Aero Force One
September 29, 2009

People are always interested in what we’ve been listening to lately. Most of what I listen to these days is whatever I happen to be working on at the moment. I suppose I’m risking becoming illiterate when it comes to the flavor of the day. I hear tons of cool stuff all the time without necessarily checking out who’s doing it.

Meanwhile, I’m always in training and like to approach life as a student. There’s so much cool stuff in the world to check out. I’ve been blowing a lot of money on just about every recording magazine and book there is out there. I’ve always been a music junkie and a gear-head. Ever since I was twelve I’ve been fascinated with recording devices. One year, for Christmas, a favorite uncle gave us kids a Wollensak reel to reel tape recorder. My brother and I just used that thing to death. After a few years it started making a really loud buzzing and static noise but it would promptly stop if you gave it a sharp smack on the side.

Now I’ve got myself thinking about my Uncle Bill. He was a great inspiration to me.

He was kind of famous in his own right and he had a Ferrari. A friggin’ gorgeous red Italian sports car. Every time he came over we would make him open the hood and rev the engine and I would just soak up the noises of the spinning cam shafts and the flutes of the carburetors sucking in air for the hungry cylinders. Later when he’d leave I’d stand in the driveway and listen as he drove off. We lived on a back country road so he’d keep it kind of slow until he got to the big state road about a quarter of a mile away. Then we’d all smile at each other as we could hear that thing way off in the distance bellowing and shrieking as Uncle Bill took it up through the gears. It was one of the things that made up the DNA of my dreams and probably still does.

But anyway, I suppose I should be out checking out more of what’s going on in the world record wise but I’m a bit wrapped up.

I have been going to a bunch of shows. I saw Kings of Leon a few weeks ago. They played really tight. They totally get dynamics and how to structure their stuff so it translates. I’ve been a fan of theirs since the “Youth…” record. When I first got it I couldn’t get over how that guy’s voice sounds like an old mountain man that’s experienced a lifetime of bootleg whiskey and hard times. I’m happy that they’re having a lot of success now. I’m happy for them but mostly proud that this country can appreciate it on a mass scale. Just be careful, boys…..

I saw U2 the other night. Joe and I have been fans of theirs for a long time. Let me first say that they played great and I’m always impressed by just how many great songs they have and how good it feels to hear the texture of their sound. But the thing that got my jaw to drop was their production. It was on a scale that nobody’s ever done and possibly never will again. I could describe it but it would probably be more accurate for people to just go on the web and find pictures of it. What I can say is that the effect of being up close to it is beyond massive. Before they went on I was wondering if they would fall into the trap of being spread out in different time zones on the huge circular ramp that surrounds the stage. But they did a great job of spending enough time as a unit on the main part of the stage. Very cool. Damn good performance by everyone in the band.

It was inspiring and I found myself in my studio working a little bit earlier than usual the next day.

I haven’t been traveling a whole hell of a lot in the last couple of months. I’ve been healing up from my “non invasive surgery.” I love that expression. I’ve rarely heard anything as brilliantly vague. At the time it’s just what I wanted to convey. Let’s just say that old prick Mr. C needed to get hit in the nose a few more times. He must not have liked it because he hasn’t been seen.

People have been asking about my dog, Papaya. She’s doing well but she still thinks she can fly even though she’s blind. Maybe that’s the trick.

The band has a few gigs coming up next month and then it’s back into album mode. Let’s just say that log pile is getting pretty high and we’ll all keep chucking more onto it until it spills into plain sight. Keep believing folks, there’s gonna be one.

TH

Aero Force One
September 28, 2009

Boomerocity
Randy Patterson

Have you ever been hit hard? I mean, say you’ve been punched so hard in the stomach that you thought you were going to die because you couldn’t catch your breath. Or, maybe somebody decked you a good one so hard that you saw those little cartoon birds tweeting around your head.

Maybe you haven’t been physically hit hard but let’s say that you’ve been hit hard emotionally. You’ve been told that you were worthless; that you would NEVER amount to anything; that your best is nowhere near good enough nor will it ever be. Those kinds of hits take your emotional breath away or have you mentally swirling around so bad that you can’t see your way out.

If you combine both of these scenarios, you’ll have a very good idea of what kind environment Aerosmith drummer grew up in as a kid. This is the sad story you’ll read in his very open, no-holds-barred autobiography that’s appropriately (and sadly) entitled, “Hit Hard”.

For those of us who have been raised in a nurturing home environment by parents who properly showed love and encouragement, “Hit Hard” is a difficult book to read. You don’t want that kind of reality to come crashing in to our well-balanced world and mind but you can’t help but read it anyway. And what you’ll read is a kid’s life of loveless loneliness who wanted nothing more than to feel and know that he was unconditionally loved by his mom and dad.

As many people do when they feel that they’re all alone in the world, they withdraw into a world of their own creation and search for something – anything – that they can excel in. To excel in that one thing, they hope to “earn” the love they so desperately need to feel.

In the case of Joey Kramer found a passion that he could master: playing drums. His passion was so great that he would sneak to band practice when he would have his own drum stored away for punishment by his parents.

Reading “Hit Hard”, you’ll get some insight into the monstrous hit (and money) making machine we all know and love as Aerosmith. More importantly, you learn that, after stumbling through a long, painful life of drug abuse, emotional abuse, financial roller-coaster rides and emotional instability, it’s okay (read that as: necessary) to admit that one needs help.

In 1995, Joey Kramer hit an emotionally debilitating brick wall. He could no longer bury his pain with one more snort, purchase, or one night stand. He had to come to grips with the gaping emotional hole in his psyche that he tried to fill and satisfy with “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll”. He started the road to emotional stability and healing by realizing he needed help. He also learned that, buried in the very core of his being, he needed forgive those who hurt him the most. Kramer realized that, in order to survive, he also had to separate himself from those who fed off of keeping him down and dependent. As for those he couldn’t separate from, he dealt with the underlying issues that made those relationships so toxic and emotionally damaging.

What’s hard to read, and for some to accept, is to realize it’s okay to weep and cry as you deal with the very real pain that is driving you to self-destruction. I don’t mean in an Oprah/Barbara Walters TV Therapy session. I mean the process of hitting hard, while the tears are streaming down your face, at the inner-demons that drive you to ruin. It takes a real man or woman to push fear aside and do exactly that. There’s no greater strength, and no more fierce bravery, than to take to heart that truth.

If you’ve been hit hard with some pretty cruel blows in life, either physical or emotional, Joey Kramer’s “Hit Hard” is a book that you must read. While you will certainly be encouraged to face your own emotional road blocks, you’ll also read some great inside stories of one of the greatest American rock and roll bands in the world today.

Click (here) for more information about Joey Kramer’s “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top.”

Blabbermouth.net, NY
September 27, 2009

A new New Hampshire Lottery scratch ticket game featuring the rock band Aerosmith was launched yesterday (Saturday, September 26) when the lottery also held a live public drawing for $1 million. The game has cash prizes of up to $50,000, along with Aerosmith CDs and Dirico motorcycles autographed by Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

The Aerosmith “Dream On” scratch tickets will be available in retail stores on September 28.

Check out the YouTube clip [at link] below to view the Aerosmith TV commercial for the Rhode Island state lottery with Aerosmith-branded scratch tickets.

GTECH Corporation announced in March 2009 that it had signed a multi-year licensing agreement, brokered by Primary Wave Music, with Aerosmith, giving GTECH the exclusive rights for the lottery business to utilize one of the most powerful brands in the music industry.

Continued:  (here).

OneighTurbo.com
September 26, 2009

For the third consecutive race weekend, the drivers of the SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup had to navigate a rain-soaked track on race day. This added an interesting but familiar twist to the final race of the year, which was contested on the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course at Road Atlanta…..

….While the series’ regulars had previous experience battling the elements, the guest drivers experienced an added obstacle today. However, both journalist Jeremy Shaw and Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford avoided trouble, with Shaw placing 12th and Whitford 18th.

