Metromix, CT
June 28, 2009

When Aerosmith rolled back into Mohegan Sun Arena on their “Guitar Hero” sponsored tour, it was a non-stop barrage of classic rock hits. ZZ Top kicked things off with an hour-long set.

More photos:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 29, 2009

Mohegan Sun Arena – June 28, 2009

Photo Galleries, Set List, Wallpapers – More: (here).

Aero Force One/Twitter
June 28, 2009

Set List: Aerosmith – Mohegan Sun Arena

Toys In The Attic
Cryin’
Love In An Elevator
Walkin’ The Dog
Dream On
Combination
Uncle Salty
Adam’s Apple
Walk This Way
Big Ten Inch Record
Sweet Emotion
No More No More
Round And Round
Livin’ On The Edge
Draw The Line

~~~~~Encore~~~~~

–JP Guitar Duel–
Train Kept A Rollin’
Come Together

Thanks to: Aero Force One/Twitter

The Morning Call, PA
June 27, 2009

Getting an interview with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is no easy undertaking, and after a month of working to get it, the expectation was it would be brief and wedged between others.

Indeed, when the appointed time came, a publicist warned Perry was running late, and Perry’s handler later called to say it would be even later.

A full hour after the appointed time, Perry finally called. But rather than a rushed and superficial chat, Perry took time to expound on answers, accepted every query as valid, and seemed genuinely interested in fully answering each question.

The conversation lasted 30 minutes.

Perry was calling from Chicago, two days after the first show of the tour. Here’s a transcript as you prepare for the band’s show Friday in Hershey:

How did the first show go?

“Um, as far as opening nights go, it was probably an 80. Usually they come in as about a 50, but yesterday was about an 80. We really stepped up. We always try and get the best equipment and the best production staff we can, but there’s a lot of bands out there hiring and because everything got pushed back, we had some guys that were on hold and were willing to stick around, so we managed to hold on to some of the best guys that we’ve ever worked with and the show – I was just watching it last night and listening to it and I was just blown away.

“Being a tech freak, the PA, I could hear every word, I could hear every guitar lick and it sounded like a stereo, except that it sounded like a live band. It didn’t sound like anything canned – we don’t play that well. It just sounded great. And the lights were good – there were some screw-ups and some train wrecks, but overall the audience had a great time and even though we were [ticked] off when things would screw up, we were carried away with the energy and into the audience and it was a good first night.”

How difficult is it for you to get up for shows these days? Is it still as fun as it was long ago?

“Um, it’s a lot of fun. I didn’t feel as much pressure this time – we’ve done it so many times. The hard part is like the very beginning , trying to get a handle on what’s the stage going to look like and kind of get a vibe for that, and then you start getting some ideas and you start seeing sketches and then once you decide on that, then it kind of builds out and it’s kind of like those rocks you drop in the water, these little tiny colored pebbles that they start to grow and grow and grow and all of a sudden you got this multicolored stalactite castle growing in the water. It’s the same idea, one thing just builds on the next and then you get ideas when you look at that and then it kind of gets to the point where you go, ‘Wow, this is different enough from the last time and you just want a really good setting for the band to play the songs that people want to hear.”

I read that you guys might play the full album “Toys in the Attic.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re doing.”

That’s what you did at the first show?

“That’s what we did – we had to cut a couple songs – it was a bad lightning storm that apparently just kind of [messed] up about half the Midwest came through right around showtime and we had to go on about an hour late and so we had to cut a couple songs short. But other than that, everything else wet on OK. There were no lightening strikes on the stage or anything like that.”

Speaking of mishaps, how is Brad? And do you have any idea when he’s coming back yet?

“Well, the last time I talked to him he was feeling better. They were hoping after that first operation that that would be enough and they were hoping his body would take care of it, but they realized that they had to operate. So that was about, oh, I don’t know, a week and a half ago. I’ve talked to him almost every day and he’s obviously groggy from being under all the time, but he’s real quick and clear-headed and wants to get back out here. They’re talking like six weeks, but we’re waiting to see how it goes. I know he wants to be out here. Obviously the fans want him to, and we want him to more than anybody else.

“His guitar tech has taken his place – who actually has played with Slash’s Snakepit, and backed up a lot of bands – Green Day — and played with a lot of bands. And he’s been Brad’s guitar tech for a couple of tours and he knows the songs and he’s a really good guy. So it’s working out. He’s filling in all the spots and doing a really good job.”

Precisely what was the surgery for Brad?

“Well he came to rehearsal one day, he had this incredible headache. He’s not one — doesn’t get migraines, and he just said, ‘This is horrible.’ And so he went to the nearest emergency room and they said, ‘Well, you should go home and ly down and take some Tylenol.’ And he came back to rehearsal and he said, ‘This is wrong, this hurts way, way more than it should,’ and he went in to the band’s doctor in Boston and he put him in the MRI and as soon as he came out of there, they brought him to the hospital and put him on the operating table and they had o drill a hole to let the pressure out.

“Apparently he had hit his head – at least what he thinks is — he hit his head getting out of his car, but he’d really not sure. I don’t think he knows yet exactly what it was, but it was probably caused by some kind of blow, probably something you do like anybody does, and you just forget about it. You bump your toe or whatever and your toe still works, so you just forget about it. I think it was something like that and that’s what they think.

“And judging from what they’ve found out from all the tests and all the MRIs and all that, that’s what points to. It’s not like some kind of aneurism where you tap it, or he’s going to have a stroke. It all happened outside of his brain – it was like between his skull and his brain. I think it was kind of like what happened with Keith. Obviously he would remember falling out of a coconut tree a lot better than hitting your head getting out f a car – especially when you’ve got a bunch of people watching you do it. So I think Brad will be fine and will be back with us in no time.”

I’ve been reading about all the delays in recording your next album. What’s the story behind that, and how much frustration does it present for you?

“Only about a million percent. I had to have my knee replaced over a year ago and I was just about healed up and it got infected and that happened around Thanksgiving and into Christmas. I think it was right after Christmas I had to have it operated on. That pushed everything back and we lost a lot of time trying to work out our schedules. And then finally we got some time and we got the ball rolling and we had the songs – we were getting ready to cut the songs and Steven got this bronchitis that turned into pneumonia at the same time was getting an ear infection and they had to pierce one of his eardrums and it was just one of those things. I mean this really bad flu bug that’s been going around – not the swine one – but he got a really bad infection, just that bronchitis and he couldn’t sing. So that just was one of those things. It was going to take four weeks for it to heal. And we just couldn’t do it and still make the tour. And at that point the tour had been booked. We were hopeful we’d have the record out and then tour behind it, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

“But the good side of it for me was I had time – all of a sudden I had this month and a half of time. I have songs – whenever I write I just write a lot and I had a bunch of stuff for a solo record that actually I wasn’t planning on putting out for a while, but I said, ‘Wow, I got all this time, I got these songs. So I called up some friends and we started playing, and after about a month of around-the-clock work, through the weekends, we got finished the record. So I have a solo record coming out at the end of the summer.”

You think when this tour’s done, you’ll tour with that record?

“I’d like to, even if it’s a short go-around to major markets at least and do that. I was so close to doing it on the last project but we were … I mean, I was getting offers from all over the world to play and it was the hardest thing to turn down ‘cause I had like a month and a half before I was going to have to start touring with Aerosmith, and I just didn’t want to step right off a Joe Perry tour right into an Aerosmith tour. I would have been fried at the beginning of a tour and that’s a formula for a really big screw-up. So I couldn’t do any more live gigs, but I would really like to do it this time.”

The new album – do you have enough of the music done that you know what it’s going to sound like? Are you happy with what you’ve got?

“Yeah, we’ve got some great stuff that sounds like Aerosmith – when the band plays it, there’s a lot of ripping stuff and there’s some great ballads. And I think the most important thing is that we were recording. And I think that’s what people miss the most now is hearing a record that actually has that energy and that texture that early records had. I mean obviously you can’t go back and remake “Get Your Wings,” that’s just not possible. But you could take some of that energy that we still have when we play live and the heart of playing that on a tape or a computer or MP3 or whatever is still and art, and that’s not changed. And that’s our goal – is to capture that energy if the band playing live and get it on the recorded medium and then into peoples’ heads.”

Now you mentioned the health things that kept you from putting out the album when you expected to, but it’s really been – by the time this album comes out – nine years since your last album full of new material. So what happened in all those years before? Why did it take so long?

“Right, well, we had ‘Just Push Play,’ and then at the point we were doing ‘Honking on Bobo,’ we had barely enough time to do make a record, but we didn’t have the material written at that point, and that would have added another two months probably to the process if we really dug in. And we didn’t have time, so we did another record, which is something that we’d wanted to do for a really long time, which was cover some of our favorite roots blues songs – I mean, ‘Roadrunner’ and just ‘Baby Please Don’t Go,’ and just cut loose and not have to worry about writing or singles or any of that stuff and just throw that out the window and just play like we’re getting ready for our first club tour. And that’s kind of how we approached the record. And we had time to do that.

“So it’s just been a series of timing things and getting the vibe right and keeping our presence out there as a touring band, because we are a touring band and we have to have that, or else we’re not a band.”

The stuff that you guys have gotten into lately – the Guitar Hero, you lent your name to the “Rock’n’roll roller coaster” – to be so in the mainstream now. You guys have become a part of popular culture. How does that feel?

“Um, it’s interesting. Basically the population has grown so much and it grows so fast. Just as an example, they can be bands that can fill arenas and even stadiums and some music fans might not have even heard of them. There’s just so many people out there. There are niches that, say, 30 years ago if 10 percent of the people only liked hard core heavy metal, that same 10 percent no represents 10 times as many people. So I don’t think the percentages have changed. It’s just that bands that normally would have withered and died out from lack of support are able to find an audience to support them and they can have a career. That’s why a lot of the bands that are putting out their own records can really succeed because they can build up an audience, build up a following because of the Internet and because of playing live.”

It’s easier to find an audience now because a million people can click on the Internet and hear you.

“You still got to get up there and promote yourself, or get on ‘American Idol.’ ” [Laughs]

Speaking of American Idol – it knocks me out that every year when they do the rock show, and the contestants pick classic rock songs, “Dream On” comes up every year. That obviously has become a classic rock song.

“I guess if you stick around long enough, things like that happen. But I think it’s one of the best songs Steven has written. Just the time and the place when we recorded it, and how we were all feeling it, and recording it in the studio and wondering just how people would receive it. You can’t recreate that feeling and that was just a special moment in time. And for it to be accepted by all these generations – because, obviously, every generation has to kind of embrace it for it to last as a classic song. And it just proves that a good song is a good song and good music transcends the trends, you know?”

One thing I wanted to say about the longevity of Aerosmith is that – a band like the Rolling Stones has been around so long., but the truth is they stopped making hit albums, like, 15 years ago. And you guys have been staying in top of the charts with new songs forever. What is the special magic that you guys have?

“Well, I think we were lucky enough to be able to join in the ‘80s with the whole MTV thing. We had our first career when we were just wild and crazy kids, and all of a sudden catapulted into this world that we had absolutely no idea that it was going to happen. And then we burned out, and then we came back. We were still young enough that we could get into the video thing. And our songwriting, we were willing to kind of, without compromising our feelings about our music, we were able to work with some people and listen to some people that said, ‘What’s going on out there? You can either go along with it or stick to your guns.

“I think the Stones have written so many songs and have really got their half of the music business. I mean, they’ve put out so many records that I don’t know how they can be inspired to write more. But on the other hand I can, because I kind of feel the same way. It’s like after you’ve written so many songs that you go, ‘Wow, I don’t know how I can top that.’ And then you do – personally, I don’t know, a lot of fans many not agree, but I feel like there’s still more songs to be written. And I know the Stones, they’ve found their niche, they’re not going to be influenced by what’s going on out there, and they frankly don’t give a shit and they’re going to play their music and have fun doing it.

“And then when they go out on the road, I saw them play at Shepherd’s Bush a few years ago and they played almost the whole record of, I think it was ‘Bridges to Babylon.’ And they played all the album cuts, so-called, and it was great. I never would have thought it. Jagger said, ‘When you want to hear the big hits, go to the big place down the street, ‘cause they were playing Wembly Stadium like four days later. And this place at Shepherd’s Bush held about 2,000 people. And so they were just playing their so-called album cuts and whatever they wanted and it was all fresh and new, and it was the Stones – it was great. So they’re in the studio right now putting another one together and they’re going to keep doing it. It still feels good.”

You know, the idea that you deal with you knee issues, and Tom has conquered throat cancer and other maladies that you guys face, does it bring into focus anymore about how long you guys still might be doing this? I mean, do you see an end in sight at all, ever?

“I see an end in every day. I mean, my best friend, the guy I worked with him for 18 years and produced and worked on my last solo record passed away last year. And he was 52 – I was a few years older than him. We’re at that age when you just don’t know – know what I mean? But then, who knows at any age? Teenagers drop off like flies. We’re still animals and it’s still rough out there, even though people go around doing amazing things to their bodies and take incredible chances and just walking away from it. Life is a very fragile thing. Obviously the odds go up the older you get. But my knee thing wasn’t really age-related, it was just because of Aerosmith playing rock’n’roll, or our style of rock’n’roll is a very physical thing, and being a live band we play a lot of live gigs and I fell off the stage 25 years ago and it screwed my knee up and it just kept getting worse and worse and worse, till I had to have it replaced. And I guess having worked on it for 25 years, that length of time, I don’t know if that’s a direct age-related thing or it’s just ‘cause I used it up.

“And some of the other stuff, it just happens. Steven got pneumonia and people 25 years old get pneumonia – I had pneumonia when I was, I think, 26. It just happens, it’s life. And the longer you’re around, the chances of [stuff] happening to you are greater. It’s simple.”

But as far as playing music – you’re going to keep going as far as you can see?

“As long as it’s fun for us, and as long as it’s fun for the audience to hear us play, we’ll do it.”

Anything else we missed talking about?

“My solo record will be out early this fall – maybe even by the end of the summer. And it’s a lot different than the last one. Like I said, I have some guys on there playing that are real killers and just doing the songs a lot more justice than I could if I did it myself. And I’ve got a singer – he’s a killer, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Anything unexpected music-wise on it?

“There are a few things. There are some different-sounding kind of songs that you just wouldn’t hear on an Aerosmith record. And that’s about all I can say.

Aero Force One
June 27, 2009

Jones Beach Theater – June 26, 2009

Photo Galleries, Set List, Wallpapers – More: (here).

Aero Force One Forum
June 26, 2009

Set List: Aerosmith – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater

Train Kept A Rollin’
Cryin’
Love In An Elevator
Walkin’ The Dog
Dream On
Combination
Toys In The Attic
Uncle Salty
Adam’s Apple
Walk This Way
Big Ten Inch Record
Sweet Emotion
No More No More
Round And Round
You See Me Crying
Draw The Line

