Steve Perry Fans -Steve Perry Goes Solo

Steve Perry is very proud of his solo project. He spent several months in the studio, writing material, finding the right musicians--just putting the whole project together. It was his chance to spread his wings, his opportunity to work with different players, to be inspired by forces outside Journey and he enjoyed every minute of it. The album release was postponed, but not because Steve was unhappy with the results. It was because he was enjoying it so much, he wanted it to go on forever. It was his baby and that baby needed the nourishment and love that only time could give. But being in the studio was far from a burden for Steve.
"I love studios. For a long time, when I was down and could not find work, I was a

second engineer at Crystal Studios in L.A. That was a long time ago, but it kept me alive for awhile. I found it was taking time away from what I was doing musically, though. I had hoped I would be around the area where I could jump onto something. However, the people coming into record were already together. You would have to be, to be able to record in the first place. I did get exposure to what was going on, thought. I thought that was better than nothing, but I was sort of spinning my wheels, so I got out of that."
Now it was his turn to put the project together from the beginning. First he had to choose a producer. He picked Bruce Botnick and enjoyed working with him, but finding a producer was not an easy task.

"I hardly have any respect for most producers. A band is capable of doing most of it themselves, if they are responsible. The reason the job 'producer' usually comes into play is that lots of groups are flakes, or else can't organize their time correctly in the studio. They can't organize themselves to the point of what should we do first? So a record label, as an insurance policy gets a producer who has a good track record. They pay him a nice percentage to bring a record in under, or at least on budget. That is all we are talking about, dollars and cents. So the guy sits there and says, 'That sounds good, sing a little harder, sing a little softer, we'll have to deal with that...' The producer is thinking, 'I've got to get this album done.' That is where a lot of them are at. So producers are

record companies' insurance policies that a record will be turned in on budget and on time and is literally organized. They feel most groups are not capable of organizing themselves. Plus, certain producers have this mystique of 'having their own sound.' And they do. Some producers get you in the studio and use recording techniques that will actually alter the sound you want."
In the studio Steve's vocals are crucial to him. "In the business I am in, there are so many singers, and a lot of them sound alike. A lot of them are offshoots of someone else. I have my influences. I really admire a lot of people such as Sam Cooke. His tonal qualities are incredible. It would take hours to name everybody. I thought Marion Reynolds and Diana Ross were great; Dee Dee Sharp and Aretha Franklin have incredible voices. On the other side, I was never really fond of Elvis' voice, though I like 'Hound Dog' and some of the semi-offbeat rhythms were great. 'Green Door' was a favorite of mine when I was small. Then the sixties came along and all the surf stuff and here comes that falsetto voice...The Beach Boys, Frankie Valli, Lou Christie. Intermingling with all these were the Motown artists. Then in the later sixties, the English groups influenced me. Jack Bruce of Cream was a creative and dynamic singer for what they were doing. So I would have to say everybody has influenced me in some way. I want to make some kind of musical statement, to the state of the art of a singer, of a voice. It takes time. When I get in the studio, I get pretty temperamental. I want it right, every little inflection, every syllable. If a line is delivered right in feel and structure, but the tonal quality is off, then I have to go back and catch all of it. Then there are people who have absolutely no voice, in my opinion, but have much more of a style. There are some people who do not really have much control, or much of anything except a definite identity. They open their mouths and you know it is them. That is worth more sometimes than anything else.
Before I knew what I wanted to do vocally, I used to strain my voice

a lot trying to get that rasp I thought was so cool. I started going, 'Wait a minute, this is wrong.' So I told myself, 'I am not going to do anything that is going to make me unable to sing. I am only going to sing things I can sing.' That narrowed me down to certain sounds which is what I am getting now.
It's difficult to sing in the morning. It is like waking up in the morning to answer the phone and you sound like a frog. I take it real easy until about 1:00 or so, and by then it is loosened up. I give it minimum effort when I know that later time period will give me what I want. If it is not there, I am not going to do anything else but wait for it to come. On the road, it gets into achieving consistency. So if that means not speaking for a day because I felt the night before I was getting a little ragged, or if we have worked six or seven nights in a row, then I do have to make up for it by not speaking and drinking

more water. I also do not smoke as the smoke is as hot as the flame and it goes right across your vocal cords. I really have to take care of my voice. A guitarist can be sick with the flu and go out and play. The singer can't go out an buy a new voice or strings. You have the voice you came with and that is all you are going to get. You have to keep what you have. That takes discipline and it is frustrating. I enjoy going out partying and drinking with the guys as much as anybody."
He concludes, "The main thing I want to do is make a statement to the state of the art. Words are where rock and roll is going. Rock and roll careers tend not to be too long and I do not want to subject myself to that. So I try to do things that will acquire a standard status. I want them to last, with a quality that will stand the test of time. That is why I spend so much time in the studio, to get it right, to know that it will stand up in the years to come."