Alien Project (band)

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Alien Project was a short-lived California-based band formed in 1977, that featured a then-unknown Steve Perry on vocals.

1 History
2 Discography
3 Notes
4 References

[edit] History

Before he became the famous lead singer of Journey, vocalist Steve Perry sang for a number of small, unknown bands. While living in L.A. in the mid-70s, he formed a new band with Craig Krampf called Alien Project. With Krampf on drums, Steve DeLacey on guitar and Richard Michaels on bass the band produced a demo tape that lead to great interest from labels including Chrysalis Records and Columbia Records. On the verge of what seemed like their big break, the band's momentum came to a halt in July 1977 due to the unfortunate death of their bass player, Richard Michaels. The accident had a great impact on Perry who left the band and returned to his family in the San Joaquin Valley while he reconsidered his music career.

In the liner notes to his Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased CD, Perry recounts the short history of the band: "In the summer of '77, I was in a band that was on the verge of being signed but on the Fourth of July we lost our bass player in an automobile accident. Richard Michaels was from Detroit, Michigan and had a real East Coast feel in his playing and his singing. The band wanted to replace him but for me, it just wouldn't be the same. This demo drifted into the hands of Journey's manager by the persuasion of Michael Dilbeck, who at that time, was the vice president of Columbia Records West Coast. A short time later, Don Ellis, the head of A&R phoned me and was so sorry to hear of our loss. He mentioned the group Journey was making a musical change and asked if I would be interested in meeting with them. Shortly thereafter, because of this demo, I became the lead singer."

In a 1985 interview ^[1], Perry explained that the original name of the Alien Project band was in fact "Street Talk", a name he would later use for his first solo record. In the same interview, Perry explains why he dedicated his Street Talk solo album to Richard Michaels: "Richard Michaels was a bass player who was in a band with me in Los Angeles just before I joined Journey. It was a group called The Alien Project at that time. We wrote such great songs! Unfortunately, he got killed in a car accident on 4th of July and around the 8th or 9th of July we were going to get signed. And really, when you're starting out in this business, that's what you look for - to get a record deal, and it just shocked me. He was a good friend. This poor guy - his family was just distraught. I just thought I should do that for Richard because he worked so hard for so many years to be a bass player."

Drummer Craig Krampf would go on to write and record with Perry, including co-writing the tracks "Oh Sherrie", "I Believe", "Running Alone" and "Strung Out" from the Street Talk album.

[edit] Discography

According to interviews with Steve Perry, the Alien Project demo tape featured either four songs ^[2] or five songs ^[3], one of which was "If You Need Me, Call Me". Over the years, a number of demos also attributed to the Alien Project have surfaced so it is possible the band recorded more than four songs. The following songs have been attributed to the Alien Project sessions due to bootlegs in circulation:

"If You Need Me, Call Me" (4:23) (confirmed title) - Words and Music by Steve Perry, Craig Krampf, Richard Michaels Haddad, Steve DeLacey.
"My My My" (2:24) (confirmed title, also known as "Come On and Love Me") - Steve Perry, Craig Krampf, Richard Michaels Haddad, Steve DeLacey.
"Harmony" (3:58) (confirmed title, also known as "Special Kind of Love") - Steve Perry.
"Makes No Difference" (4:53) (confirmed title, also known as "Running For Love") - Steve Perry, Craig Krampf, Richard Michaels Haddad, Steve DeLacey.
"Close Your Eyes", also known as "Holding On"

The song "If You Need Me, Call Me" is also available in a longer, re-recorded version (length 5:49) on Perry's You Better Wait + 4 CD single, released in 1994.

The liner notes in the Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased CD indicate that the demo was recorded in the Cherokee Studios in Hollywood.

In an interview from 2000 ^[3], Perry was asked about the possibility of ever releasing the complete demo tape and he stated: "One of the songs from that tape is on my Greatest Hits CD + Five Unreleased. I have the masters for the other songs and it might end up coming out. The quality is really great on the masters. The material is old but it's still fun."

The newly remastered and expanded release of Perry's first album Street Talk issued on October 3, 2006 features three other Alien Project demos. In the liner notes Perry says: "The bonus tracks "My My My", "Harmony" and "Makes No Difference" were three tracks from a demo of the Alien Project which was a band I was in back in 1977. The fourth track from the demo, "If You Need Me Call Me" is on my Greatest Hits + Five CD but these other three tracks have never been released until now.". It remains somewhat unclear if there are additional demo tracks or not.