Steve Perry Fans - Robert Klein Show

Robert Klein Interview

This is a live interview in front of a live audience taped in New York right after Gregg Rolie left Journey. Actor Tim Curry (Clue / The Rocky Horror Picture Show) is the other guest.

Robert Klein: My next guest has a wonderful time too. (Steve laughing) One of the most enthusiastic rock and roll stars and composers I've ever met. He really loves his work. And he's so good at it. We welcome Steve Perry of Journey.
Steve Perry: Hi!
RK: Welcome, welcome Steve.
SP: Nice to be here.
RK: I read some things about.. that you really love just performing - going on the road, it's your lifeblood, you said.
SP: Yeah, we go on the road for about 9 months of the year and it's a long time to be away from square one.
RK: Do you take the soap from the Holiday Inn?

(Everyone laughs)

SP: Naw, I don't take the soap.
RK: Well, I feel that it's not right anymore to take the towels.
SP: I take the towels though.
RK: I feel the towels are not fair but I think the soap and the bathing cap are mine. What do you think?
SP: No, I don't take the soap.
RK: Not the soap.. I don't like when the soap is too big. By the time the soap's gone..
Tim Curry: It's not in Holiday Inns anymore.
RK: No, it's not. Only small soaps.
TC: This is true.
RK: Maid gets cheap, cuts off a shaving "Here you are" like in war time.
RK: I'm sorry.
SP: I was just wondering something. The marvel of radio is one thing, but the people can't really see what you look like.
RK: Right.
SP: But people here in the audience can see what we look like, they all have been looking at these wonderful pink high heels you've been wearing.

(Laughter)

SP: And it's just something people should know.
RK: Well now...
SP: It's a nice thing, they look great. They match.
RK: I'm secure in my masculinity enough that when I saw a gorgeous pair of pink mules ..

(Steve laughing)

RK: And they were only $9.99... I couldn't resist.
SP: I don't blame you.

(Both laughing)

RK: You're wondering if I really have them and the answer is yes I do. That's how we've been getting the laughs.

(Everyone laughing)

RK: Actually, your shoes are pretty interesting themselves. Hold them up to the microphone.
SP: Can you see them?
RK: These were stolen from one of Santa's elves.

(Everyone laughs)

RK: They are, I'll describe them for you at home..Taiwanese booties made of maybe, a man-made fiber. They're a little..
SP: That's so!
RK: Practical too!
SP: And very warm!
RK: You live in San Francisco now?
SP: San Francisco area, yeah. Just moved there.
RK: You didn't even kind of have a base until recently..
SP: How do you find out about all this stuff? This guy's pretty slick.
RK: There's a woman in the back with a tremendous sign "He didn't have a base until recently"
SP: Ahhh.. I see. No, I was on the road for at least, almost 3 years and decided to get a place about 8 months ago. In San Francisco.
RK: Well, where would you actually stay when, where are you from? California?
SP: I was raised in Central San Joaquin Valley of California. Small town of Hanford. Near Bakersfield, everyone knows where Bakersfield is.
RK: Right. A lot of lettuce there?
SP: Ah, a lot of cotton.
RK: Cotton.
SP: Lot of cotton, alfalfa.
RK: Cotton, you think of "Down upon the ... "
SP: All kinds of cotton.
RK: Edible cotton? Use it for..
SP: No, it's the type that you wear usually, not..
RK: Cotton Candy.
SP: It's nice, it's nice, they save it for the fairs usually.
RK: Cotton candy is the most unsubstantial thing. It's why, sort of a metaphor for life. You, a child, take a bite of cotton candy and you go "Oh hey, its beautiful, where is it?"

Everyone laughs.

RK: You were literally on the road for 3 years?
SP: Yeah.
RK: And ah, you made an interesting point which I think is true that the road is a great place to create. I'm paraphrasing you, but the way you really concentrate, isolated, not in your regular circle of friends or home.
SP: Yeah, a lot of hotels, hanging out. You know, hiding out sometimes.
RK: Yeah, you also went through personnel changes. Tim Curry has always been Tim Curry. Tim Curry replaced Tim Curry.
TC: Yeah, an identity crisis.
RK: Yeah!
SP: Me, myself and I, right!
RK: You started off with some guys from Santana?
SP: Yes, Neal, Gregg Rolie were founding members, well Gregg Rolie was a founding member of Santana, then Neal Schon come into the group. And since then we have gone through two changes. Aynsley Dunbar left the group, uh, 2 years ago and recently Gregg announced that he wants to ah, stay at home, stay off the road, and get married. Which he just did.. raise a family, which I'm sure he's working on at this moment.