~~~~~Encore~~~~~

–JP Guitar Duel–
Come Together

Thanks to: Aero Force One Forum

Aero Force One
June 25, 2009

Check out this video of Joe Perry at the 97.9 The Loop radio station! Joe talks about the current tour and has a couple stories! Eddie Webb Interviews Joe Perry!

Watch video:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 25, 2009

On Newstands Now!

Aero Force One
June 24, 2009

Following the lead of bandmate Joey Kramer, Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton provided 20 tickets to military personnel–matching the same number provided by Kramer–at Sunday’s show (June 21) at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA, near Washington, D.C. Forty Marines and Sailors from the National Naval Medical Center–who are currently receiving treatment/therapy for their injuries sustained in Iraq or Afghanistan–were on hand for the show.

“Joey and I had the privilege of meeting a group of soldiers called Wounded Warriors Sunday night at the Nissan Pavilion show in Virginia,” Tom says. “Most of them were wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq. I found myself wanting to ask each of them how and where they were injured. But their wounds are not who they are and especially not Sunday night. That night was about joining the band and the fans and rocking out. We hope those guys had a great night and we appreciate their sacrifice.”

For more information about the organization, visit www.usometro.org to learn about the programs and services offered. Aerosmith are currently on a massive North American tour with their special guests ZZ Top that wraps September 16 in Detroit, MI.

Aero Force One
June 24, 2009

The hard-living lifestyles of Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry are well chronicled: the booze, the drugs, the long, flowing caftans. But the band is a quintet, meaning three voices of Boston’s most famous rock group have had their mics turned off for too long. In a freewheeling memoir, drummer Joey Kramer finally steps out from behind his famous frontman’s shadow and painfully recollects the mountains of drugs they consumed, the slow road to recovery from addiction, and a battle with depression, as well. What follows is a Kramer interview conducted by TheSandbox morning show of 101.7 WFNX (also owned by the Phoenix Media/Communications Group), plus an excerpt from Kramer’s book, Hit Hard.

TheSandbox’s Charlie: At what point did you decide that it was time to write a book?

Well, it all started about, oh, four and a half years ago, when I was telling people stories about being on the road and stories of my journey through life. And they said, ‘Wow, man, you should write a book, you should write a book.’ And, you know, being who I am, I didn’t really think there’d be any interest in me writing a book — or that anybody would be interested in reading it.

TheSandbox’s Special Ed: You talk about hitting rock bottom while you’re at the top. Obviously, there’s abuse in there. How many times did it take for you to go, “I need to change up things. I need to clean up my act”?

Well, about 20 years worth of drug and alcohol abuse. But what happened really was, when we were putting the band back together . . . well, not that the band had ever completely split up, ’cause Tom and I and Steven held it together. But when Joe and Brad came back into the band and we got Tim Collins as a manager, Tim told us, “Listen, I can help you guys out, but you have to clean up the drugs and the alcohol out of your life.” That was pretty much the start of it. And coincidentally, at that point in my life, I was pretty much ready to do that. But I didn’t know how . . . I needed the help and I didn’t know how to ask for it. [Tim] was there, and fundamentally put us on the road to recovery.

The Sandbox’s Fletcher: The book is full of fantastic stories, but did you have hesitations? Did it take some time to consider writing the book?

Not really, because I have this feeling in my heart that there’s so many people that are able to relate to the story, and are able to identify with it, that that didn’t really cross my mind. Really, my goal with the book is to help people. And, yeah, there are stories in it about the band and my journeys through life, but the thread that runs through the book is the confusion that people have between love and abuse. That is such a time-sensitive subject that so many people, I think and I hope, will relate to.

Charlie: Love and abuse seems like a running theme with rock bands that have been around for a while, because you love those guys, but at the same time you’re probably sick of them. You’re tired of looking at them after being on the road for a long time . . . did you have to go to those guys with some of these stories and be, like, “look, this would be cathartic for me to write about this. Do you mind if I put it in there?”

No. I’m putting my balls and my life on the line because I believe that it will help people.

Charlie: What about their balls, though? Are you concerned about stepping on Steven’s feet?

Well, there’s nothing in there that will, uh — I mean, I didn’t make anyone out to be a monster. You know, we’ve all done the same stuff, and I wouldn’t do that. I’m not that kind of a person. I wouldn’t do that to any of my partners, anyway, because they’re all my brothers and I love them all dearly. I’m not a vindictive person — that’s just not part of my make-up.

Fletcher: One of my friends that worked in the record industry for a really long time said that in the ’70s and ’80s there would be these glamorous post-show parties, and there was always a ton of blow on a table somewhere. You knew you were at a really great party when it was in the shape of something. . . she talked about this party in Miami — they walked in and there on the glass table was Michael Jackson’s face in coke! Did you ever attend such a party, and what was the sculpture of the drugs?

[Laughs] Ahh, well . . . many, many years ago, Bill Ludwig from Ludwig drums, whom I endorsed at the time, used to have a drummers’ convention once a year, and that took place at the party. It was the Ludwig logo . . . and I remember snorting the dot off the “I.”

Charlie: I don’t know if it’s one of those urban-legend things or what, but did you set yourself on fire while gassing up your Ferrari?

Oh, no, that’s a true story. I didn’t set myself on fire — I’m not quite that hot.

Fletcher: Can you explain how something like that goes down?

Well, I pulled into the gas station . . .

Special Ed: What type of Ferrari?

It was a 355 Spider. It was back in 1998. I pulled into the gas station, the kid came out, it was a full-service station, it wasn’t self-serve. He put the pump in the car and walked away to service another car. The hose fell out of the car, thus pumping the gas onto the ground. And this is in the middle of July — it was July 15, 1998, so it’s real hot. It’s a July afternoon, it’s about six o’clock, I’m on my way to dinner, the hose falls out of the car and it’s pumping a puddle of gas under the car. Now, the car’s so low to the ground that it’s projecting this heat. That’s all you really need for it to ignite — you don’t need a spark or anything. So the puddle of gasoline ignited, and it surrounded the car in flames. The flames were as high as the overhang in the gas station, and when I looked up from getting my credit card out of my wallet, there were like 15-feet, 18-feet-high flames.

The only thing I could do was to think fast on my feet, by getting on my feet, getting out of the car. I open the door, I undo the seatbelt, the top is down. I put my forearm over my forehead and got out of the car. I got burned all up and down my forearm, from the top of my thigh to my ankle. I was wearing shorts and a tank top, and it was just like a scene from a horror movie — it was just incredible. Thank God, I had all third-degree burns and I didn’t get scarred.

Fletcher: Did the attendant come out shortly thereafter and go, “Ahh, Mr. Kramer! I’m sorry!”

No, he ran to the back field behind the gas station thinking that the whole thing was going to blow up. It was really a big horror. It was on the wire all around the world.

Special Ed: “I just killed Aerosmith!”

I’m lucky I got away with my life. I mean, if you saw the pictures of the car . . . it was really brutal.

Fletcher: This was at the height of Armageddon, and you guys had the biggest song in the world during this time.

Yeah, we had to cancel a month’s worth of gigs, and no one was real happy about that. But I had to recoup, I had no choice.

Charlie: How awesome would it have been if you had driven out of there, and people saw you driving down the road in a Ferrari in flames. People would be, like, “That Joey Kramer is awesome! He set his Ferrari on fire and is driving it around!”

[Laughs]

Fletcher: Can you tell us a little bit about what’s happening with Aerosmith right now?

Well, yeah, we just started a tour. We’re about three-going-on-four gigs in — I think everything’s working pretty well so far. It takes a little bit to get back on our feet, because we’ve been off for close to two years, which is the first time we’ve ever done that in our 38- to 39-year span. We never took a year’s worth of time off, but we were plagued with a lot of different things and, you know, we’re coming back, man. The older you get, the harder it is, but we’re determined, because we love to do what we do. I love more than anything else to sit onstage behind those four guys and play my drums and bring joy to people. That’s what I can do, and that’s what I love.

