![\"Issue38-joe-perry\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Issue38-joe-perry.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nTracing his journey through the highs and lows of rock stardom\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
By Russell Hall<\/b><\/p>\n
More than forty years have passed since guitarist Joe Perry partnered with singer Steven Tyler to form the songwriting core of Aerosmith. During those years the Boston-based superstar rock band\u2014which also includes bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Brad Whitford\u2014has experienced every triumph and tribulation imaginable. \u201cIn the beginning we had this one vision,\u201d says Perry, \u201cand that was to entertain fans\u2014because we were fans first. I remember how I felt when I first saw the Who and the Jeff Beck Group. For some reason we felt we could add something to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That they did. Aerosmith\u2019s hits\u2014\u201cWalk This Way,\u201d \u201cDream On,\u201d \u201cJanie\u2019s Got a Gun\u201d and \u201cSweet Emotion,\u201d to name but a few\u2014have become classics. The band\u2019s swaggering riff-driven rock has established Aerosmith as the best-selling American rock band of all time, with more than 150 million records sold worldwide. They\u2019ve scored more than 20 Top 40 hits and won four Grammys, and they hold the U.S. record for gold albums\u201425. In 2013, Perry and Tyler were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Despite the mountain of success, Perry\u2019s quick to point out, \u201cIt\u2019s all basically the same thing. We like that R&B backbeat. Sometimes it sounds poppy and sometimes bluesy, but it\u2019s all wrapped around that same feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his new memoir, Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith<\/i>, Perry offers an in-depth look at his amazing journey. Childhood struggles with ADHD, his tempestuous relationship with Tyler, his defection from Aerosmith in the late \u201970s, and the band\u2019s roaring comeback in the \u201980s are laid out in unflinching detail.<\/p>\n
Guitar stories abound as well, including a fable-like tale about reconnecting with a cherished Les Paul, and the revelation that the ace axeman became a right-handed player only by accident. \u201cIt\u2019s not unlike making a record,\u201d says Perry of writing the autobiography. \u201cIt was a bigger job than I expected, but it was worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why pen a memoir now?<\/b><\/p>\n
I had been thinking about it for quite a while. There were lots of signposts, both personal and with the band\u2014our 40th anniversary, finishing the last album for Sony, and other things. By no means was it a case of, \u201cOK, I\u2019m retired. I\u2019m doing my memoirs.\u201d It just captures things up till now. I certainly could have been adding chapters over the past year.<\/p>\n
Were you concerned you\u2019d step on toes?<\/b><\/p>\n
I had to put that aside, make it a secondary consideration. It would have been easy to slip into, \u201cHe did this to me, he did that to me,\u201d and I didn\u2019t want that. By the same token, there are things I did to the guys that I\u2019m sure they perceived the same way. Looking back, I did screw up, I was arrogant and a jerk sometimes. I made decisions that were very self-serving, and it was tough to revisit that stuff. But for it to be the book I wanted it to be, I had to put that truth in there.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re naturally left-handed. How did you end up playing rightie?<\/b><\/p>\n
As a kid I wasn\u2019t aware of any guitarists who played left-handed. All the instructions said to play with the neck in the left hand. I was fortunate enough to cut a song with Paul McCartney a few months ago, and I asked him, \u201cHow is it you ended up playing left-handed?\u201d He said there were a few artists he was aware of\u2014chiefly Slim Whitman\u2014who played that way. So he saw it was an option.<\/p>\n
Which guitarist impacted you most?<\/b><\/p>\n
Probably Jeff Beck. The way he plays is very verbal, and based on melody. You can tell he\u2019s paid attention to lots of vocalists by the way he phrases his licks. Certainly he can be flashy and show off his technical abilities, but he never loses sight that he\u2019s playing a melody. He knows using just three or four notes can be as impactful as ripping up and down the neck. There\u2019s also humor in the way he plays. He\u2019ll throw things in that are almost like a joke, like he\u2019s giving you the finger. He\u2019s always been a bit of a wise guy, and that comes through in his playing.<\/p>\n
When did you find your voice on guitar?<\/b><\/p>\n