Everyone laughs

SP: Ah, he produced some groups and I believe will release a solo album in the future with Carlos, since they don't have to tour anymore.. more fun.
RK: Are the rest of you understanding of it, or do you want to kill him?
SP: No (laughs) no, it's totally ah, a real smooth thing. We had a tribute party to Gregg and even Aynsley showed up. We had a great time, and it's, it's really the best thing for everybody. Cause he's really happy and we're happy.
RK: So, what, who will you replace
SP: Ah, we're replacing him with a gentleman by the name of Jon Cain, who plays guitar, sings, plays keyboard who was in the Babys.
RK: Uh huh, and for a short stop draft choice to be named later. Interesting shift there.
SP: Yeah.
RK: But, normally it's top grade personnel because they're proven..
SP: Well, the Babys were on the road with us for quite sometime. On the 1980 tour which we recorded the double live Captured which is out now.
RK: Oh.

One person claps

RK: Yeah..
SP: She saw it, the one person here.
RK: The album is double live Captured, all live performances.
SP: Yeah, with the exception of one track - Party's Over, which is a studio track, so.
RK: How, how did it turn out. Were you satisfied?
SP: I'll be honest with you (couldn't understand) recorded 200 dates to make sure we wouldn't have to do any vocal over dubs, because most people have to do vocal over dubs. There's a few groups on the market now with live.. but if you listen to the albums you find out it sounds like the album you initially bought. I don't think there's no big difference. The reason that happens is they go back and fix the vocals, so we didn't do that. We captured exactly what it was, so we recorded a good quarter of 200 dates to really find the enthusiasm in the band, the enthusiasm of the crowd, everything. So it took..
RK: That's the way to go.
SP: Human things, right.

***Songs "Where Were You?" and "Just the Same Way" play ***

RK: We were talking that you think that's going to happen, as the band is doing very well. Ah, I would think it's fair to say you're more popular in the western half of the country.
SP: That's very true.
RK: But I think that's changing.
SP: The live album here in NY is like the new kid in town. But they are becoming quick to realize we exist. More aggression that the band has to it now.
RK: We want to make you welcome, we want to make you comfortable.
SP: Hey!
RK: Where's your hotel? Want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?

All laugh

RK: We'll show some more discourtesy to people from other lands and cities when we return after this word. Stay tuned.
RK: We're back for laughs this time I've put straws in my ears and blackened my tooth with a black crow chewie candy, remember those? On my right is Tim Curry Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror Picture Show, currently starring on Broadway in Amadeus as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Great actor. By the way, anytime you can possibly see this, it has a lot of relevance even for a rock musician.
SP: Hey?!
RK: Not a question (Steve laughs) even being a big Mozart fan.
SP: I'd like to come and see your show.
RK: You said "I'm nervous off stage and comfortable on stage." Is that true?
SP: Did I say that?
RK: That's what someone said.
SP: Hmmmm
RK: I think it was Circus or (couldn't understand)
SP: That's probably pretty true.
RK: That's very interesting, never heard that ...
SP: After the first tune, after the first chord has struck, it sort of calms down, but there's the anticipation, a little bit edgy.
RK: But, you don't seem nervous now.
SP: No, no..
RK: You're on stage.. in a very real sense we're on a little stage here, we're not in a recording studio but .. You really love to perform, don't you?
SP: I really love to perform, and my own songs. It's a wonderful business, Robert. Did you know that I used to work on a Turkey Ranch?
RK: You did?
SP: That's a true story.
RK: Let me ask you something, I want to know all about that, because I love turkeys. Tell me about it.

Everyone laughs

SP: You know about turkeys?
RK: Yes.
SP: They're disgusting.
RK: One goes gobble, gobble they all go gobble gobble.
SP: You know, you do know!
RK: Yeah, tell us, tell us..
SP: No, it's true, I used to work at my step-dad's when bands would break up and all that, I would go back and work with my step-dad. And one time he had a job repairing the turkey sheds, because it blew away in the area, because of the winds. Never the less, I used to hit the hammer on the turkey shed once and at the SAME time 80,000 birds would raise up and "gobble,gobble" like you said.

Everyone laughs

SP: And this was, it wasn't like just once and they'd get used to it, you know, and not do it anymore. All the guys beating on the hammer they wouldn't get used to it.EVERY time, everytime I did it, I mean this is, would be, an 8 hour day, they'd do it. (laughter) and I'm not kidding you, I went mad, almost went mad.
RK: I too, am an appreciator of turkeys as you are.
SP: (laughs) If one looks up in the rain..
RK: Yeah.
SP: They'll all look up, and they breathe through little things in their beak there, they'll drown.

