How do you know who to believe?

[Monker]

Monker - what you say makes sense....most of what you mentioned I do remember reading about one time or another, when it was all going down. Especially the part about Neal not wanting to pull a member from an already existing mini-Journey. I also remember Perry being asked about it on Much Music while promoting his solo tour. Here's the link to the interview when he was asked. This was 1994. They discuss "a new singer" around the 9:30 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4awDrQOWTT4

Yes, there was that one. He was also asked about it in several print interviews, including this one:
http://journey-tribute.com/journey/reso ... metal.html

SP: We had a fantastic friendship in the band - we were as close as a battlefield troupe. But we lost the commonship. I don't know if we'll ever get it back, just that it all depends on what we'll do and don't do to each others and Journey.

Of course you know that Neal Schon, Jon Cain, Ross Valory & Steve Smith tries to put together a new Journey with vocalist Kevin Chalfant right now?

SP: I've heard the rumours.

What do you think of it?

SP: I don't know. It's up to them.

So you don't mind?

SP: I have no comment on it right now. I think it's the best way for me. They have to do what they believe they need to do.

They say you don't want to be in on it, they have to do it without you. (Perry gets upset for the only time during the interview, he raises his voice):

SP: My friend! (deep breath) I'll tell it to you very clear. I left that band after 10 years, ok? It'd been perfect for me to immediately make it as a solo-artist, but I didn't, because my reasons to quit was emotional.

They continued and did what they had to do. What they're doing now they are doing because they want to. It has nothing to do with me. To say that would be as I'd tell you 'you have to marry that girl or she'll marry someone else'.

SP: During the time I've spent looking for the passion to make this album, they've been able, had the freedom, to make every album they've wished to make. I just can't get off my solo project and make the people I've worked with disappointed. I have to give it all for this album, as with everything I did with Journey. I gave Journey everything for 10 years, doesn't that count for something?

So what you mean is that you can't see a reunion in the future?

SP: It depends on what we're doing and not doing until then, to Journey and our selves.

In other words: No hard feelings like the case with for example Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio, when he first left the group. If everyone involved keeps clean the extremely popular "Escape"/"Frontiers" line-up might come alive sometime in the future...

It's easy to understand that Steve Perry with great interest will watch the other guys trying to reform Journey without him, and to see the result.

During the time he wants to get out on the roads with his solo-band. They're Lincoln Brewster (23 years old, until now, unknown who plays on the album), Paul Taylor (ex Winger keyboard player who did most of the stuff on the album), Moyes Lucas (the drummer from the album) and Todd Jensen (bass player from Hardline, Neil Schon's (ex)band).

[Monker]

Don't mean to be too critical of what you say...but there are some things you are missing...

In the '86 Rockline Q&A radio show, hints were already out there regarding "a rumor" that the Band is(was) on the verge of disbanding and the upcoming tour is really their farewell tour. The idea must have been fueled by SP achieving such great success with ST and signs of internal conflicts culminating with RV and SS leaving the group. On the air, of course, the guys laughed it off and denied any problems before or pending on the horizon. We know how ROR ended.

Yes, there were rumors of the Journey ending during the time of Street Talk. They tried to address this by doing the "let's get something to eat..." thing at the end of the "Strung Out"video. It happened again when Perry fired Ross and Steve Smith. Steve Smith was pretty vocal and bitter about being let go.

There were 2 very inciteful interview articles dated in the aftermath of 1987 that I discovered on the 'net and read as a fascinated fan scouring Journey fansites (around 2005). Neal was quite upset and lashed out at who else.

You are probably talking about the article where Neal said he "hated Steve Perry" at that time and that he would go into the studio and record his guitar bit in one take and then leave.

True to character, Jon was diplomatic in the 2nd (longer) article, saying SP was under great stress (losing his Mom and other things) and needed a break. This is where the memorable quote attributed to Jon referring to Steve came from (paraphrasing here): "every time he was up there singing those songs, he'll bleed a little. I think he just got tired of bleeding." When asked "what now," Jon said there were no plans to disband or change personnel, that as far as he was concerned, Journey is StevePerry-NealSchon-JonathanCain. They're going to put Journey on hold, he and Neal will be doing other projects until Steve decides to come back.

Jonathan doesn't like to burn bridges. But, that fact is he was lying. There were thoughts given to Michael Bolton replacing Perry at this time...and the rumor is even Mickey Thomas prior to ROR. So, there were forces in the band trying to replace Perry for years prior to Chalfant entering the picture.

When Jon spoke in that story, I don't think he realized just how long Steve was going to stay away.

There is also a bit I have on VHS from MTV called "San Francisco Shake Up" where Neal and Jonathan were acting as guest VJ's. I think it was Allen Hunter asked them about the future of Journey. Neal said something like, "you'll have to talk to Steve Perry about that..." Then someone yelled something from a near by building and Jonathan said, "there's the new lead singer of Journey!" Then they go to commercial, and come back and Jonathan goes into PR mode and says something about coming together later in the year to do some writing to release an album next year, and "I don't know, tour some time later next year..."

