Aerosmith Fan Club

From Booklist
The members of Aerosmith may be tired of being compared to the Rolling Stones, but the bands are superficially quite similar, and musically the Stones certainly influenced Aerosmith. Heck, the principal members even resemble one another. But Aerosmith is distinctly American, a product of 1970s rock stadium shows and burgeoning excess, whereas the Stones started out–lo, these many years ago–as a blues band. Huxley’s entertaining group bio picks up the Aerosmith story after its members had already reached and for the most part conquered puberty. Readers should be thankful for this because it spares them the hyper-meaningful childhood memories and portentous events that mar many rock bios. The machinations, originality, and endurance that Aerosmith employed to reach its current fame and fortune–not to mention the deliciously decadent way it frittered most of both away during its initial success–constitute a fascinating, cautionary, and in many ways, quintess (more…)

Aerosmith announced a new world tour in early 2007.  This tour was the first in nearly a decade to include venues that were outside of Japan or North America, and would include many countries that Aerosmith had never before performed in, such as India and United Arab Emirates.

In February of 2007, Aerosmith began their promotion of the tour’s European leg by performing at London’s Hard Rock Cafe.  They also took part in Hyde Park Calling festival which was sponsored by the Hard Rock Cafe.

In Spring of 2007, the band took off for Latin America.  The Latin America leg of the tour was highly successful and it showed.  The concerts sold out one by one.

In July of 2007, Aerosmith played a few select dates in California and Canada, and on the 21st of July the band set a new record in Canada’s small idealistic province of Prince Edward Island.  This concert would be the largest in the history of the province.

In September of 2007, Aerosmith performed eight concerts for Northeastern North America with the highly successful rock band of the past, Joan Jett.  It was during this time that Aerosmith cancelled their small concert in Maui.  Several scorned fans who had purchased tickets to the concert filed a lawsuit against the band.  They claimed that they had many expenses such as travel costs which were lost and they weren’t pleased.  The lawsuit was settled in April of 2009.  Aerosmith agreed to play the concert in Maui to the original ticket holders.  Aerosmith also agreed to pay all out of pocket expenses, no matter how high the costs are.  The date for the concert in Maui hasn’t been set yet, but many people assume that it will take place after their North American Tour which is set to begin in June.  The consensus on the concert date is said to be either September or October of 2009.

Aerosmith began working on their fifteen studio album in November of 2007.  This album hasn’t been released yet, but it is believed that the album will consist of  re-recorded tracks which were left off previous albums along with new songs.  This album will be the final album for Sony under their current contract for the record label.

On June 29, 2008, Guitar Hero was released.  Guitar Hero is a video game which features many of Aerosmith’s most popular music and is dedicated to the band.  The success of Guitar Hero has spawned other versions of the video game which features other music bands.

After Aerosmith regrouped with former band members, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford in 1984, the band went on tour.  The tour was dubbed the ‘Back In The Saddle Tour“.  Although many forgotten Aerosmith fans began making their return, all was not well with the band.  It was evident to Aerosmith’s new manager, Tim Collins, that Steven Tyler was under the influence of many drugs, and that getting clean would have to be pursued in order for the band to get back into producing solid music.

In 1986, Tim Collins held a meeting with all band members.  The plan was to pressure Steven into a drug rehab program.  The years of heroin addiction had taken a hard grasp of Aerosmith’s lead singer, but he finally agreed to get clean, and soon after that meeting, Steven Tyler entered a rehab center where he successfully completed the program.  The rest of the band members individually checked themselves into rehab clinics during the mid to late 80’s where they too  successfully completed their programs.

Years later, while giving an interview in his hotel suite, Steven Tyler recalled the days of heavy drug addiction.

“Of course I did way too many drugs”, says Tyler. “I spent a lost week in a hotel room with Roger Taylor from Queen, and he wasn’t the only guy. The highs were incredible but the lows made you feel like someone was sucking the blood from your jugular with a straw. I sunk to my knees and lost everything, but I’m part Italian and my good old-fashioned guilt came up and I had to check in to rehab.

When I was doing heroin it gave me a gravelly voice and I just couldn’t hit the notes, but I’m clean now of course. I take great pride in not chickening out of the big notes.”

Steven Tyler was finally free from the clutches of drug addiction.  This new found freedom would set the stage for what would become a rejuvenation of Aerosmith, and their acceptance by mainstream, non hard rock fans.

Aerosmith’s next studio album in 1987 would be a rebirth into super- stardom for the band.  “Permanent Vacation” was released in the fall of 1987, and it would be a major success for Aerosmith.