‘This entire weekend was quite the experience for me,’ Whitford said. ‘First of all, I was driving a totally different car than I have competed in before. Secondly, I have never raced in the rain. Add the two together, and it sounds like a recipe for disaster. However, I was able to keep the car on track and in one piece for the entire race. Considering the conditions, I was really amazed at how well these cars held up to the demands of racing. Several years ago, nobody would have guessed that you could race a diesel, but these Jetta TDIs are awesome little cars, and I think the fans that showed up early to the track today got a great show……’

Complete article:  (here).

Boston Herald, MA
September 27, 2009

Joe Perry took a rapt, capacity crowd to school on Saturday night, showing them that playing loud, flashy rock for four decades can only make you stronger. Fronting the current lineup of the Joe Perry Project (Paul Santo, keyboards; Marty Richards, drums; Hagen, vocals; original band member David Hull, bass), Perry switched guitars throughout the 18-song, almost-two-hour set – his clear-body Dan Armstrong model even cooler than his unique Gibson Lucille “Billie” model.

The black-leather-jacketed Perry dipped into his solo and Aerosmith catalog, offered up a few inventive covers and presented six tunes from his upcoming CD, “Have Guitar, Will Travel.”

With the theme song from the old TV western “Have Gun – Will Travel” playing behind them, the band hit the stage of the Fusion 5 in Foxboro with the title track from the first Joe Perry Project album, “Let the Music Do the Talking,” letting the crowd know that Hagen is a strong singer and that Perry’s fingers and hands were there to play……

Continued:  (here).

Daylife.com
September 25, 2009

WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 24: Joe Perry, co-founder of Aerosmith, performs at ‘Rock Stars of Science’ sponsored by Geoffrey Beene Foundation & ResearchAmerica to engage health and medicine discussion at the Capitol Visitors Center Auditorium on September 24, 2009 in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 24: (L-R) Rudy Tanzi, PhD, Havard, Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, NIH, and Joe Perry, co-founder of Aerosmith, perform at ‘Rock Stars of Science’ sponsored by Geoffrey Beene Foundation & ResearchAmerica to engage health and medicine discussion at the Capitol Visitors Center Auditorium on September 24, 2009 in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 24: Joe Perry, co-founder of Aerosmith, (l) on a panel discussion at ‘Rock Stars of Science’ sponsored by Geoffrey Beene Foundation & ResearchAmerica to engage health and medicine discussion at the Capitol Visitors Center Auditorium on September 24, 2009 in Washington, DC.

More photos:  (here).

TomHowie.com
September 26, 2009

“Thanks to everyone who came to our show at The Flying Goose on Thursday. It was a fantastic time for me and the band, and we really enjoyed playing for the people in attendance. A fantastic crowd indeed.

The cool thing for me was going up to New Hampshire again, which is a very beautiful part of the country. New London is a great little town, and it was very quaint and charming as I expected it would be. Ryan’s parents (Ryan plays bass with me for those that don’t know) live up there and Ryan’s father Jim (I call him James) was the promoter of the show. He did a fantastic job. We were lucky enough to stay with them and be shown incredible hospitality while we were up there. The show, the people, and the times were all fantastic. Big thanks!

The other reason that area was interesting to me is because a few years ago I read the Aerosmith autobiography Walk This Way, and this was the area that the members of that band met and founded the group. There are also some crazy stories of them up there during the life of the band, hanging out in their houses and doing all sorts of things, musical and not. So the place we were playing had a mythical aura about it to me, which was really fun.

However a real surprise came as we were right about to go on. I went to the bathroom to do a final minute of psyching myself up, and literally opened the door right into Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith himself. He was in there giving a little pre-show pep talk to Ryan. So, what was supposed to be a pre-show calming of nerves turned into a pre-show exciting of nerves. Nonetheless I cooled off the second I stepped up in front of everyone as usually happens, and we did our thing.

We were lucky enough to hang out with Steven a little while afterward, which was great. He had lots of great stories, even some about recording and writing in Vancouver, my home town, which were nice to hear. Safe to say that this was the only show so far where an audience member has signed more autographs than me and the band by a long shot, including one for me. It was awesome! Steven is a great guy and it was a pleasure to meet him, and a pleasure the play the Flying Goose.

Thanks again to everyone who came, and to James Gleason for his promotional efforts, and the whole Gleason family for their wonderful hospitality!”

Motorsport.com
September 25, 2009

Less than 24 hours remain before the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Champion is crowned, and the drivers took to the track today at Road Atlanta for the final practice and qualifying sessions of the season…..

…..The two guest drivers joining the series at Road Atlanta this weekend got their first taste of Jetta TDI Cup action today. Journalist Jeremy Shaw led the way with a best time of 1:43.701 (88.112 mph). Meanwhile, Aerosmith guitarist, Brad Whitford, had a best lap of 1:51.355 (82.115).

“I’ve done some racing in the past, but today was a totally different experience for me,” Whitford said. “During the first session, I just wasn’t comfortable, but thanks to the help of the other drivers and the series instructors, I was able to make some big strides in qualifying and had a lot of fun in the car. I wasn’t nearly as quick as some of these young guns, but I was able to stay on track for the most part and didn’t ruin anyone else’s day, so I consider today a success.”

Complete article:  (here).

Aero Force One
September 24, 2009

HERNDON, Va. – After nine races on seven different circuits, the SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series is entering its final contest of the 2009 season this weekend at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. When the 23 series regulars take to the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course for the race that will decide the Championship, they will be joined by two guest drivers including Aerosmith guitarist, Brad Whitford, and motorsports journalist Jeremy Shaw.

The pair will compete alongside the other drivers in all track activities this weekend beginning with practice on Friday at 8:15 a.m. ET and concluding with the race on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET. Both Whitford and Shaw have motorsports backgrounds and are excited to be racing this weekend in the country’s only clean diesel motorsports series.

“I attended the Petit Le Mans race weekend last year, so I was able to get a feel for the Jetta TDI Cup during its first season,” Whitford said. “This will be a totally different experience for me, though. It’s going to be a lot of fun to be on the other side of the fence, and I’ll definitely have a much better view of the race. There are some talented drivers in this series, so hopefully I’ll be able to learn a few things from them when I get behind the wheel this weekend.”

About the guest drivers:

Jeremy Shaw – Shaw was born in Macclesfield, England and resides in Santa Margarita, California. He has been a motorsports writer and broadcaster since 1974 and is a regular contributor to several publications around the world, including the industry-leading British weekly, Autosport. He also is the motorsport editor for OnCars.com and a member of the American Le Mans Series Radio broadcast team. In 1990, Shaw founded the Team USA Scholarship program to assist young American drivers in the formative stages of their careers. Past winners include Jimmy Vasser (1990 winner), Bryan Herta (1991), Jerry Nadeau (1993/1996), Memo Gidley (1995), Buddy Rice (1997) and A.J. Allmendinger (2001). In addition, he has been behind the wheel in SCCA, Vintage Formula Ford and F2000 races.

Brad Whitford – Whitford is a Winchester, Massachusetts native and the lead and rhythm guitarist for Aerosmith, the best selling American hard rock band of all time. He attended the Berklee College of Music before joining the band in 1971. Whitford’s talents aren’t only limited to the studio or the stage. He’s also an avid, amateur racecar driver. He has attended numerous driving schools including the Skip Barber Racing School, Panoz Racing School and Derek Daly Performance Driving Academy and is part owner of F1 Boston, an indoor karting facility. Whitford now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, and actively competes in club races at Palmetto Motorsports Club…..

Continued:  (here).

JoePerry.com
September 24, 2009

‘Rock Stars of Science’ — Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is part of a group of musicians spotlighting life-saving research.
Source: CNN

Watch video:  (here).
Transcript:  (here).

WickedLocal.com
September 23, 2009

Aerosmith drummer and Marshfield resident Joey Kramer signed copies of his new book, “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top,” at Arthur & Pat’s Restaurant Sept. 19.

