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Post by AeroCooper on Sept 23, 2014 5:16:03 GMT -5
Write This Way: Joe Perry on ‘Toxic’ timesBy: Gayle Fee Guitar god Joe Perry has written a new book about the birth, death and resurrection of his band Aerosmith, his version of their 40-year rock soap opera that just might make his volatile relationship with “Toxic Twin” Steven Tyler even more toxic. In “Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith,” Perry lays down his side of the breakups, make-ups, betrayals, brawls, sex, drugs — and most of all rock ‘n’ roll — that make up the history of the Bad Boys From Boston. And he pulls no punches when it comes to their iconic lead singer. When asked how he thought Steven would react to the book, Perry admitted he had no clue. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” Perry told the Track. “That question has definitely popped up a lot, but I had to make a conscious effort to put that aside. I had to put down what I felt was my truth.” In the book, Perry writes that Tyler “has a side that can be evil and cruel.” He paints the singer as an erratic diva, a bully who tormented drummer Joey Kramer and a fickle friend and collaborator who craved fame so much he tried out to be the lead singer of Led Zeppelin and took the gig as a judge on “American Idol” without telling his bandmates. “He was never a partner I could count on,” Perry writes. The book may be the 64-year-old Perry’s answer to Tyler’s 2011 autobiography, “Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?” — in which Steven gave his version of the love/hate relationship with Perry, including dropping the bombshell that he and Joe snorted drugs together in 2008 after years of sobriety. But Perry said he wrote “Rocks” because “I just felt it was time.” Perry told us he has a “good working relationship” with Tyler now and that the just-concluded “Let Rock Rule” tour went well. “I think all the stuff we’ve learned over the years — keeping personal things separate from the band — come into play full force now,” Perry told us. “We both do what we have to do onstage. It’s been just as smooth as you could want at this point. I don’t know, when the book comes out, how things are going to be. I didn’t plan for the book to come out at the end of the tour like this, but it’s probably a good thing.” Other juicy tidbits from “Rocks” include: • Perry confirming that the final straw leading to his departure from Aerosmith in 1979 was literally spilled milk: His then-wife Elyssa — a constant source of friction in the band — threw a glass of milk at Tom Hamilton’s wife, Terry. Tyler blamed Perry for the mess, saying he couldn’t control his woman. • In 1979, despite years of sold-out tours and a succession of hit records, Aerosmith was dead broke. Perry himself was on the hook for $180,000 in room-service charges. • Former band manager Tim Collins did get Aerosmith back together, off drugs and financially stable. But once he cleaned them up, Collins felt his control slipping, and he constantly created drama between the members to keep them dependent on him. The tipping point came when Collins told Tyler’s then-wife Teresa that he believed Steven had cheated on her while recording in Miami. • How the band came up with the title to one of their biggest hits, “Walk This Way,” after seeing the movie “Young Frankenstein” and riffing on Marty Feldman’s famous line. • Perry’s disdain for groupies and the backstage sex scene and his 31-year love affair with wife, Billie, who, Joe says, “made me realize what true love is.” “You don’t find the right girl backstage at a rock show,” he told us. • Steven’s relapse into drug use while with ex-fiancee Erin Brady and his fateful fall off the stage in South Dakota. Tyler said he believed the band was planning to replace him as their lead singer, but Perry insists they never made a move to do that. “It was tough to go through some of that stuff in the book,” Perry said. “I take responsibility for my end of it, but I’m glad I don’t have to deal with some of that anymore.” Still, Perry said if he could go back and do things differently, he probably wouldn’t. “I’ve watched too many science-fiction films about time travel to know that if you go back and try to change something, you’ll (bleep) something else up,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason and, for better or worse, play into the big picture. So I can’t really say I’d change anything.” As for the future of Aerosmith, Perry says they’ll take a break for a few months now that the tour’s over. He plans to go out and promote the book and maybe add to the stable of horses he and Billie keep at their South Shore home. Eventually, he said, America’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band will get together and talk about the next step. “We definitely still have that fire inside to get onstage. If it’s up to us, we’ll keep playing,” he said. “We have no intention of stopping at this point, but right now, there’s no more tour and I’m fine with that.” (Joe Perry will chat with WZLX’s Carter Alan and fans at a conversation and book signing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Brookline Booksmith.) File Under: Sweet — and Not-So-Sweet — Emotions. bostonherald.com/inside_track/the_inside_track/2014/09/write_this_way_joe_perry_on_toxic_times
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Post by aerozhul on Sept 23, 2014 12:32:07 GMT -5
Yikes. There will surely be some hard feelings over this book....
