Steve Perry Comeback Tour: How One Special Woman Made Him Believe Again (2023)

Fans may think Steve Perry has lost his faith, but after a 20-year hiatus from recording, the former Journey recluse is finally back with a solo albumtrace, which was released on October 5.

When Perry retired from music a few years ago, he returned to his hometown — a rural community in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in Hanford, California — with no intention of ever singing again. Inspired by the condition of his mother, who died of a neurological disease in 1985, he even considered going to medical school and becoming a neurologist again. But then director Patty Jenkins put Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" into her film.Beast. It was the start of not only a long history of classic power ballads in movies and TV shows, but also a friendship with Jenkins that eventually led Perry to the love of his life, psychologist Kelly Nash. Perry's tumultuous romance with Nash and Nash's grief over her tragic death from breast cancer a year and a half after they met made Perry believe in music again.

existstrace, most recently in 76th placeΟι Rolling StonesListthe greatest singer of all timeIt sounds good - a little edgy, a little misanthropic, but it adds an even more poignant character to tracks like "We're Still Here," "Most of All," "No More Cryin'," "In the Rain" and more.passion. and a cover of George Harrison's "I Need You." As Perry told Yahoo Entertainment, “He's not the one who left Journey. Here is another guy who lived many years away from it all. "

But while Perry said "Kylie bears significant responsibility for how this happened," he underscored thatdance floor--These include contributions from Dan Wilson, John 5, Pino Palladino, Josh Freese, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., David Campbell, Nathan East, Steve Ferrone and on one song, "Love and Laughter", "It's Not All sad songs". there are sexy songs, there are rock songs, there are happy songs and there are depressing songs.

Finally, Perry's long-awaited return to the music scene is cause for celebration. Below, Perry tells the amazing story of how he fell in love with Kelly Nash and how he fell back in love with music.

Yahoo Entertainment: First of all, I have to say that I am very, very happy that you are making music again. Too much time has passed. It's an obvious question, but why leave Journey and the music industry in general when you're really on top?

Steve Perry:I would say that after years of hard touring - what we used to call "burning the roads" - we were exhausted. I'm starting to get a little PTSD related to music. I don't like the tension the music brings. It breaks my heart. I thought that when the 1980s came around - with some partying behavior and too much fatigue from working so hard - I knew I had to stop. It's not like the band and I keep asking, "So, how are you feeling today?" "Oh, I'm fine and you?" No, we're just having fun, we're not talking about it. Then there were no annoying conversations. ... So one day I said to them: "I can't do this anymore." I knew it wouldn't be a popular statement. The team would be mad at me. Fans will be disappointed. However, I had no choice but to throw myself into the abyss and return to my hometown.

At that point, did you expect it to be a permanent or indefinite hiatus, or just a short hiatus?

My plan is not to build a back door. my plan is thisNOCome back if I'm being really honest with myself. I had to give up and start a new life.

But then you meet Kelly.

Yes, Patty does this show (cancer survivors) for the Lifetime Networkfive. Patty and I were hanging out in the editing room and there was a scene where the camera pans across the atrium in the hospital conference room. I said, "Patty, oh. Stop it. Who is this?" She said, "It's Kelly Nash. She's a PhD in psychology and she has breast cancer. I cast real people who have recovered from cancer and I just don't want to pretend I have cancer with my actors. I'm surrounded by survivors who are undergoing actively in therapy.'' I said, ``Wow, Pat, that's great. Do you have her e-mail?''

Patty gave me a weird look because she knew I wouldn't. He asked, “Really? Why?" I replied, "I don't know, she's wearing something. Would you send her an e-mail saying that your friend Steve wants to take her out for coffee? Is he a doctor of psychology? Well, maybe I need a new psychologist." [Hahaha] So he said, “I'll give her your email, but before I send it, I have to tell you one thing: Kylie is in remission but [her cancer] is coming back to her bones and her lungs. Yes, and now he is fighting for his life."

So you know right from the start what you're up against - if you hook up with Kylie, you're going to hurt yourself. However, you are still attracted to her and still want to pursue her and take chances.

Yes. At that point, there would be no harm, no foul—if I just told Patty, "Okay, I'm fine." No one would know anything. mineheadSay, “I don't know, Steve. You've lost your whole family. You've come a long way from phenomenal success. Now you enter who knows where. I don't know if it's a good idea...” But mineHeartI said: "Bulls!" So I said to Patty, "Send an email anyway." He did, and I was stuck on pins and needles for two weeks. I continued to pester Patty: “Did he call you? Did he call you back?' Eventually, Kelly contacted Patty and we started emailing each other. One night Kelly and I talked on the phone from about six in the morning until midnight.

when did you meet

Last year [2011] we arranged to have dinner on the 16th of June. I meet her at 6:30 and we close in the middle of the night. There was no one else in that corner booth, and we were laughing and talking about things that probably no one else would talk about on a first date. It's just an open book for every fear, every thought, every feeling. She is simply amazing. I can't stay away from her. I just want to be with her.

Did you fall in love quickly?

Yeah, I remember we only had two, three, four dates that day. I left her apartment and went back to mine. I was driving on the highway and my head kept spinning: I was like, “What are you doing?pretend? Go and tell her how you feel about her. It's bull! “I thought of a Robin Williams movie - take your time and stuff like that. Take the risk. I got off the freeway, turned around, started walking back and called her. I asked, "Can you come forward?" and take me.” He asked, “What is it? "I said, 'Come forward and meet me.' "

So he jumped into the car and asked, "Are you okay?" I told her, “Kylie, I just love you. I do not know what is going on. All I know is that it's an overwhelming feeling. I just want to be with you forever." He said, “Honey, I feel the same way about you. But this [cancer] is ugly and I don't think you want that." I replied, “I don't really care. This. I don't do it. I see it as a train with two tracks. Yes, the left lane is you and me going through this [cancer battle] together, but the other lane is you and me.

