Aero Force One

The Michigan Lottery will be launching their Aerosmith scratch game on February 15th…. The Aerosmith scratch game in Oregon will be launching on March 2nd….

More info:  (here).

Aero Force One
February 7, 2010

Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford are hitting up the North East this February. Check out the below schedule to find out where you can see them perform!

    

2/19/10 Rochester Opera House Rochester, NH	James  Montgomery Band with special guest  Joey Kramer from Aerosmith!!.  This Show Is Very Hot – Joey always Kicks A**.  Opening the shiow is Ernie and the Automatics featuring 2 former members of the group Boston!!!
2/27/10 Colonial Theatre Keene, NH	Guitar Legends Of Rock And Blues Joined By Blues Brother Jim Belushi!! Guitarists, Brad Whitford Barry Goodreau (former member of the group  Boston), Johnny A, And George McCann join the James Montgomery Band Featuring Seth Pappas And David Hull (from The Joe Perry Project And The Uptown Horns (Rolling Stones, James Brown) – And They Are Joined By Blues Brother Jim Belushi!!  This Show Is Huge.  The Last Time We Played Here We Sold Out In Advance So Buy Now!!  Big Big Show!!  Ernie And The Automatics  (with 2 former members of the group  Boston) will open. Buy Early!!
2/28/10 House Of Blues Boston, MA	The Kramer / Montgomery Blues Band presents Guitar Legends Of Rock And Blues With Brad Whitford, Barry Goodreau (former member of the group Boston), Johnny A, George McCann, And The James Montgomery Band With David Hull (from The Joe Perry Project) And Seth Pappas, And They Are Joined By The Uptown Horns (from the Rolling Stones And James Brown) And Blues Brother Jim Belushi!!  It does not get Bigger Than This!.  Much of the proceeds will benefit 2 great charities and Ernie And The Automatics  (with 2 former members of the group Boston) Will Open at 7 P.M. Sharp.  This Will Be The Biggest Blues Guitar Event Of The Year At The House Of Blues!!!  Buy Early – Tickets Are Cheap!!  We just want to raise $$ for 2 good causes!

MSNBC.com
February 5, 2010

The Who take the field when the teams catch a breather on Sunday; see past MVPs on the NFL’s big stage:

Aerosmith (2001)

The height of the pop boom saw old school (Aerosmith, Mary J. Blige, Tremors featuring the Earthquake Horns) meet new (’N Sync, Britney Spears, Nelly). A back-and-forth medley between Aerosmith and ‘N Sync — including ”Jaded,” ”I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,” ”Bye Bye Bye,” and ”It’s Gonna Be Me” — was outshone only by a finale performance of Aerosmith’s ”Walk This Way,” which featured all the singers.

Complete article:  (here).

CheapTrick.com
February 5, 2010

(2/4/10 – Photo By John Bionelli)

“After the CT show in Toronto, Robin and Rick stopped by to visit with Joe Perry backstage at the Joe Perry Project/Motley Crue show.”

Boston Herald, MA
By Inside Track
February 4, 2009

That Aerosmith frontman (for now) Steven Tyler is back home on the South Shore after completing a stint in rehab on the Left Coast for a pain killer addiction. Tyler, whose attorney has called for the entire band to meet Tuesday to discuss Aerosmith’s future, was spotted last night supping at the Ming Dynasty in Marshfield….

Complete article:  (here).

MelodicRockConcerts.com
February 1, 2010

January 29, 2010 – After nearly 30 years of playing to sold-out crowds, Mötley Crüe knows a thing or two about what its audience wants to see and hear in a show. And between the ample pyrotechnics, stunning screams and rebellious lyrics, the band delivered it all to the 10,000 fans who packed into the MTS Centre in Winnipeg to witness a stop of the band’s Dead of Winter tour. With support from the Joe Perry Project and Airbourne, the bill was a rocker’s paradise…..

The Joe Perry Project was up next, and expectations were understandably high for the Aerosmith guitarist’s side project. Starting off with a rousing version of “Let the Music Do the Talking”, Joe Perry’s signature playing style – reserved yet indulgent – became evident. Joined on stage by German singer Hagen Grohe, drummer Marty Richards, and long-time collaborator David Hull, Perry led his band through a mix of established Aerosmith hits, new solo material, and deep cuts from the past.

One such deep cut, “Rockin’ Train” was drawn out several minutes with added soloing from Perry and Hull. Followed up by a downright bluesy “Train Kept a Rollin’”, the musicianship on display was top notch. But what else but perfection should a fan expect from a true guitar hero like Joe Perry? The audience sang loudly for a finale of “Walk This Way”; simultaneously capping off an excellent set and building excitement for the evening’s big act…..