More photos:  (here).

TheHill.com
September 23, 2009

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry today payed a visit to the man he endorsed during the 2008 presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Perry and his wife posed for a picture with the former Republican nominee, which McCain shared on Twitter:

Photo:  (here).

“We pretty much stay out of it, but seeing so many people come out for Obama, I just felt like ‘What the hell, I might as well raise my hand for this side,’” Perry told the Boston Herald in October 2008. The shredder cited national security concerns and economic troubles in his endorsement.

“I had a great meeting with Joe Perry and his wife Billie – and will never forget their support during the campaign!”

Aero Force One
September 23. 2009

Upcoming Aerosmith tour dates and tickets

Sun Oct 18, 2009 — Blaisdell Arena Honolulu, HI — Presale Wed, 09.23.09, 09:00 AM ET
Tue Oct 20, 2009 — MACC – War Memorial Stadium Maui, HI — Presale TBA

More info: (here).

Aero Force One
September 23, 2009

The Boston Herald
Jed Gottlieb

The globetrotting Boston bad boys are scheduled to be back in the saddle Oct. 18 and 20 in Maui, Hawaii, and on Nov. 1 at a Formula One race event in Abu Dhabi.

Last week, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry fueled speculation of a breakup after telling The Associated Press of his frustrations with singer Steven Tyler, who forced the band to cancel summer tour dates after injuring himself in a fall from the stage on Aug. 5 in Sturgis, S.D.

Yesterday Perry said that while it is true he and Tyler haven’t spoken in weeks, rumors of the band’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. “We’re getting our visas together and the papers drawn up and everything,” Perry said. “So as far as I’m concerned we’re doing these dates.”

And then?

“If (bandmembers Joey Kramer, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton) were in the room with me I’d say they’d agree that we’ll be working on a studio record in late spring and planning a tour in the fall,” Perry said.

Would Tyler, too, agree?

“The break in his shoulder is a really unusual one,” the guitarist said. “They have to see how it heals before they know if they have to put a pin in it or not. If they do that’s going to set him back a whole lot. I’m just really glad he didn’t get hurt worse. This is my brother and we’ve been together for 40 years and I hated to see that happen. “Of course we’ve all fallen off the stage at one time or another,” Perry laughed. “Maybe twice in some cases.”

Perry admits he was discouraged when the tour was canceled, but he didn’t stay down for long. On Saturday he plays Fusion 5 in Foxboro ahead of the Oct. 6 release of his solo album “Have Guitar, Will Travel.” Perry cranked it out in 47 days at his home studio with old friends from the Joe Perry Project.

“When we realized that we weren’t going to make the (Aerosmith) studio record I was ready to record solo,” he said. “I figured I’ve got this pile of material and I’ve got time, (so) why not? I went into it full blast because I needed to stay occupied. But I still believe we have another Aerosmith record in us and a better one than the last one. And that’s my half of the story.”

More from Jed Gottlieb’s interview with Joe Perry:

Herald: Your interview with AP got fans worried. What’s the real story about the future of Aerosmith?

Joe Perry: Aerosmith is taking a breather. We had to postpone some dates at the end of two or three tours and that kind of pushed our touring problems into the forefront and didn’t give us a lot of time to make a studio record. After having to cancel this last tour we need to stand back, take a deep breath and let everybody come back down to earth. We’re going on hiatus like most bands do, we’re not kids anymore we don’t need to pound the pavement every day but we got locked into that after postponing gigs and having to make them up.

So did that AP story exaggerate your frustration with Steven Tyler?

Sometimes certain things come out. I always try to be as honest as I can and that’s it. I stand by everything I said. In the context of a longer interview it probably would have seemed less harsh, but it is still the truth. I’m still getting over the fact that tour was canceled. It was the best one we’d put together in such a long time.

What surprised me the most was hearing that you and Steven haven’t been writing together for some time. Is that really true? Nothing in a decade or so?

Relationships go through changes, songwriting partnerships go through changes. When we started using outside songwriters it definitely helped with our success in the ’80s and ’90s. I don’t know, maybe it got too comfortable to rely on that. I don’t think anybody really cares who writes the songs as long as they sound like Aerosmith songs and, at least to me, there have been times when we drifted away from (sounding like Aerosmith). I don’t mind using outside songwriters but I’d still like to see an Aerosmith where the core of the music comes from the guys in the band.

Will that happen? Will there even be another Aerosmith record?

Maybe we have three more records in us. Maybe we have five (and) seven years of touring.

Why were you so upset by the tour’s early end?

The band was getting better and better and the shows were getting better and better. That’s why it’s hard for me even (sigh) to think about how good this tour could have gone and how well it could have been. But I wasn’t going to sit still and let that hold me up. I’m already writing material for my next solo album.

With this free time will you do a solo tour?

That’s a definite possibility. That’s actually my next phone call. We’re trying to see if we should do a release party and I know we’ll be doing some dates after the Aerosmith dates we have to do.

Why start with a gig like playing Fusion 5 in Foxboro?

I don’t have a huge Aerosmith machine behind me. This is, um….

A do-it-yourself kind of thing?

Yeah, and it’s a lot of fun. By doing some of these dates that are small, we just get to get the band comfortable playing places other than my basement. (Laughs) I never know when we’ll get the call from my agent that Jay Leno wants me and I don’t want our first gig to be in front of national TV. Small clubs give you a chance to get ready. And it’s a great way to pay back the fans.

I hope Steven calls you up soon and says he’s ready to write a new album.

That day will come. Whether it’s him calling me or me calling him, it will happen.

Aero Force One
September 22, 2009

Aerosmith is back on schedule to rock War Memorial Stadium.

The seemingly star-crossed and previously canceled concert is now scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 20, Maui Arts & Cultural Center Executive Vice President and General Manager Art Vento confirmed Monday.

Steven Tyler, the group’s charismatic vocalist whose fall off a concert stage last month canceled the remainder of the group’s Mainland tour, told concert producer Tom Moffatt he was “feeling great and everything is back to normal,” in anticipation of the band’s trip to the islands.

Tyler said the band had been looking forward to playing in the islands since 1976, adding “a big mahalo to the fans for making a dream come true.”

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center is presenting the Maui show in the larger-capacity stadium a few blocks away. Aerosmith will also perform in Honolulu on Oct. 18. Veteran island showmen Moffatt and Shep Gordon are producing the Maui and Oahu concerts.

The long-awaited Maui concert is part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit set off when Aerosmith canceled a 2007 concert at the same venue at the last minute.

The legal action was brought by a group suing for expenses for tickets and travel to the island for the show. Plans for a makeup concert on Maui, tentatively scheduled for earlier this month, had been put on hold after Tyler fell off the stage during an Aug. 8 performance in Sturgis, S.D., breaking his left shoulder and requiring 20 stitches for a head injury.

The band canceled the remainder of its Mainland tour at that time but reiterated its commitment to playing on Maui.

Parties to the class-action lawsuit who complied with the terms of the settlement will each receive a free general admission ticket, good for either the Maui or the Oahu show.

For ticket buyers, Vento emphasized that there would be plenty of good seating available in the 10,000-seat stadium.

“It has taken careful planning to work out the details and exact timing for Aerosmith’s Maui concert,” Vento said. “They are ready to make this show happen . . . and in a very big way.”

Reserved seating tickets priced at $125 and $85 and general admission bleacher seating at $65 will go on sale to MACC annual donors at 10 a.m. Saturday at the center box office, by calling 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Oct. 1. Applicable processing fees are added to the price of each ticket.

Buyers can become annual donors by going online at www.mauiarts.org/donorbenefit or at the time of purchase. The number of tickets available to donors will depend on their donor level: Ilima level, two tickets; Ohia level, four tickets; Kukui level, six tickets; Silversword level and above, eight tickets. Ticket purchases will be limited to a maximum of eight.

