanted to get away from his hectic schedule in L.A., so he flew to Dallas to hang out with the band.

… his favourite song to do ‘live’

“Faithfully” It was my mother’s favorite. She used to cry when she would watch T.V., especially when she was at her sickest. My dad used to tell me that he would have to calm her down; she would just break into tears when the video came on T.V. I think she felt it was her song; the lyrics are great “being apart ain’t easy on this love affair” and “they say that the road ain’t no place to start a family.” Bless her heart. Unfortunately, it’s a year ago now that she died. That’s part of the reason I had Randy come out.

… Journey’s plans for 1987

To be totally realistic, 90 shows are about the most that Journey has ever done to support an album or tour. For this schedule, we crammed 90 shows into a shorter time than we ever had before. We’ve had a great time and we’re not finished yet; we’re looking forward to heading toward the West Coast because we’re having more fun than ever before. Around the first of February, we might take a break, and then we’ll discuss what’s happening for the summer. We might take February/March/April off. There are some big stadium shows that have been offered to the band, but it depends where everyone is at that time. Now, because of the way the band is with Randy & Michael, it takes only three to four days to completely fire this thing up.

… his plans for after this tour

To be perfectly honest, I’m not going to do anything right away. I went from the beginning of the “Frontiers” tour, which was 107 shows ending on Sept 7th, to moving to L.A. three weeks later, starting my solo album. Doing the album and videos for that took 7-8 months. Then I began writing the “Raised On Radio” album immediately. It took a year to finish writing and recording, and then a year to find a drummer to rehearse and tour with it. So it’s been two years right now that I have not stopped, and I think everyone needs a little time off. People think we have time off, but when you’re in the fast lane, you’re in the fast lane. I just need to get away, unplug, go back to the Valley, see some friends of mine, get on my motocycle and ride a bit, and then, when I get restless, there will be a reason to do something. Everyone needs a vacation, even me.

… the upcoming documentary

Actually, it’s not finished yet. Right now we are working on the ‘live’, performance video for the new single, ‘I’ll Be Alright Without You’. It has live singing and live playing, with film running at the same time (a video track and an audio track). Bonafine live!

… outside projects

I did background vocals with Sheena Easton on a song called ‘Still In Love’. It should be out sometime soon. We got time enough to do backgrounds when I was home rehearsing the “Raised On Radio” material. I would also like to sing a duet with Sheena, but my schedule on tour conflicted with her schedule in the studio. We’re in different parts of the world.

… love

You know, Steve Perry in still singel and looking for love, and hopes someday he’ll find it. As for what type of woman I’m looking for, it would be someone unpretentious, normal, and everyday, real person. Oh yeah, and she’s got to like motorcycles!

… his journey with Journey

I’ve been in this band a long, long time. I’m very greatful for the years that we have been together and the things we have accomplished together as a group. It’s a very proud thing to be involved with. I did a solo album, and it was also a very proud thing to be involved with. Now, the new “Raised On Radio” album and tour is one of the proudest things I’ve been involved in. Because I finished that album as my mother was passing away, I really put my life into it. Where everything goes from here is just like Journey is… the word Journey is truly something that you just have to let run for awhile, to see where it goes. It’s worked so far, so don’t ask where it’s going, because it’s going to be okay. The very nature of the band’s name implies change and movement, and you must go with that. So far, it have proved itself, shown that it’s okay to let it run it’s course and go with it. That’s what the next step is.

… memorable moments

Tonight was the eve of the date (Dec 4th) that my mother passed away. I was doing my best to deal with being jovial and entertaining, and I was trying to have a good time like I usually do. I didn’t want to let this subliminal emotion come through – the reality that this was the eve of the death of my mother. I did the best I could to deal with it, but no one knew. Internally, I knew. And I knew that tomorrow was going to be the hardest day of my life. So, I was feeling down at the beginning of the concert. I got out there and things were okay. I was having a good time because the people were very energetic and nice, but I still was down at times, thinking that everything was being questioned in my life. I am no different than anyone else, and life takes no prisoners. I don’t care if you are a success or failure. It has nothing to do with how strong you are… life is life. Someone wrote that “life is something that happens to you while you’re busy making plans.” I believe that.

