Steve Perry Talks New Album, Fan Reaction to His Return to Music
Easily one of the best pieces of good news this week has to be the announcement of Traces, Steve Perry’s first new album in over two decades, and the unveiling of its first single, “No Erasin’.”
Perry talked with Beasley Media Group’s Terrie Carr from WDHA where he described the meaning behind the album title Traces and his path back to the music business:
“If you look at the cover, the cover represents kind of what the music is about. There’s traces of emotion, traces of my past, traces of iconic images which connect to my past on the cover, and those are all in the album, too. The album’s full of happy songs, sad songs, R&B songs, some real painful songs, and some real joyful things. But the main thing is it took awhile for my heart to really love music again and to feel safe doing that. I know that sounds crazy, but I was a little bit damaged from the experience of leaving [the music business] and not wanting to go back, and then I met [my girlfriend] Kellie. Kellie Nash was a wonderful gal, and when I met her, she already had stage four breast cancer, but we were inseparable…I watched her lose her battle with that, and so about two years or more was the grieving process for me, with some professional help even. And then, music returned, and I started writing. It just…the floodgates opened.”
Considering his long absence, fans are ecstatic about Perry’s return to music, and their welcoming feedback is something by which Perry is particularly moved:
“It’s been cathartic for me emotionally, to be honest with you. I know I had to leave, and it was not a popular decision. I knew it was not going to be a kind decision to the fans who had loved the music. I knew it was not going to be a decision anybody in the bad was going to like. So, I think I had to turn my back on it [the fan’s support] to actually be able to leave. I had to not look at the love the fans had for me to walk away, if you know what I’m saying, just I had to do that. Otherwise, I would not have been able to…I guess, yes, I did walk away [from the fans] and I did leave, but it looks like they never did. They…I…I know this sounds…I didn’t know [how much the fans cared.] I’m knowing now.”
Traces comes out October 5 and is currently available for pre-order at StevePerry.com.
To listen to this interview in its entirety, head over to WDHAFM.com.
Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.