The Sandbox comprises Charlie, Fletcher, and Special Ed, as well as newsman extraordinaire Henry Santoro

Aero Force One Forum
June 24, 2009

Set List: Aerosmith – Post-Gazette Pavilion

Train Kept A Rollin’
Cryin’
Love In An Elevator
Jaded
Dream On
Combination
Toys In The Attic
Uncle Salty
Adam’s Apple
Walk This Way
Big Ten Inch Record
Sweet Emotion
No More No More
Round And Round
Livin’ On The Edge
Draw The Line

~~~~~Encore~~~~~

–JP Guitar Duel–
Come Together

Thanks to: Aero Force One Forum

HipCelebrity.blogspot.com
June 23, 2009

Steven Tyler gets off his private jet and waves to fans. Tyler was on his way to a concert at the Nissan Pavillion.
Pictured: Steven Tyler
Picture by: Brandon Todd / Splash News

More photos:  (here).

Boston Herald, MA
June 22, 2009

Brookline, Massachusetts, Monday, July 6th 2009 at 7pm — Aerosmith’s drummer Joey Kramer will visit the Brookline Booksmith to sign copies of his memoir, Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top, a chronicle of his spectacularly glamorous and boozy youth and the triumphant sobriety that followed. Take it from Nikki Sixx: “I love this book; this is an important book, because it’s not bullsh*t. Joey had the b*lls to see what’s underneath the hood, and to fix it.”

Aero Force One
June 23, 2009

Joey talks about his book “Hit Hard” on The Boston Channel WCVB-TV.

Watch video:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 23, 2009

Times Entertainment Editor
By Scott Tady, Times Entertainment Editor
Published May 17, 2009

You can open for Aerosmith.

On each of Aerosmith’s summer tour dates, including June 24 at P-G Pavilion, two contest winners will start the show by standing on stage playing the “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” video game.

Fret-burning fans can try out by visiting Aerosmith’s YouTube site and uploading a video of themselves playing the game.

Sure, it would be nerve-wracking for any amateur to play for 20,000 fans, so Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry offered some advice.

“Just play to one person,” Perry said. “Pick someone out of the audience who looks like they’re having a really good time. Maybe it’s a good-looking girl or some guy who’s obviously digging it. Or if you want, pick out someone who seems like they’re having a bad time, and you want to reach out to them. Because 20,000 people — all it is really — is a single person; don’t worry about the number. That’s how to take away a lot of the pressure and stress.”

And there you have it — some valuable wisdom gleaned by one of rock’s greatest guitarists, who’s geared up for his band’s umpteenth tour that launches June 10 in St. Louis.

In a phone interview Friday, Perry reported he’s recovering nicely from knee surgery.

“This will be the first tour in three years where I’m not playing in pain so I’m pretty excited,” Perry said.

Perry said Aerosmith will try something new this tour, picking out one of its five most classic albums each night, then playing it sequentially. So for Burgettstown, Aerosmith might pick 1975’s “Toys in the Attic” album, which means spectators would hear, in order, the title track then “Uncle Salty,” “Adam’s Apple,” “Walk This Way,” “Big Ten Inch Record,” “Sweet Emotion,” “No More No More,” “Round and Round,” and “You See Me Crying,” just like on the album. On the next tour stop, Aerosmith might play in order its 1976 album “Rocks”. Each night’s chosen album would be sandwiched between other hits from the band’s storied career.

“We’ve wanted to do this for a long time, and with no new record to promote this was a good time to do it,” Perry said. “People have lived these records for a long time, so we think this will be a great musical experience and create a lot of fun.”

Perry’s also stoked about the tour’s other opening act, ZZ Top, adding he’s “pretty sure” that he and the Texas trio’s guitar god Billy Gibbons will have a few onstage jam sessions.

“ZZ Top is as powerful an act as AC/DC as far as I’m concerned, and they’re cut out of that cloth where they’re not afraid to go outside the box,” Perry said. “Some bands you play with leave in no plans for jamming. You’ll say ‘Do you know this song or that song?’ but it just doesn’t happen. ZZ Top raised the bar for Southern blues-rock and nobody has topped it.”

Perry also praised Pittsburgh, saying along with Ohio and Detroit it was the first place to support the band outside of its native New England.

“You guys were our bread and butter,” Perry said. “It was in Pittsburgh, I remember, where we got our first road boxes.”

Road boxes are those square and sturdy wheeled cases, often black with metal corners and edges, used by traveling bands to transport their equipment.

As if it was just yesterday, Perry recalls driving to the Pittsburgh airport with singer Steven Tyler to pick up the road boxes they finally could afford.

“It was another one of those things that made us feel like we had finally made it,” Perry said. “Instead of having to lug around our equipment, we were like ‘Holy … there are our road boxes, and we’ve got our names stenciled on them.”

Read this article:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 22, 2009

Nissan Pavilion – June 21, 2009

Photo Galleries, Set List, Wallpapers – More: (here).

Aero Force One
June 22, 2009

In support of his upcoming, June 30th book release – “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom At the Top” – Joey Kramer will be appearing on 2 upcoming radio shows.

You can hear Joey Tuesday, June 23rd at:

Time — – Station
9:30am — WBZ Radio Morning News Show – Boston
9:45am — WAAF – Hill Man Morning show

Pre-order your copy of “Hit Hard” today! Available at:

www.Amazon.com
www.Barnesandnoble.com
www.borders.com
www.indiebound.com

Aero Force One Forum
June 21, 2009

Set List: Aerosmith – Nissan Pavilion

Train Kept A Rollin’
Cryin’
Love In An Elevator
Jaded
Dream On
Combination
Toys In The Attic
Uncle Salty
Adam’s Apple
Walk This Way
Big Ten Inch Record
Sweet Emotion
No More No More
Round And Round
Livin’ On The Edge
Draw The Line

~~~~~Encore~~~~~

Rag Doll
Come Together

Thanks to: Aero Force One Forum

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
June 21, 2009

Year in and year out, Aerosmith has been one of the warhorses of rock ‘n’ roll, even maintaining the same five-man lineup since 1971.

But after coming off tour in 2007, the members of Aerosmith have spent more time with their doctors than their roadies. There was no tour in 2008 as singer Steven Tyler was in rehab for multiple foot surgeries. Also that year, Tyler suffered an ear infection and a bout of pneumonia that sapped efforts to record the long-awaited follow-up to 2001’s “Just Push Play” (”Honkin’ on Bobo” was a covers album in 2004).

Then, Perry went down with knee surgery. Bassist Tom Hamilton is in remission with throat cancer. The most recent development is that Bobby Schneck will replace guitarist Brad Whitford for part of the tour due to an unspecified surgery.

What was it like for these road warriors to have to take a break?

“It was a break that was not really, ‘OK, we’re going to take a vacation,’ ” Perry said. “There were a lot of things we had to take care of. It was not a fun break. We certainly got some rest. There certainly have been some changes. Some things we hoped would be done weren’t, like the new record …. So many things lined up positively for the tour. I’m really ready to get back on the road.”

Over the years, Aerosmith has offered fans some bang for their buck with the opening act — Guns N’ Roses, Black Crowes, Kid Rock and Kiss, to name a few — and this tour is no exception, as the Bad Boys from Boston are paired with the formidable ZZ Top.

How did it all come about?

“Got a phone call,” says Perry, ‘What do you think about ZZ Top?’ Let’s put it this way: If they were on tour and they had a bunch of stops around New England, I probably would go to see every show. I love Billy [Gibbons'] playing, and what they get out of a three-piece band is phenomenal.”

Back in their mid-’70s heyday, this bill was the other way around. Now it’s ZZ Top on the undercard.

“Yeah, but this is not that,” Perry says. “There’s no opener here. It’s strictly two bands of equal stature, and we just happen to be going on last.”

With no new record to push, Aerosmith has decided to unleash an old one. Into the middle of the set, the band is inserting the entirety of 1975’s “Toys in the Attic,” one of Aerosmith’s most beloved records, featuring the title track, “Walk This Way,” “Sweet Emotion” and “Big Ten Inch Record.”

The tour is also timed with a new Joe Perry solo record and the release of the video game “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith,” sponsor of the tour. So is the real Joe Perry any good at being the Guitar Hero Joe Perry?

“No, I’m not any good at ‘Guitar Hero,’ ” he says. “I might be if I played it. I don’t have time to play it, number one, and I’ve never been a gamer.”

But, he adds, “It’s an amazing game … and this is going to be the major way for a long time that bands will get new music out to fans.”

At least for now, it’s more likely that young people will get turned on to Aerosmith from “Guitar Hero” than switching on a classic-rock station or some video channel.

“I was at a high school function seeing my son perform,” Perry says, “and a 10-year-old girl came up and asked for an autograph, and my wife asked her, ‘What’s your favorite song?’ and she said ‘Walking in the Sand.’ Ten-year-old girl. It was like well, there it is, the songs on the video game are in the same league as the greatest hits album.”

The guitarist says that during all the downtime, he never worried that Aerosmith would meet its demise — “No, not at all. Everyone wants to get out there” — and even though Tyler and Perry have had their share of flare-ups, the connection is still tight.

“We basically realized we’re the brothers we didn’t have, like blood brothers,” he says. “We’re as close as that could be. Sometimes you hate your brother, sometimes you love him. And it’s pretty much followed the same path.”

The Associated Press
June 21, 2009

Today’s Birthdays:

Actress Jane Russell is 88. Actor Bernie Kopell is 76. Actor Monte Markham is 74. Songwriter Don Black is 71. Actress Mariette Hartley is 69. Comedian Joe Flaherty is 68. Rock singer-musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 65. Actress Meredith Baxter is 62. Actor Michael Gross is 62. Rock musician Joe Molland (Badfinger) is 62. Rock musician Don Airey (Deep Purple) is 61. Country singer Leon Everette is 61. Rock musician Joey Kramer (Aerosmith) is 59….

Aero Force One
June 20, 2009

Big 100.3 FM

Joe Perry joins Big 100.3 FM around 2pm – just hours before the Nissan Pavilion Show on Sunday, June 21st. Joe will be answering questions and playing some of his favorite tracks.

Got a question? e-mail it to Josh@idigbig.com!

Aero Force One
June 18, 2009

Get on Board with Admiral Perry’s “Spot the Bus” contest and You Could Drive Away with a Killer swag bag hand picked by Joe Perry along with a Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game!

Here’s How it Works…

Joe Perry will be cruisin’ the country in his Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bus! When Aerosmith comes tearin’ through your town on their way to their next venue just be on the lookout for Joe’s Bus. Spot It…. Photo It…And You Could Win!

Just snap a quick photo of Joe’s tour bus with your camera or cell phone and email it off to us at Aero Force One – email your pic to: SpotTheBus@aeroforceone.com along with your name and best phone number(s) to reach you. Don’t forget to jot down where you spotted it (city, state, location) and when (time & date) and send this info into us along with your photo.

During Aerosmith’s 2009 Tour Joe Perry will pick some lucky winners from all of the photos emailed/submitted to receive a fabulous swag bag courtesy of Admiral Perry!

How COOL Is This?!

