Off the Record with Steve Perry Nov 13, 2005
Uncle Joe: On November Th 1981, Journey played to a sell out crowd in Houston Summit, Texas. A brand new music TV channel MTV. filmed the event and aired it once that same month. The performance was then buried in the vault, until now 24 yrs later. Former journey singer, Steve Perry,has dusted off that concert, remixed it, and remastered it and added some bonus interview footage, and is about to release it, as a double DVD and CD set called, " Live in Houston, Nov.6 1981 the Escape Tour". Journey was at the height of their popularity in the summer of 1981. In fact the very week the Houston concert was filmed, the Escape album hit number 1 in the American charts. Audiences were getting their first introduction to Journey classics like, "Open Arms", and "Don't Stop Believin", and today Steve Perry is here to share that magical time. It's a trip to the Houston Summit with Journey, Off the Record.
Lovin Touchin Squeezin plays
Uncle Joe: Hey, it's your Uncle Joe Benson and Off The Record speaking with Steve Perry, who's been very busy of late. There's a new CD/DVD out called Live in Houston 1981, The Escape Tour. Not a short title, but certainly wraps things up...
Steve: Well, trying to be specific from which it came from ya know, it's a.....
Uncle Joe: This is an astounding performance document.
Steve: (undertone) astounding performance document... Very nice.
Uncle Joe: Lets just set this up before we get into what actually happened here, at this point, 1981, you'd been working with Journey for 5 years.
Steve: I would say thats close, ya...
Uncle Joe: 4 or 5 years, something like that.....ahh, you've gone through one personnel change at this point.
Steve: Jonathan Cain came in, thats right.
Uncle Joe: And Greg Rollie.
Steve: Actually two, Steve Smith came in after Ansley left, and then Jonathan Cain and this was Jonathan's, I believe, first tour and first album. Escape album, Escape tour.
Uncle Joe: When you did the Houston show, how far into the tour was this, was this at the beginning, was this halfway through, was this 2 and a half years on the road.
Steve: I believe the tour started July of 81' is what I believe and this was November. (Laughs) It ended the following July, so it went for a whole year or longer, I think, at least.
Uncle Joe: Journey was the first band to really use videos on stage.
SP: Yeah, live switching with like five cameras, so the people at the back had a good sense of what was going on too.
Uncle Joe: You had state of the art, everything you were doing was a little cutting edge, feeling good that way
Steve: Yeah.
Uncle Joe: Not that you didn't have confidence in the material right off the bat.
Steve: I think I had total confidence in the music and the ability of the band to perform it. You know, which I got to tell ya when I was working on this, as I was mixing it, ummmm, I was mixing a particular time it's in stereo and in 5.1 surround, so it had to be mixed twice but the stereo mixes I was sitting there and I was watching the video assist cause I had to make sure things correlated visually too and when Open Arms came on, oh my goodness, you know, I had an emotional moment where I couldn't watch the screen and it continued to hit me like that in a way that I can only explain, like ahhhh. I had no idea that the song DID reach that spot in my heart. Where I always thought it could be, by that I really got to tell yeah, it's better than the original master. It's more emotional than the original master to me, it's performed by everyone, the vocals, in my heart, which were so demanding the way I wanted to do them, though the master recording got close but the way I really wanted to do em, was the way they ended up on this particular project, and I got emotional a couple times.
I kinda tucked it back and let the engineers know cause I couldn't look at the screen. I had to keep my head down on the console because I was being mugged by a plethora of emotions.....(laughs). You know, like I mean 24 years ago ,he's so young, ya know (laughs). Who is that guy with the nose and the hair and the band and seeing Neal play so beautifully and watching Steve Smith.. I mean it just, I got thrown back into, I had no idea it was that good cause I didn't. I was in it.....
Open Arms plays
Uncle Joe: At this point in time, when Journey's performing live on the Escape tour,
was the set list pretty much the same every night? So everybody knew kinda where their
que's were?
Steve: Yeah, the show was worked up and we knew what the set list was and we did make
a couple of changes for these two shows. There were actually two shows at the summit
sold out. But, we audio'd both but MTV only showed up to tape one.
Uncle Joe: When you look back at the video of this performance and you see the audience from 1981, tell us what did you see? You certainly didn't remember much of that. Nothing that anything was wrong with your memory?