Still filling stadiums nearly four decades after making its debut at Boston’s Mendon Nipmus Regional High School in 1970, the hard-driving Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. The band members are Tyler on lead vocals, keyboards, piano, harmonica and percussion; Joe Perry on lead and rhythm guitars and background vocals; Brad Whitford on rhythm and lead guitars; Tom Hamilton on bass, rhythm guitar and background vocals; and Joey Kramer on drums, percussion and background vocals. Their hits include “Walk This Way,” “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Back in the Saddle,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”

Along with their four Grammys, 150 million albums sold and many other achievements, members of the group shot to new fame with the 2008 release of the video game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Edition.

PR-Inside.com
September 23, 2009

Aerosmith star Steven Tyler and Roger Daltrey have given the Trans-Siberian Orchestra a Christmas boost by signing up to join the symphonic rockers on tour in November and December (09).

The rock stars will join Cheap Trick frontman Robin Zander as the guest stars on the orchestra’s annual U.S. holiday tour, which begins on 1 November (09).

The group was founded in 1996 by New Yorker Paul O’Neill, who produced albums for Aerosmith and The Scorpions. The orchestra have become an annual holiday must-see and combine theatrics, Christmas stories and themes and heavy rock.

An injury to Tyler recently forced Aerosmith to scrap dates on their summer (09) tour – the frontman shattered his collarbone after falling from the stage at a show in South Dakota.

JoePerry.com
September 21, 2009

Being a rock star is about the same amps, thunder and art it’s always been, but these days a rock star can be anyone whose genius moves the crowd-whether they’re onstage or in the lab. The musicians you’ll know-they’re icons. As for the other guys, they’re the doctors whose work has brought us closer to cures for cancer, HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease. These fellows won’t set your soul on fire like Sheryl Crow, but they’re lighting up the future with something just as powerful. Hope.

Our most brilliant scientific minds are dedicated to finding cures for the diseases that threaten our future, and America’s most celebrated Rock Stars stand behind them.

THE EVENT

Some of the Nation’s Top Scientists and Leaders on Alzheimer’s, Cancer, Genetics, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and HIV/AIDS Will Join Together on Capitol Hill for a Panel Discussion and Rock Performance with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry

Rock Stars of Science Briefing
Thursday, September 24, 2009
11:30am – 3:00pm
Capitol Visitors Center
Washington, DC.

On Thursday, September 24th Joe Perry will be taking part in the Rock Stars of Science Briefing in Washington, DC aimed at heightening the awareness of medical research and to advocate for the importance of scientific inquiry. Joe will be taking part in a panel titled “The Rock Star and The Scientist: Same Brain Waves” alongside Rudy Tanzi, PhD and Dale Schenk, PhD. They will be discussing the links between music and science and the importance of both. Upon the panel’s conclusion, Joe Perry will be performing alongside a group of rock star scientists and musicians to close out the days events.

For more information about Rock Stars of Science click (here). To RSVP to the Rock S.O.S. briefing in Washington, click (here).

Flickr.com
September 21, 2009

More:  (here).

Twitter.com – AdmiralPerry (Joe Perry)
September 20, 2009

On stage pic from Johnny B of the JPP rehearsal – 09/20/09

Photo:  (here).

Blabbermouth.net, NY
September 19, 2009

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry’s solo band, dubbed The Joe Perry Project, will perform an intimate gig on Saturday, September 26 at the 400-seat Fusion 5 club out on Route 1 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

The group’s schedule is now shaping up as follows:

Sep. 20 – Memorial Hall – Plymouth, MA
Sep. 26 – Fusion 5 – Foxboro, MA
Oct. 06 – Viper Room – West Hollywood, CA

Article continued:  (here).

Blabbermouth.net, NY
September 18, 2009

Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Joe Perry (Aerosmith) and Rob Zombie are among the musicians who will join Velvet Revolver/ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash for Mirage hotel’s 20th anniversary concert bash on Friday, October 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show, which is being billed as “Slash & Friends”, will feature appearances by the following artists:

Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin)
Rocco Deluca (The Burden)
Tommy Lee (Motley Crue)
Courtney Love (Hole)
Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick)
Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls)
Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver)
Rob Zombie

Opening act: Billy Boy On Poison
Hosted by: Kiefer Sutherland

For tickets, click (here) or call 1.800.963.9634 or 1.702.792.7777.

Aero Force One
September 18, 2009

Joey during his Q&A in Providence

More photos:  (here).

Associated Press
September 17, 2009

Watch:  (here).

Aero Force One
September 17, 2009

“Joe Perry’s upcoming solo album, ‘Have Guitar, Will Travel’ is now available for pre-order! Click (here) to pre-order your copy on iTunes today! The album’s release date is slated for October 6th, so be prepared and order now!

To give you a taste, we’ve got 30 second clips of all the songs from the new album right (here)! Additionally, Joe’s first single, ‘We’ve Got a Long Way to Go’ is now available for purchase on iTunes!”

Aero Force One
September 16, 2009

Date Venue City, State Ticket Info         Sun. 09/20/09         7:00pm EST Memorial Hall Plymouth, MA $20 Onsale Tues. 09/15 @ 6pm Get Your Tix HERE!         Tues. 10/6/09         9:00 PM PDT Viper Room   West Hollywood, CA   $30 adv / $35 door Onsale Fri. 9/11 @ 10am Get Your Tix HERE! Check back soon for more dates to come and be sure to pick up your copy of Joe Perry’s upcoming release, Have Guitar, Will Travel, available October 6, 2009.

Aero Force One
September 15, 2009

“Joe’s sick of rehearsing in the Boneyard and wants you guys to check out what he and his band have been working on.

So head on down to Memorial Hall in Plymouth, MA, this Sunday, September 20th and you could be among the first to see and hear the Joe Perry Project play some songs off of ‘Have Guitar, Will Travel’ as well as other classic JP chestnuts.

Opening act is former Dropkick Murphys co-founder, Rick Barton, with his new band Continental featuring his son Stephen.

There will be limited ticket sales – so get there early. Tickets are GA and are $20. Doors are at 7pm. Check out the Memorial Hall website (here) for details.”

Aero Force One
September 14, 2009

Joe Perry and Katy Perry Perform “We Will Rock You” to Intro Russell Brand at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Pop hitmaker Katy Perry and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry perform Queen’s immortal hit, “We Will Rock You,” to welcome Russell Brand as host of the VMAs for a second year in a row. (2009 MTV Video Music Awards).

Watch video:  (here).

MTV.com
September 14, 2009

Aerosmith guitarist accompanied Katy Perry onstage at the Video Music Awards.

(Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)

Russell Brand made an impressive entrance at this year’s 2009 MTV Video Music Awards: The host walked onstage accompanied by Katy Perry singing Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” And Katy was accompanied by Joe Perry (no relation) on guitar. For anybody who didn’t recognize him, Perry is the founder of and guitarist for Aerosmith, the veteran arena rock band from Boston.

Perry has co-written and played solos on some of the biggest rock songs in history, including “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On” and “Dude (Looks Like a Lady).”

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston), Perry formed Aerosmith with lead singer Steven Tyler and released the band’s first album in 1973. The duo quickly became known as the “Toxic Twins” because of their rampant drug and alcohol abuse. After a series of hits in the ’70s, the band had a rough transition into the ’80s, mostly due to said substance abuse, and Perry left the band for a while. But when they sobered up, they came back with a vengeance in the late 1980s.

For hip-hop fans, Perry was at the front lines of one of the biggest crossover moments in hip-hop history: He played guitar on “Walk This Way,” a collaboration between Aerosmith and Run-DMC that became not only a giant hit for the rappers but also a comeback hit for the band. The song originally appeared on Aerosmith’s classic 1975 album, Toys in the Attic.

Since then, they’ve released a steady stream of hit albums and singles, including “Love in an Elevator” and the ballad “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Perry has also done some solo work on the side and has a record coming out this October with his band the Joe Perry Project.

