Jonathan Cain thinks Steve Perry gets in the way of Journey’s potential stage musical or biopic.
The creator of CSI is interested in a musical or movie by Journey, but there’s one issue. Cain told Billboard in a new interview:
“We’ve been down that road. I worked with Anthony Zuiker. He’s a huge Journey fan and he had these songs in mind to create a play – and [Steve] Perry shot it down. He didn’t want to know about it.”
Even though Perry left Journey over 25 years ago, he still controls his songs. Cain and Neal Schon sold their rights to Hipgnosis in 2019 and 2020, so they need Perry’s permission to use his songs.
Cain also said CSI’s Zuiker is still interested. He came back with a new idea for a Journey-Cirque du Soleil project and mentioned working with Netflix and the same producers as the Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary.
Schon Also Targeted Perry
Earlier this month, Schon also made a similar comment to Cain while discussing a potential concert documentary from their Stadium Tour with Def Leppard. He wrote in a Facebook post:
“How many of you would like to see a new Pro Documentary on Journey from this Co-Headline Stadium Tour with Def Leppard? Neal Schon Journey – Mike Savoia pics.”
The guitarist added in a follow-up comment:
“We are just awaiting a little nod from Steve Perry’s camp…”
A fan asked if Perry would be to blame if it doesn’t happen. Schon answered:
“We’d love Steve to partake in it, but if he chooses not to, I don’t think it would be right to close the door on us. After all, we’ve already done one documentary when ARNEL first came into the band now 17 years later and we’re back in stadiums. Steve also receives royalties from us ongoing for life so why would you wanna stifle something that you actually gain from?”
Journey is currently touring stadiums with Def Leppard and Steve Miller. Cain talked about working on a new single, but there are no plans for a follow-up to the 2022 album ‘Freedom.’