But... (Laugh)
Uncle Joe: So you, I can't remember but no.
Steve: So? are you Casey Kasem? Nah, I'm Sorry.
Uncle Joe: Coming up next we have a special letter from little Stephen who's lost his memory and we have a song by Carl Kung Fu Evans who talks about.
Steve: Who writes from Duluth.
Uncle Joe: You look at the video and you’re seeing an audience who you haven't seen for, oh lets say, roughly 24 years. And, audiences looked different back then, but at the same time this is the first time you are exposed these people as well. There was a
passion in the audience for the music? What did you see that you didn't remember?
Steve: I saw it, first of all, as a musician, I was just stunned at how the band really wanted to be one of the best. I could see that there was a mission between
these five guys. I was stunned cause I'm a drummer that Steve Smith was playing in a manner that was absolutely hard to describe. With a true fervor en-vengeance
it was playing, that I just don’t recall and that kinda drive that he had made it possible for me as the singer to sit in the back seat of him driving in the front and just soar. So that was his contribution to the singing aspect and I got to hear me singing
in a way that I don’t remember myself singing either and Neal. Neal Schon was playing some of the best guitar I ever heard of anyone. And he out did himself and Ross played beautifully. So, that as a musician stunned me at first. And then the interaction
of the audience. We play, they react. We stop they react. You announce a song, they react, and it was just such a high. It was like being there again for me. It was as if there was some sort of digital memory in me that had forgot what it was like to stand there in front Of these people there in Houston and I slowly started to recall the
feeling of being there because I watched the quick time video, locked
Audio for 14 hours a day, seven days a week for about three months.
Uncle Joe: That’s a lot of watching.
Steve: That’s a lot of watching you know? And you get a since of my goodness and it’s hard to run from that.
Commercial
Hi this is Steve Perry and welcome back to Off The Record with your Uncle Joe Benson.
Uncle Joe: Lets open one up you mentioned Neal's playing. Is there a song on here in particular that uh Neal's playing was ... it blew me away with how intuitive and how well it worked.
Steve: All of 'em, I mean every single one of his solo's was the best I ever heard him play! They were as good as the record and then he would add and elongate and extend and just and peak them in ways that you know you really don't have time to back in those days on a long playing album, you don't have time ya know and so you would chop things down and you would do certain you know, 4 minute, 5 minute formats for songs sometimes but uh on this live thing here you really get to hear his virtuosity, ummm I mean the solo on "Who's Cryin' Now" is a timeless piece of work, it really is, and its simple, its heartfelt, its the altrosolo. And I will tell you a story that when this was the single, and when we started to record it, I'm sorry before it became a single and Sony wanted us to cut it off and fade it. And then when we, when I argued and said, "We're NOT cutting it off its the altrosolo." They said, well, nobody does that..I said well we do!" And they said "but radio will just they wont play it because its too long" I said "I don't give a..,,damn because you're not cutting the solo, it's brilliant!" They said "Well, we're just going to send radio a faded version" I said "If you do I'm going to kill you" You know I fought for that solo being exactly the way it ended up now it's a timeless piece of the song!
Who's Cryin' Now plays
Steve: Who's Cryin' Now, ah, was a song that was originally started in my car driving up the I-5 freeway, and I had a mini cassette player in my hand, I was coming back from LA and we were about to get together, Jonathan Cain and I, and start writing, and uh, I don’t know what happened, I was just listening to the radio at that time, and I just got inspired and I just started singing, one heart feeds the fire, one heart burns desire, and that was all I had, da da da da.....and that’s it and of course it was slower and I showed it to Jon and we started putting a feel......I’ve always liked sort of a Fleetwood Mac ‘How long has this been going on’ by Ace feel, you know that song boom, oo-oom .
Uncle Joe: And again, the driving music , the rhythm of the road.
Steve: Yeah, Yeah it had a rhythm thing, it just had this mesmerizing rhythm, that pocket, so that became the pocket for that hook line and then it was written by Jonathan Cain and myself.
Uncle Joe: This is an extremely special moment in many peoples lives, in the fans lives, but especially in the band members lives, and here you have this rare opportunity to see a moment in time like you were saying, In your case to watch it 14 hours a day for 4 and a half months......
