Steve Perry on covering Journey's ‘Faithfully' with Willie Nelson: ‘You'd be silly not to drop in with him'
'I was raised in the San Joaquin Valley,' the band's former singer Steve Perry told The Times. 'My grandfather had two dairy farms. I remember getting ice cream made from that fresh cream at the top of that vat. I saw the commitment that farmers have to what they do.'
That might explain a bit of Perry's new single, a duet with country godfather Willie Nelson, where the pair revisits 'Faithfully,' one of Journey's finest, high-lonesome ballads with a weary tenderness that leans into their respective ages (92 for Nelson, 76 for Perry).
The single, out today, benefits Nelson's longtime go-to charity Farm Aid. But it's an unexpected return to the Journey canon for Perry, who left the group for good in 1998 and then disappeared from public life for two decades, give or take a prime 'Sopranos' sync.
The Times spoke to Perry, from his San Diego-area home, about his long history with Willie Nelson and country music, how Teddy Swims' 'Lose Control' almost wrecked him and if he'll ever have a tour or follow-up to 2018's comeback LP 'Traces' in the works.
This new version of 'Faithfully' with Willie was really moving. It takes on new gravity to hear this song from your perspective later in life. How has the the meaning of this song changed for you over the last 40 years?
I think that the lyrics are so sound that they're timeless. But I must tell you that Willie Nelson set a tone when he sang it. That launched me in his direction, of how to interpret those lyrics and sing with him. It sets the tone and the watermark. Willie is the Sinatra of country music. When you sing laid back like that, like Tony Bennett does, he just says it like he feels it, and he puts it where he feels it. It takes a minute to really fall into that relaxed emotional expression. It was a new experience for me to sing with such a legend like this guy.
You can hear the weight of everything that's happened in your life over the decades. There's a lot of personal loss behind lyrics like 'Wonderin' where I am lost without you / Being apart ain't easy on this love affair / I'm forever yours, faithfully.' Do you feel like the sound of your voice carries any different meaning now than it did 40 years ago?
I think that back then, the interpretation of what it should be was a different approach. It was a band sound. It was sort of an R&B rock ballad thing, and I think that that was the template to drop into it and drive it vocally. This one is completely the other way. Wherever Willie goes, it's so definitive that you would be silly not to drop in there with him.
This is your second country duet in recent years, after you sang with Dolly Parton on her 'Rockstar' album. Why is that such a fun format for you now?
At this point in my life, I'm really enjoying doing anything that feels just emotionally expressive to me. It's a new freedom for me. You know, Willie used to come to the shows in Texas when we were touring in the early '80s, that's where I first met him. When we were doing the song 'Faithfully,' I swear to you, back then, I always wanted to hear his voice on it. This is the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid, so it was the perfect time to just for us to be together, and it's a bucket list thing to sing with Willie Nelson.
You were raised in the San Joaquin Valley, I imagine that's a cause close to your heart.
Farm Aid is close to my heart, because I know how difficult it is to be a farmer. You've really got to love it.
You famously spent decades out of public life after leaving Journey. But at the behest of your late partner Kellie Nash, you eventually recorded a solo album 'Traces' in 2018, and put out some Christmas records more recently. Does being in public feel easier now than it did, say, a decade ago?
That's an interesting question. I think I really do enjoy the solitude and privacy that my life has right now. I enjoy my studio. I'm staring at my speakers right now, and it's an environment that is so creative and so fruitful with all these other ideas that I have coming that need to be finished. So, I don't know. I think I really enjoy committing to this creative new buzz that I'm falling into with new music, new writing, new recordings.
Whether it's two years or two decades, how do you know when it's the right time for you to reemerge?
I think the emotion just came back to me to write and sing. I wasn't quite sure it was going to, because I had worked so hard for so many years touring and writing, and that's when I left Journey. I didn't even know I needed a sabbatical. I just took one. Then music returned to my soul. Some of the early music of my youth started to become something that rescued me emotionally, like when I was young. It came back to me and rescued me again. My dad was a singer, and he used to sing around the house, and I got to sing with him on the Christmas record — I found a cassette of him singing, so we put that together. I think it's always just been part of my life.
