hennemusic

Journey fans are likely to freak at the news that the band have an open invitation for former singer Steve Perry to join them on stage with current voice Arnel Pineda.

"Arnel is totally down, and such a humble human being, that he would be overjoyed if Steve wanted to walk on stage and sing with us," guitarist Neal Schon told Artisan news Service recently. "Honestly! He's not just saying that and then like, walking in the other room and [saying something different].”

Journey’s invitation to Perry dates back to 2005, when Steve Augeri was in the lineup, replaced in 2006 by Jeff Scott Soto…all before Pineda joined in late 2007.

“I've always let the door open,” continued Schon. “I made it a point, the last time I saw and even spoke to Perry, [which was] when we received [a star on] the Hollywood Walk Of Fame [in 2005]. There were so many rumors going around that I hated him and that I'm the one that kicked him out of the band and blah blah blah, this and that. I wanted to make sure that people saw me asking him right there, 'If you ever feel like you would like to, and you'd like to come on stage, it's always an open door. Just come and jam. There's no pressure. We're not trying to get you back in the band. But if you just feel like having a blow and you wanna come by and sing, it's there."

Journey are touring North American this summer in support of their new disc, “Eclipse”; they’re on the road with Foreigner and Night Ranger.

Whether or not Perry ever takes them up on is another question entirely.

Steve has reportedly been enjoying his life outside the spotlight, although he did talk about a return to music during an interview late last year with Classic Rock magazine for a profile about the classic Journey album, “Escape.”

"A little over a year-and-a-half ago,” said Perry, “I felt I could maybe come back to it. I have been writing. I have about 50 songs, in a little over a year. I never thought I'd do it again, but I decided to open up that room and see what I could find."

"Some of it sounds familiar,” he added, “some of it sounds contemporary, some of it you can't put a label on — and I've never been big on labels anyway."

A timeline for the project, and its release, just isn’t in the cards at this time. "I'll be honest,” said Perry, “I don't really know how to do that. But I can definitely smell a solo project on the horizon. I will be recording some music."

If it sees the light of day, the project will mark Perry’s first new album since 1994's "For The Love Of A Strange Medicine."

Journey – interview
Artisan News Service – August 20, 2011