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Post by nick on Sept 23, 2014 12:48:07 GMT -5
Maybe it will get Steven to realize that he's hurt their relationship, partnership, friendship and even the band in some ways by doing the things he has done over the years.
J.P. ROCKS SPOILER ALERT!!!!
In the book he also says how Steven only writes with Joe when it's convenient for Steven, well more so in the past during nine lives and especially JPP, than during MFAD. Joe basically says that Throughout the years, before MFAD, it seems like Steven liked working with Marti and Mark more than he liked writing songs with his band, basically because he was so focused on writing a hit while Joe feels that songs should come from a natural place and that you should never just focus on trying to make a hit song, because it's detrimental to the creative process, the song will sound forced and the bands best songs were never written that way. He even says that during JPP, Steven, Mark and Marti got so controlling and difficult at times that they didn't want or let Tom make his own Bass lines. When you read about the creation of JPP you understand why it's by far their worst album and why it doesn't even sound like an Aerosmith record.
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Post by gwb on Sept 23, 2014 13:00:33 GMT -5
Good stuff. I can relate to the comment:
"He paints the singer as an erratic diva, a bully who tormented drummer Joey Kramer and a fickle friend and collaborator who craved fame so much he tried out to be the lead singer of Led Zeppelin and took the gig as a judge on “American Idol” without telling his bandmates."
That's how Steven strikes me also. He seems very attention hungry and fame hungry. He always needs to be the object of attention. Although Joe gets slammed for not being so outgoing and talkative, my experiences with Joe have been very good. He was very friendly at the 2009 M&G and has replied to me on Twitter several times (as did Billie), whereas ST only did once to call me a dwarf cock (lol)!
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Post by nick on Sept 23, 2014 13:04:39 GMT -5
Good stuff. I can relate to the comment: "He paints the singer as an erratic diva, a bully who tormented drummer Joey Kramer and a fickle friend and collaborator who craved fame so much he tried out to be the lead singer of Led Zeppelin and took the gig as a judge on “American Idol” without telling his bandmates." That's how Steven strikes me also. He seems very attention hungry and fame hungry. He always needs to be the object of attention. Although Joe gets slammed for not being so outgoing and talkative, my experiences with Joe have been very good. He was very friendly at the 2009 M&G and has replied to me on Twitter several times (as did Billie), whereas ST only did once to call me a dwarf cock (lol)! Lol why did he call you a dwarf cock?!
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Post by gwb on Sept 23, 2014 16:33:29 GMT -5
Good stuff. I can relate to the comment: "He paints the singer as an erratic diva, a bully who tormented drummer Joey Kramer and a fickle friend and collaborator who craved fame so much he tried out to be the lead singer of Led Zeppelin and took the gig as a judge on “American Idol” without telling his bandmates." That's how Steven strikes me also. He seems very attention hungry and fame hungry. He always needs to be the object of attention. Although Joe gets slammed for not being so outgoing and talkative, my experiences with Joe have been very good. He was very friendly at the 2009 M&G and has replied to me on Twitter several times (as did Billie), whereas ST only did once to call me a dwarf cock (lol)! Lol why did he call you a dwarf cock?! He was pissed off that I told him on Twitter that his mind is nowhere near hard rock anymore.
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Post by nick on Sept 23, 2014 17:45:45 GMT -5
Lol why did he call you a dwarf cock?! He was pissed off that I told him on Twitter that his mind is nowhere near hard rock anymore. Oh I see haha, so he just said, you're a dwarf cock?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 18:59:47 GMT -5
He is in the fame whore business so there is nothing wrong with him wanting it. It appears he has always been good to his fans. Anything he can be called "odd' about is what a lot of us find endearing about him. I love reading about everything Joe says, but in the end it is Joes problem as Steven does right by me and most fans.