Does writing or listening to music affect you in different ways now than it did as a child, or when you joined Journey?
Songwriting is the most important thing to me, whether it's the Beatles or Led Zeppelin or, more recently, I love this guy Leon Thomas. He's got a song called 'Answer Your Phone.' When I hear him sing, it just resonates with what feels right, because the songwriting he's doing. 'Answer the phone / I need to talk to you' — it's an honest emotion in the lyric.
I think that's always been something I've heard in country music too. Growing up in the San Joaquin Valley, with the Everly Brothers or Willie, there's just a certain believability to their performance and songwriting that I've always reached for, no matter where I was.
It does seem like there are some young guys like Teddy Swims or Benson Boone that are drawing from your vocal style. Do you feel like young singers today are rediscovering the pleasure and nuance in the way you perform?
I can't attribute it to anybody saying 'I think I like this guy, Steve Perry,' but I'll tell you what, when Teddy Swims is singing 'Lose Control,' when I first heard that, I had to pull the car over. The track is fantastic. His vocals are fantastic.
When he hits that [singing] 'Contro-o-o-l,' he sounds just like you.
Hey, that was nice, August. But yes, it's songwriting, songwriting, songwriting. There's certain newer artists like Leon Thomas and Leon Bridges that really are paying attention.
Any desire to get on the road with all this new material?
You know, I really don't have any plans for that at this moment. I'm really having so much fun recording, writing, mixing and mastering at this moment that I just don't want to break up the flow I'm in right now.
Your music has always had a unique place in film and drama history — the 'Sopranos' final shot, obviously, but also inspiring the play 'Rock of Ages' and your friendship with Patty Jenkins, who used your music in 'Monster.' Ever given any thought to how you might want to handle a Journey biopic?
I don't have any plans for it. It's hard to imagine what that might be.
You reconnected with your old bandmates at your Rock Hall induction in 2017. I know they've been through some recent personnel challenges, but what's your relationship with the band these days?
I mean, we're all good. We were great together. I think the material and our accomplishments stand the test of time, which proves that we were good together. I'm really proud of what we accomplished together, because we were kind of like soldiers in the trenches trying to do something together. We knew we could do what we believed in.
But I really love new music, and when I'm writing here in the studio, I try to remove myself so I can continually chase after these new ideas, and not be influenced by anything except these new ideas wherever they show up. That's the thing that has always been a goal, to come up with the definitive version of something you've never heard before, the true struggle to make it that believable.
There's also this timeless, yearning quality to your work in Journey. It's hard to imagine a world where those songs didn't already exist. I think that's why filmmakers are so attracted to them, or why 'Faithfully' can sound compelling today.
You just nailed it. The believability of something that never existed before, but you have a familiarity like it did exist. It's not an easy thing to do, but it's reaching and never giving up, reaching for that definitive version that makes you or everyone else feel like they've heard it before.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
38 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Why ‘Rez Dogs' creator Sterlin Harjo made a love letter to Tulsa and its contradictions
Sterlin Harjo perfected the 'art of the hang' with the co-creation of his first television series, 'Reservation Dogs.' The FX drama followed a group of Indigenous teens living on a fictional Oklahoma reservation, turning their everyday routine into high art — and is one of the best television shows of the 2020s. Now, Harjo, 45, is tackling another type of genre: crime. His forthcoming series 'The Lowdown,' premiering Sept. 23 with two episodes on FX, follows self-proclaimed 'truthstorian' Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) on a mission to unearth buried truths about Tulsa's problematic history while exposing present-day corruption. He's a disheveled figure who drives around town in a tattered van and lives above the rare bookstore that he also happens to own. But when his latest exposé for a local publication calls into question a prominent Tulsa family, his investigation takes him on a dangerous road from the city's seedy underbelly to its highest corridors of power. ''Rez Dogs' was my love letter to rural Oklahoma and where I grew up. 'The Lowdown' is my love letter to Tulsa, where I currently live,' says Harjo, who produces, writes and directs on the new series. 