Joe Perry Recalls the Gift He Received from Slash on His 50th Birthday
What do you get Joe Perry for his birthday? Slash had a good idea when Perry threw a big bash for his 50th birthday.
Perry told this awesome story when he appeared on Conan to promote his memoir Rock: My Life in and out of Aerosmith. Since Perry’s birthday is September 10, what better time to share it.
As Perry tells it, it was the early 1980s, and money was tight for him. To make a good chunk of money fast, he sold his beloved 1959 Les Paul he used to record many of Aerosmith’s biggest hits from the 1970s. When Perry started to become more financially solvent, he wanted to track down that Les Paul, and it turns out it was now owned by Slash.
We won’t spoil the end of the story. Just watch the video below and let the “awww” wash over you.
The Future of Aerosmith
On August 2, Aerosmith announced the cancelation of their farewell tour and retired from the road, due to Steven Tyler not being able to fully recover from fracturing his larynx. However, Aerosmith is “still alive” according to bassist Tom Hamilton.
Speaking with AARP, Hamilton cleared up some things about the future of the band and also revealed things in the process. For example, on a scale of 1 to 10, the bassist lists Aerosmith as being between 7 and 9 on the odds of the band doing something in the future. However, Hamilton says touring is out of the question and is doubtful about any sort of Las Vegas residency.
” … There are a lot of other ways to be and do Aerosmith,” said Hamilton, but he didn’t elaborate on what those ways are.
Hamilton also shared that he was “surprised but not shocked” about Steven Tyler’s larynx injury leading to the premature end of Aerosmith’s farewell tour. He noted, “Steven has a way of powering through challenges like this one. He’s done it before. You never know.”
Hamilton is the only member of Aerosmith, so far, to talk with the media following the cancelation of their farewell tour. He offered up some clarification to Charlie Kendall's Metalshop about Steven Tyler’s voice. Hamilton said Tyler’s vocal injury “wasn’t a case of him blowing his throat out by doing something wrong.” Instead, Tyler had a freak fall during the third show of Aerosmith’s farewell tour, which resulted in him fracturing his larynx.
He added, “We don’t know what the future holds, but it won’t include touring.” As far as the decision to retire from the road, Hamilton said it was a decision made by both the band and their management.
When asked whether Aerosmith would move on without Tyler, Hamilton said, “There’s been no talk at all about going on the road with another singer. I can’t imagine it.”
Hamilton was asked whether Aerosmith might take the KISS route and do some sort of avatar version of the band and said, “A virtual Aerosmith? I’m drawing a blank on that one.”