Though this year’s Aerosmith tour had to be canceled because of injuries suffered by Tyler, the band soldiers on after 35 years in existence, and as his performance with Katy Perry tonight proved, Joe can still shred with the best of them.

Getty Images
September 13, 2009

NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Joe Perry and Katy Perry perform onstage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

More:  (here).

Yahoo! News
September 13, 2009

Aerosmith’s Joe Perry (L) and wife Billie Paulette Montgomery Perry arrive at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, September 13, 2009.

Joe Perry from Aerosmith and his wife Billie arrive at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, September 13, 2009

More:  (here).

Twitter.com – AdmiralPerry (Joe Perry)
September 13, 2009

“Keep checking @BilliePerry for updates. We’re out at it. Lots of good things going on. Stops in KC for fuel. Got Ribs?”

More at Twitter.com – AdmiralPerry (Joe Perry):  (here).

WMUR-9, NH

Uploaded By: whitjake
4 days ago
NH , United States
Description:

“I took my daughter to the Hopkinton Fair on Sunday and saw Steven Tyler there with a few friends. We were told no pics with him so I had to stay at a distance to get these.”

More photos:  (here).

Twitter.com – Joey Kramer
September 10, 2009

“Getting ready for the signing…”

More at Twitter.com – Joey Kramer:  (here).

Blabbermouth.net, NY
September 10, 2009

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry’s solo band, dubbed The Joe Perry Project, will perform at the Viper Room in West Hollywood, California on October 6. More dates will be announced soon.

Perry’s fifth solo album, “Have Guitar, Will Travel”, will be released on October 6 via Roman Records. The hard driving, ten-song, in your face, collection features Perry’s trademark rock and blues ferocity, as well as the CD’s first single, the blazing “We’ve Got A Long Way To Go”, set for release later this summer. Recorded this past spring at the BoneYard, Perry’s state-of-the-art home studio, where Aerosmith’s “Honkin’ On Bobo” and “Just Push Play” were recorded, “Have Guitar, Will Travel” is entirely written and produced by Perry.

Still as scorching hot on guitar as he is preternaturally cool in his persona, “Have Guitar, Will Travel” is a departure for Perry in that the CD was conceived as a band recording. From start to finish it took only forty-seven days to complete. “Making this record in such a short period of time gave us a chance to capture an energy and flow that was very different from the last record,” said Perry. “The way the players came together at a time when I had the music and lyrics in my head ready to go was pure synchronicity. The last record rocked, but this one rocks and then some. I’m really proud of it.

“We’ve Got A Long Way To Go”, the CDs first single, showcases the voice of a young German singer known as Hagen, found completely by chance on YouTube by Joe’s wife Billie. “I first called him from Cleveland when I went to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame jam with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Flea and Metallica,” said Perry. “It took several minutes to convince him that it wasn’t a prank call, but a true invitation to audition to sing on the CD.” Hagen mans the microphone for five tracks, while Perry sings lead on four. The remaining tenth song is an instrumental entitled “Wooden Ships”.

In addition, Perry attracted an esteemed roster of some of the best players that the music world has to offer; bassist David Hull, who played with The Buddy Miles Band at 19 and was in The Joe Perry Project in the ’80s, drummer Ben Tileston, a Boston University percussion graduate, who plays drums with two of Perry’s sons in TAB The Band, Paul Santo, who’s played Hammond organ/pipe organ with the likes of Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Ozzy Osbourne, drummers Scott Meeder and Marty Richards and Willie “Loco” Alexander, Boston’s “Godfather of Punk,” who was part of the Bostown sound of the band The Bagatelle.

A six-week Twitter search was conducted to find the CDs title. The winner, out of nearly 2000 entries, was Joe Piscitelli, who used a play on the old CBS television program “Have Gun – Will Travel”.

The release of “Have Guitar, Will Travel” follows self-produced solo releases including “Let The Music Do The Talking” (1980), “Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker” (1983), “I’ve Got The Rock ‘N’ Rolls Again” (1981) and 2005’s “Joe Perry”, which received universal critical praise and earned Perry his first solo Grammy nomination for “Best Instrumental Song” (”Mercy”).

Perry is planning a “short, fast, hard tour” with The Joe Perry Project.

Boston Globe, MA
September 10, 2009

                                                                               (Photo by: Chad Coppess/South Dakota Tourism)

Today’s Birthdays:

Golfer Arnold Palmer is 80. Actor Philip Baker Hall is 78. Country singer Tommy Overstreet is 72. Actor Greg Mullavey is 70. Jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers is 69. Singer Danny Hutton (Three Dog Night) is 67. Singer Jose Feliciano is 64. Actor Tom Ligon is 64. Actress Judy Geeson is 61. Former Canadian first lady Margaret Trudeau is 61. Political commentator Bill O’Reilly is 60. Rock musician Joe Perry (Aerosmith) is 59….

Aerosmith on iLike.com
September 9, 2009

“Joey Kramer will… be live on-air on PIXY 103 broadcasting from Cape Cod. Joey will be on at 9am so make sure to tune in on your way to work! Joey will also be signing books later that day at the Border’s in Hyannis at 7pm. More details about the signing can be found (here).”

Aero Force One
September 8, 2009

Joey Kramer will be on KLPX 96.1 (Tucson, AZ Classic Rock) on the KLPX Wake-up Call on Wednesday, September 9th at 8:10am. Joey will be talking about his book, Hit Hard.

Listen Live:  (here).

MusicRadar.com
September 8, 2009

“I was already into rock ‘n’ roll and pop music before The Beatles hit America. I remember being a little kid and seeing this guy Elvis Presley on TV – the girls would scream when he came on. That kind of stuck with me.

“The stuff I was into were things like Roy Orbison and the Phil Spector hits. I was definitely a music loving kid. From my earliest days, whenever I heard music, I felt happy and forgot all my problems.

“In fact, I even started playing guitar at a young age. My parents bought me a Silvertone acoustic guitar that cost $12.95 and it came with a little 45 single that said, ‘Hold the plectrum with the right hand and the neck with the left.’ I’m naturally left-handed, but since that’s how the record said to play guitar, that’s how I did it – it never occurred to me to change.

“The night The Beatles first played the Ed Sullivan Show, boy, that was something. Seeing them on TV was akin to a national holiday. Talk about an event. I never saw guys looking so cool. I had already heard some of their songs on the radio, but I wasn’t prepared by how powerful and totally mesmerizing they were to watch. It changed me completely. I knew something was different in the world that night.

“Next day at school, The Beatles were all anybody could talk about. Us guys had to play it kind of cool, because the girls were so excited and were drawing little hearts on their notebooks – ‘I love Paul,’ that kind of thing. But I think there was an unspoken thing with the guys that we all dug The Beatles, too. We just couldn’t come right out and say it.

“All of that changed when I went to see A Hard Day’s Night. I wasn’t into sports, I wasn’t a great student, I didn’t go out for school activities or anything – I was just kind of into my own little world. But seeing The Beatles on screen, running around and laughing, plus seeing them play all these incredible songs, I started to think, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t mind doing that.’ It was like The Beatles were their own gang, and that seemed so cool to me.”

“Quite soon after, I started getting into the Stones and other British groups, and the idea of playing the guitar seriously and being in a band really took hold. I followed all The Beatles records, of course.

“What’s funny is, even though they were making so many breakthroughs sonically and changing the way music could be presented, I didn’t process it that way at the time.

“Everything seemed to flow so naturally from them. You’d pick up Rubber Soul and it was fantastic. Then you’d get Revolver and it was amazing, too. You just came to expect it from them. I had no idea what hard work went into doing what they did.

“Guitar-wise, it’s hard to say specifically what I got from them, other than their licks became part of my DNA like so many of the British bands I stated to follow, like The Yardbirds and Cream and Zeppelin. It all became this fantastic cocktail of guitar greatness that I was only too happy to drink in.