This is kind of what happened tonight at the show – I was onstage and I was losing it, I was starting to lose face, and worry because I’m just a normal human being and I have emotions, too. I couldn’t walk on stage and have people think I was believable, if I wasn’t normal. That nomalcy was being blocked.

And then I saw this little girl, she must have been around 10, who was up front with her mother. She had these thick, little “coke-bottle” glasses, and there she was with this big smile on her face, and she was waving her arms back and forth, though she could barely move because she was crushed among the other people. She was the cutest thing I ever saw, and she was smiling at me, and I looked at her and thought, “you’re the queen of the entire evening.” I kept looking at her and she got me through the night. She was just so precious. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. There was another girl, about four shows ago, and she was about the same age, but she was sitting on her father’s shoulders. And she was so damn cute. When kids are at that age, up to around 12 years old, they are such beautiful, free souls, waiting for guidance, open for all; they are so special.

… being good to yourself

My Christmas message to all Journey fans and friends of fans is to respect your lives and be good to yourselves, because you deserve it. You are a good person. People who think that they are less than most, have fallen prey to making up the difference with drugs. To make themselves stronger. But drugs don’t discriminate. They don’t care who you are. They kill. I wish everyone would look at their life and treat it as a gift from their mother and their father. It is precious and is not to be taken lightly. So, be good to yourself; use music, not drugs.

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“Shoulder to shoulder, push and shove, I’m hangin’ up my boxin’ gloves. I’m ready for a long, long vacation…” When we spoke with Steve, he was catching up on some rest & relaxation… taking time to visit family & friends, doing some travelling and riding his new Harley…

Force: After the rigors of a tour, it must be nice to take some time off and just relax. What have you been doing on your vacation?
Steve: I’ve been riding my Harley, and working on it.

Force: What kind of bike is it?
Steve: It’s a Softtail, and I’ve really been enjoying it. It’s great to be able to take my mind off everthing except just tinkering with my Harley. I’ve been polishing it, I’ve been tightening it down… anybody who has a Harley knows that if you ride them, you’ve got to tighten them down. (laughter) I’ve been riding around the San Joaquin Valley a lot, between the orange trees and the mountains. My dad has a Harley, also and we ride together. I find riding very relaxing.

Force: Do you get recognzed much when you are out riding?
Steve: Yeah, but it’s okay. It’s fine. I don’t mind being recognized. I enjoy people, I have a good time wherever I go, with whoever I’m with. There are times when I go away to hide, but I do that in different places.

Force: Is it hard having a private life when you are such a public figure?
Steve: I don’t know how public I am, but I guess, to a degree, I am. I don’t think about myself that way — I try not to, so I can continue to live my life. Sometimes I do forget. I just think ‘I’m Steve Perry, I’m just me.’ But people remind me that, no, I’m Steve Perry, and I know that (laughter). When I go places, sometimes I do forget. I know that may sound silly, but I don’t keep that in front of my face all the time.

Force: Now that the tour is over, and you’re talking some time of, the Journey breakup rumors have already started. Does that bother you?
Steve: Yeah, but it seems to happen all the time. Everytime Steve Perry or anyone else does a solo album or another project, the rumours go wild. Then Journey makes another albuma and goes on the road, and as soon as the tour is over, the rumors start again.

Force: Do you have a favourite album of all the ones you’ve done with Journey?
Steve: Hmmm. I don’t really know. I think it would have to be songs, not albums. ‘Something To Hide’ off the Infinity album is still of of my favourites. I also like ‘Happy To Give’ off Raised On Radio.

Force: How do you feel “Raised On Radio” stacks up with the other Journey releases?
Steve: There were some pretty intense circumstances during the making of that album. The band, in the studio, had an explosive falling apart then. Jon, Neal and I ended up standing together, as anyone who reads the newsletters remembers. That really did happen. We didn’t really have a band at the time to go in and play and rehearse alot of the stuff. We went in to cut an album as opposed to going in to write, record and perform this stuff prior. I think it turned out exactly like that. it does have a different texture to it — a different approach. I think that is good.

Force: You and the rest of the members of Journey went home with quite a few Bammies this year. How did you feel about receiving your awards?
Steve: It was so great to be chosen. I was really, really pleased. I just can’t put it into words. Now I think I’m in the BAMMIE’S Hall of Fame… I’m not eligible for anymore awards in the Male Vocalist category.

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