Everyone laughs

RK: They're very dumb.
SP: It's true.
RK: But ah..
SP: There's mutant birds too, do you know that? 80,000 birds, there's got to be a couple of mutants.
RK: Oh we had a mutant bird last Thanksgiving.
SP: Yeah!
RK: One leg was out here, the other leg out..

Steve and audience laugh

RK: You're not kidding, this turkey was getting a pension check from the government.

Everyone laughs

RK: But I thought that, at first I thought "that's smart."
SP: What's that?
RK: Who the he** wants someone banging on their house - get out!
SP: Oh, I was trying to fix their house so the rain wouldn't come in so they wouldn't drown.
RK: Well, I think you're asking too much intellect, really, of them.

Laughter

RK: It's just a carpenter and his son...

Laughter

SP: It's true.
RK: Brain the size of a very small marble, they're lucky they can walk. Have you ever seen a live turkey, Tim?
TC: Ah, no, just one or two..

Everyone laughs

TC: I've been in several.
SP: I've been in a few myself!
RK: They are extraordinary animals, one does it and they all follow.
SP: It's true.
RK: gobble gobble I made a speech in front of them once.
SP: It's true, listen, they start; when you get 80,000 birds together and they all do it together (Steve starts to whisper here) you start hearing words.
RK: This was in Vermont.
SP: Yeah.
RK: It was a (couldn't understand) show on Lake Champlaign, it was a turkey ranch.
SP: yeah, yeah
RK: My friend used to have a cabin there and when I was just visiting there, I stood in front of, must have been, several thousand turkeys and I go "OK, turkeys"
SP: And they pay attention, right?
RK: They'd stand at attention, then one would go "gobble" then another would gobble and they'd all go "gobble".

Everyone laughs

SP: It's true, it really is true.
RK: Which has happened at a few concerts. (gobble noise)

All laugh

RK: What was the idea behind saying that his one we'll do live? Can you really capture it?
SP: Well, the idea of doing it was, was, because the group goes through a metamorphosis when it writes the tunes and records in the studio and then turns around and goes on the road, and another thing takes shape. You know, in all arts after you do it so many times, you get through boredom or whatever, you just start to expand on it. It either gets better or worse. In our case it probably got a lot better and more interesting. You know, and..
RK: I heard Anyway You Want It on each version.
SP: Oh, you heard both?
RK: And I, I, there is definitely, definitely,
RK and SP together: a difference!
RK: Of course, and a, but that's for sure huh?
SP: Yeah, it's like a, in so many ways they're both good, but they're both different.

*** Song "Anyway You Want It" plays ***

RK: Well, what do you like to do, when you think of the next album? Do you want to do something different, do you want to continue what you are already doing? That people like?
SP: No.
RK: Or do you just do what happens?
SP: Yeah, yeah we do that. We have to be happy as a unit. We have to keep changing. We don't, we don't step into something because that's the thing we should do or someone walks up and says "Boy, I think you guys should go here because it's the thing you need to do." But we, we're going to be ourselves, win, lose or draw, you see. And, um, maybe that's one of the reasons why we are, we haven't broken certain markets. Have broken other markets, because we won't pull into a certain vein when a certain vein pops.
RK: Right.
SP: So, we have to be ourselves as a group to stay as a group, so we can be happy. We keep writing our own tunes and uh, hoping everyone likes them as much as we do. Luckily most markets - that's where it is.
RK: That reminds me, you compose..
SP: Yeah..
RK: A good many
SP: Everybody does, write the tunes..
RK: Yeah, I think you're very modest, because I think, that, uh, you know, you're sort of, ah, your vocals are, people are well aware of them. You're a modest man and you feel you are really part of the ensemble.
SP: Yeah, yeah I am.
RK: Which you are.
SP: I'm in a group, I mean it's not like..
RK: Right.
SP: it's like most groups, at this point in time, the lead singer would say "Ok, Thank You, Bye!" and then do a solo album.
RK: Yeah.
SP: You know, but uh, no, I'm part of the group, I am in a group.
RK: Well, you emphasize that.
RK: We're going to come back in a moment to say goodnight to you. We have a parting thought and a special suprise - What the he** does that mean?

Everyone laughs

RK: We'll be back shortly, don't go away.

Everyone is clapping and yelling..

RK: Thank you very much... and.. thank you! My best regards to Journey and their new album. You can tell the care that's gone into it by what he said and I love it!
SP: Thank You!
RK: And Tim Curry on my right.
TC: Thank you!

They then recorded some promos for the show..

"Hi, this is Steve Perry of Journey and I'll be on the Robert Klein's.."
RK: You bet!
SP: Ok!

Everyone laughs

"Along with Tim Curry and live performances by Jimmy Mack on the Robert Klein radio show?"
RK: You bet!
SP: Ok!

Laughter