A large portion of the Journey fanbase will never stop believin' in the idea of a reunion with Steve Perry. And although the odds of full-on return to the fold seem slim, guitarist Neal Schon has once again made it clear that he's open to the idea of working with Perry in some capacity.

Speaking with the Huffington Post, Schon opened up about the state of his relationship with Perry these days, revealing that the two have been in much closer contact than many might have suspected. "I had been collaborating with Steve on a friendly basis just through email," he said when asked if the band's former vocalist still fit in. "It seemed like we were on a friendly basis. But he wasn't ready to get together and he isn't ready to get together. He's said numerous times now that there's no reunion and that he's not interested in doing anything like that."

As always, Schon maintained that he's quite happy with the way Journey is now, but reiterated that he isn't opposed to future collaborations with Perry. "When Steve left, he wanted to do his solo thing and I think he remains there. We're fine, we're doing great the way we are," he continued. "I don't think you've seen the massive crowds that we've had, but we've continued the legacy amazingly well. The door has always been open. I've approached him to work on a couple of things with me that were not even Journey-oriented, but he wasn't interested in doing it. It's fine, man. I wish him well and he says that he wishes us well."

Expanding on the subject of working with artists outside the current Journey lineup, Schon was asked whether the band might ever consider re-recording its old hits with special guests, a la John Fogerty. "We're not really interested in that," Schon shrugged. "I think people resort to that when they really run out of steam and ideas. I've seen it happen. There are a lot of different artists that end up doing these records and it's whoever's album and it's everybody on the planet on the record except for that artist. Sure, I see it happen all the time, but I've never been interested in doing it solo-wise or in Journey."

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