“I’ve been teasing Jonathan [Cain] and Neal [Schon]: ‘Why don’t you invite Steve Perry over for a tour?’”, Pineda tells Rolling Stone. “Oh, my God. I never saw them back in the Eighties. I was just a young kid in Manila, just playing around, with no chance of going to the States and seeing their show, but they were one of my favorite bands … I’m not losing [the hope] that one day he’ll join the band for two or three songs. It would be one of the highlights of my life if that happens.”
While scoring huge international success with Journey through the late 1970s and mid-1980s, Perry left the group in 1998; after working with a couple of singers, Schon invited Pineda to join the lineup in 2007 when he saw the rocker singing Journey covers on YouTube with Filipino band The Zoo.
“I’m just so blessed,” explains Pineda. “I can’t thank them enough, especially Neal Schon. He was the one that was really sold that I am the one since 2007. But then again, I still think, 'If only they could bring back Steve Perry.'”
When prompted that Perry’s return would put him out of work, Pineda says: “That would be OK to me! I’m telling you. That’s how much I adore him and I adore Journey and how much I adore Steve Perry.”
The Philippines-based singer is aware of the responsibility he carries for Journey, Perry and the group’s fans.
“I’m delivering on the legacy that the Voice [Steve Perry] has left behind,” he adds. “Especially now that he formally passed the torch to me in 2017 [at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction], he made that known and he was very gracious. It was very kind of him. It was so generous of him to say that in public. It was really an honor.”
Following a long break from the music industry, Perry released his first album in 25 years – “Traces” – in 2018; the project delivered the iconic singer his first US solo top 10 album when it debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
As for Journey, they continue to work on new music during the pandemic while Pineda records remotely half a world away from the band’s home base in California; the project will be the first with new additions Randy Jackson on bass, Nara Michael Walden on drums and keyboardist/vocalist Jason Derlatka.
“We finished six songs so far,” Pineda confirms. “There’s talk of going out somewhere first, maybe Las Vegas for a residency. We don’t know yet. We haven’t decided. Just to break the ice between the new members and us.”
See also:
Steve Perry streams Most Of All radio mix
Journey to headline Lollapalooza
Steve Perry working on new album
Steve Perry streams new acoustic version of Beatles classic
Search Journey at hennemusic