Actually I\u2019m still looking for a voice, continually looking. I\u2019m always wanting a little more of this, a little more of that. What I\u2019ve found, going back to the first Aerosmith album, is that my voice on the guitar varies with each song.<\/p>\n
Has your approach to solos evolved?<\/b><\/p>\n
I feel I\u2019ve gotten better technically, and that\u2019s given me more to work with. But mostly it\u2019s always been about steering clear of obvious riffs and trying to focus on something that works melodically. It\u2019s like a vocalist looking for a melody to sing over the riff. Obviously there are songs where you cut loose and don\u2019t plan things out. But whenever I sit down and put riffs together, it\u2019s always about breaking new ground. That\u2019s why I listen to different types of music for inspiration\u2014Frank Sinatra, for example, the way he bends notes or sings a throwaway line. You can learn a lot about playing a guitar solo from listening to great singers.<\/p>\n
Still practice?<\/b><\/p>\n
I make sure to at least keep the basic stuff going. There are few things I do every couple of days, even if I\u2019m in a mood where I don\u2019t want to touch the guitar. I either practice with a metronome or I\u2019ll \u201cfree riff.\u201d And whenever I find something I can\u2019t play, I\u2019ll stay on that until I can play it.<\/p>\n
What makes a great riff?<\/b><\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s something people can sort of sing along to. For the average fan, it\u2019s something that\u2019s memorable. Take \u201cWalk This Way\u201d\u2014even in the solo, there are certain phrases that are important to keep when we play live because they\u2019re part of the song. Your ear expects it. One of the greatest examples is the original Batman<\/i> theme song: It\u2019s just three notes, but if you hum them everyone recognizes it. The same is true of the theme for Bonanza<\/i>. If I\u2019m doing my job, a guitar hook will stay in your mind just as much as the vocal does.<\/p>\n
Is Aerosmith primarily a live band?<\/b><\/p>\n
We love being in the studio, but for me it always feels like we\u2019re working on the album so that we can get on the road. I suppose the two are equal as far as the job description goes, but I\u2019ve always felt each record is like an advertisement for the band. They\u2019re invitations to come see us play. It used to be a matter of performing each new album for each tour, but that\u2019s changed through the years. Today, if we don\u2019t play \u201cDream On,\u201d for instance, we may not leave in one piece.<\/p>\n
How do you develop a set list?<\/b><\/p>\n
That\u2019s a group decision. I would really like to play more new songs, along with things like \u201cToys in the Attic,\u201d \u201cRats in the Cellar\u201d and \u201cKings and Queens\u201d\u2014the kinds of songs where you can stretch out a bit. Everyone wants to hear \u201cDream On\u201d and \u201cWalk This Way,\u201d but we do get requests for lesser-known songs as well. And I think it\u2019s a good thing to occasionally play something people might not have heard before.<\/p>\n
Has Steven read the book?<\/b><\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t talked with him about it. I\u2019ve heard he isn\u2019t too happy with it, but that\u2019s secondhand. He sent me a text saying he liked the first four chapters, the photographs and the whole feel of the book. Since then I\u2019ve heard nothing from him, so I really don\u2019t know. There\u2019s a gig we have in February, which will be a chance to get together and sort of blow out the tubes. He\u2019s still going to sing, though he might not come over to my side of the stage very often. (laughs<\/i>) We\u2019ve been through much worse.<\/p>\n
Still have lots of riffs in you?<\/b><\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I keep making solo records\u2014I\u2019m still searching for those things. I do have lots of riffs inside me, and lots on my iPhone. (laughs<\/i>) And who knows? Maybe Aerosmith will come out with something sooner than later. Right now we\u2019re sort of taking a break. We\u2019ve been working pretty hard the last three years, and everybody needs some time apart. When we get back together, we can all bring something new to the party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JOE PERRY Tracing his journey through the highs and lows of rock stardom\u00a0 By Russell Hall More than forty years have passed since guitarist Joe Perry partnered with singer Steven Tyler to form the songwriting core of Aerosmith. During those years the Boston-based superstar rock band\u2014which also includes bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805],"tags":[6763,7665],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14730"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14730"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14732,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14730\/revisions\/14732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}