Complete article:  (here).

More photos:  (here).

Aero Force One
February 1, 2010

Here’s another one from the early days. For the Walk This Way Book it was broken up and intermingled with other people’s memories of this story. Thought you might like to see it the way I originally wrote it.

It must have been the winter of ’71-’72. It seems most of my most profound early memories of the band happened during the winter.

One day Brad and I decided to go down to Wurlitzer’s, Boston’s main music store, and do some errands. I was always ready to go there. Since I was about 12 or 13 the place was like Disneyland to me. There were always new guitars, amps, accessories and tons of other stuff to check out. Not only that, but a lot of times when I didn’t have any money, there was a great guy there named Billy Murray who would throw me free strings and stuff.

We hadn’t had a gig in at least a month and things were getting tight. Not only that, but we had no place to rehearse. Rent was due on the apartment and the phone refused to ring.

We were hanging around the counter when a friend of ours walked up. His name was Scott Baerenwald and he played for a band called Reddy Teddy, one of the local contenders. He asked us what was up and we told him that we didn’t have a place to work. He told us that his brother was the assistant manager at a place called the Fenway Theater, which was basically right down the street. It sounded far fetched, but Brad and I decided to call the other guys and head over there.

“Just ask for Swine” he said.

“Swine?” I wanted to make sure I had that right. No sense in calling somebody a pig because you didn’t hear their name right.

We all converged at the Fenway a little while later. It’s just a small place, about 1500 seats but it had a big stage and a balcony and everything told us it was the kind of place we wanted to play in.

We wandered in the front door and somehow found our way into a little wood paneled office and face to face with two of the toughest looking people I had ever seen.

Steve Baerenwald, A.K.A. “Swine,” stood about 6’5.” His long red hair was tied straight back. His narrow piercing eyes were only the beginning of a vibe that said he’d seen his share of mud and blood. He was decked out in the classic post hippie denims that all the bikers wore. He introduced us to his boss, John O’Toole. John had the look of a longshoreman. The no-shit face behind his big, bushy mustache gave him a nasty look that made Swine seem like the ice cream man. He had short hair and wore straighter clothes than his partner and he just looked plain mean.

“So I hear you’re looking for a place to practice.”

“Yeah.”

“Well it’s fifty a day plus fifty for the engineer to run the sound system.”

We just stood there watching another opportunity blow away like a fart in the breeze. He may as well as asked us each to cut off a left nut and throw it on the desk. Actually, that would have been easier because at least we each had one of those. He didn’t have to wait for a reply. Our sad stunned faces had “No deal” written all over them.

After letting the value of the favor he was about to do us sink in, he said: “Well I’ll tell you what. I don’t have anybody in here this weekend. You can set up for the next three days and if I like you maybe we can work something out.”

Bam! Just like that we had our first taste of the warm, flip side of John’s personality. He was putting us back into business and right from that moment a second stage booster kicked in. In the space of two hours we went from having no prospects to playing in the kind of place we had dreamed about. It was only rehearsing but so what. The stage even had a lighting system!

After thanking both of them we left to get the gear. As we walked out we noticed this ratty lookin’ little guy sitting in the corner.

“Oh that’s just Prew” said John.

“Who?”

“Prew.”

“Prew?”

“Yeah, Prew!!”

Prew smiled, his single front tooth catching the light. I was never quite sure what Prew’s job was and didn’t really want to know. I don’t remember him saying anything as we filed out.

The Fenway was on a tight budget to say the least. As far as we could see, nothing was happening there outside of John, Swine and Prew hanging out in their den. There wasn’t even any heat. We set the gear up on the stage but had to keep the big curtain closed to keep in what warmth there was. I seem to remember it being about 50 degrees in there. The only heat came from the amps and a lot of jumping around.

Every day before we left 1325 we’d pile on the layers. Then we’d all pile into Steven’s black Volkswagen, two in the front, and three in the back with guitar cases on our laps.

“Man, there’s too many of us for this little thing. We’re gonna blow the fuckin’ engine. Can’t you guys take the train?”

Somehow we all wound up cramming into that little car. I remember trying the train once or twice but after waiting at the trolley stop in the freezing wind chill of the Boston winter while watching the car disappear down Comm Ave, I decided it was worth whatever it took to get in that back seat.

We were getting a really good set of original material together and the rehearsals at the Fenway Theater allowed us to polish it to the point where we were ready to play it for whoever would listen. We’d get there early and go all day. Every once and a while Steven or somebody would disappear and then come back wide-eyed talking about John taking out his big buck knife and shoveling premium blow up their nose. It wasn’t long before we were all sneaking up there.