So…Keep your camera handy and Get Into The Game! Keep your eye out for Joe’s Bus and YOU could be the next “Spot The Bus” Winner!

Official Rules

Aero Force One
June 18, 2009

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer will celebrate his June 21 birthday with 20 wounded warriors he has invited to be his personal guests at the band’s show that night at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA, near Washington, DC. The Marines and Sailors–who all served in Iraq or Afghanistan–are from the National Naval Medical Center and are currently receiving treatment/therapy for their injuries. Some are single leg amputees; others have suffered blast injuries (shrapnel wounds), burns, and traumatic brain injuries.

“I can’t think of a better gift to receive on my birthday than to have the privilege of sharing a night of our music with these brave and heroic warriors who have been wounded in the service of our country,” Kramer says.

For more information about the organization, visit www.usometro.org to learn about the programs and services offered. Beyond seeing Aerosmith, the soldiers will be on hand for the first show of the tour featuring special guests ZZ Top. The North American trek wraps September 16 in Detroit, MI.

Aero Force One
June 17, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEY!

YOU know what time of year it is, right? – it’s June and Joey’s birthday is almost here! That’s right – June 21st marks the day. So you know what you gotta do…wish Joey a happy birthday! AF1 will randomly select a winner to receive a $20 gift card to the AF1 online store and a copy of Joey’s book – Hit Hard: The Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at The Top. And if you’re lucky – we’ll even have Joey autograph and personalize it to YOU!!! That’s right!

All you gotta do is jot down your happy birthday wish to Joey – send to contests@aeroforceone.com with the subject line “Happy Birthday Joey.” Be sure to include your name and phone number where you can be reached. Entries are due by Monday, June 22nd 12pm and a winner will be selected by June 23rd 12pm.

It’s that simple…so get crackin’ and get those Happy Birthday Wishes sent in!!!

Official Rules

Boston Globe, MA
June 17, 2009

MANSFIELD – Fire, cancer, pneumonia, knee replacements, drug addiction, hepatitis, and whatever undisclosed surgery guitarist Brad Whitford is currently recovering from. Aerosmith is clearly unstoppable.

That was certainly the case last night at the Comcast Center as the beloved Boston hard rockers steamrolled through a hot and tight set that spanned the quintet’s 36-year catalog. From opener “Train Kept a Rollin’ ’’ to closer “Come Together,’’ the jammed amphitheatre, with plenty of multigenerational groups spotted, sang along and hoisted lighters with regularity.

While the train no longer rolls all night long – it returns to the depot after a fittingly locomotive but concise 90 minute excursion – it’s firmly on the tracks. The guitar heroics from Joe Perry and Whitford sub Bobby Schneck were sizzling, the rhythm section of Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton thunderous, Russ Irwin remains an unsung hero on keyboards and harmonies, and Steven Tyler’s wide-mouth wail was soaked in its trademark blend of raunch and fire.

Following a six-song starter that included vintage and newer tracks – power ballad “Dream On,’’ the deep cut Perry spotlight “Combination,’’ salacious bump-and-grind “Love in an Elevator’’ – the band dove into its 1975 album “Toys in the Attic,’’ which it is performing from front to almost-back this tour. (They’ve been skipping the final track.)

The album is a great choice not only for the hits it presents – including spirited takes on “Walk This Way’’ and “Sweet Emotion’’ – but because it represents just about everything the band does well. It has the bawdy blooze of “Big Ten Inch Record,’’ the sunny pop melodics of “Uncle Salty,’’ the luscious harmonies of “No More, No More,’’ and the satisfying Zeppelin-esque stomp and snarl of “Round and Round,’’ a true rarity and real highlight last night.

Tyler, rocking in a ridiculous and amazing silver coat with a huge crucifix on the back and, at the start, a matching feathered pimp hat, was his irrepressible self with his persona and his smoking harmonica solos. He finally appears to have lost a step as his flamboyant gallop has powered down to more of a peacock strut. Perry, somehow making puffy shirts macho, was as lively as he’s been in a long time bombing around the stage thanks to healthy knees.

The band returned for an amusingly ramshackle attempt at “Dirty Water’’ with openers the Dropkick Murphys.

The Murphys acquitted themselves nicely in what felt like a surprisingly uphill battle. But the band’s endearing maelstrom of tin whistles, mandolins, bagpipes, banjos, and punk-rock fundamentals slowly won the crowd over. By the time they lit into an inventive cover of the Who’s “Baba O’Riley’’ and trotted out the Boston College marching band for “I’m Shipping Up To Boston,’’ the crowd was on its feet.

Photo Gallery:  (here).

The Phoenix, MA
June 17, 2009

Photo Gallery:  (here).

Boston Herald, MA
June 17, 2009

Joe Perry plays lead guitar during Aerosmith’s performance at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Tuesday, June 16, 2009.

Photo Gallery:  (here).

Boston Herald, MA
June 17, 2009

It wasn’t if but what at last night’s Aerosmith/Dropkick Murphys show at the Comcast Center. They knew they had to do a song together, but what? The obvious: At the close of Aerosmith’s set the Dropkicks jumped in for, yes, “Dirty Water.”

OK, Dropkicks growler Al Barrs’ mic didn’t work for the first verse. But Steven Tyler told him to use his mic – all the better. To see Barr grunt into Tyler’s scarf-decked mic was hilarious. As Joe Perry told the Herald last week: “Sometimes a train wreck isn’t such a bad thing.” We hear you, Joe.

Even in 2009, it’s hard to argue with Aerosmith’s stadium band skills. The Bad Boys of Boston are consummate showmen. Yeah, too much heart is plucked from the dirty rock with their glittery, Vegas-glam production. But sometimes seeing a dolled-up, million dollar spectacle works. And that’s what the packed Comcast got last night.

Opening with the warhorse “Train Kept A-Rollin’ ” and jumping into newer tracks “Cryin’,” “Love In An Elevator” and “Jaded,” it was fun to watch the lights roll and spin against massive video screens under the band, which performed without the ailing Brad Whitford. But we came to rock the old stuff.

After the still magnificent “Dream On,” Steven Tyler announced: “We are going to do ‘Toys in the Attic’ from top to bottom.”

It was a lie. They left out “You See Me Crying,” which Tyler’s voice apparently isn’t up to. But the rest of the album was brilliant. “Walk This Way” had Perry running his Strat through its paces with riff-tacular power. “Sweet Emotion” glided and stomped like it always has. And “No More No More” was sloppy and poppy, a real rarity these days.

But to stick a big ad into “Livin’ On The Edge” at the end, with Perry dueling with a digitized, “Guitar Hero” avatar version of himself was sad, lame, wrong. As Perry said after the duel, “There ain’t nothing like the real thing.” That’s right. So why shamelessly shill?

Rock ’n’ roll is about two things: sex and rebellion. Aerosmith brought enough sex for two bands, and the Dropkicks provided double the rebellion. It’s all still rock ’n’ roll, but hardcore punk “Citizen C.I.A.” and the raw, thundering “The Warrior’s Code” don’t reside in the same ZIP code as Joe and Steve.

It was Aerosmith’s crowd, but there were some Dropkicks die-hards. And they came out for “The State of Massachusetts,” “(F)lannigan’s Ball” and “Fields of Athenry” – which they dedicated to the Barroom Heroes, a kid punk band from Weymouth.

The quintessential Boston band made the gig special with 15 young Irish step dancers from Quincy bedecked in day-glow, beadazzled jumpers for “Captain Kelly’s Kitchen,” the Boston College marching band horns (and a couple of cheerleaders) for “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” and they tossed in a stentorian “Baba O’Reilly.”

Aero Force One Forum
June 16, 2009

Set List: Aerosmith – Comcast Center

Train Kept A Rollin’
Cryin’
Love In An Elevator
Jaded
Dream On
Combination
Toys In The Attic
Uncle Salty
Adam’s Apple
Walk This Way
Big Ten Inch Record
Sweet Emotion
No More No More
Round And Round
Livin’ On The Edge
Draw The Line

~~~~~Encore~~~~~

Dirty Water (w/Dropkick Murphys)
Come Together
Thanks to: Aero Force One Forum

Aero Force One
June 16, 2009

Watch video:  (here).

Reuters Blogs
June 14, 2009

Back in their youthful heyday, the members of Aerosmith indulged in every sort of hedonistic pursuit backstage after their concerts. These days, they head straight to the tour bus and surf the Web to see what their fans thought about the show, says lead guitarist Joe Perry.

The feedback is important in the early stages of a tour, such as the one that began last Wednesday in St. Louis, as the band struggles to regain match form after a 20-month absence from the stage.

“They don’t hold anything back,” Perry said of the comments on sites such as the official Web site, aeroforceone.com. “It’s a lot of fun to read it. Some of it isn’t so much fun, but it still gives you good feedback … We can take care of the technical stuff and what we expect out of ourselves, but the most important thing is how it affects the fans.”

With just two shows of the tour under its belt, the set list will undergo some major changes, and fan input will be an influence, Perry told Reuters on Sunday, calling from the bus taking him from Milwaukee back to the band’s Boston hometown.

“The bottom line is we’re entertainers. We want to keep the fans happy. We’re not these egotistical artists that dictate, ‘Well you must listen to this one and you must like it whether you applaud or not.’”

The centerpiece of each show on the new tour is the performance of an early album in its entirety, front to back. For at least the next two weeks, that album is the 1975 smash “Toys in the Attic,” which features the hits “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion.” (The album closer “You See Me Crying” is currently absent from the set list because it is “one of the toughest songs probably in our catalog,” Perry said, and vocalist Steven Tyler needs two more shows to get his throat into shape).

Once the band settles into a groove, it will probably dust off its 1976 follow-up “Rocks,” which features the top-40 tunes “Back in the Saddle” and “Last Child.” The band’s first two albums, its 1973 self-titled debut and 1974’s “Get Your Wings” are also candidates for a revival.

But what Perry really wants to do is exhume is the unloved 1979 album “Night in the Ruts,” recorded during the band’s lengthy, drug-fueled nadir. Perry plays on only some of the tracks because he left the band before the album was released.

“I think there are probably two songs on there that we could play pretty much right off the bat,” he said. “The rest of them we’d have to sit down and really take them apart, relearn all the guitar parts. There are some rockin’ songs on there and it would be fun to play them live.”

So far on the tour Perry takes to the microphone for the “Rocks” cut “Combination,” and he envisages adding other solo outings such as “Bright Light Fight” (from 1979’s “Draw the Line”) and “Walk on Down” (from 1993’s “Get a Grip”).

In the meantime, he started mixing a new solo album on Sunday, and hopes to premiere some new music during the summer ahead of an official release in September or October. The nine-track disc was recorded during a frantic 40-day burst of activity after sessions for Aerosmith’s long-delayed album were postponed when Tyler came down with pneumonia.

The album, with the working title of “Freedom,” will be credited to the Joe Perry Project, a combo he formed during his five-year hiatus from Aerosmith.

Perry does some vocals, and also brought in a singer in the bluesy Paul Rodgers mold, whom he declined to identify. One of the tracks Perry sings is called “Oh Lord,” which he likened to a Jim Morrison-style prayer set to music. Some high-school choristers, including his son Roman, are featured on the tune.

“That’s the kind of thing I really don’t hear on an Aerosmith record,” Perry said

Aero Force One
June 14, 2009

Alpine Valley Music Center – June 13, 2009

Photo Galleries, Set List, Wallpapers – More: (here).

Aero Force One
June 14, 2009

The second show of the tour brought out Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick. Rick has been a friend of the band’s for over 35 years. Joe has told me numerous stories of how he would go out with Rick and Gene Simmons in NYC eating sushi and drinking sake at 3AM. Gene of course would be drinking Coca Cola. I have seen Rick join the band on several occasions and I also have seen Steven and Joe join Cheap Trick. The first being in 1980 when they joined the Tricksters for a rockin’ rendition of “Last Time” by the Stones. These two bands share a lot of history together and I would have to say a lot of friendship too. I look forward to seeing them on the road with Def Leppard this summer. Go check them out!

See you on the Road!

John B.

Captions courtesy of Rick Nielsen
Photos courtesy of Mike Graham

Over There? No, He’s Up There. Wrong, I’m Back Here — Alpine Valley 6-13-09

Twang – Take Your Medicine – Yucky

Wailing – Punching – Oouching

Steven The Crooner — Rick the Outta Tuner

A Rockin Guitar – The Greatest Rock Singer – & One Lucky MotherF****r

Joe Perry & Steven & Giraffe Neck Nielsen

Center Stage – Joe – Steven – Rick Alpine Valley 6-13-09

Yahoo News!
June 14, 2009

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford hopes to rejoin his bandmates early next month after a head injury prevented him from playing on their newly launched tour, fellow guitarist Joe Perry said on Sunday.

Whitford, 57, is recovering from surgery for internal bleeding after he apparently banged his head while getting out of his Ferrari about a week before the tour began last Wednesday in St. Louis.

“It built up pressure and gave him this whoopin’ headache,” Perry told Reuters. “He’s not prone to getting migraines, so knew something was wrong. He went right in, they did what they had to do, and now he’s getting better.”

The target date for Whitford’s return is July 7, when the band is scheduled to play a show in Raleigh, North Carolina, Perry said. Subbing for him is Bobby Schneck, who has played with Green Day and Weezer.

Rocking out with Aerosmith can be hazardous for your health. Four out of five group members have disclosed major medical problems in the last three years, including Perry who has been plagued by a bad knee ever since he fell off a stage in Dallas 25 years ago.

He underwent knee-replacement surgery in March 2008, but was “devastated” to learn around Christmas that the area had become infected, like a “rotten grapefruit,” he said, and he would need to go through the whole procedure again.

The various ailments and touring obligations mean the band has not released an album of original material since 2001’s “Just Push Play.” Perry said the band has recorded about 15 songs for the next disc and hopes to pick up the thread in the studio sometime after the current tour ends in the fall.

The third stop on the tour will be on Tuesday at the Comcast Center in suburban Boston. The band has been playing its classic 1975 album “Toys in the Attic” in its entirety, with the notable exception of the closing track “You See Me Crying.”

Perry said the song is too difficult for vocalist Steven Tyler to sing right now, but Tyler hopes he will be able to do it after a few more shows. At any rate, the band expects to swap out “Toys in the Attic” in about two weeks, and play all the tracks from its 1976 follow-up “Rocks,” Perry said.

Aero Force One Forum
June 13, 2009

Set List: Aerosmith – Alpine Valley Music Center

Train Kept A Rollin’
Cryin’
Love In An Elevator
Jaded
Dream On
Combination
Toys In The Attic
Uncle Salty
Adam’s Apple
Walk This Way
Big Ten Inch Record (w/Rick Nielsen)
Sweet Emotion
No More No More
Round And Round
Livin’ On The Edge
Draw The Line