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Post by lin on Sept 23, 2014 19:49:05 GMT -5
He is in the fame whore business so there is nothing wrong with him wanting it. It appears he has always been good to his fans. Anything he can be called "odd' about is what a lot of us find endearing about him. I love reading about everything Joe says, but in the end it is Joes problem as Steven does right by me and most fans. I don't think it's necessarily Joe's problem. Joe's just saying how he sees it.. that Steven is what he is.. basically a fame whore, self-centered narcissist who is more into pop than he is into rock. So it's not really a problem other than we'll probably continue to get a lot of sappy ballads when and if they release another album. But the way music is distributed nowadays, you just don't put those on your playlist if you don't like them.
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Post by VoodooMedicineMan on Sept 23, 2014 20:55:27 GMT -5
He is in the fame whore business so there is nothing wrong with him wanting it. It appears he has always been good to his fans. Anything he can be called "odd' about is what a lot of us find endearing about him. I love reading about everything Joe says, but in the end it is Joes problem as Steven does right by me and most fans. I don't think it's necessarily Joe's problem. Joe's just saying how he sees it.. that Steven is what he is.. basically a fame whore, self-centered narcissist who is more into pop than he is into rock. So it's not really a problem other than we'll probably continue to get a lot of sappy ballads when and if they release another album. But the way music is distributed nowadays, you just don't put those on your playlist if you don't like them. Joe's not much different. He's quite the politician though, talking out of both sides of his mouth, and is always changing his position on things or saying one thing and doing another. Steven is too into pop, so Joe needs a solo outlet to release the rock, and the first single he floats is "Still Got a Long Way to Go". Then to MFAD he wrote "Oh Yea", which while a good song has arguably the most banal lyrics on the album. Then Freedom Fighter, for a lead guitarist it's strange that his song is dominated by cheesy background vocals. That's just the most recent examples. Let's not forget the life cycle of every recent album, where unlike the last one they were going back to their roots this time. Then after awhile he changes his tune and never really liked the album. He's every bit the money loving fame whore that Steven is. The difference is Steven is shameless while Joe always deflects and places the blame elsewhere.
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Post by joey78 on Sept 24, 2014 2:32:23 GMT -5
I don't think it's necessarily Joe's problem. Joe's just saying how he sees it.. that Steven is what he is.. basically a fame whore, self-centered narcissist who is more into pop than he is into rock. So it's not really a problem other than we'll probably continue to get a lot of sappy ballads when and if they release another album. But the way music is distributed nowadays, you just don't put those on your playlist if you don't like them. Joe's not much different. He's quite the politician though, talking out of both sides of his mouth, and is always changing his position on things or saying one thing and doing another. Steven is too into pop, so Joe needs a solo outlet to release the rock, and the first single he floats is "Still Got a Long Way to Go". Then to MFAD he wrote "Oh Yea", which while a good song has arguably the most banal lyrics on the album. Then Freedom Fighter, for a lead guitarist it's strange that his song is dominated by cheesy background vocals. That's just the most recent examples. Let's not forget the life cycle of every recent album, where unlike the last one they were going back to their roots this time. Then after awhile he changes his tune and never really liked the album. He's every bit the money loving fame whore that Steven is. The difference is Steven is shameless while Joe always deflects and places the blame elsewhere. Add to that the fact that Joe is not lucky enough to be as famous. Steven is a band-mate, not his friend. He should have realized that after 40 years. Steven is the only one of the band who is famous enough to be asked by other artists to collaborate. Think about it, for all their 40 years worth of playing experience, how many songs have Tom, Brad and Joey recorded or played live outside Aerosmith ? These guys would struggle to get a gig if Aerosmith disbanded. Steven would do well without Aerosmith - be it musical or non-musical ventures. Look at Slash, the guy has put out 3 records in 4 years and they all shit on Joe's solo records. He setup the Conspirators on his own with no big industry names. The guys in Aerosmith (except for Steven) are nothing without Aerosmith
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Post by lin on Sept 24, 2014 6:13:41 GMT -5
