JOURNEY Guitarist: STEVE PERRY Is Always Welcome Walk On Stage And Sing With Us

Although current JOURNEY lead vocalist Arnel Pineda is a dead ringer vocally for former frontman Steve Perry, many of the band's fans long for a reunion between Perry and core members Neal Schon, Ross Valory, and Jonathan Cain.

In a recent interview with Artisan News, Schon was asked if JOURNEY would be open to the idea of Perry sharing the stage with Pineda for a few songs at an upcoming concert. "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," Schon replied. "Honestly! He's not just saying that and then like, walking in the other room and [saying something different]. I've always let the door open. I made it a point, the last time I saw and even spoke to Perry, [which was] when we received [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."

When Jonathan Cain was asked if JOURNEY ever thought to asking Perry to rejoin the band, rather than finding the perfect sound-alike vocalist, the keyboard player replied, "No, because he really sealed the deal back in '98 and said, 'Don't expect anything from me, y'know, we're done. You and I are done,'" he said. "So I know that he keeps his word and I would not make that call because I know that he's quite happy with the life he has. And it's pretty rigorous out here. What we do is very rigorous, and he doesn't need it. Why does he need it, you know? His legacy is already there."

Cain told The Pulse of Radio that the band feels totally secure with Pineda, following the loss of Perry's original replacements Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto. "I think we really looked long and hard at what we had accomplished and we didn't wanna slide backwards at all," he said. "Since '98, trying to recreate the brand and give the people the kind of shows that we'd hoped for. And when you lose a guy like Steve (Augeri),who was a tremendous team player, and y'know, Jeff Scott steps up and kinda helps us out there. But, y'know, his sound wasn't for us and then later on, I think his personality wasn't for us."