Speaking with AZ Central, Journey frontman Arnel Pineda discussed his entry into the band and how they have given him more confidence as a performer over the last decade, being embraced by Journey fans as the band's "new" vocalist, and meeting singer Steve Perry. Following is an excerpt from the story:

 To say he was thrilled to meet Perry last year at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony would be something of an understatement.

“Like I claim on my IG post, I waited 35 years for that,” Pineda says. “And of course, it was one of the most momentous days of my life. It’s like meeting the pope, you know? He’s one of my heroes when it comes to music – one of the few singers that I have adored all these years, along with Robert Plant and Ann Wilson.”

What did he and Perry talk about that day?

Pineda laughs.

“Oh, just some random things, you know,” he says. “We were just talking about the gig – How is it? How do I feel? And he joked to me saying ‘Are the boys treating you nice? If not, I’m gonna call them and straighten them out,’ you know?”

Pineda did not get inducted with his bandmates, but he did get up and join them at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, singing "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Lights."

As Pineda recalls, "For the record, I never really wanted to be there because I respect Mr. Steve Perry so much and I think that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, that’s for them, you know? It’s for the band and not for me. I was really adamant about not being there"

But Journey's manager John Baruck talked him into it.

"And then it was so gracious for Steve Perry that he doesn’t want to sing and said that it should be me that should be singing with the band," Pineda says. "I said, 'It’s not right. It should be them playing together and singing together. I was kind of shaky. I mean, how would you feel when your hero is watching you singing his legacy?"

Read the complete story here.