'You see the beauty and the darkness. You see everything.' The eight-episode drama, best described as Tulsa noir, also stars Oklahoma expats Tim Blake Nelson, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Tracy Letts as well as Keith David. Appearances by 'Rez Dog' alumni include Kaniehtiio Horn (a.k.a. the Deer Lady). Harjo, who is a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and is of Muscogee descent, spoke with The Times about his love for Oklahoma, the challenges of following a celebrated show like 'Reservation Dogs' and how 'The Lowdown' is loosely based on his own experience working with a guerrilla journalist. 'Rez Dogs' was such an exceptional series that garnered critical acclaim across all four seasons. With 'The Lowdown,' was it hard to not compete with that previous success? I didn't think about it. My experience in this industry has been people telling me that whatever the thing is that I want to make can't be made, and me thinking, I'm going to make it anyway, then forging ahead. Then it finds an audience, and people enjoy it. I had pitched 'Rez Dogs' a few different times, and it was always soft pitches because I was nervous of being laughed out of the room. No one was interested. But having the confidence of my friend ['Rez Dogs' co-creator and writer] Taika Waititi and FX … they were open to the way that we told the story. I think they were kind of blown away. So they made it. They never said no. But I've had many 'no's and many eye rolls. Hawke plays Lee Raybon in 'The Lowdown,' a figure who is obsessed with getting to the bottom of things, to the point where he neglects many other aspects of his life. What inspired the creation of that character? The story is fictional, but the character was inspired by someone I worked with named Lee Roy Chapman at This Land Press magazine. He was very much a soldier for truth and I would ride shotgun and make these videos about the underground, unknown histories of Tulsa. The series was called 'Tulsa Public Secrets.' We were this startup, full of piss and vinegar, trying to tell the truth and write about our community and make documentaries about our community. It was about a pent-up need for truth in this city. That push to tell the truth and find truth and tell our story and create a narrative around us. It gave us and the city an identity, something to hold on to. 'The Lowdown' unfolds at a really brisk pace, yet it also has the kick-back vibe of 'Rez Dogs.' There's the art of the hang, where the genre is people hanging out. Look at 'Rez Dogs' or 'Dazed and Confused.' There's an art to hanging and being with characters, and it feels OK to just sit there with them. I think 'The Lowdown' has a good balance of that, where you could just hang with [Raybon] on his block. But there's also this unfolding story so things never get boring. Did the making of 'The Lowdown' and 'Rez Dogs' overlap? No, but it was toward the end of 'Rez Dogs' that I dusted a script off that was like 10 years old. It was a feature [film], but I thought I would love to do a crime show, so I just made it into an hourlong pilot, and it became 'The Lowdown.' Ethan Hawke starred in the last season of 'Rez Dogs.' Is that how you two connected? I had a mutual friend who introduced us because Ethan had written a graphic novel about the Apache Wars and Geronimo. It was originally a script that he couldn't get made in Hollywood because it was told from the Native side of things. Out of frustration, he made it into a graphic novel. I read it and was interested in adapting it for a show. I met up with Ethan, and I pitched my idea of the adaptation and he loved it. We spoke the same language. So we started writing together and our friendship came out of that. And then 'Rez Dogs' came out, and he wrote me to say that he really loved it. He said, 'If you ever have anything for me …' Of course I'll write something [for him]! So he became Elora's dad. 'The Lowdown' was shot on location in Tulsa and you used much of the same crew from 'Rez Dogs.' But I also hear your own family was involved, as well as some 'Rez Dogs' alums. The crew and I know how to work together at this point. It's like a big family. And my [actual] family was there. My brother was doing locations. My kids came on set. We're shooting on some of my land. My dad was hired to brush-hog it. My mom's an extra. There's a couple of 'Rez Dogs' cameos. You'll see Willie Jack [Paulina Alexis] in the opening. Graham Greene's in it. But I don't know how much I'm supposed to say yet. I better not say … You started out as an indie filmmaker. Can you talk a little about that journey to series TV? I've always felt like an outsider. I'm a small-town Native kid from rural Oklahoma. I never felt like I had a foot in this industry. I was an independent filmmaker forever. I sometimes felt like everything was against me, like there's no money, and I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, so it felt like the industry at large didn't care about the work I was doing. Before 'Rez Dogs,' I never worked in TV and I never worked for anyone else doing films. I only had the education I got with the Sundance Directors Lab, which is the most freedom any filmmaker is ever going to have. Then I was lucky enough to make films that were so low-budget. It meant the stakes weren't high because no one saw them. So if they hated them, I wasn't destroyed. Your films and previous series were rooted in Indigenous viewpoints and experiences. Those cultures have been so misrepresented across all aspects of American entertainment. What gave you the confidence to keep pitching those stories? I attribute that to not having anything to lose. 