Journey on Steve Perry, Releasing New Music & Whether They'd Even Accept a Rock Hall Invitation
Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon of Journey perform at Nikon at
Jones Beach Theater on Aug. 17, 2011 in Wantagh, N.Y.
Steve Miller's dissatisfaction with
his recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction may have Bay Area brethren and fellow '70s hitmakers
Journey -- or at least co-founder
Neal Schon -- thinking twice about whether they want to accept the same honor.
Miller,
of course, went off on the Rock Hall and the induction event, even
alleging that the organization only provided tickets for he and his wife
and wanted his band members to pay $10,000 a piece to watch the
ceremony. With mainstream rock favorites such as Miller,
Cheap Trick,
Chicago and
Deep Purple
getting in, it seems like a door might also be opening for Journey,
whose absence is considered by some to be one of the Rock Hall's
greatest slights. But Schon told
Billboard that if elected, he'll have to think before he serves.
"After
reading and talking to Steve Miller about what went on with him and how
it was not a good experience, I don't really care right now one way or
the other," Schon said. "I'd have to see what the situation is for real.
I'm not about to pay money to anybody to get in anywhere. I would never
do that. And at this point there's so many people in there that are not
even rock 'n' roll, I don't really care about being in there at all.
It's not going to make or break my life for who I've come as an artist
or a person. I'm like an aspiring artist that needs to move forward and
you don't move forward by settling in on what you've attained in your
past. I think you're only as good as what you are right now."
That
said, Schon acknowledged that he'd want to get in to please Journey's
vociferous fan base. And there are indications they may not have to wait
long, either. "I think there always has been an opening for us," Schon
explained. "Basically
Steve [Perry]
has not wanted to do it. I think he probably wants to wait until he
releases his solo record, which is supposed to come out this year and is
probably why I'm hearing that we're supposed to get in this year." Rock
Hall nominees are announced in the fall, with inductees usually
revealed during early December.
Until that Rock Hall invite comes -- if it does at all -- Journey has plenty going on. To wit...
* The Journey crew has high hopes for its tour with the
Doobie Brothers
that gets underway May 12. "We have played with the Doobies before.
We've just never done a tour with them," said Schon, who teamed with the
Doobies'
Tom Johnston for a
King Biscuit Flower Hour
all-star episode during the '70s. "I think the chemistry is really
good." Keyboardist-guitarist Jonathan Cain, a former neighbor of
Johnston's in the Bay Area, added, "We've been wanting to work with
them. Their manager was, 'We don't work with other acts,' and blah,
blah, blah. They were headlining all the time. He finally retired and
our manager kind of took over their business and he just said, 'This is a
no-brainer. You guys have got to play with Journey.' So they listened
to him and now we're playing together. There's so many hits between us.
It'll be great."
* Journey is planning a symphonic album, building off a charity
concert from June 20, 2015, with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. "It was
unbelievable; people were just blown way," Cain recalled. The show was
slated to be recorded and filmed, but those plans were scuttled after
drummer Deen Castronovo's drug and domestic assault arrest a week before
the show, with Omar Hakim filling in. Now, Cain said, "We want to
repeat [the show] over in Europe somewhere and capture it on a DVD.
There's a couple of symphonies I'm contacting."
* There's a
difference of opinion on another new Journey album to follow 2011's
"Eclipse." "I've been trying to get new stuff going and certain people
in the band are like, 'Man, there's no reason to do it. Nothing is going
on in records and you'll never sell any records and you won't get
played on the radio,'" said Schon, who's been doing double time with the
reunited early '70s
Santana lineup. "Well, everything they said now has been proven wrong with this Santana [
IV]
record, so I'm back on the path of, 'Let's get moving here. Let's move
forward.'" Cain, meanwhile, is in the camp that just says no. "The music
business has taken a dive and new music today almost doesn't make
sense," he said. "We have a lot of songs we have to play right now. We
have, like, four albums that people barely know. Why make an album if
you're lucky 100,000 people buy it. It's very expense for us to make a
product like that. It's very costly and we can't make the money back."
*
There's not, however, any shortage of solo projects in the offing.
Frontman Arnel Pineda announced a solo deal with Imegen Records. Schon
is putting together a box set retrospective of his solo work that will
include unreleased and newly record material. And Cain, whose wife is a
pastor in Nashville, plans to self-release a Christian rock album called
What God Wants to Hear this year. "I was doing a country
thing, but God wouldn't let me in the door with that one," Cain said.
"I'm really proud of this and I had a blast doing it. The lyrics came
quickly; I must've written it in four or five months. It's amazing how
good it came out and I'm really excited about it." Cain is also writing a
memoir.
* All parties are excited to have drummer Steve Smith back in the
band for a third stint after leaving in 1998 to concentrate on a jazz
career. "It's a different spin on the band," Cain said. "It's a
transparent kind of different sound. It's what we used to sound like in
the old days. It's got a mighty feel to it." Smith initially said he
only planned to spend a year working with Journey again, but Schon --
who's used Smith on several of his solo albums -- is hoping it's a more
permanent return. "Steve's an amazing musicians and he's gonna bring
it," the guitarist said. "He's loving it -- that's all I can tell you. I
think that he's having such a good time that I'd be surprised if he
didn't want to do it anymore."
* Journey is still mourning
Castronovo's unexpected departure, too. "It was a true tragedy for me
because I love my brother Deen," Schon said. "Unfortunately the demons
got the worst of him. But everything happens for a reason. it was truly
time for him to work on himself and get himself straight." Cain has been
helping Castronovo do just that and even has him playing on his solo
album. "He's got God. He's on the road to recovery," Cain said. "I've
been putting him to purpose and we've been playing and believing that
he'll get restored and turn his life around. Right now he's with his
family and they're supporting him."
* Former frontman Steve Perry,
meanwhile, remains an enigma to his former bandmates. "There's no
communication at all," said Schon, who was in brief contact with Perry
via email during 2014. "I feel like I've reached out in every humane way
I can... just to be friends, like we were. There's no reason not to be.
I've tried to get his real phone number instead of talking through his
attorney, but he will not give it to me, not even to say hello."
Nevertheless, Cain promises that the door is always open for Perry with
the band. "We reach out to him. We've got an open chair for him if he
wants to sing a song, whatever he wants. We have said that all along,"
Cain said. "He chooses to remain aloof and that's fine. Peace with him.
We communicate on publishing, synchronization, licensing. It's almost 30
years since Steve's done a gig with us, so we're not holding our
breath."