However, you know that your time together may be short.

Yeah, we talked about it a lot when we moved to New York. I'll never forget that one time he said, “Honey, he might need me. But it can never touch our love. He can take me, but he can't take our love." I replied, “You, that's exactly it. I know it's true.

How did you deal with the grief after her death in December 2012?

When I lost her, it was the hardest two and a half, three years of mourning of my life. I lost my mother, my father,IMy grandparents who raised me. but it's my first timesad. I was going to a professional [therapist] and he said, "Steve, I want you to love your sadness." I said, “Man, I'm tired of crying. I have to stop crying at some point. point'" He replied, "No, I think if you're smart you willlovesad. I said, “But why? "Because eventually, believe me, it's going to start going up, the bottom is going to come up and you're not going to be able to touch it as deep as you are now," he said. I'm sorry it hurt you so much, but it's just an affirmation of your love for each other. I thought to myself, “What the hell am I going to do?To? He told me: “Keep going. "

I know you promised Kylie before she died that you wouldn't isolate yourself anymore. What was this conversation about?

Well, those days were so long and beautiful and magical - like we lived together on a pin and you stood on a pin together. We are together right now. No time for fucking shit and no time to waste. One of my favorite parts of the day with her is when we go to bed, turn off the light, kiss goodnight and start talking to each other in the dark. Either I put her to sleep or she put me to sleep. One night he said, "My love, if something happens to me, please promise me: promise me that you won't be isolated anymore because I don't think there's any point."

I sat there during that sentence and saw what he was saying: the thread of meeting, being together, and possibly losing each other, had to beSomesome feeling. Because it seeks purpose and meaning. So I swore I wouldn't go back alone. This conversation I am having with you now is part of fulfilling that commitment.

The positive outcome of this tragedy, aside from the love you obviously had with Kelly, the whole experience ultimately inspired you to make music again.

Yeah, but you know he's not the one who left Journey. This is what lets you get away with it all. He's a guy who's been through what everyone else in the world is going through. I just hope there's a lot of honesty in this music, because that's what works for me, that's where it comes from. Carey is largely responsible for how that happened, but know this: this record isn't all sad songs. There are sexy songs and rock songs. There are songs of joy and songs of loss. But that's where the whole story comes from.

I know you've been recording since May 2015. Has Kelly heard an early unfinished version of this music?

I used to play her sketches and she liked them. He would blast these songs all over the house, and it was an external confirmation, like, “Maybe I still know what I'm doing, I'm writing music. Maybe I can still touch someone." Because he remembers, but he had no idea what it was! The lyrics aren't there at all, he just hums the melody and the beat.

There are two pieces [vvtrace] This was written before I met Kelly, probably a year before I met her. One is called "Most of All" and it's one of my favorite songs on the album, and the other is called "In the Rain." Everyone was inspired by a great loss. ……I did itNOPlay her these skits because I don't want to put that energy into her fights. ...but when I lost her, I went back and brought those songs back and it was really weird that they were always about her before I met her.

A few years after Kelly's death, youSing along with a friend's Eels Band at a concert in Sao Paulo, May 2014. everyoneSoI'm shocked and excited to see you on stage again. How did this collaboration come about?

The ice began to melt gradually. [Eels frontman] Mark [Everett] always asks me, 'You should come out and sing with the band one day.' I love Eels and their song and Eels songs hold a special place in my heart."To kretyn."Iasthat song I think that melodically it is one of the most beautiful, lyrical and melodic juxtapositions that can be written. He is brutally honest about feelings. The combination of lyrics and melody is excellent.

The Eels also made a terrific album,electric blues, about death and loss, was partly inspired by Mark's mother's illness.

Yes, he spoke to me. … So I flew to Sao Paulo where they were sound checking and I was there. We were just rehearsing a few things and I said, "Can we play 'Motherf***er'?"

When you appeared, the crowd erupted. When this video went viral, so did YouTube.

Honestly, I don't know [how people will react]. Eels' eclectic audience, an indie audience, is a whole "different generation" that has been years past Journey. I left, I swear, I had no expectations. ...but I'm very happy to be able to stand in front of an audience again and sing. It's something I've never done in 25 years. I'm surprised by [the public's] reaction, I ammineConnect with them emotionally. Honestly, I forgot how much I missed them. I forgot how much I miss playing in front of an audience and trying to give them the voice they want to hear. Sometimes I feel like [this voice] was never mine. I guess it belongs to [the fans] now.

So the question is: Steve, are you going to tour in support of this album? PLEASE say yes!

I like. We discussed it. Uncle Steve is no chick, you know that! I will try to use my Advils as best I can. [Hahaha]

Last question, and an important one: what do you think Kylie would think?trace? I think she's going to be excited about it and excited to be back there.

I'm glad you asked. Since we started this process, I've been doing these interviews all day and no one has ever asked me that question. They ask questions from 35 years ago, and it's a waste of time, everyone's life goes on. This is a tough question, but thank you for asking. I have to sit here and think about it. …I think Kylie would be proud of me. I think he'll thank me for keeping my word. I think she will like this album. Really.

Learn more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• Read "The Journey" - Speech by Steve Perry Heartfelt Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• Steve Perry reflects on his time spent traveling

• Steve Perry starred in the finale of American Idol.

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