~~~~~Encore~~~~~

Come Together

Thanks to: Aero Force One Forum

Providence Journal, MA
June 13, 2009

Aerosmith’s summer tour, somewhat confusingly titled “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Presents Aerosmith,” will roll through the country with the Boston-based hard-rock legends using ZZ Top as their “co-headliner,” as Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has put it.

But when they get to the Comcast Center, in Mansfield, Mass., on Tuesday, it’s going to be a hometown affair, as the opening act will be the Boston-based Dropkick Murphys, who mix punk rock and Irish music with a kick in the you-know-what that recalls The Pogues at their best.

On a recent conference call, Perry and Dropkicks bassist-singer Ken Casey talked about their bands’ Boston roots and the generational twist to Tuesday’s show.

Perry says that when Aerosmith started, “We used to have to go to New York to get signed or have an agent. Nobody came to Boston. This was the blues and folk center. But kids wanted to rock.”

Perry said the influx of college students to Boston every year has also helped boost Boston’s, and Aerosmith’s, rock profile. “When you win those fans over, and they go home, what are they going to talk about?”

Aerosmith not only started in Boston; they stayed there, which won them fan loyalty that helped them through the hard times, particularly their ’80s spiral of drug addiction, lousy record sales and breakups. They’ve been to the mountaintop of fame at least twice, and Perry says that “to be from this town, that we basically formed in, I think that’s why we’re still alive. . . . We weren’t some band that just came through on a tour; we live here. There’s something different about that, I think.”

Casey has a similar love for his hometown.

“If we hadn’t come out of Boston we never would have succeeded,” Casey says. The grass roots of the Boston punk scene were so strong, he adds, that the Dropkicks were selling out matinee shows at the Rat when they had only one single out.

“People support their own here,” Casey says. Early in the Dropkicks’ career, he says, they would get more support from the Boston fans than would the nationally known headliners they were opening for. And when less-known bands from other towns would share Boston bills with the Dropkicks, they’d play for bigger crowds than they were used to.

That was great in and of itself, he says, but it also helped out down the road: When the Dropkicks would go play on the home turf of those other bands, the hometown bands made sure that the crowds were huge and supportive as well. “What better way to develop and be ready to play in markets that are new to you? That made us a way better band and gave us more confidence.”

Perry interjects, “I’m watching the Dropkick Murphys’ career, and that’s how they’ve been doing it. They haven’t been waiting for a record-company person to drop something in their laps. They’re giving the fans what they want and then giving them more.”

Casey says that he first heard Aerosmith as an eight-year-old, and that it was the first rock band he grew to love in a Boston house filled with Irish music and Neil Diamond.

He adds that the pairing is “two different worlds colliding in some ways, but in some ways it’s similar.” And he cracks that, with the popularity of the Aerosmith version of the Guitar Hero video game, “their fan base is probably younger than ours!”

Boston Globe, MA
June 13, 2009

There’s no telling what might happen when Aerosmith and the Dropkick Murphys share the stage next week

Two great Boston flavors will hopefully taste great together next week when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hard rockers of Aerosmith team up with the beloved Celtic punks of the Dropkick Murphys for a show at the Comcast Center.

When scheduled opening act ZZ Top had a conflict with the Mansfield date, Aerosmith assistant tour manager and longtime Dropkick Murphys buddy John Bionelli suggested the “Tessie” crew. “It was just so obvious,” says Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. Not only will it be the first time that the two local institutions share a stage, but it will also mark Perry’s first time seeing the Murphys perform live.

We recently had a conference-call chat with Perry and Dropkick Murphys bassist-vocalist Ken Casey about the historic Hub summit. Perry checked in from his home on the South Shore, where a recent thunderstorm had done a number on his phone lines, and Casey was on a cellphone driving to Needham for a satellite appearance on ABC. Although the conversation was a little garbled at times – can you hear me now? – the mutual admiration came through loud and clear.

On their excitement about playing together:

Ken Casey: When we went on our first tour in 1996, we put everything that we had into buying one of those MBTA handicapped vans and we had no money left and our drummer . . . had no cymbals. Aerosmith [via Bionelli] actually gave us cymbals to go on that tour. [Laughs] So I think it’s kind of ironic 13 years later we’re still working and get the opportunity to play with them. It’s a big honor. Obviously, the band was a huge influence on all of us as kids. So you’ve got to wonder if there was no Aerosmith, would there be a Dropkick Murphys?

Joe Perry: I think that it’s great the way you guys have built your career on your own, outside the business and you’re doing it your way. I’ve always really had a lot of admiration for that. I’ve never seen you live. As with most Boston bands, I’m always on the road, so I look at it as I finally get a chance to meet some new musicians and hear them play. I’m really looking forward to this show, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the audience reaction.

On what they like about each other’s band:

Perry: Bagpipes. Certainly they use them with a lot more finesse and technique than AC/DC did, but I’ve always loved the sound of bagpipes. The way these guys use it, it’s such a different way to go at it, man, and it’s part of the whole picture. I’m really anxious to see the whole thing.

Casey: Oh, man, obviously Aerosmith is one of those bands where I don’t know if I could ever pick a favorite song, but I know my first album was “Draw the Line.” I’m not super old enough – [here Perry laughs] – to go back any earlier. I owned all the albums. My favorite song when I was a little kid was “Kings and Queens,” I don’t know why. I think my neighbor used to play it all the time. I was lucky enough to get turned on to rock ‘n’ roll at an early age, and Aerosmith, along with probably Led Zeppelin and J. Geils, would be the first bands I ever heard. Obviously I had a taste for stuff like that, and my direction went into listening to even heavier music than that. But that’s what probably started me on the twisted path that I went down musically. [Laughs]

On why many of Boston’s most successful musical exports have been gritty, hard-rock groups:

Casey: I think it’s a great party town, so music is an influential part. And I don’t know whether it’s the bitter cold New England winters, but people have a little bit of an attitude, a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, and I think those two combinations make for good songs.

Perry: I also think the influx of 100,000 new kids every year. [They] come to the colleges, and it’s their first experience away from home, and they get a chance to get out there and cut loose.

On the possibility of them jamming together at the Comcast Center:

Perry: I don’t know. I know that at least from my point of view they’re going to want to put on their show the way they do it. If we have time at a sound check, if there’s something going on, we’ll see.

Casey: We’re game for anything. You got any songs in B-flat? The bagpipes can only play in B-flat. [Laughs]

Perry: Well, listen, that’s the Chuck Berry key, man.

Casey: There you go.

Perry: So I have no problem with that. Those are kinds of the things you can’t answer until the day of the event.

Boston Herald, MA
June 13, 2009

Punks are supposed to hate classic rock dinosaurs. The whole punk movement was founded on kicking the sonic stuffing out of the wheezing, bloated establishment.

In reality, it just doesn’t work that way. The Clash opened for The Who; Green Day recorded with U2; and, on Tuesday, in a coming together of Boston’s two biggest bands, the Dropkick Murphys and Aerosmith blow the roof off the Comcast Center together.

Unfortunately, Aerosmith’s health problems continue: Guitarist Brad Whitford is sitting out the opening of the tour as he recovers from surgery (Bobby Schneck, who has worked with Weezer and Green Day, will fill in); Steven Tyler got hit with pneumonia the week he was to start recording vocals for the band’s still-unfinished new album. No matter, Aerosmith soldiers on with this historic Dropkicks show.

To figure out just how this unlikely tag team came to be, the Herald jumped on a conference call with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and Dropkicks founder and bassist Ken Casey.

Herald: I’ve been puzzling over the show and I have to admit I can’t really guess how you guys hooked up to do this.

Casey: Joe and I were just jamming down in his basement one night and I came up with the idea. No, no (Laughs). A mutual friend, John Bionelli, came up with the idea, and Joe called me and asked us to do it (when regular tour openers ZZ Top couldn’t make it due to commitments in Europe). I was thrilled to get the call.