“Later on, probably around the late ’60s, when they were getting ready to break up, that’s when I started to appreciate what geniuses The Beatles were, how they set trends and broke every rule in the book. How they went from being this live group to mastering the recording studio and showing everybody that nothing was impossible, as long as you had the imagination and the guts to go for it.

“Plus, they had gone from singing these simple love tunes to writing songs about any topic you could think of. I think that’s what really impressed me the most – they taught me that music could liberate you, teach you, take you somewhere else, expand your consciousness, all of that.

“The Beatles taught us all so much. They taught us to be brave, to follow our dreams and aim high. That’s a wonderful legacy to leave.”

Joe Perry is a guitarist, songwriter and singer for the band Aerosmith. His newest solo album “Have Guitar, Will Travel” comes out 6 October.

TampaBay.com
By Sean Daly
September 4, 2009

Hey gang, just got done with the Joe Perry interview. The cordial, endlessly cool Aerosmith guitarist has spent the past few weeks driving to cities and chatting up music critics, fans and then some about his upcoming solo album, Have Guitar, Will Travel, out Oct. 6. On Friday, Perry parked his rock-star-mansion-on-wheels (a lotta leather, leopard print, killer audio-vid stuff) in front of a St. Pete radio station. I showed up early — and sweaty (stupid MAZD air conditioning) — but his manager let me on anyway.

Joe put down the blinds, offered me a water and we started chatting. I was originally given about 20-30 minutes; we shot the proverbial stuff for almost 90. I’ll write a longer, more detailed, more geeked-out story later (including at least 500 words on his belt). But here are a few choice bits from the chat:

About the fate of Aerosmith and the rumors surrounding singer Steven Tyler, who fell off the stage during an early August show at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, causing the band to scrap their current tour: “There are plenty of tweets, Twitters, blogs saying the band broke up and that’s bullsh–. It’s just not true. People can be so bitter and cruel. Just because you’re anonymous doesn’t mean you can lose your manners or your etiquette….It’s just time for the band to stand back and let the dust settle. Aerosmith is not broken up. We’re going to take a good healthy sabbatical.”

[Regarding Tyler and whispers of an addiction to painkillers, brought on by the stage fall] “As far as I know, he was doing what his doctor said. The hardest thing for him to do is try and sit still. That guy is permanently on.”

About the death of guitar innovator Les Paul. Like many rock gods, Perry uses an assortment of Les Paul guitars: “I don’t think there are too many guitar players who aren’t influenced by him. He was always very friendly, always talking about his next gig. Just an amazing guy, a Leonardo da Vinci of our time.”

About Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, the ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: “Steven and I rode it 49 times the first day, to check all the music. The ride was already built when we saw it; that’s their thing. But the music they left up to us.”

On the vibe of the of his new album, especially killer track Slingshot: “I wanted the feel of driving into Las Vegas at 6 in the morning with the top down after being up for three straight days. I’ve had nights like those.”

So there you go, just a taste of my Friday afternoon. We also talked about Guitar Hero, the lost art of trashing hotel rooms, his line of hot sauces and just how often he talks to Tyler. But I’ll save that for the story…

Aero Force One
September 4, 2009

It’s YOUR favorite rock guitar god’s birthday on September 10th. That’s right, Joe Perry! And this year you’re getting the gift! Send in your Happy Birthday messages to Joe and AF1 will randomly select one winner to win a Joe Perry Sterling Silver Dog Tag, a bottle of Boneyard Brew and Mango Peach Tango Hot Sauce, an Aerosmith messenger bag and oh yeah, we’ll even throw in an autographed (by Joe and Billie Perry) book, “People We Know Horses They Love,” that features Joe and Billie Perry with their beautiful horses.

And check this out – On September 10th AF1 is having a ONE DAY SALE – you’ll get $10 off when you spend $30 or more in the AF1 online store. Just enter this coupon code at check out to receive your discount: “joeperrybirthday”

So get out your pen and paper, crank up the computer speakers and start writin’ your Happy Birthday Messages to Joe… you decide what to write and what to say. Email them to contests@aeroforceone.com along with your name, e-mail, and address! AF1 will randomly select a winner. Entries are due by September 10th and a winner will be selected by
September 11th.

Click (here) for official contest rules.

Aero Force One
September 4, 2009

“From Friday, September 4th through the end of day Monday, September 7th take $10 off any purchase of $30 or more in the AF1 store. Just enter the coupon code ‘laborday’ at check out.

Head on over to the AF1.com store!

Happy Labor Day!”

Aero Force One
September 3, 2009

Joey Kramer will be LIVE on KMOX (St. Louis News Radio 1120) the Charlie Brennan Show on Wednesday, September 9th at 11:35am. Joey will be talking about his book, Hit Hard. The station will be taking callers!

Ultimate-Guitar.com
Interview by Steven Rosen
September 2, 2009

Brad Whitford might be considered the “refined” half of Aerosmith’s guitar team – he’s a deliberate player, whose steady rhythm lines complement lead guitarist Joe Perry’s often free-form, no-holds-barred attack. But while on most Aerosmith albums Brad is credited as rhythm guitarist, the last member to join the band also solos; both roles create for him an important place in the band’s predominantly guitar-oriented rock and roll format.

Born in Boston on February 23, 1952, Whitford first came to music through the piano and trumpet. His tenure with these instruments, however, was short-lived; his father, recognizing that Brad had little desire to pursue formal training in either, bought him an acoustic guitar for his fourteenth birthday. Soon after, Brad acquired his first electric, “a Winston or Salem or something with a cigarette name,” he recalls. He took guitar lessons for six months, but abandoned this approach in favor of a self-tutoring program which included listening to records by groups such at the Beatles, the Kingsmen, and Booker T. And The MGs, as well as learning from friends. In addition, Brad credits guitar work by artists such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck as having a lasting effect on his music – in fact, Whitford comments that Beck’s first two solo albums, Truth and Beck-Ola were important style guides for him.

“A couple of weeks ago I was in New York and saw Jeff Beck and he makes you feel like you’re a beginner all over again. Oh, my God! My God. He’s unbelievable and that band was on another planet. She (bassist Tal Wilkenfeld) was just incredible. I don’t know what you say about him. I love the fact that he’s a car nut and all of that. This tour was just mind blowing. In one sense it’s a huge inspiration and in the other sense it’s, I don’t know, I guess you shouldn’t let it bother you. There’s nobody else that even comes close to what he does so it’s like why even let it get to you? You know what I mean?”

When he was 16, Brad used a Fender Jaguar which he claims had an irritating habit of not staying in tune. He quickly abandoned it for a Gibson Les Paul after watching Jimmy Page use one during a Led Zeppelin performance. Brad used the Les Paul when he played in local bands like Symbols Of Resistance, Teapot Dome, and Earth, Inc., performing at fraternity parties in the Boston area for which groups were compensated with $150.00 per gig and all the beer they could drink.

Whitford, then playing lead guitar, developed his single-note picking technique before ever attempting rhythm work: “I started backwards,” he says. After graduating from high school, he went to the Berklee College Of Music in Boston for a year but, attending school by day and playing in a band, Stray Cat, at night, “Threw me all of.” Nevertheless, he maintained this hectic schedule until receiving an offer to play with some musicians whom he felt were of “superior” talent. Brad then quit school and played on Nantucket Island with this band, Just In Time, and it was here his rhythm chops truly developed – the group’s lead guitarist, also an accomplished rhythm player, taught Whitford a great deal about rhythm techniques.

Other members of Justin Tyme were friends with Aerosmith – then just a local band as well – although Brad himself had never heard of the group before this time; often Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton would come to watch Brad’s band play. Several months later, Whitford received a call from Perry, asking him to come down to where Aerosmith was performing – this was the first time Brad saw the group in action. Soon thereafter, Brad, in excited disbelief, was asked to join the group. He did so in August 1971.

Now, about to undergo yet another tour, Brad talked about his life in Aerosmith and about the tour with ZZ Top.

