While we don't know if Steve Perry was contemplating the history of self-destructive rock stars towards the end of his time in Journey, he was at least worried about the state of his health and mental well-being.
And that was enough for him to make the biggest decision of his life: quit his dream job as the lead singer of a world-renown rock band.
Perry suggested in a new interview with Q104.3 New York's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke that as his enjoyment of music began leaving him, he tried to make up for it with substance abuse.
"Back in the days, we used to sometimes party a little bit...that would fill your empty heart for a minute, and then when you came off of that, guess what? It's worse," he said.
Since returning from a more than 20-year hiatus and announcing a new album, Traces (due out October 5), Perry has been open about how he lost and then rekindled his love of music.
"I'm not complaining [about Journey]," he clarified. "It was a dream come true for me. I loved every bit of it. In fact, that was the hardest part was it was a dream come true. How do you walk away from something like that? Well, the only reason I did it was because my passion for it, my actual connection to it started to become invisible...I thought, 'What am I? Just a parody of myself?'"
Perry says he dreaded telling his bandmates that he was leaving, and it hurt him to upset the fans, who still support him to this day.
But the singer is happy to be back. He says he'll get back on stage in support of the new album as soon as the details are worked out.
Watch the full interview above.
Photo: Getty Images