Steve: Yeah, Yeah. (laughing)
Uncle Joe: And you’ve seen this interaction that musicians live for, every body who has picked up a guitar wants to have this interaction with someone, and it happens to be 5 people who did it better than everybody else, and that is captured right here. In it you also see personal relationships, is this like looking at pictures of old girlfriends or something?
Steve: You get a lot of emotional, what’s the word I’m looking for ,leisure pains, (laughs) you know, it’s absolutely the case. I saw the interaction between me and Neal and ah, there were moments it was fantastic and there were moments when it was sad. This is something only I would see. And when I say the word sad, I think I mean that I could see some distance between us as people and I could see those moments, and then I could see those moments when there was no distance between us, but you know, it was a band, and some of the things that brings bands together are also the very thing that breaks them apart, you know, so, and all relationships in fact. You look at any relationship and that is the case, so it was like watching old girlfriends, and I’m sure that when they are watching it they’re looking at their old girlfriend too (laughing) meaning me. (laughing) Hey, I don’t remember him (more laughing), so I think it brings back memories of our interaction, and it can be good and it can be bittersweet.
Wheel In The Sky plays
Uncle Joe: About the video end of it because of having seen earlier videos of yourself and Neal with the pajama like things (Steve laughing) and the giant hair and wondering what you had to say.
Steve: Are you talking about the capes? (Laughing)
Uncle Joe: Yeah
Steve: Hey, listen there is some spandex that's not on this either. Okay. Alright, lucky this was just our Levi and tee shirt phase. We were just having a good time being a rock band. This was the (short pause) was about the early times.
Uncle Joe: Wheel In The Sky. You can find that live version on the upcoming Journey DVD
and CD set Live In Houston November 6th, 1981 the Escape Tour. It will be in Stores this Tuesday November Th. I'm Joe Benson and coming up on Off the Record former Journey singer Steve Perry remembers the city that inspired Don't Stop Believin' and explains why he decided to attend Journeys Hollywood Walk Of Fame Ceremony last March. It's a little star talk and some more live Journey Music when Off the Record returns.
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Uncle Joe: Speaking with former Journey singer Steve Perry who has produced the new DVD and CD combination.
Steve: right
Uncle Joe: What's the name of the new ahh record?
Steve: It's called Journey Live in Houston 1981, November 6Th, 1981 the Escape Tour.
Uncle Joe: On this performance of Don't Stop Believin' what you see is different than the original recording. Is there something extra coming through? Do you have a reinterpretation of the lyrics after all these years seeing what you did with it?
Steve: Well the song originally was sort of born out of a feeling I got after we had done the previous tour to Escape. We were in Detroit, and I was at the hotel downtown and we'd finished the show and I'm not sleepy because I'm jacked from the show and I'm looking down and I'm lookin' and the city streets are all quiet but there's all these people on the streets man and on the corner and these streetlights. And I'm thinking man this is unbelievable, people just creeping late at night, it's 2 in the morning and they're still out creeping around. When we got back together in San Francisco to write what was going to be the next record, Escape. Jonathan and I got together and started working on this. And when we started working on the lyrics, that moment came to mind and I think I discussed it with Jonathan about ya know there were street light people. Ya know what I mean? There were people down there living under the streetlights and then we start throwing things back and forth living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the night. It took off a life of its own and to this day I think everybody lives in the evening is when things really start to happen, when the sun goes down and the later it gets the more it starts to happen where you really are looking to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the night, you're looking for something ya know? To get over with.
Uncle Joe: Did you have in your mind, that that song might be around in 20 years?
Steve: No, you don't know, you just follow your heart and make the decisions along the way that you think are the best for the songs. And the band members were doing that, and I was doing that. I was writing lyrics with Jonathan Cain and we were making the best decisions in those areas and we're trying to do the things musically that we love. And we tried to sing the melodies that moved me and thats it, then you try to mix it in a way that it satisfies what you think its supposed to be at the time you're doing it and thats it, you let it go.
Don’t Stop Believin’ plays
Uncle Joe: At, a some point in early 2005, it was deemed that, a, the various members of Journey past and present might be in town at the same time. And got themselves, a ah, tribute on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It had been discussed for a long time. Put together by fans, the fan drive was behind it, I don’t think anyone in the band in particular, was pushing. But it was certainly an honor. I was surprised that some of the a older members, George Tickner
Steve: Yeah
Uncle Joe: Was there.