Both of you founded quintessential Boston bands, but are still from totally different worlds. How aware were you of each other’s music?

Casey: Our very first tour, right when we were getting out of Boston in late ’96 or maybe early ’97, we’d spent every cent we had buying an MBTA handicap van. We didn’t even have money for cymbals and, through John, Aerosmith got us cymbals to go on tour. So going back 13 plus years, they did us a solid. Besides that, Aerosmith had some of the first records I ever owned. If I wasn’t turned on to Aerosmith by some of the other kids in my neighborhood at 8 years old, well, who knows? I could have been given a Neil Diamond record and God knows what the Dropkick Murphys would have become (Laughs).

Perry: I’ve followed their career as they’ve moved along and I’ve really admired how they’ve called their own shots and not got sucked into the vast maw of the record industry. I really envy how they came up. When we were coming up, the industry was a machine and the artists were making all the money and making all these other guys rich. I’m glad to see the industry is starting to shift, and the Dropkick Murphys are a prime example of that shift. These guys own Boston and for them to play with us is going to make a really special night.

Herald: Whoa, Ken. Joe Perry just said the Dropkick Murphys own Boston. What’s that feel like?

Casey: Aerosmith owns Boston. We’re just leasing it from them for a good rate. No, from a guy who is from here, that’s about as high a compliment as you can receive in this business. I think what I appreciate more than anything is that Joe has been aware of how we operated and how we’ve conducted ourselves. Because I take more pride in being able to call our own shots and still be in the league of bands invited to play with Aerosmith than selling “x” amount of records.

Herald: Let’s talk about the overlap in the fan base. First off, is there any?

Casey: Any punk rocker in their 30s or 40s that says they weren’t an Aerosmith fan is probably a liar. And this is the kind of bill where a father can bring their kid. Maybe the kid likes the Dropkick Murphys and the father likes Aerosmith or vice-versa.

Perry: It’s high points like this that you remember in a career. It’s not how many gold records you sell or selling 125 shirts at some early show or finally getting a real tour bus. None of that stuff really matters. It’s not what you remember. It’s the events you play, and the people you get to play with, and watching the fans get off on it. And the fans are going to get off on this.

Herald: Joe, right as Aerosmith exploded, punk rock was picking up momentum. Were you a fan of punk? Did you get into the scene at all?

Perry: The night we got signed and played Max’s Kansas City (in New York City), we went down to the Mercer Arts Center in (Greenwich) Village and saw the (New York) Dolls. Right then, they were our competition. They had just gotten a record deal within a week of us, and we had the same managers, and they were getting all this press in New York. The only thing is, well, they really didn’t play very well. They had a lot of energy and had high-heel shoes and sparkly, spandex pants and some really good songs. I really liked them. I liked them a lot. But I said right there, “Holy (expletive), does this mean I have to wear a tutu to go out on stage now?” That was the first taste I got of punk. But I considered myself punk at heart and had the same kind of attitude. When the Ramones and the Sex Pistols started, it was still rock ‘n’ roll, just a little looser.

Herald: So what song are you going to do together on Tuesday?

Perry: (Laughs) Everybody is asking us that.

Herald: That’s because that’s what everybody is wondering.

Perry: Well, we’re both bands from Boston and, well, we’re going to talk about it. Each band has its show and wants to put on the best show for its fans. Sometimes, that doesn’t include interrupting the show with something that could end up like a train wreck.

Casey: Joe, if you’ve ever seen all the (expletive) that get up and interrupt our show on a regular basis, you’ll know it’s not a problem on our end.

Perry: (Laughs) Yeah, well sometimes a train wreck isn’t such a bad thing. I know it’s a prime opportunity and I don’t want to pass that up.

Aerosmith, with the Dropkick Murphys, at the Comcast Center, Mansfield, Tuesday. Tickets: $35-$129.50; 508-339-2333.

Aero Force One
June 12, 2009

“This Tuesday, 100.7 WZLX presents Aerosmith at The Comcast Center.

We want to give the chance to pose your question to Tom Hamilton backstage before the show. Ask your question… and then watch for a backstage invite to get the answer in person! Of course we’ll throw in free tickets to the show too.
Got a camera? Upload your question to YouTube!

Click (here) to enter at wzlx.com!

And if you missed it when Steven & Joey dropped by ZLX, click (here) and listen the podcast!”

Aero Force One
June 11, 2009

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – St. Louis, MO – June 10, 2009

Photo Galleries, Set List, Wallpapers – More:  (here).

Blabbermouth.net, NY
June 11, 2009

According to KTVI-TV, intense lightning Wednesday night (June 10) in St. Louis County postponed the Aerosmith concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri for about an hour.

Maryland Heights police tell KTVI-TV there were safety concerns about the estimated crowd of 16 thousand people being outside during the lightning.

Officials say the opening band, 3 Doors Down, went on early so that part of the show could get done and people could get out of the Amphitheater safely.

An announcement was made warning about the severe weather and giving people the option of waiting out the storm in their cars and then coming back in after it passed…..

Complete article:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 11, 2009

Tom takes you behind the scenes at Aerosmith’s tour rehearsal.

Watch video:  (here).

RFT – Riverfront Times, MO
June 11, 2009

A spectacular lightning storm delayed the Aerosmith show by about 45 minutes, which likely explains why the quintet’s tour kick off was somewhat shorter than it should have been. But did the wait kill the buzz of the crowd at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater? Hell no — not even when most of the lawn left to take shelter in their cars and had to re-enter the venue, and not even when it continued to pour down rain and flash lightning on the crowd long after the concert began.

Aerosmith did its part and delivered a show underscoring what it does best: raunchy, bluesy rock & roll. The set list contained none of the schmaltzy ballads, none of the recent singles few people care about and almost no filler. Instead, this was a show for the die-hards and lifers, the fans who have stuck with the group through rehab, cancer, surgeries and other maladies and setbacks.

Two of the first three songs came from 1989’s Pump – “Monkey on My Back” and the always crowd-pleasing “Love In an Elevator” – while song four was the prototypical Bic flicker, “Dream On.” Then Aerosmith played its classic 1975 album, Toys in the Attic, straight through, which it’s doing all tour. As might be expected from a band doing a run-through of an album, this portion of the night ebbed and flowed. The psych-blues tune “Uncle Salty” dragged a bit, but the pace quickly picked up with the glammy crunch “Adam’s Apple” and classic strut “Walk This Way.”

Even better was “Sweet Emotion,” which played up the mystical psych-rock taffy-pulls of the studio version, and “No More No More,” which was a no-frills bar-rocker. The only real buzzkil in the set was the Joe Perry-on-vocals cut “Combination” (from Rocks) and the ’90s MTV staple “Living on the Edge,” which sounded a bit rusty.

Steven Tyler’s voice sounded strong and solid; he only dropped an octave a few times when he should have hit higher notes. As for stage presence, he acted just like, well, Steven Tyler. Wearing skin-tight silver pants, matching sneakers (!) and sunglasses, he pouted, preened and slithered around the two-tiered stage and a protruding catwalk. Always the focal point of the group, even small gestures – like during “Emotion,” when he grabbed two huge maracas that looked like gourds and acted like a mysterious shaman – felt theatrical.

The rhythm section of drummer Joey Kramer and bassist Tom Hamilton isn’t flashy or showy, just dependable and solid. But guitar demigod Joe Perry was the star of the show, for reasons both dubious and awesome:

1. Near the end of “Sweet Emotion,” he conducted a prolonged theremin solo. Footage of this projected onto the huge video screens was accordingly all tripped out and fragmented.

2. “Living On the Edge” appeared to end. However, then he stepped out into the spotlight and proceeded to…duel with the Guitar Hero version of Joe Perry. Then a reprise of “Living on the Edge” began. The entire thing reminded me of the Wayne’s World sketch with egregious product placement.

3. His guitar-senal included: a translucent lime-green one; a white one with a buxom blond lady painted on it; and of course, a bitching double-neck guitar. Either way, he ripped solos on many songs, including a great one on “No More No More” that…

4. …involved him standing in front of a column of smoke/fire that from the audience looked like he was emerging from the pits of hell, guitars blazing, ready to rock.

What else can you say but that it was a solid rock show by Aerosmith? It’s almost too easy to take the band for granted, seeing as it’s survived so much and continues to release albums and tour, like clockwork. But the quintet is adept at getting back to its roots — without pandering to or tarnishing its legacy. That’s not an easy thing to do, but Aerosmith does it with a sly wink and a confident strut.

Critic’s Notebook: Guitarist Brad Whitford isn’t playing with the band for a few days. But taking his place is Lake St. Louis resident Bobby Schneck, who held his own on the night, and even delivered a few solos.

More photos:  (here).

Date	City	Venue	Country
11/01/09	Aerosmith in Abu Dhabi, UAE	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	AE
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
10/20/09	Aerosmith in Maui, Hawaii	War Memorial Stadium	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
10/18/09	Aerosmith in Honolulu, Hawaii	Blaisdell Center	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
08/05/09	Aerosmith in Sturgis, SD	Buffalo Chip Amphitheater	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $89.50. Related post.
08/01/09	Aerosmith in Denver, CO	Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
07/30/09	Aerosmith in Tulsa, OK	BOK Center	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
07/27/09	Aerosmith in Phoenix, AZ	Cricket Wireless Pavilion	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
07/25/09	Aerosmith in Las Vegas, NV	MGM Grand Garden Arena	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
07/19/09	Aerosmith in Dallas, TX	Superpages.com Amphitheatre	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
07/17/09	Aerosmith in Houston, TX	Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
07/15/09	Aerosmith in Atlanta, GA	Lakewood Amphitheatre	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
06/28/09	Aerosmith in Uncasville, CT	Mohegan Sun Arena	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
06/26/09	Aerosmith in Wantagh, NY	Nikon at Jones Beach Theater	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
06/24/09	Aerosmith in Pittsburgh, PA	Post-Gazette Pavilion	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
06/21/09	Aerosmith in Bristow, VA	Nissan Pavilion	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
06/16/09	Aerosmith in Mansfield, MA	Comcast Center	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
06/13/09	Aerosmith in East Troy, WI*	Alpine Valley Music Center	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.
06/10/09	Aerosmith in St. Louis, MO*	Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	US
	Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $..TBA. Related post.

