Aerosmith: Pioneers of rock

Aerosmith says new album brings ‘a little of 1975 back’.

LOS ANGELES:

Veteran rock band Aerosmith — which comprises of guitarist Joe Perry, bassist Tom Hamilton, singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer and bassist Brad Whitford — said on Wednesday that they are bringing “a little of 1975 back” with their long-delayed album of new material. The album that is scheduled to release this summer will coincide with the band’s US tour.

Aerosmith said they were working on finishing up the album — the first of new material since 2001’s Just Push Play — ahead of the tour, but refused to divulge the title of the album. “The camaraderie’s there, there’s some songs that are new rock, and old rock and middle-of-the-road rock and blues,” 64-year-old frontman Steven Tyler said.

The band will kick off their North American ‘Global Warming Tour’ on June 16 in Minneapolis and will be playing in 18 cities from Toronto to Oakland, California and Atlanta, Georgia. “You’re going to get some new songs from the new album and some old songs from the old albums and we’re just going to go out and rock your world,” Tyler said.

The volatile singer and “American Idol” judge was greeted by dozens of fans as the band swept into a Los Angeles news conference in flamboyant fashion — Tyler on a motorbike, Kramer in a white Lamborghini, Perry in a taxi and bassist Hamilton in a rickshaw. Whitford is currently on tour with another band.

While speaking about the journey of the band which is also referred to as The Bad Boys from Boston, Tyler said, “We’ve been known to set the world on fire with our type of music, so we decided to call this ‘The Global Warming Tour’.

Coming back home

Formed in Boston in the 1970s, Aerosmith has sold over 150 million records worldwide and had hits like “Walk This Way” and “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” but they said playing at home was the biggest thrill.

“My favourite part is coming back to our American fans. Being on stage and getting the response that we’re going to get hopefully from these new songs from American fans is something I really look forward to and is something that has always held us together,” said Kramer.

Aerosmith’s last North American tour, in 2009, had to be scrapped midway after Tyler, who had a history of drug addiction, fell off the stage and broke his shoulder. He later entered rehab for addiction to prescription painkillers. Last year, he fell in the shower during Aerosmith’s South American tour after passing out with stomach flu, but was back performing two days later. “I’m going to be in a sling all night to hold me up,” Tyler joked on Wednesday of the upcoming gigs.

Tyler’s decision in 2010 to join “American Idol” as a judge ruffled some feathers among his bandmates. But Tyler said his role on the TV singing contest had brought Aerosmith a whole new audience.

The upcoming concert tour is the perfect opportunity for the band members to assess Tyler’s popularity as a judge amongst the American viewers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2012.