Steve: Aynsley Dunbar was there.
Uncle Joe: A couple of people weren’t, aah Herbie Herbert.
Steve: Gregg Rolie wasn’t there
Uncle Joe: Gregg Rolie wasn’t there.
Steve: I was really looking forward to seeing Gregg.
Uncle Joe: And um.
Steve: and Herbie too. I thanked Herbie too, specifically.
Uncle Joe: If people listening to Off The Record had been paying strict attention. About a year or so previous to this event actually taking place, I asked you what would happen. You said you didn't know.
Steve: That’s right. I didn’t.
Uncle Joe: You were inclined if you went you would go specifically to thank the crew and the people you worked with and make sure they mentioned. And you detailed exactly what actually happened and it was supposition at that point. It wasn’t something you thought about doing until the last minute? Was it?
Steve: It really wasn’t. It weighed on me heavy, because you know as everyone knows, I haven’t been in the band since I think it’s a um May of 98 was the legal separation between myself and Journey. And, and so they’ve been on doing their own thing and I’ve been doing mine. And so I didn’t know if I wanted to go to the Star Walk of Fame Event. And the thing that really, really kept eating at me was that I got quite one day in Hawaii and I asked myself what I should do and then my mind said “If your my mom was alive what which would she tell you?” And the answer immediately came. And the answer was “Well if anyone deserves to be there I think you do.” And it wasn’t that I was more deserved than anybody else, she was just simply saying, that’s the way she would say things. “That you deserve to be there, as much as anybody else does”. I thought shpt “Ya” So that wouldn’t go away (laugh)
Uncle Joe: Yep, yep.
Steve: And a, so months turned into months and the time got close, and um at the last minute we showed up. Walked out there, nobody knew. Not a person knew. I had to lie to my attorney, cause they had people hitting him to front me. You know, “Well do you think he might show up?” And they’d call me “Well, ya, do you think you might go? Cause if you are I might go.” Well I don’t think I’m going. I had to lie to everyone, just so I could have the choice to choose. And at the last minute I choose to go. And I pulled behind it, and I waited. And um. They said the band was there. And um. My particular assistants had radios, and they said the bands about to walk out and that’s when we pulled up, zoomed up and walked out.
Mother Father plays
Uncle Joe: Mother, Father, Sister, Brother....his favourite performance on the upcoming live Journey DVD and CD Set.
Live in Houston, Nov. 6th 1981 The Escape Tour.
The re-mastered/re-mixed collectors edition will be out on Tuesday.
Its your Uncle Joe Benson.
And if your wondering whether you'll ever see Steve Perry on a concert stage again?
Or maybe hear him on a new stereo record?
Wonder no more.
The former Journey singer answers those tough questions plus a few others coming up next.
Off The Record will be right back.
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Uncle Joe: Steve Perry here formerly of Journey. You haven't performed on stage for a few years...
Steve: Its been a few years ,yeah.
Uncle Joe: But you've spent much time reviewing this material for the DVD. Not the first time you've looked at live performance material but you were living and breathing this for several months as the producer responsible for every minor microedit that went into things that somebody in the band might like or might not like. There was a little bit of pressure on you.
Steve: There was a lot of pressure to be honest, I did it with Allen Sipes (sp?) and I sat there with Jon Kalodner coming in occasionally and the band members weren't there. They were out there doing their own thing...and I found the most amazing thing though the longer I watched it, the more my original concerns for it to be great came up inside me. These voices would come up to me and say...is there enough guitar? And I'd look around, where's neal? (laughing) Or I dont' hear the piano there, where's jonathan...is Jon here? There were ghosts in my body, ya know...(laughing) so they were there, believe me. I walk with this stuff ok joe? (laughing) I'm in therapy, but I'm ok.
Uncle Joe: Did you at some point say I wouldn't mind being on stage to do that again?
Steve: You're hurting me Joe. I would love, ya know I did my solo tour and that was really something I played all the Journey material that was the last time I toured. And then put the Journey back together for the Trial by Fire cd and then my hip crashed and the rest is history. I sure would love to perform again but I have yet to...well...I've yet to do that and I've also keep writing ideas and I've yet to walk into the studio. I had a gut feeling you'd ask me about some of this and I didn't know how I was gonna answer it...but.
