Journey's iconic former singer, Steve Perry, recently guested on 92 KQRS to discuss his time away from the music world and his return to the spotlight with a new album, Traces. Check out the interview below.

Perry on leaving Journey and the music business:

"I was so fortunate to be in the band, Journey. It was a time of my life that I would not… I would do it again in a minute; I really would. If I could go back and do that all again, I'd do it again. But things move on, and we were at a point, I think, and I certainly will speak for myself, I was at a point where I was just burned out. And my love for music, which had saved my life, had left me, and I was very frightened about that. I knew in my heart, intuitively, that I needed to just do one thing, and it's not gonna be a popular thing: 'I just need to stop.' And so I did. I just stopped, and everybody went, 'What's going on?' 'I need to stop.' And so I did." I just landed in my life and tried forever to make that just be enough. 

That was tough, because every night you get people loving you, you get adoration, you get so much love from people when you're performing and they love your music. Walking away from that is insane, my mind said. But I knew if I started using external assistance to keep going, I'm gonna end up being another one of those statistics that we know exist with people who are successful in this business, or any business. So I had to just stop and let where I am hitting the ground be enough."

Following the release of his first new music in nearly a quarter of a century, Perry offers another glimpse into his highly-anticipated album Traces sharing the brand-new single “No More Cryin’”. Co-written by Perry and Dan Wilson (Semisonic, Adele), the track is a soulful reflection on isolation and love. Watch the performance video for “No More Cryin’” below.

Traces will be released globally on Friday, October 5th via Fantasy Records (Concord Records/UMG) and is available now for pre-order on CD, digital download and 180-gram vinyl here. Signed and exclusive bundles can be found here. Both “No Erasin’” and “No More Cryin’” can be downloaded instantly upon pre-order.

Perry states, “'No More Cryin’' is a love song, but not in the way you would think. It starts in one place, and builds and lands somewhere entirely different. It’s got many overtones, and can be applied to so many different kinds of relationships, including my own relationship with past isolation.”

Perry’s recent return to music was celebrated by both fans and the media alike. Within 24 hours of announcing Traces, the album soared to #1 on Amazon’s overall best seller list and “No Erasin’” topped iTunes as the #1 rock track. “No Erasin’” debuted at #1 at Classic Rock radio and was the #2 most added track at Mainstream AC radio. The studio performance video for the track (see below) has now amassed over 2 million views.

Traces was produced by Perry alongside co-producer Thom Flowers, and features 10 tracks that balance Perry’s personal story of love and loss with hope and beauty (see full track listing below).

Tracklisting:

"No Erasin’"
"We’re Still Here"
"Most Of All"
"No More Cryin’"
"In The Rain"
"Sun Shines Gray"
"You Belong To Me"
"Easy To Love"
"I Need You"
"We Fly"

"No More Cryin’" video:

"No Erasin’" video: