On April 7, Journey were among the honorees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 32nd annual induction ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The event brought Journey—including longtime guitarist Neal Schon—together with their former singer, Steve Perry, who hasn't been a Journey man since 1998.
"There were so many emotions, and I was first to speak, so It was actually a bit surreal for me," Schon told Guitar Playerabout his induction speech.
"I choked up seeing everyone. I had seen Steve backstage, and I got a great feeling from him that our friendship, respect and love was still there. So when we walked up to be inducted, he came up to me and we exchanged a hug. Then I was trying to get my composure back, and I decided I couldn't read my speech—even though I did like what I had written."
As you can see in the bottom video, the guitarist found himself overwhelmed by emotion and wasn't able to deliver his speech. If you're interested in what he wrote, you can see the full text here.
Anyway, a few of Schon's famous guitar-playing friends—Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi, collectively known as Generation Axe—recently got together during their ongoing Asian tour to shoot a quick video. Their goal? To congratulate Schon and the rest of Journey on their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
You can watch their brief video message below (top video).
For more about Schon, visit schonmusic.com. For more about Generation Axe (and to see where they'll turn up next), visit generationaxe.com.