Uncle Joe: Well, let me provide you with a little thing here now of course you've made mention before
Steve: Of course you're gonna leave all this in, so we can let this run so that people get a continuity of the emotional struggle at this moment that I'm going through so they can really get a sense of when I do answer it that
Uncle Joe: Ok you have an instrument, your vocal chords and you've said and I quote you directly that they have to be in shape in order to last in concerts and in order to hit the notes and all that stuff...
Steve: To sing period.
Uncle Joe: To sing period. But ya know my old buddy Dave Nevarro is offering you a chance to come up and uhh...
Steve: (laughing) Oh he told you that did he? Hey....you're spanking me!! (laughing) I can't believe this, it's like a back door spank. He did he offered me to come out and sing with his uhh Camp Freddy thing and I told him I would do that but I'm a little out of shape but if I warmed them up I'd give him a call. I've been out and watched him play a few times.
Stone In Love plays
Uncle Joe: You're thinkin?
Steve: I'm thinkin, I'm thinking about the stage, I mean there's nothing more I would rather do but um it's tough, it's tough and it's hard to even discuss it. I mean I have a certain requirement within myself to be myself, or not to be myself.
Uncle Joe: um hmmm...
Steve: And so, Im the most demanding person, uh and I've had this conversation with a very close friend of mine, I'm the most demanding person uh I have to deal with. It isn't what the people think. He told me one time, that good friend of mine, he said uh "more than likely you at your half best would probably be plenty" And uh, and I....
Uncle Joe: Yes I...
Steve: And I said "Well I don't see it that way, thanks for saying that, but I doubt it." And he said "ok, whatever." (laughs) You know, ok, ya know he was trying to be honest with me.
Uncle Joe: Um hmm
Steve: So you know I'm struggling with that all the time. I mean, when I had to sit and watch this dvd, it absolutely uh what is the words, there's just no words to put it in. (deep sigh) There's just no words that cover the feelings. Would I go back to 1981 November 6th? In a minute!!! Would I do it all again? In a minute!!! Would I do it differently??? Not a damned thing!!! You know I would be the same guy, I want them to be who they were, I want us at that point just like we were - to not agree, and to agree to disagree if ness....I mean, everything, I mean thats just...thats, thats what it was. I dont think it can be recreated, nothing can be recreated. But do I enjoy singing? (pause) Man, I love singing but now its confined to my car and my shower, and uh...sorry Joe but you can't be there. (laughter)
Uncle Joe: However to win the grand prize to be in the Steve Perry shower.....(hysterical laughter)
Steve: Call right now! You can be.....
Uncle Joe: Send $20.00.
Steve: That's right, we're gonna give away two....one for the car and one for the shower!
Uncle Joe: So what would uh Steve Perry sing in the shower?
Steve: Oh my goodness!!!
Uncle Joe: You're thinking a long time about this!!!
Steve: I am!!! I am, because it depends ya know, it depends on my mood! Really, where I'm going or what I'm doing or, er uh ya know? Is it a morning shower or is it a night shower ya know? Night showers a different kind' uh' it's probably more Marvin Gaye, little Sam Cooke ya know? Morning shower might be umm I dont know, ya know' I jus....umm' I uh morning showers just a little yodelish ya know
Uncle Joe: I thought you said Yoda-ish that would not work uh.
Steve: No, no, no yodelish I don't know I.....
Uncle Joe: And in the car it's something to do with the anger, frustration the blues pouring out of you....
Steve: No It's ...
Uncle Joe: At the $3.00 a gallon gasoline...
Steve: I...l...do what you guys do. I sing with the radio and I hope they ,..I dont want to be on that show ever! You know?? cause its not pretty!
Anyway You Want It plays
Steve Perry and Journey, live. “Any Way You Want It” closing out the November 6th, 1981 show at the Summit in Houston. That live performance is coming out on a two disc DVD and CD Collector’s set this Tuesday, November 15th. It’s called “Live In Houston 6th November 1981 – The Escape Tour”, and was produced by former Journey singer, Steve Perry who remixed and remastered the original audio. "A big thank-you goes out to Steve Perry for taking the time to chat."
Special thanks to Laureen, Deb, Rae, Theresa, Kacey, Karen, Chrissy, Cindi, and Jewels for Transcribing this for Perryville!!
