Journey’s Steve Perry sets the record straight on Van Halen food fight, says he “wouldn’t cry over guacamole”
Other reports indicated that he got rather upset about the dip landing on his jacket.
Image: Michael Ochs Archives / Fin Costello / Getty
Steve Perry, frontman of rock band Journey has reflected on touring with Van Halen, and in doing so set the record straight on the infamous ‘guacamole incident.’
Speaking to Rolling Stone, he admitted that he “didn’t spend a lot of time with Eddie on that tour” but still greatly admired the band and Eddie’s playing. Despite not hanging out together, his admiration for the band prompted Perry to decide “to go tell [Eddie Van Halen], ‘I just love you guys.’ I open the door and was about to say, ‘Hey, guys …’ Now, back in these days, guacamole came in a cottage-cheese–like container. The band was having a food fight.
“Just as I was opening the door, a container of guacamole bumped off the mirror to my left and splashed against my most prized possession, being a small-town kid from Fresno. It was my satin tour jacket that had ‘Journey’ on the back of it. Wearing that, I felt like I was finally somebody.
“I just looked at them and I closed the door and left because I was pissed. I went into the bathroom and I was just pissed. That was my prized jacket. I still loved them, but I couldn’t give them props anymore after that. I wiped my guacamole off my satin jacket.”
He clarified that, contrary to sensational reports from various outlets, he wasn’t found crying in the bathroom after the incident. “No. There was no crying! I wouldn’t cry over guacamole. It becomes folklore at some point. It becomes silly.”