UG: Do you think that you fell into that trap of trying to write a hit on the Nine Lives or Just Push Play albums?

Brad Whitford: Oh, absolutely! And it’s a point of contention in the band between different people about how things are approached and stuff. It’s one of those topics of discussion. But some of it was so obviously trying to write for radio and it just misses the mark completely. It becomes an embarrassment down the road, I think. “How could I ever do that?”

Nine Lives and Just Push Play represent the most recent phase of the band. Before that, there Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip. There were the Bruce Fairbairn-produced records and a bit more modern sounding than the previous albums.

I would agree. That was an interesting period for us. Bruce Fairbairn was so fabulous to work with. He understood that and of course that’s what attracted him to the band and why he wanted to do it. And he tried to stay faithful to a lot of that; there’s a lot of good stuff on there. It was a good experience. We were out of our element; most of those records we recorded in Vancouver. Get out of your own element a little bit sometimes helps the situation. And we just spent a lot of time on the sounds; a lot of good hard rockin’ guitars and stuff on there. Even the stuff that became sort of hip kind of music, it wasn’t contrived; it didn’t seem to be contrived. It wasn’t like we were trying to hard and sometimes I think it just comes down to the writers and the material and everybody being on top of it. And being honest, being honest right upfront; no bullshit.

We just started working on this new album with Brendan O’Brien. If he heard something that vaguely seemed to be going in that direction, he would just say so right away. And it was like, “Oh, yes, please.”

And I think Bruce was really good at that. It was a good period that made for some great period.

Then before that was Night in the Ruts, Rock in a Hard Place, and Done With Mirrors which was that sort of transition period. There were some problems going on and the band just couldn’t find its footing and there was no cohesion. Would you agree with that?

Most definitely! People were drifting in and out and just getting the whole band to show up for anything, it just wasn’t happening. Things started drifting apart. On Draw the Line, we actually just started recording with myself, Joey, Tom, and Jack Douglas. We just started rollin’ tape and kind of doing our own things for several weeks before we could even get Joe and Steven into the room. Yeah, it was a strange time. It produced some interesting music; yeah, it was a weird period.

And then we get to the early phase of the band with the first record, Get Your Wings, Toys in the Attic, Rocks, and Draw the Line. That was the period of the band really finding their way and you honing those twin guitar riffs with Joe.

That was definitely my favorite period. It was a whole different approach to making records then. Rocks and Toys, those are 16-track albums so you had to figure a lot of things out before you even got really going. “Where are we putting the drums?” And you had to be very creative with your overdubbing and stuff like that because you didn’t have a lot of options as far as 24- and 36- and as many tracks as you wanted. Which has become a curse; this sort of infinite approach to it.

It hasn’t changed much – we’ve always recorded most of what we’ve done in a live recording situation. But getting those great live performances and being creative with the overdubs and all of that. Mixing was fabulous because it was done by hand and each mix was a performance. Sometimes you’d have four guys on the board operating faders and memorizing it; you didn’t have computerized mixes. So, I don’t know, it was so much more organic which I think made it so much more fun and creative. You had to be creative all the way through.

Back in ’79, the band released their first live album, Live! Bootleg and in 2005 you put out Rockin’ the Joint. You covered some of the same material like “Walk This Way” and “Train Kept A-Rollin’” and “Draw the Line.” Did the performances of the songs change over the years? Had you grown as a player over the years?

The band has gotten so much stronger; there’s more confidence. It’s a lot easier and a lot more fun since then. I think generally the musicianship is just better. The rhythm section has just gotten so honed; it’s really fun to be part of that. Just layin’ it down with Joey and Tom. We just get a laugh out of it because we feel like we’re really nailin’ it. It’s a lot of fun for us to be able to do that.

When you listen to some of the more recent records, can you hear parts that maybe you wouldn’t have been able to play back in the day?

I don’t know. Each record has been so different and such a departure from those old days. I really enjoyed those early days, that approach, and I feel like it’s kinda gotten maybe too far away from it. We used to work out everything. Everybody has got everything from GarageBand to Pro Tools now and so ideas get developed on an individual basis where we used to sit for hours and hone that stuff out actually playing it. Which I prefer; I think a lot more stuff comes out of that.

But I’ve seen people say, “Oh, have you seen this bit of you on YouTube?” and I’ll go look at this thing. And, “Holy shit, wow! That was pretty good that thing I played there.”

I guess we’re guitar players who get hyper-critical of your stuff so sometimes it’s fun to go back. YouTube has been great with that. You can go back and, “Oh, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

Talking about guitar players who keep playing great, Aerosmith is going out with ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons is someone you must dig.

It’s nice to have a show you can be really proud of and for me that’s a real musically-filled show. And I think that’s what you’re gonna get. Billy is somebody I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for and been such a huge fan of. And it’s just gonna be great to have those guys on the same stage. I think it’s gonna make for a great show.

You did play with ZZ Top way back in 1975. Do you remember any of those shows?

Some of them. I remember when they had all the animals and the water buffalo and the this and that out with them.

Will there be any jams with you and ZZ Top?

Man, I hope so; I don’t know. I guess the biggest issue would probably be time constraints whether or not we can work it in. It needs to get done.

Aerosmith has really moved from being a very successful rock band into the hallowed halls of icons. Do you ever feel removed or beyond what’s going on in the rock world? Way back when, you were fighting for every inch and it’s not like that now. Do you know what I mean?

Absolutely. I guess you can never get that back. In the early days, you were so dependent on each other for everything: How we put food on the table and paying our rent. We were all in it together and you come at it from such a different space. I guess you have to find different ways to get that inspiration. But nothing wrong with revisiting the early days and talking about that and how special that was.

One of the things, at least for us, having played together for so long, we have such a good musical chemistry and that ignites something inside you. When you hear it and you’re standing there and playing it and hearing the other guys playing and it’s being done so well, it makes you jump right back into the fire. I think that’s what drives me is we get such a hoot of playing with each other. I guess that is the basis for the inspiration that we have.

Which means you’ll be pulling out some of the old classics to perform on this tour? In fact, weren’t you supposed to revisit one of the older albums and play it top to bottom?

That is our plan and we’re looking at Toys in the Attic and Rocks. Now whether we do both of them, I’m not sure; that’s kind of the plan. So any given night you’ll either hear Rocks or Toys …

Nobody knows those songs better than you obviously but will it take some time sort of relearning the material? Listening to the rhythm parts and pulling out the exact voicing and things like that?

Oh, yeah! There are certain things I just don’t have a clue until I hear I listen to it and go, “Oh, yeah, yeah.” And then I’ll think, “What guitar was that? Oh, I think it was this guitar.”

Are you actually going to try and match songs to guitars?

Well, we’ll see. I’m sure we’ll get pretty close. As far as some of the things I may not nail, maybe a certain solo or something, but I think the rhythm stuff we should have pretty well figured out. A lot of times for me it’s like, I put it on and listen to it; I pick the guitar up and play the first couple of chords and then it’s, “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now I know what I did here.” A couple of these songs we haven’t visited in years and years and years. Rehearsal is gonna be fun; we start rehearsing in actually just a little less than two weeks. So, workin’ on this stuff is gonna be fun.

Do you know what your guitar and amp rig will be on the new tour?

Umm, I’m goin’, on this tour, I’m takin’ a step back a little more; just old-school approach. My plan is to be using two of my vintage 50-watt Marshalls and two 4×12s. Which a lot of times I’m out there playing with different things and messing around with stuff and I go, “Why aren’t I just using my Marshalls that are sitting there?” It’s like what the hell am I doing? That’ll kinda be the basic setup and I have a couple other amps I’ll be bringing out in case I get bored or need to do some other things. One amp is called the 3 Monkeys. My guitar tech Craig Howard has been working on this for a couple of years and it’s a pretty interesting amp. It’s just another one of these boutique guys and we’re in an ocean of boutique amplifiers. That’s a good thing because they’re all pretty cool. But this is a very cool amp. And I’ll be bringing also a Two-Rock amplifier which I’m quite fond of.

