Steve Perry walked away from the music business at the twilight of the 1990s, following the modest success of 1994's
For the Love of Strange Medicine and the underwhelming commercial performance of
Journey's 1996 album,
Trial by Fire.
Perry spent the next decade and a half out of the spotlight, quietly re-emerging with an appearance at a 2014
Eels concert in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Perry's affinity for
Mark Everett's eccentric indie pop outfit came as a surprise, as nothing in either band's music suggested a mutual connection, but as the former
Journey singer ramped up the publicity for 2018's
Traces, his first solo album in 24 years, his fondness for
Everett's songs became plain: the
Eels leader explores the depth of grief on many of his songs, and that's an emotion
Perry felt deeply at the dawn of the 2010s.
Perry revealed to Alex Pappademas in The New York Times that he fell in love with cancer patient Kellie Nash in 2011, staying with her until her death in 2012. Instead of sending
Perry into seclusion, his love of Nash revived his creativity, sending him on a path that concluded with the creation of
Traces.