Steve Perry Returning to Studio for Surprising Collaboration?
It isn't the Journey reunion that so many fans are hoping for, but it looks like Steve Perry is going to appear on an upcoming album -- collaborating with electronic rock band AWOLNATION, best known for the 2011 Top 20 hit 'Sail.'
Frontman Aaron Bruno says Perry, who last recorded with Journey in 1996 and hasn't had a major release of any kind since serving as a guest vocalist with David Pack of Ambrosia in 2005, reached out to him with an inquiry about working together.
"We became friends," Bruno says. "It feels weird for me to talk about. I feel like I'm bragging about how this legend likes the music I've written. But he asked for my number."
Perry fronted Journey as it moved into pop super-stardom between 1977-98. But hip problems drove him off the road in the late '90s, and more recently Perry has battled cancer. He had two surgeries over the summer to remove a mole that was diagnosed as melanoma. Journey, meanwhile, been touring and recording with previously unknown singer Arnel Pineda since 2007.
Perry isn't the only special guest Bruno has secured for the forthcoming AWOLNATION album. "There are a couple of people I have up my sleeve," he adds. "There are a couple of massive surprises that could happen."