Steve Perry Live

Steve Perry Live, Eels leader Mark Oliver “E” Everett says he’s “trying to get used to my new role as Neal Schon” after former Journey frontman Steve Perry’s surprise performance with the group over Memorial Day Weekend.

Perry sang a pair of Journey hits — “Open Arms” and “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ ” — for the first time publicly in two decades along with Eels’ own “It’s a Motherfucker” on Sunday (May 25) during the group’s show at the Fitzgerald Theater in Minneapolis. According to Everett it was the culmination of a long friendship that’s part of “the secret inner life of the Eels” and dates back nearly a decade.

“We’re good friends with Steve Perry and have been for years,” Everett tells Billboard. “He started coming out to our shows a long time ago and would occasionally send word backstage that he wanted to meet me. And it was a little awkward for me because when I was younger I just didn’t have a real appreciation for Journey. I was like, ‘I don’t know what I’ll say to the guy.'”