When Journey frontman Steve Perry discovered that Eddie Van Halen had passed away, he got on the dog and bone with Rolling Stone to relay his most treasured touring memories.
Steve Perry delved into touring with the mighty Van Halen back in 1978, weaving a couple of tales from the tour and addressing the infamous guacamole story.
“I am convinced that Journey became something we would not have become had we not spent time with Van Halen in 1978,” Perry mused.
The hallowed guacamole incident took place in 1978. So it goes, Perry had decided to pay Van Halen’s dressing room a visit to express how impressive a live band they were. A display of sportsmanship that was foiled by a rogue tub of guacamole.
“But one night, I decided I had to go tell him, ‘I just love you guys,’” Perry reflected. “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.”
“The guacamole went on my left shoulder and my left arm,” he explained. “I looked down on it and I looked up at them and they sheepishly laughed like, ‘Oh shit.’ I just looked at them and I closed the door and left because I was pissed.”
Perry went on to detail that following the Pollockian avocado incident, he stormed off to the bathroom to attempt to rectify his soiled jacket. Though he is adamant that the mythos surrounding the evening that suggest he shed a few tears are untrue.
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“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 continued, “I wouldn’t cry over guacamole, It becomes folklore at some point. It becomes silly.”
Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6th at 65, following a lengthy battle with lung cancer.
