Steve Perry has been called a lot of things throughout his historical career with Journey, but being branded as the “Howard Hughes of rock and roll” really gave him a good chuckle.

Steve Spears of the ‘St. Petersburg Times’ had an energetic conversation with the former Journey lead singer in which he took Perry to task in a good natured way for his extended absence from music and made the Howard Hughes comparison. Laughing, Perry said “I’ve been called a lot of things, but that’s a first.”

Journey had a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in the business during the ‘80s, but it wasn’t until they released ‘Escape’ that they were actually able to afford rooms “in a nice hotel.” Prior to that, Perry remembers that it was a lot of hard work mixed with the hope that it would all eventually pay off.

“We never stopped. A day off wasn’t a day off; it was a travel day. That’s how you did it back then. It was like running for public office,” Perry says. “We’d live on the bus and get a day room so that everyone could take a shower. And there wasn’t enough towels to go around, so we’d have to use damp towels.”

Working on the recent vinyl releases for Journey’s ‘Greatest Hits Vol. 2’ and their original ‘Greatest Hits,’ Perry allows that there will probably always be tension between him and Journey guitarist Neal Schon, but there will also be an eternal connection:

“Neal and I have had our problems over the years. We probably don’t like each other very much, because we had a lot of time together. But I know we love each other. When I listen to those tracks, I get all messed up about it. We don’t have to work together. It’s in the tracks. It’s in the grooves. There was something magical about that band.”

After years of musical inactivity, Perry is taking steps to record music once again and recently began working on material for a possible new solo record.

More From 96.1 The Eagle