The fact is: Journey knew Perry was AWOL leave in 1987...and had NO IDEA what the future of the band was.

Come Nov 1991... Steve showed up in SF to do the BG memorial tribute, sang with them ... Jon/Neal (the Journey clan) must have thought Steve was ready to get back together.

I think reading these guys minds is impossible. IMO, Perry's voice was crap...the band knew it - especially Herbie. If anything that performance may have convinced them to move on, again.

[qote] Isn't this around the time Bad English imploded? Imagine the irony... waiting 5 yrs. for SP to re-gain his calling, only he doesn't want to come back to Journey, he's going to work on another solo album. (Another memorable quote...this from Neal..."we all thought it was going to be months...months become years... before you know it, it's 10 years...years we lost in the prime of our lives")[/quote]

Neal went straight from BE into Hardline. In fact, joining Hardline is what really broke the news about the BE breakup.

Time3 compilation came out in 1992? 93? HH retirement party? SP now too busy with his own thing to get involved in either project. What kind of message did that give out?

Don't forget, Perry also refused to add vocals to the two instrumental songs. He was showing NO INTEREST in being a part of Journey.

The GH cd had been released earlier (88 or 89)...went platinum...introspectives done on the band ... Time3 did well. (Okay, pure conjecture from here on...no facts...I don't know anything). I'm guessing at this point in the timeline, there must have been a feeling among the organization, and quite a bit of frustration, that they have waited long enough for SP.

I agree...but they were also all available. Hardline came to a hault. Jonathan was available.

And, The Storm had some success...but were dropped by the label due to Grundge. So, Gregg, Ross, and Kevin were available. To top it off, Neal was originally asked to join the Storm but declined due to being in Bad English - he is the one who recommended Josh Ramos. And, Herbie was involved in the management of The Storm. So, the ties were there and the timing was right.

This is where KC comes into the picture. I can't help but think, though, that Neal & Jon were never quite sold on this experiment. Secretly, they may be hoping that this is the final impetus to get SP to react. After all, they already had their apology from him in form of the song, Anyway. Jon said during TBF period, that when he was listening to that song, he was quite moved and knew they were going to get back together.

I simply disagree with this. IMO, money is what lured Perry to Journey, and Neal and Jonathan away from Chalfant, Rolie and Herbie. In fact, if you had read the interviews at the time, Perry just wanted to "get this Journey thing out of the way" so he could be solo again....according to the other players in his solo band. They were expecting Perry to return to being solo.

[Monker]

Here's my take on it....which is pretty close to Monker's version.

The box set in 1993 pretty much re-ignited the Journey spark in Schon/Cain. Of course, the problem was Perry, who wanted nothing to do with it whatsoever. By the time you go back far enough to get everything ready, you are probably talking '92 or so.

You've got The Storm's Eye of the Storm record, which was recorded about 1993, but the band was effectively kaput after the recording was finished. With Chalfant being "Herbie's preferred choice", and Chalfant performing for the Herbie Herbert roast and the stage was set with the six-man lineup. That means, for all intents and purposes, Journey was unofficially back in business around 1994.

I think there are a lot of things that motivated the reformation of Journey. The success of the the various compilations, may be one. Being in other bands that had success but didn't go into the long term (BE, The Storm, and Hardline). The inability to establish solo careers. And, constantly being interviewed and being asked, "So, what about Journey?" I think they were constantly prodded in that direction....and of course, Herbie.

When everybody was available, why not do a Journey album without Perry? The Storm itself came out of a failed attempt by Rolie to reform the band as "Journey Beyond". Everything was set up...including KC performing with the band for the Herbie roast.

Of course, the wrinkle in the plan is Perry coming back on the scene.

I don't think that mattered as much as people think. IMO, Herbie and Neal wanted to move on from Perry for years.

At this point, my guess is that two things happened....
1) Columbia was less than thrilled with the idea of a Perry-less Journey
2) BIG money was on the table for a reunion of the classic 5-piece Escape/Frontiers lineup.

What happened was Hell froze over for the Eagles and generated a HUGE amount of money for everybody. At that point, the next band to try to duplicate that success was Journey. I think that is what drove Sony to manipulate the band together by dangling carrots in front of everybody's nose.

It probably sounded like a good idea at the time for obvious reasons, and soon Chalfant/Rolie/Herbert were out the door, Perry was in, and Trial By Fire was the result.

That is true. But, if you look at the formula the Eagles used, they toured and released a live album. IMO, Perry changed that formula because he did not want to tour.

This was a band slammed together by the label to get a quick buck. When Perry rebelled, it threw a wrench into everything and it was no where close to the Eagles reunion.