Joe's not much different. He's quite the politician though, talking out of both sides of his mouth, and is always changing his position on things or saying one thing and doing another. Steven is too into pop, so Joe needs a solo outlet to release the rock, and the first single he floats is "Still Got a Long Way to Go". Then to MFAD he wrote "Oh Yea", which while a good song has arguably the most banal lyrics on the album. Then Freedom Fighter, for a lead guitarist it's strange that his song is dominated by cheesy background vocals. That's just the most recent examples. Let's not forget the life cycle of every recent album, where unlike the last one they were going back to their roots this time. Then after awhile he changes his tune and never really liked the album. He's every bit the money loving fame whore that Steven is. The difference is Steven is shameless while Joe always deflects and places the blame elsewhere. Add to that the fact that Joe is not lucky enough to be as famous. Steven is a band-mate, not his friend. He should have realized that after 40 years. Steven is the only one of the band who is famous enough to be asked by other artists to collaborate. Think about it, for all their 40 years worth of playing experience, how many songs have Tom, Brad and Joey recorded or played live outside Aerosmith ? These guys would struggle to get a gig if Aerosmith disbanded. Steven would do well without Aerosmith - be it musical or non-musical ventures. Look at Slash, the guy has put out 3 records in 4 years and they all shit on Joe's solo records. He setup the Conspirators on his own with no big industry names. The guys in Aerosmith (except for Steven) are nothing without Aerosmith I guess I just don't see it the same as either of you. I think Joe certainly wants to make money but that's not what I was thinking when I heard the term "fame whore." I definitely think Joe has always tended to keep a much lower profile and I do think that was by design. I just don't think he has the desire to be in the spotlight the way Steven does. Steven even alluded to that in his book -- he truly seemed baffled by it. I think Joe and Steven just have very different outlooks on life, and I've heard Joe say many times that the band members all have their different ways they want to live. I think what Joe wanted, and achieved, was to raise a normal family. I think he's been pretty successful there. Normal to the degree that any rock star could achieve. As far as reversing himself in articles... it does appear that way but I also take some of that with a grain of salt. It depends on the media. Journalists, and the media often spin things through clever editing just to fit their own agenda or headlines. I see it all the time, but then I do live in the Washington, DC area. So of course we get multiple answers to the question on a new album: no new album, we might do another one, no album right now, etc. Joe probably needs a better publicist. LOL. I think what he's really saying with regard to a new album is he just doesn't know. Maybe he should just say that. I also think, with respect to the music, Joe really does lean toward rock but yes, he's had some poppy tunes too.... and I do think he's overly influenced by his wife. I think that's how "We All Fall Down" ended up being in the record. I think Dianne Warren actually brought that tune in for Steven. It's also how they ended up with Hagen. I can't agree with you that Steven's the only one ever asked to collaborate with other artists. That's simply not true. Joe (and Brad too) have both collaborated with other artists many times. Most recently Joe's collaborated with the late Johnny Winter. Joe, Brad and Steven all collaborated with Buddy Guy. Brad's been doing the Hendrix Experience for a few yearss. Joe's appeared on stage with other artists, worked on the Chimes of Freedom album, worked with Mick Jagger, and heck, even has something going with Paul McCartney. Hopefully we'll hear more on that soon. I also don't buy the notion that they all ride on Steven's coattails (as he so succinctly put it in the 60 Minutes interview). It goes both ways. If the band is nothing without Steven, Steven is also nothing without the band, and he definitely would never have achieved the fame he has without them. Steven was in several very unsuccessful bands before he met Joe and Tom. They were never able to get it going until they got the line up they have today. Also, I remember 1980 through 1984 very well. It was as if Aerosmith no longer existed after Joe and Brad left. But none of them would be anything without Aerosmith. I suppose if, God forbid, Aerosmith were to break up, maybe then Steven could pursue his "Brand Tyler" and maybe even make his solo album. Or is the solo album coming out this year? I haven't heard what's happening on it for awhile. I don't know what would happen with the other band members. Joe would probably happily continue with the JP Project and he and Brad would probably continue to collaborate with other artists and do those fantasy camps and stuff. I don't know what Tom would do and Joey would probably sell coffee.