“You guys are pretty f@#kin’ good,” he said one day. “Listen. Cactus is playin’ here this weekend. Why don’t you come, I’ll give ya free tickets.”

I don’t quite remember what stage of their career Cactus was in but nonetheless, they were a big band and the tickets were free so we decided to go. We packed all the gear down under the stage, ready to share our new found turf with one of the name acts of the day.

The night of the show came and snow was predicted. I remember it was really coming down when we got to the theater that night. I brought some pot and a couple of hits of speed. We marched up to the balcony and took possession of the first row. I leaned back, put my feet up on the rail and fired up the first joint. We hung out for a while and then started to notice that time was going by and nothing was happening. Not only that, but there were only about 60 or 70 people there. I was just getting off on the speed when Prew ran up and said: “Hey you guys, John wants to see you in his office right now!!”

We jumped up and ran down to see what was happening.

“Bad news, the f@#kin’ band can’t get here cause of the weather so they canceled. You guys are going to have to play.”

Their bad news was our good news. We told John we were ready to do it. He whipped out his big buck knife and we knew what was coming next. One by one he told us to lay down on the couch with our heads hanging over the edge as he packed all 10 gaping nostrils with a gigantic hit of cocaine from his private stash.

We were more than ready, now, to hump the gear up the tiny staircase to the stage. Before long we were ready to play. The lights went up, the curtain opened and we were off. We laid into “Movin’ Out,” Mama Kin,” “One Way Street,” and everything else we knew, original or not. There may have only been 60 or 70 people there but they were rockin’. They loved everything we played and showed no sign that they were disappointed that the band they had bought tickets for didn’t show up. I remember how it felt to feed on all that positive energy and how it helped us to sense it and squeeze every bit of energy out of our music. It was a whole new experience but it felt like we had done it many times before.

John was knocked out.

“I wish Frank could have heard “that” he bellowed.

“Who?”

“Ya know, Frank Connelly, the guy I told you about.”

He had mentioned Frank Connelly before, each time with a look of admiration.

“Who is he anyway?” Somebody asked.

“Who is HE!!?? Are you shittin’ me? He’s the guy who put the f@#kin’ Beatles on at Boston Garden! He owns the friggin’ Carousel Theater!” The Carousel was a place just outside of town where all the bands played when they came through: Hendrix, Zeppelin, etc.

After that night it was obvious to everybody that John was going to try to get Frank to come hear us. “He’s never managed anybody before. If he manages you…”

One day we were on the stage rehearsing, hacking away at the arrangements when suddenly the curtain opened and the stage lights came on. John appeared in the aisle downstage and told us to play some of our songs. We had an idea of what was happening but, because of the lights, couldn’t see who was out there in the seats. We played for about half an hour, just enough time to go through some of our best stuff, and then stopped with nothing coming back but eerie silence. We put the mics, guitars and sticks down and made our way up to John’s den. He sat there at his desk with nothing on it but some papers. He told us to read them. They were management contracts! Our mouths fell open as we read the last pages (it guaranteed each of us some tremendously large amounts of income for the first couple of years). It said that if we didn’t make some horrendously large amounts of money in the first couple of years we were free and clear. Somehow we knew we’d be able to pay the rent from now on. And no more stealing meat at Star Market.

Out came the Buck knife.

-TH

BruinsRaffles.org

The Boston Bruins Foundation, in collaboration with Dirico Motorcycles, presents a truly one-of-a-kind Boston Bruins themed motorcycle. 

Dirico Motorcycles is the merged talents of music innovator Steven Tyler and master inventor Mark Dirico.  They have joined creative forces to build this custom Dirico motorcycle which embodies the celebrated history of the Boston Bruins.  The motorcycle will feature custom Bruins themed paintwork, authentic signatures from Steven Tyler, and the signatures of the following sixteen prominent current and former Bruins players:

Zdeno Chara	Cam Neely
Johnny Bucyk	Ray Bourque
Milt Schmidt	Terry O'Reilly
Gerry Cheevers	Phil Esposito
Rick Middleton	Brad Park
Tim Thomas	Patrice Bergeron
Marc Savard	Milan Lucic
Derek Sanderson	Ken Hodge

These attributes make this bike a priceless collectible which any lucky participating Bruins fan has the opportunity to win and call their own.  The motorcycle will be raffled of during the course of the season, beginning on January 2, 2010 and ending on April 11, 2010 at midnight.  Proceeds generated by the raffle will support the Boston Bruins Foundation.

The estimated value of this prize is $33,000.00.  All federal, state and local income taxes and fees, including motor vehicle registration fees, are the sole responsibility of the winner.  Pickup and transportation arrangements will need to be made with the Boston Bruins Foundation.