'Rez Dogs' came at this time when I thought I was going to have to move on. I was at the end of my career road, where I was about to start a nonprofit or find the next chapter of what to do. I had been the freelance filmmaker for a long time and it just got hard to pay bills. With 'Rez Dogs,' it was like, I could try to play it safe right now or I could swing for the fences. I had seen opportunities come and go, but I have this shot and this one at-bat. I need to just go for it. Luckily, FX is a place that allowed me to do that. And I did it. Luckily, I'd been making independent films for years and figured out my voice, so it wasn't hard to ground 'Rez Dogs' in my voice. Were there outside influences that also helped you get there? 'Atlanta' and 'Louie.' Those cracked my mind open to what TV could be and allowed me in. Because to tell an Indigenous story about a community, I had to go to different places. If I was just focused on the kids [in 'Rez Dogs'], it would be one thing and that's it. I needed to expand. And so [it was] taking some of what 'Atlanta' did but having this relay, like passing the baton off to different segments of the [Indigenous] community. I was also inspired by 'The Wire.' And 'Rez Dogs' was a story that I always wanted to tell. Taika [who is of Maori descent] and I would end up talking about how similar they were from both of our homes, and if you could just kind of capture what it felt like to hear your aunts and uncles telling stories and lying and exaggerating and talking about mythology and superstitions. If you could capture all that, as Indigenous people, that's what we wanted and craved. The key to that was making it about this community, but it was a bit of a Trojan horse. It's about these teenagers that are dealing with life and that's a subject that everyone knows. So you start with that, and then expand out once you have people on your side. The motto you mentioned — 'Nothing to lose' — can you still use it now that you've had some success, and if so, why does it still work for you? I think it has to do with people close to me dying when I was young. It's a big community, a big family, and I was always at a funeral. I've been a pallbearer like 15 times or something. It gave me the sense that you can't be afraid to put stuff out there. I've always had a way of diving off a cliff. It's like, if everything fails after this, I'm OK with it. If everything dries up, that's cool. At least I gave it a shot. This is going to sound hippie-dippie, but I think the energy that it takes to dive off a cliff and just go for it is an act in itself that creates energy. Something good will come out of it. So as long as you're moving forward, something comes out of it.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Chris Pratt dragged into Katy Perry's $15M mansion showdown with U.S. veteran's family as trial kicks off
Chris Pratt was dragged into the legal feud reigniting in a Los Angeles court Thursday between Katy Perry and the Wescott family over the singer's $15 million mansion. In 2020, Carl Westcott – a U.S. Army veteran and the founder of 1-800-Flowers – filed a lawsuit against Perry's business manager, Bernie Gudvi (who represented the "Firework" singer in the July 2020 purchase of the Santa Barbara-area mansion), after attempting to rescind the deal he made to sell his 8.9-acre estate to Perry for $15 million. Westcott had reportedly purchased the home two months earlier for roughly $11 million. While Pratt has not been deposed or required to appear, his involvement could potentially bolster Perry's claim for funds owed after the sale, according to attorney Christopher C. Melcher. The trial, which began last year, was split into two parts, and Perry was ordered to testify in this month's damages phase. "Westcott's defense is that the home could not have had mold and other major issues because Perry rented the place to Chris Pratt," Melcher told Fox News Digital. "But repairs could have been made by Perry before renting the home to Pratt. "If so, the subsequent condition of the home when Pratt was a tenant is not relevant to what the home looked like when Perry got the keys," Melcher added. At the time of sale, Carl sought a rescission of contract after claiming he "lacked capacity" to sign the transaction due to a recent surgery and brain disorder. However, in November 2023, Judge Joseph Lipner ruled that Gudvi was entitled to the sale of the Montecito home purchased on Perry's behalf in 2020. On May 17, 2024, Perry