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Post by anaix3l on Sept 24, 2014 17:46:28 GMT -5
Add to that the fact that Joe is not lucky enough to be as famous. Steven is a band-mate, not his friend. He should have realized that after 40 years. Steven is the only one of the band who is famous enough to be asked by other artists to collaborate. Think about it, for all their 40 years worth of playing experience, how many songs have Tom, Brad and Joey recorded or played live outside Aerosmith ? These guys would struggle to get a gig if Aerosmith disbanded. Steven would do well without Aerosmith - be it musical or non-musical ventures. Look at Slash, the guy has put out 3 records in 4 years and they all shit on Joe's solo records. He setup the Conspirators on his own with no big industry names. The guys in Aerosmith (except for Steven) are nothing without Aerosmith I guess I just don't see it the same as either of you. I think Joe certainly wants to make money but that's not what I was thinking when I heard the term "fame whore." I definitely think Joe has always tended to keep a much lower profile and I do think that was by design. I just don't think he has the desire to be in the spotlight the way Steven does. Steven even alluded to that in his book -- he truly seemed baffled by it. I think Joe and Steven just have very different outlooks on life, and I've heard Joe say many times that the band members all have their different ways they want to live. I think what Joe wanted, and achieved, was to raise a normal family. I think he's been pretty successful there. Normal to the degree that any rock star could achieve. As far as reversing himself in articles... it does appear that way but I also take some of that with a grain of salt. It depends on the media. Journalists, and the media often spin things through clever editing just to fit their own agenda or headlines. I see it all the time, but then I do live in the Washington, DC area. So of course we get multiple answers to the question on a new album: no new album, we might do another one, no album right now, etc. Joe probably needs a better publicist. LOL. I think what he's really saying with regard to a new album is he just doesn't know. Maybe he should just say that. I also think, with respect to the music, Joe really does lean toward rock but yes, he's had some poppy tunes too.... and I do think he's overly influenced by his wife. I think that's how "We All Fall Down" ended up being in the record. I think Dianne Warren actually brought that tune in for Steven. It's also how they ended up with Hagen. I can't agree with you that Steven's the only one ever asked to collaborate with other artists. That's simply not true. Joe (and Brad too) have both collaborated with other artists many times. Most recently Joe's collaborated with the late Johnny Winter. Joe, Brad and Steven all collaborated with Buddy Guy. Brad's been doing the Hendrix Experience for a few yearss. Joe's appeared on stage with other artists, worked on the Chimes of Freedom album, worked with Mick Jagger, and heck, even has something going with Paul McCartney. Hopefully we'll hear more on that soon. I also don't buy the notion that they all ride on Steven's coattails (as he so succinctly put it in the 60 Minutes interview). It goes both ways. If the band is nothing without Steven, Steven is also nothing without the band, and he definitely would never have achieved the fame he has without them. Steven was in several very unsuccessful bands before he met Joe and Tom. They were never able to get it going until they got the line up they have today. Also, I remember 1980 through 1984 very well. It was as if Aerosmith no longer existed after Joe and Brad left. But none of them would be anything without Aerosmith. I suppose if, God forbid, Aerosmith were to break up, maybe then Steven could pursue his "Brand Tyler" and maybe even make his solo album. Or is the solo album coming out this year? I haven't heard what's happening on it for awhile. I don't know what would happen with the other band members. Joe would probably happily continue with the JP Project and he and Brad would probably continue to collaborate with other artists and do those fantasy camps and stuff. I don't know what Tom would do and Joey would probably sell coffee. I don't think it's Joe being hypocritical, or just the media (though that definitely happens... sadly) or his wife. I think he really doesn't know whether to go right or left at times, doesn't know what he truly wants. And yeah, him and Brad have a lot of collaborations over the years. Brad has also been on Joe Bonamassa's album. And Tom could definitely capitalize on his sense of humour...
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Post by lin on Sept 24, 2014 17:55:33 GMT -5
Maybe..... but I think the media preys on that kind of indecision or hesitance sometimes and will spin it the way they want. And yes.. I agree... Tom is so funny. I saw him mugging for the camera on some you tubes recently while the band was playing Mama Kin. He's hilarious. Plus, doesn't he do that show every year where he dresses up in character... like in drag? I remember seeing pics from that. Hilarious.
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