|
Jan 16th, 99
Steve Perry - Off The Record with Joe Benson
( This is a message that I received from Joe Benson. Thanks Joe! )
He and I sat down just before Christmas, his first serious car trip after
surgery. To my knowledge, this is the only interview he's done in years.
We've known each other (on one level or another) for many years and the
conversation got pretty deep.
We started with his experiences before
joining Journey, and went through each album and most of the songs (he
understood how my "Uncle Joe's Record Guides" are put together, and that's
exactly how we treated the material). While I don't know if any of his
singing will get into this program (I don't control the final editing and
he & I did enough material for at least two, probably three shows), to
demonstrate how the melodies, etc. came about, he often sang various parts,
and I must say his voice is still incredible!
We also delved into the
lyrical inspirations and genesis for many songs (some of which are
obviously still personally painful or joyful), and the creative process
between he and the other guys. He clearly recalls the genesis of every song
(we had great fun with some of them), and passed along several observations
and reflections (and came to a couple new ones in our conversation) on all
the positive and negative aspects of the band's tenure. (I sound like I'm
writing a long-winded promo, don't I?) At no time did he say anything bad
about the other guys, and, in fact, the current split appeared to me to be
a far more hurtful subject than his obviously painful hip replacement.
The
conversation was a wonderful experience, insightful not only about the
music but also about living life and realizing your role/place in others'
lives. Over the past 30 years, I've spoken with almost every major rock
artist, and this was one of the most profound experiences I've encountered.
I hope it comes through in the 1/31 show. Also, since that day, I've been
constantly quoting one of his paraphrased Portugese sayings: life is much
wider than it is long.
Hope you enjoy the show (and you picked up his "Greatest Hits plus Five"
collection)!
Rock on! jb |