Permanent Vacation was Aerosmith’s best selling album in over ten years.  It quickly went platinum, and produced such hits as “Dude, Looks Like A Lady”, Rag Doll and Angel”.

The album’s success sprouted a new found fame for Aerosmith, only this time around, the band was sober to really enjoy the fruits of their labor.

In 1979, Aerosmith recorded Night in the Ruts. Shortly after recording this album, Joe Perry left the band and formed ‘The Joe Perry Project’.

When Joe Perry left Aerosmith, the album “Night in the Ruts” fell off the charts.  The album would only produce one single to hit the charts, and that was a cover of “The Shangri-Las” Remember (Walking in the sand), which only reached #67 on the charts. Although this album was a disappointment to it’s fans when released, it did eventually go platinum several years later.

Joe Perry was replaced by Richard Supa, and then by Jimmy Crespo, formerly of the band “Flame”

During this time, Aerosmith continued to tour with new band member Jimmy Crespo, but the bands popularity began to slip.  A combination of drug induced antics, and what their fans felt was less than Aerosmith music left the band in an era of turmoil.

In early 1980, Steven Tyler collapsed on stage in Portland Maine.  In the fall of that same year, Steven Tyler had a serious motorcycle accident which left him in  hospital for two months.  Steven’s accident kept him out of the studio until 1981 was well underway.

1980 wasn’t all bad for Aerosmith however.  It was during this year that Aerosmith released their Greatest Hits album which went on to become the band’s best selling album of all time, with over 11 million copies sold.

In 1981, Aerosmith again was in turmoil after Brad Whitford decided to also leave the band.  He was replaced by Rick Dufay.  After the departure of Whitford, Aerosmith recorded “Rock in a Hard Place” in 1982.  The album however, failed to produce a major hit single and was considered a complete bust.  By this time, many Aerosmith fans ceased to exist, but Aerosmith continued to tour in support of the album.  During this tour, Steven Tyler once again collapsed while on stage after reportedly doing drugs backstage with former band member, Joe Perry.

In February of 1984, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford were present for one of Aeorsmith’s concerts.  The band members got together after the concert, and two months later, Perry and Whitford were officially welcomed back to Aerosmith.  Steven Tyler was quoted as saying that “You should have felt the buzz the moment all five of us got together in the same room for the first time again. We all started laughin’—it was like the five years had never passed. We knew we’d made the right move.”

Next Post:  Getting Clean

Once Aerosmith was formed and their group members finalized in 1971, they began playing local shows and garnered some attention from talent scouts who were on the lookout for the next great band.  Aerosmith were booked through the Ed Malhoit Agency, and would later sign a promo deal with Frank Connelly.  Aerosmith’s signing with Frank Connelly would prove to be the turning point in the band’s career.  It wasn’t too long before the band signed on with David Krebs and Steve Leber.  The pair  invited Columbia Records to see Aerosmith perform live at Max’s Kansas City Club in New York City.  Aerosmith however, wasn’t  scheduled to play at the club on the night that Columbia Records were there and the group had to pay there way onto the bill.  That decision was probably the best decision in Aerosmith’s early years.  Columbia Records were very impressed with the band and signed them in 1972 for a reported $125,000.  A year later, Aerosmith released their self titled debut album ‘Aerosmith’.

Aerosmith’s sound of hard rock with blues influences was very appealing to the generation of music fans, and thus the band had an instant following.

Their debut album peaked on the charts at 166, with the song ‘Dream On’ claiming top spot at #59.

The album initially hit gold status, but over a ten year period Aerosmith’s debut album went on to sell 2 million copies, turning their gold record into a double platinum.

In 1974, Aerosmith released their second album titled “Get Your Wings”.  Get Your Wings was the first of many Aerosmith albums produced by Jack Douglas to  reach platinum status.

In 1975 Aerosmith took their local success to the international stage with their ‘Toys in the Attic’ album.  This album would ultimately put them on the same stage as the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.

Toys in the Attic’s Sweet Emotion song was very successful.  It was the band’s first top 40 hit, and ‘Walk this Way’ was re-released in 1976 and reached top 10 on the charts.

Then there was “Big Ten Inch Record” which was a song originally recorded by Bull Moose Jackson.  This song would go one to become concert must plays.  Because of the song’s success, Aerosmith’s previous albums re-charted.  The albums popularity spawned a concert tour for the band.  This album and tour was the start or Aerosmith superstardum. It was also during this time that Aerosmith laid down their foundation in Waltham Massachusetts.  The Wherehouse” as it was known was everything Aerosmith.  This was where the band would rehearse and record their music, as well as conduct business.

Toys in the Attic went on to become Aerosmith’s best selling studio album with recorded U.S.A. sales of eight millions copies.