Raffle Info

Entry Deadline/Time
4/12/2010 12:00:00 AM

Drawing Date/Time
5/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

Price per Ticket
$5.00

More info:  (here).

Billboard.com
by Gary Graff, Detroit
January 31, 2010

Amidst continuing reports of other singers being approached to front Aerosmith, Steven Tyler and his handlers are taking steps to reassert his position in the band.

Tyler’s Los Angeles-based attorney, Skip Miller, fired off a letter to Aerosmith manager Howard Kaufman last week, independently obtained by Billboard.com, requesting that Aerosmith’s management “immediately cease and desist from engaging in acts and conduct to the harm and detriment of your own client, Aerosmith, and our client who is one of its members.” Miller subsequently told Billboard.com that on behalf of Tyler he’s called a meeting of Aerosmith’s “shareholders” on Feb. 9 to discuss the band’s future, including recording a new album and touring this year of Europe and South America. The four-page letter also states that “we reserve all of our legal rights and remedies in this matter, including, without limitation, pursuing legal action for damages and other appropriate relief.”

“Steven Tyler does not want lawsuits,” said Miller. “We do not want to go in that direction. The direction we want is Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler, touring in Europe, touring Latin America, releasing a new album…This is the direction it’s all intended to go. It’s just amazing to me current management would be taking any other position.”

Aerosmith’s management declined comment. Miller says he has not yet received a response from Kaufman or any of Aerosmith’s other representatives. As for what the next step will be if Aerosmith continues with its search for a new singer, Miller said “we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. I hope we don’t. I don’t think we will.”

Tyler is currently undergoing therapy for a painkiller addiction brought on by orthopedic problems. The location of his treatment is unknown, but recent public appearances — singing karaoke at a bar in Palm Springs, Calif., and signing autographs and singing over the public address system at a Home Depot — led to speculation he’s at the nearby Betty Ford Center.

Miller says the Jan. 27 letter was prompted by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry’s recent comments in the Canadian press about replacing Tyler and by a meeting earlier in January attended by Kaufman, Tyler’s music attorney John Branca and Tyler’s new manager Allen Kovac of 10th Street Entertainment. Kaufman, according to Miller, “said point blank he didn’t think Steven should be part of Aerosmith, flat-out said the band would be better off without Steven — which, in my opinion, is a very questionable management decision by a fiduciary.”

Miller’s letter argues that “the animus and negativity you have expressed towards Mr. Tyler has created an inability to protect both Steven as an individual and the band as a whole. This behavior directed towards a person committing to rehabilitation and recovery is detrimental and hurtful on both a personal and professional level. This is a time Steven has dedicated to transform his life.” Miller pointed to Tyler’s Dec. 22 statement, in which the singer “confirms his desire to be a part of Aerosmith” and accuses Kaufman of “playing band members off against one another instead of seeking to solidify their relationships and unify them for the overall good of the band…Contrary to all common sense, you are seeing to bring about the replacement of Steven Tyler. Aerosmith without Steven Tyler is like the Rolling Stones without Mick Jagger, or U2 without Bono. While this management strategy may get the band on the road a few months sooner, it ultimately could destroy Aerosmith.”

Miller added that, “Can you imagine the manager of the Rolling Stones calling for the replacement of Mick Jagger? It’s just absurd…Tyler is very unique, distinctive. Steven is Aerosmith, along with the others. He’s the guy the public knows. He’s the singer. I’m blown away that the current manager would even suggest something like (replacing him).”

Both the letter and Miller said that Tyler has been writing songs for a new Aerosmith album and will be ready to perform at the proposed European and South American dates later in the year. Aerosmith had started to record a new album — its first since 2004’s “Honkin’ on Bobo” and first of all-original material since 2001’s “Just Push Play” — with producer Brendan O’Brien in late 2008 but put it on hold due to health concerns, including Tyler’s bout with pneumonia, and to prepare for a tour last summer with ZZ Top that was aborted after Tyler fell from the stage on Aug. 5 in Sturgis, S.D. Perry, meanwhile, is touring to promote his latest solo album, “Have Guitar, Will Travel,” while Brad Whitford is gearing up for an Experience Hendrix tour in March and drummer Joey Kramer is promoting his autobiography, “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top.”

The Tyler camp actions come at a time when rumors are further ramping up about who might sit in for Tyler. A Perez Hilton weekend report claims that Billy Idol, who’s been widely reported as under consideration, had to skip a scheduled meeting with Perry due to a cold, while other published reports maintain that Chris Cornell and Paul Rodgers have both been approached. Lenny Kravitz, another rumored candidate, has publicly stated he’s not interested.