With the passing of Eddie Van Halen, everyone in the music world leapt into action to tell their stories of close encounters of the VH kind. There's alot of boasting that goes along with being entertainers. Nobody wants to be left out. Especially if they can align themselves in the groove of someone who was described on CBS' Sunday Morning as "inarguably the greatest guitarist who ever lived'. But the story that I thought was best left untold, was former Journey crooner Steve Perry's brush with ..uhm...a flying guac!! In an interview in Rolling Stone, Perry fended off the legendary tale that he 'cried' over spilt guacamole, because it ruined his favorite jacket. How that guacamole came to be flying through the air when it intersected with the shaggy haired Steve is Van Halen legend circa 1978. They were all on tour together with Montrose. I'm thinking that Sammy Hagar had to be at the root of some of the mayhem, but the Rock n Roll History books say that Montrose 'disbanded' in '77. That said, Steve Perry thought he'd do a little walkabout back stage and meet the new guys on the scene from LA. Just as he opened the door to their green room, Diamond Dave returned food fight fire at Eddie with a tub of guacamole, Eddie ducked and Steve poked his nose in the room all at the same moment and SPLAT!!! VH's tour manager at the time wrote in his memoirs that he had to repair the damage done to Perry's wounded ego, and found him in the bathroom of the venue crying. A fact that Steve laughingly (was it nervous laughter?) disputes. No, no, no...there was NO crying. But he does cop to being pretty miffed because that tour jacket was fueling his newfound sense of amazingness as the lead singer of Journey, and those bad boys from downstate ruined it!!! He says he never 'gave them props' after that. I know I risk enraging the Journey Army by stifling my sense of disbelief at how the softness of Steve Perry didn't culminate in a full-on body wracking sob fest on that day backstage in 1978. I do, however, call attention to the picture of him at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies peeking timidly, Kilroy-was-here style, from behind the rest of the band for your visual reference. HE SO CRIED. Might be time to re-read the original account of the flying guacamole in Noel Monk's book "Running With The Devil". Great story. Quite well told.