Aero Force One Forum
June 11, 2009

Set List: Aerosmith – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – June 10, 2009

Monkey On My Back
Cryin’
Love In An Elevator
Dream On
Combination
Toys In The Attic
Uncle Salty
Adam’s Apple
Walk This Way
Big Ten Inch Record
Sweet Emotion
No More No More
Round And Round
Livin’ On The Edge
Draw The Line

~~~~~Encore~~~~~

Train Kept A Rollin’

Thanks to: Aero Force One Forum

Yahoo! News
June 10, 2009

Aerosmith talk ‘Guitar Hero’ and touring as they rock out for a new generation of kids.

Watch video:  (here).

Go Magazine
June 10, 2009

The last time Aerosmith toured – in 2007 in support the greatest hits album “Devil’s Got A New Disguise: The Very Best Of Aerosmith” – the band had to forge ahead without bassist Tom Hamilton.

It wasn’t Hamilton’s choice. Throat cancer, and the radiation and chemotherapy treatments that came with it, forced him to the sidelines and forced him to entertain a thought he didn’t want to face.

“What I had to go through was the band going out on tour without me. And so I had a taste of that, the negative feelings of that,” Hamilton said in a recent phone interview. “So it was a terrible thought, but I had to learn that there were some things that could be worse than not having the band.

“I’ve been in this band since I was a friggin’ teenager. Obviously I’ve got a strong desire to be here,” he explained. “But you know, sometimes you have to think like some day is coming. I think going through that cancer experience, it kind of grabbed me by the head and made me look at a lot of stuff and just sort of in general, you think of things you always wanted to do some day.

“Well some day is here. So I got a lot of that, which I think is a positive thing because it really focused me. And I’ve come a long way musically since that happened. It was almost a gift of the whole process that I’m probably a better player, writer, recorder now than I would have been if I hadn’t gone through that.”

Now, with Aerosmith on its summer tour (they’re playing the Comcast Center Tuesday night, June 16), Hamilton can once again focus on the band he’s been with since its inception in 1970.
He has been given a clean bill of health and has been fully involved in the group’s activities, which have included starting work in earnest on a new studio CD.

Hamilton said the band, which is working with producer Brendan O’Brien (known for his work with Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam) had actually hoped to finish the new CD before the start of the tour. But that plan was dashed when guitarist Joe Perry needed knee surgery and singer Steven Tyler had a bout with pneumonia. Now guitarist Brad Whitford will miss at least part of the current tour because of surgery. Bobby Schneck is taking his place.

“We went into a process sort of at the beginning of the year, like around February or March,” Hamilton said. “We decided since we had a few months to go before the tour there was no reason not to go and kind of see where we were at.

“So we were able to do a lot of that with Brendan. But Brendan, both Brendan and us, are on a very tight schedule. So it got to the point where we knew we had to get into tour mode and Brendan had to go for some prior commitments.

“So we thought all right, instead of just sort of a dysfunctional thing, staying up all day and all night until it’s done kind of thing, that was not something we wanted to do. We’ve done that a lot, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. We said we’ll take that album, and we’ll take what we’ve got so far, which is pretty good, and we’ll hold it and go out on tour and come back and finish it.”

It’s too early in the process for the band to know many specifics about what shape the new album will take. But Hamilton hinted that the CD could take the band in a harder rocking direction with a sound more in line with the raw, live-in-the-studio quality of “Honkin’ On Bobo” than the polished production of “Just Push Play.”

“It was really nice when we did ‘Honkin’ On Bobo’ to pick a song from a blues record, something that was an old favorite of ours, run it down a few times and then cut it,” Hamilton said. “(But) we’re not technology reactionaries. We’re not going to go in the studio and say ‘All right, no computers.’ Because it’s too much fun. Computers make wacky ideas possible.”

Aerosmith will get back to work on the album following the summer tour. For this summer’s outing, the group has been seriously considering playing one of its classic albums, such as 1975’s “Toys In The Attic,” front to back, during its set.
Although clearly excited by that idea, Hamilton said the difficult part is figuring how to play a complete album, while also fitting into the set the many other Aerosmith songs that fans want to hear.

“We’re really interested in doing that,” Hamilton said. “But we want to try to figure out some way to do it so that everybody’s happy. It’s a problem, but it’s a luxury problem. Nonetheless it’s a puzzle, and we have to work out how to structure the set so we really cover the whole thing.”

RFT – Riverfront Times, MO
June 9, 2009

Sometime this afternoon, a big huge bus parked itself outside the RFT’s offices on Delmar. Emblazoned on the side of the vehicle in fiery colors were logos for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, a painted caricature of guitarist Joe Perry and his website, JoePerry.com. We’re so conditioned to weird things in the Loop that none of us batted an eye at this. But sometime a bit after 5:30, our erstwhile photo intern Stew Smith came into my office and said, “Uh, did you know that Joe Perry is downstairs?” Apparently, Smith saw Perry climbing into the bus.

So downstairs we traipsed, into the rain, while he snapped some photos of the guitar demigod’s vehicle (and side profile). At some point soon after we started looking like creepy stalkers, the bus driver came outside and asked a U-City policeman (and several RFT workers milling about) for directions to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, where Aerosmith is playing tomorrow night.

After helping them along the way, I asked, “Hey, so what are you guys doing here anyway?” He answered: “Joe likes to come down to this street when he’s in town.” (This didn’t surprise me — after all, Perry jumped onstage at Chuck Berry’s 80th birthday party at the Duck Room a few years ago, unannounced.) Was he visiting Joe Edwards? Eating at Blueberry Hill? Checking out the guitar store? Just to be on the safe side, I called Vintage Vinyl and asked if Perry had gone shopping there while he was hanging out. The clerk I talked to said his bus was parked outside there for awhile, but as far as she knew, he hadn’t been in — unless he snuck in quietly to get in some record shopping.

More photos:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 9, 2009

Got a burning question for Aerosmith that you’d love to get the answer to? What if it came straight from Joey Kramer?! Joey is looking to field a few of YOUR questions during the pre-show party on the 2009 Tour. We will be taking questions straight from the AF1 Community and putting them in Joey’s hands. He will respond to a few submitted questions during each party.

Going to be there? Let us know! Submit your questions now by sending an e-mail to customerservice@aeroforceone.com (and be sure to include with your question which show you are attending)!

Don’t miss out on having your question answered!

Aero Force One
June 9, 2009

Tom Hamilton was recently interviewed by Hitflix. Here is the entire article:

Aerosmith has been rocking the world since 1970. As if that weren’t remarkable enough a feat, against all odds the legendary band is still comprised of its original members: vocalist Steven Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry, guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer.

On Wednesday, Aerosmith starts a summer tour in St. Louis. Beginning 21, they’ll be joined by ZZ Top in a hit-filled double bill sure to please classic rock fans. (Whitford, who is recovering from surgery, will join the tour in progress. Until then, guitarist Bobby Schneck will fill in).

Hamilton talked to Hitfix from his Boston-area home about the tour, how the band almost lost it all and the one book you’ll never see him write.

Q: Next year is Aerosmith’s 40th anniversary. Did you ever think it would last this long?

A: It shouldn’t be allowed. Now with Obama in there, they’ll do some kind of consumer protection thing (laughs). Yeah, I’m at a point in my life when I hear people say that it all goes by really fast and I remember hearing people say that when I was in my youth and I would say, you know, an hour is still an hour. Meanwhile, now an hour feels like five minutes. Yeah, everything seems to speed up and, for me, it makes me focus because there are still so many things to accomplish with this band, as a band and as individuals.

Q: The new tour starts June 10. Do you still get excited the night before? Is it like going back to school?

A: It is. The thing is when you start a tour, obviously you haven’ t been playing those songs every other night so you have to concentrate more on the arrangement themselves and the details of what you’re playing until you get completely up and running. You can’t assume, “Oh, we’re going to play ‘Ragdoll.’ Yeah, okay, I don’t need to work on that. For God’s sake, I’ve played that 500 times.” And then you’re up there going, “Oh my God! Is the next verse coming up or is it the bridge? Crap! Why didn’t I practice?”

Q: So you’re got to wait awhile for muscle memory to kick in.

A: Yeah and it always does. But it’s good to have it actually kick in before the first show.

Q: What do you think is the key to staying sane on the road? To passing the 22 hours a day that you’re not on stage?

A: The part that I like… We’ve been fortunate enough to use a charter plane for a while. I love those nights where it’s the band and a few of our crew people on the plane. That’s when you just really feel the camaraderie. How lucky are we to be able to be sitting in this thing? Instead of looking up at the airplanes, we’re in the plane, going to the next gig. …but I’ll tell you something else, busses are great too. We’re usually broken up, it’s usually a couple of guys in their own busses and then maybe three of us with some other people in the plane, but there are times when we’re going to some remote area altogether and I like it; it’s cool.

Q: You’re going on the road with ZZ Top. What excites you about going out with them?

A: Well, what excites me about going out with them and I think everybody else in the band is they have so many damn good songs. We’ve toured with bands in the past that might have had more of a newness factor or a coolness factor, but they’d get up there and have a couple of songs that the audience is really into and then the rest of it would kind of be not that exciting and I could see it on the faces of the crowd.

You go out and watch the opening act and how they’re going over. The audience can be cruel. If it’s not a band that has a lot of good songs, they’re going to let you know that they’re tolerating you until Aerosmith goes on. But those guys, they’re going to get up there and every song they play, the crowd’s going to get energized and it’s really going to be a lot of fun.

Q: What song never gets old for you to play live?

A: I have to say “Living on the Edge.” I’m actually a little bit on the fence for that one for the tour. That song has that ethereal thing and you can just milk so much emotion out of it and then I love playing “Back in the Saddle.” It’s still a challenge for me. That main rift is a weird rift, that’s very Joe Perry. (laughs) It’s a powerful song, but it’s got a lot of subtleties and little things that have to feel right.

Q: My former boss at Billboard was a long time observer of the band and one day he said to me, “The thing about Aerosmith is they are locked in a dance they can not get out of.”

A: (laughs) It’s, you know…sometimes I sit and think about how it can get very volatile and how there’s a crisis every other day, but I think it would be comical if this band ever got to the point where we made some announcement that we were breaking up the band because it’s too late to do that.

Q: You did split for awhile.

A: It wasn’t a full break up. It was a sort of broken in half kind of thing. Steven and Joey and I kept going and Joe and Brad each went out and each did their own solo things and sort of wallowed around for three years doing that. It was a very good lesson for us to learn. We were lucky that we were able to get back together and not only start making good albums again, but still be together. I still can think back to those years where we all realized we had this amazing thing that so many people would, you know, give their left foot to have and it’s worth keeping. We blew it and lost it for a few years, but we got to go catch it again and we remember that.

Q: What is going on with the new album? When will we see it?

A: I know, really… We did about six to eight weeks of really intense work in like February and March and we started out knowing that we were going on the road. At that point, we didn’t know it was going to be June; we thought it might be sooner. Some of us just said “let’s see what we can pull off. Let’s just get it going and pound away and see what we can get done.” Right around the same time we finalized the agreement with Brendan O’Brien, who’s an awesome producer that we’ve wanted to work with for a long time. He actually mixed our “Get a Grip” album. He runs a super tight schedule and we’re kind of, you know, we’re kind of slow. We have our moments. There can be a period of a little bit of drifting.

We took about 10 songs and got them all arranged and the pre-production pretty much done on them and we were ready to go down to New York and record… but Steven got an ear infection and that turned into a lung infection and that put the schedule back to where Brendan had to take off. So, you know, we’re going to go out and tour and then we’ll come back and finish this thing off.