Guitars?

I’m not 100 per cent sure what I’ll be bringing out. I’ll be bringing some of my reissue Les Pauls and a couple Strats. And I think I’ll have to bring my Jeff Beck Strat having just seen him and I’ve got to play that guitar. And a couple Gretsches; I’ll probably bring one of my Melancons. I don’t know if you’re familiar with him. Another one of these guys that I ran into down in New Orleans and he was sort of a friend of a friend. He brought three guitars to one of our shows and I left with all three of ‘em. Just really nice stuff. But I tend to want to stick with the more traditional Strat, Telly, Les Paul. A lot of times when I see photos, I just want to see that and I just want to hear that. Sometimes I get off on these tangents and I’m playing some of these more modern guitars and they work and they sound great. But I don’t like the way they look. I guess it’s just all these years of looking at my guitar heroes just playing a Strat or a Les Paul and making it do everything it had to do. Sometimes these hybrids visually don’t cut it.

Back in ’79, you had mentioned you were tossing ideas around to do a solo record. You mentioned working with Danny Johnson and Vinnie Appice. I believe Joe is working on a solo record at the moment – do you still have a desire to record a record on your own? It seems like there might be a lot of music in you that doesn’t find an outlet in Aerosmith.

Yeah, I think I would. In a way, I end up piling up all these different sort of licks and ideas and they’re all just sitting around and eventually I’m gonna have to do something with them. Yeah, it’s just gonna have to be the right time and the right inspiration which I guess hasn’t happened yet. Maybe it’s something I’ll look into after this next tour and next Aerosmith album.

The band has done dozens and dozens of tours. Do you still have the fire in your belly when you go out?

Umm, yeah. Probably the most enjoyable moments I’ve had musically most of them happen with Aerosmith. And I just love playing with those guys. I wish we could do it every night. I do look forward being able to play and being able to play with those guys.

Aerosmith has been doing it over so many years now and you’ve seen other bands come and go; styles appear and disappear. Do you have any sense that here in 2009 there is an active and creative guitar population?

I think what I see that is very cool and exciting are a lot of really good young players coming up. But more often than not I see somebody in a band and I have no idea who it is and he’s got some nice vintage guitar and look, “He’s plugged into a Silvertone! Right?” It’s like, “Man, is this cool or what?” Some of these young kids, that’s how far they’ve gone and they’ve got one of those Silvertones and they’ve managed to get it to a point where they can use it on a nightly basis. But that’s just such a classic sound that we all knew about; well, maybe didn’t know about ‘cause we didn’t have anything else to play. But here they are using some of the stuff and I just think it’s amazing.

One of my sons is, they’re all very musical, but the 17-year old who is just an amazing guitarist and what they listen to and stuff I find very interesting.

What do they listen to?

They’re listening to Hendrix and stuff like this and I guess it’s sort of a validation for us older guys that it was truly a magical era that we were part of and to witness some of. You know what I mean? And it’s still so powerful. These young kids, a lot of ‘em, their inspiration is some of the same exact music that sent us spiraling out of control.

Do you have any sense that younger kids are looking at Aerosmith in the same way they may have looked at Jimi Hendrix?

Occasionally we might see a little bit of that. It might be a little harder for me to be objective about it. You hear it mentioned in interviews and stuff like that. It’s cool. You kind of get embedded in the culture after a certain point; songs that are in movies and this and that. It’s a pretty cool thing. You left a big stain that’s gonna be there long after you’re gone.

For me, a lot of great music was made sort of back during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s and it’s difficult to find modern music that stands up in the same way.

I have that same problem; I don’t listen to too much new music. I always end up going back; I listen to a lot of Hendrix. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of that.

Actually, Billy Gibbons spent a lot of time with Hendrix. You should break out one of Jimi’s songs, “Purple Haze” and jam on that. That would be cool common ground.

That probably would be a good common ground.

Outdoor Life
August 26, 2009

As co-founder, principal co-songwriter and lead guitarist of Aerosmith, Joe Perry has driven his band to sales of more than 150 million albums and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Outdoor Life recently caught up with Perry to talk about his other passion—the outdoors.

OL: What was your first introduction to guns and hunting?
Joe Perry: I had a BB gun when I was 12, and then got a Crosman pellet gun a few years later. Every day after school, I’d walk our 4 or 5 acres with my dog and hunt till it got dark.

OL: Where was that?
JP: Well, my family owned some land near Hopedale, Mass. Where Foxboro Stadium is now.

OL: Do you still hunt and fish today?
JP: Well, when I turned 17 or 18, I pretty much dropped everything for rock and roll. I didn’t get to do much outdoor-wise cause we were always on the road.

OL: So how did you get back into the outdoors?
JP: I just like to be out in the woods. When I met my wife, I got the chance to start over again and I put my family first. Got a place on Lake Sunapee (New Hampshire) and we’re always looking to get up there. I love being in the woods—it does amazing things for my state of mind and helps me get away from the insanity of rock and roll.

OL: Does Steven Tyler (Aerosmith’s lead singer) like to hunt and fish?
JP: Steven is an outdoor guy, too. He’s into flying and we go shooting together.

OL: Tell us about some of your outdoor experiences.
JP: Well, if we get to North Carolina, for example, we’ll get a guide and go for bass or if we’re in Florida, we’ll just charter a boat and go for anything that bites. It’s exciting if you can get a billfish on the end of your line.

OL: Tell us about your gun collection.
JP: I’ve been collecting for quite a while. Whenever I see a gun that I think that I want, I pick it up. Lately, I’ve been getting into flintlocks.

OL: Do you have any airguns?
JP: I’m a collector of airguns from the ’20s and ’30s and it’s really cool when I can find one that works.

OL: What else do you have?
JP: I own about 40 or 50 handguns in my collection. I just picked up a stagecoach gun, an old Indian rifle and was lucky enough to have found a lever-action .410 and a Walther PPK.

OL: Do you hunt deer?
JP: I do—but I don’t shoot anything that I don’t eat. Hunters are conservationists and their heads are in the right place. I’ve hunted with Ted (Nugent) and he’s just amazing, When it comes to walking around in the woods with Ted, you always learn something.

OL: What’s your best buck?
JP: I’ve not really shot anything too big—a 6-point I guess. But it (deer hunting) really gives you a great opportunity to keep in touch with reality. Meat just doesn’t show up at the supermarket in Saran Wrap.

Aero Force One
September 1, 2009

Meet Joey Kramer and get YOUR copy of “Hit Hard” autographed!

That’s right! Come meet Drum Legend and Rock Icon Joey Kramer of Aerosmith and get YOUR copy of “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top” signed!

Check out where and when Joey will be!

Book Signing Events:

Thursday, September 10, 2009 – 7:00pm
Borders
990 Lyannough Rd
Hyannis, MA 02601

Saturday, September 12, 2009 – 2:00pm
Borders
142 Providence Place
Providence, RI 02903

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 – 7:00pm
Borders
739 Donald J Lynch Blvd
Marlborough, MA 01752

Be sure to pick up YOUR copy!

“Hit Hard” – Excerpted from Page 35

“What I didn’t know back then was that not only would Steven and I – and three other guys – change the face of rock ‘n’ roll, but Steven himself would become my mentor as well as my hero and (one of) my demons. He would serve as a kind of surrogate father figure for me in a dysfunctional dynamic that continued the pattern of confusion I felt between love and abuse as a child. It would be a central part of our relationship – and it would torment me for years.” – Joey Kramer

More:  (here).

Aero Force One
August 31, 2009

By now you’ve probably heard that the tour was cancelled. AF1 is starting the refund process through which you can request a refund for your ticket purchases or you may choose from the following options:

VIP Merchandise Package

Gift Card with 20% Bonus!

Refund Details:

How the Refund Works
How to Request Your Refund Option
Response Must Be Received By…
Timing of Your Refund

Continued:  (here).