JOURNEY keyboardist Jonathan Cain recently spoke with Tigman of the Albany, New York radio station Q103. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On summer tourmates DEF LEPPARD: Jonathan: "They're on their A-game right now. I saw a few shows from recent YouTube postings, and they sound great, look great. They wrote great songs. It's all about the great songs, and the [tour] is going to be a tribute to what a great song sounds like. Song is the king, and that's why we're still here." On the longevity of "Don't Stop Believin'": Jonathan: "It's humbling. There's a responsibility to representing our class in a good light. The kids look up to you. You become a role model. Anybody that has a dream, I'm proof that it's possible. Anything's possible — if you can dream it, you can do it. You dream about writing a song about that, and because we dreamed, we were blessed with that honor. It's no accident [that] when you reach for the stars, you're about to get something pretty good." On what it's like to tour with JOURNEY nowadays: Jonathan: "It's pretty much an honor to go out there. They set the stage — you've got 75 guys out there busting their hump for you. It's all laid out; all we have to do is show up. We have a great crew; we have great guys. They do all the grunt work, so it makes our job really easy. Now, the technology is so great — the PA's are better; the in-ear monitors are a blessing; the halls sound good; we stay at nice hotels; we have a plane. It's okay. You're away from home; you've got to pick up anchor; but we've done it so many times, we're good at putting the anchor down when we get somewhere. I think that's what I told Arnel [Pineda, vocals] when he joined the band — 'You've got to learn to pick up your anchor, and learn to drop it when it's time to drop it. Get grounded somewhere, even if it's a couple days.' The great way to tour these days is you hub, and you're able to hub in one city, so we get to sleep in the same bed for three, four days. Much better than rolling around in a bus. We're blessed." On whether he's currently "getting along" with JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon: Jonathan: "We just finished five days of rehearsal. I think we've completely reset with each other. I'm looking forward to a great tour with him and the rest of the guys. We've been together 38 years. There's always going to have a bump in the road. I don't know any marriage that hasn't had any squabbles. It was a misunderstanding, and I think we're ready to move on from all that." On whether he thinks Steve Perry will ever perform with the band again: Jonathan: "I don't know. You'd have to ask Steve on that. I really don't know. I was surprised he didn't show up at soundcheck at the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame. I thought for sure... I kept looking in the wings to see if he was going to surprise us, but he didn't — he declined. I respect him and his private life, and he's been so gracious in all the sync licenses. He stays involved in keeping the brand as excellent as it can be, so he's cooperating and helping our brand and business by approving and really looking at everything that comes down the pike, so I thank him for that. He's a classy guy. He showed it at the Hall Of Fame. He looked happy, healthy. I hope he continues to make music and sing, because that's what he was blessed to do." On whether he believes he'll ever perform with THE BABYS or BAD ENGLISH again: Jonathan: "You'd have to ask John [Waite]. I can't speak to that. He knows where I live, and I know THE BABYS have reformed, and they're taking it around the horn. It made me smile to see that. But we have our plate full with JOURNEY, really." On whether JOURNEY plans to record a new album: Jonathan: "We're going to start writing and looking at it, and seeing what inspiration, where it may lead us. I'm certainly open to it." JOURNEY kicks off an extensive co-headlining tour with DEF LEPPARD on May 21 in Hartford, Connecticut. Last year, Schon and Cain feuded publicly on social media after Jonathan, Pineda and JOURNEY bassist Ross Valory were photographed with President Donald Trump during a visit to the White House. Cain is married to Trump's spiritual advisor, Pastor Paula White, one of the religious leaders who participated in Trump's January 2017 inauguration.
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