Q: Steven has an autobiography coming out called “Do the Voices in my Head Bother You?” Do you have a book in you?

A: I do like to write and I’ve written stuff for the website and stuff here and there, so yeah, if I was to do a book, it would not be another “Gee I was so fucked up and now I’m okay.”

Q: What would it be?

A: It would be more about the raw fun and inspiration of being these teenagers that were really dreaming about doing something and, all of sudden; it just sort of flowed into it. When you’re in high school…I was accepted at a couple of schools, I was going to take a drama program, but I had this desire to do the band thing that was really strong. It was something that just kind of happened…

It’s funny now, people will come up to me with their 13- or 14- year- old kid and say, “Well, he really wants to be a musician. He’s working really hard at it but I told him you gotta have something to fall back on.” And ask me if that’s how I did it. [And I say] “Well, you don’t really have a Plan B, you know. If you have a Plan B, you’re going to kill Plan A.” They get this look on their face like “Why the hell did you just say that?” (laughs).

Aero Force One
June 8, 2009

Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford will be sitting out part of the band’s upcoming Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Presents Aerosmith tour dates with special guests ZZ Top as he recuperates from recent surgery. Bobby Schneck (who has played with Green Day, Weezer and Slash) will be filling in for the guitarist. Aerosmith–Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer–regret any inconvenience to their fans and thank everyone for their support.

Aero Force One
June 8, 2009

Steven Tyler shares a little insight about the upcoming tour beginning on June 10th from behind the scenes at rehearsal!

Watch video:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 8, 2009

Tom Hamilton leads us through a sneak peek into the studio as Aerosmith rehearses for the upcoming tour beginning on June 10th.

Watch video:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 7, 2009

Joe Perry talked to CBS News about Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and the tour:

Watch video:  (here).

Yahoo! News
June 4, 2009

“The summer concert season is about to get underway and one of the biggest names in rock is kicking off its tour right here in St. Louis. On Wednesday, Aerosmith will play at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater out at Riverport. They spoke with News 4’s Paul Cook.”

Watch video:  (here).

IllinoisEntertainer.com
June 1, 2009

Back To The Edge

For one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most treasured groups of “bad boys,” Aerosmith haven’t done much rockin’ or rollin’ lately. The mechanics of mobilizing their aging machine have proven more difficult than imagined, as age, health, and stop/start productivity have given the band fits. The marketing arm has no problem functioning – Aerosmith are set to push out on their umpteenth summer tour and have a deal with the “Guitar Hero” video game to promote — but the edgiest way guitarist Brad Whitford can describe their reputation these days is “We’re very undisciplined.”

Appearing: Saturday, June 13th at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI and Friday, August 28th at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park.

This isn’t meant as a broadside on an act who have defined nasty, American guitar bands for more than 30 years. Nor is it an insinuation they’re deliberately shirking duty. Foremost, bassist Tom Hamilton underwent successful cancer treatment and was justifiably sidelined until he recovered. Guitarist Joe Perry battled knee problems, while frontman Steven Tyler’s throat and leg surgeries turned into a rehab stint for painkiller addictions. No one could be faulted for wanting to cover Whitford and drummer Joey Kramer in Bubble Wrap and throwing away the scissors.

None of it can disguise the fact — and Aerosmith aren’t making excuses – their last offering was a covers outing (2004’s Honkin’ On Bobo), which followed consecutive disappointing records, 1997’s Nine Lives and 2001’s Just Push Play. One original effort in 12 years is not the mark of a band who are near their peak. Will the road break the studio’s hex?

“We’re hoping,” Whitford says from the band’s Boston rehearsal space. “We had this one song we were going to put on the new album and are thinking in the next couple weeks of making a mix of it and posting it as a download. If that all comes together, we’d include that in the set. That’d be fun for us, too, to have something new that people would be familiar with. The other new stuff doesn’t make much sense to play unless people have gotten familiar with it.”

One of the new record’s stick points is it isn’t exactly new material. Instead of starting from scratch, Aerosmith are attempting to wrap up songs that have remained unfinished from old sessions. The tunes, perhaps feeling scorned for being ignored for so long, aren’t making it easy on the band.

“There is quite a library of songs, probably going back into the ’90s,” he says, ”that we either passed on or weren’t entirely finished [with]. We’d been working on a lot of those songs and hoping quite a few of those would be on the new album when we do finish it,” Whitford chuckles. “We were hoping to have it done before the tour, but we had several setbacks with scheduling and health issues. We didn’t have time to finish it. We had to start getting ready for this tour as well.”

The guitarist sighs, “For some reason, this album doesn’t want to get completed. Every time we start to work on it, something happens.”

Perhaps in the spirit of rummaging through old boxes, this summer’s tour will revisit, rather appropriately, 1975’s classic Toys In The Attic set.

“We’re doing a lot of material that we haven’t done either before or very little in the past,” he says. “It’s kind of a lot of refreshing the memory and relearning some songs. Our setlist just hasn’t varied a whole lot over the last 20 years, so we’re going to break out some stuff people might enjoy hearing that they haven’t heard before.” Even the most ardent Blue Army supporters are in for a treat. “The last song, ‘You See Me Crying,’ we’ve never performed. The arrangement’s not terribly complex, but it’s gonna take a little getting used to.”

Never played it live?

“No. And it’s a great song,” Whitford replies, amused as well. “There’s a lot of material that has never made it to the concert stage. We figured it’s time. It’s a lot more interesting for us. I personally enjoy having a challenge like having some ‘new’ stuff. It makes it more fun. Get to focus more. It might be one or two of the more complex arrangements that may take a week or two to feel more confident about.”

Given recent history, there might be concern whether there’s enough time to flesh those out.

“I’d say right now Joe’s a little behind the eight ball because he’s still learning the parts for some of these songs,” he admits. “Like I said, some of these things we haven’t played since they were recorded. So it requires homework, and then we sit here and do more of it. He’s trying to catch up as quickly as possible.” But Perry wrote most of those songs, didn’t he? “Yeah. Oh shit, yeah — excuse me,” Whitford apologizes. “They kind of stay up in the memory banks; you just gotta dust them off. You think, ‘How did I play that? Where were my hands on the neck? How did I voice the chords?’ It all comes back.”

Isn’t there anyone around to rally you guys? “Oh, gosh, I guess it varies from day to day,” he says somewhat impishly. “We’re fairly diplomatic, but someone will step into the driver’s seat every day. You gotta crack the whip around here — lately I’ve been.”

Any uncertainty hanging about Aerosmith fans should be allayed by the trail the band are slowly picking up. Following the feelgood comeback of 1987’s Permanent Vacation, the followup Pump suggested they were a serious force because of the hard-hitting child-abuse tale “Janie’s Got A Gun.” As if the band couldn’t get any bigger, however, 1993’s Get A Grip dominated radio and MTV with an endless hit parade, though it came with a price. The triple threat of the identical “Crazy,” “Cryin’,” and “Amazing” singles boasted Alicia Silverstone and Tyler’s daughter Liv in the risque videos and seemed to teach them that slick power ballads held the keys to further spoils. The result was “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” the Diane Warren-penned soundtrack companion to Armageddon, which made them a hit with tween girls and “Oprah” viewers, but diminished their rock cred. Many people blame the song for the pop sheen that devoured Nine Lives and Just Push Play and their successful but uninspiring singles, “Pink” and “Jaded.”

Honkin’ On Bobo addressed this with a sequence of blues standards to retrace the band’s roadhouse origins. Bringing Toys In The Attic on tour is another step in the right direction, punctuated by the forthcoming album’s producer, Brendan O’Brien, who’s not only a favorite of Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam, but who recently helmed the new Mastodon album.

–Steve Forstneger

For the complete picture, including Whitford’s thoughts on Aerosmith’s recent material, pick up the June issue of Illinois Entertainer, available free throughout Chicagoland.

WFAA.com, TX
June 4, 2009

Watch video:  (here).

95.5 KLOS, CA
June 4, 2009

“In The Morning With Mark And Brian”

Listen:  (here).

FoxNews.com
June 4, 2009

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry talk Aerosmith tour, new video game

Watch video:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 3, 2009

Win a Wheels Up VIP Package Upgrade
Passes to the Pre-Show Party
Exclusive Gift Bag
Meet & Greet With Steven & Joe

Are you a massive Aerosmith fan? Made something super special happen for someone else? Finally stuck to your New Year’s resolution? Whatever It Takes to explain why YOU or someone you love is the “Most Deserving Fan,” the AF1 fan community wants to know.

Let the AF1 community recognize Aerosmith’s “Most Deserving Fan” in a spectacular way by voting for their “Most Deserving Fan.” The “Most Deserving Fan” (the person with the most votes) will get an upgrade into the “Wheels Up” VIP Package! – that’s a pass for TWO to the pre-show VIP party with exclusive gift bag and a meet & greet with Steven & Joe. Now THAT’S an upgrade!
Here’s how you enter the “Most Deserving Fan” contest:

Send in your story of why YOU or someone you love should win to contests@aeroforceone.com with the subject line “Most Deserving Fan (-include the city of the show).” Your story can be written, you can do a video…you decide. The stories will get posted to AeroForceOne.com for the AF1 community to vote on who they – YOU – think is the “Most Deserving Fan.” Click on the link below to view other entries. Click on “Enter to Win” for the show you have tickets to in order to share your story! Oh Yeah, did we tell you?…AF1 is giving away this killer prize for every show (starting on June 16th and excluding Irvine, CA and Sturgis, SD). Two runners-up will get a goodie bag of merch straight from the AF1 store. So watcha waiting for – enter today!

* Please note: You MUST have tickets to the show – this upgrade does not include tickets. The upgrade is for the meet n greet with Steven and Joe and access to the VIP pre-show party. Your actual tickets will not be upgraded. This contest is open to paying and non-paying members. Contest includes all tour locations except Irvine, CA and Sturgis, SD.

More info:  (here).

WZLX.com
June 2, 2009

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer dropped by Tuesday to catch up with Carter Alan, Chuck Nowlin and Kenny Young!

Missed it? Listen to the podcast below and click here to check out the pictures!

And don’t forget – ZLX has your chance to meet Steven and Joe Perry backstage when they play The Comcast Center this summer. Get the details here!

Listen:  (here).

Aero Force One
June 1, 2009

Make sure to listen to Chuck Nowlin and Kenny Young tomorrow evening. Steven Tyler will be dropping by around 6:30pm to talk about the upcoming tour. It will be a great chat, so make sure to tune in.

Also, WZLX is giving away Aerosmith tickets and a meet and greet with Steven and Joe when they play the Comcast Center this summer – so be sure to keep tuned in to win!

Click here to go to the WZLX website for more information on the Aerosmith contests!

Listen live:  (here).

Boston Globe, MA
May 27, 2009

When ZZ Top bowed out of its local gig with Aerosmith, guitarist Joe Perry said he was committed to finding the perfect replacement for the double bill at the Comcast Center. “This is Boston. We’ve got to make it something different. It’s got to be a show,” Perry remembers telling assistant tour manager John Bionelli. Perry, who called to chat yesterday, said there was one sure way to keep the locals happy – by adding the Dropkick Murphys to the lineup. Luckily, Ken Casey and the Dropkick boys were more than happy to oblige. Perry said the June 16 show will be the first time he’s heard the Celtic rockers live. The famed guitarist also told us he’s been focused these days on healing from his recent knee surgery. “That wasn’t exactly what I’d call a trip to Newbury Street,” he said, of the infections and physical therapy that made for a bleak winter. Perry said the experience made him feel close to fellow knee surgery survivor Tom Brady, although Perry joked that Brady’s recovery looked more enjoyable in the media than his own. “So he’s lounging around Morocco or Cabo San Lucas or wherever the hell [he and Gisele Bundchen] were and I was lying around getting antibiotic injections.”

WireImage.com
May 28, 2009

Mark Hudson and Steven Tyler attend the opening of BookExpo America at The Javits Center on May 28, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)

More:  (here).