took legal ownership after the deed was recorded. Per court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Pratt – who has been renting and residing in the Montecito home with his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, and their children – has been named as a witness by the Wescott family, who have requested that the judge question him on the "condition" of the home and any problems with the terms of his lease agreement with Perry. "Now, just before the Phase 2 Trial, there is new, never-before disclosed evidence that Perry has rented out the Westcott Property to the actor Chris Pratt and his wife (the daughter of Maria Shriver, who the Court will recall from Cristal Clarke's Phase 1 Trial testimony was bidding against Perry in 2020 to buy the Westcott Property, which is why Perry increased her original $13.5 offer to Westcott to the agreed-on $15 million price)," the court documents, which were filed on July 31, state. After a five-year feud, Perry will take the stand this month to testify in the six-day, non-jury trial. She is seeking up to $6 million in damages - including an additional $2 million for damages to the property – citing structural defects, deferred maintenance, and lost rental income. "The $2.29 million in estimated repairs was bogus and Perry was able to rent the Westcott Property as-is to Chris Pratt (for what some have rumored to be $150,000 in rent just for this summer)," the documents state. While Perry has been ordered to take the stand, the Westcott family is also pushing for the singer's ex, Orlando Bloom, to testify. Bloom, who split from Perry earlier this year, was served a subpoena and named in the joint witness list. According to the Daily Mail, the judge said that he only needed the testimony of the contractors and questioned how Bloom's testimony would benefit. "Why do we need Mr. Bloom to (give testimony), other than making this a celebrity circus?" the judge said during a previous hearing. It is unclear if Pratt will take the stand. According to The Sun, Westcott's attorney recently returned to court ahead of a "likely attempt to subpoena Pratt because he is a material witness," a source told the outlet. "For example, to establish when he started renting? He is living in a property that is wrapped up in a legal battle." The source said the Westcott family "want to know how much Pratt is renting the house for." "Perry has claimed millions of dollars in damages, and claimed that it's not liveable - it's clearly liveable because an A-list actor is renting it," the source added. Earlier this month, the "Parks and Recreation" alum and Schwarzenegger put their Pacific Palisades, CA, mansion back on the market with a significant price cut, according to Originally listed for $32 million in July 2023, it is now listed for $19.99 million. A representative for Pratt did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Tom's Guide
6 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
From leggings to polos — this activewear brand has a huge summer sale with deals from $11
When it comes to performance apparel, Vuori is one of those brands that doesn't disappoint. Whether you're looking for buttery smooth leggings or moisture-wicking shorts, San Diego-based Vuori makes excellent activewear for men and women. For a limited time, Vuori is discounting women's apparel from $11 and men's apparel from $14. The sale includes a generous mix of accessories, activewear, sweatshirts, and more. Below I've rounded up seven of the best deals I could find during Vuori's rare sale. For more apparel deals, make sure to check out our Labor Day sales guide and this week's massive REI clearance sale. Meet your new workout tee. The Long Sleeve Halo Crew is soft enough to double as your everyday t-shirt, but it's built for performance with a quick drying and moisture wicking fabric. The Vuori Boyfriend Short offers a baggy fit for all-day comfort. The mid-rise shorts feature an elastic waistband, Vuori's signature drawcord, and two side pockets. It comes complete with raw hems that give it a casual, lived-in look and feel. The Dune Shorty is built with a majority recycled performance stretch fabric that dries rapidly. The high-waisted, cheeky swim short is cut to flatter in the water or on the sand. The Vintage Ripstop Pants are durable, relaxed, and treated with a wash that makes them look like an old favorite. They feature a drawcord, zip pocket, patch pockets, and a welt pocket. We love these shorts' vintage-inspired design. Made with Vuori's DuraTerra 2-way stretch cotton, they can go from couch to weekend brunch in a flash. They also feature patch pockets and belt loops. This short sleeve button down is the perfect attire for the fall. It provides a clean, formal look, but it's very comfortable to wear and versatile. It's also made with anti-odor fabric to keep you fresh during those warmer fall days. This classic pullover can go from intense workout to weekend staple in a heartbeat. It's great for training, traveling, hiking, running and lounging.
