Joe Perry is a founding member and lead guitarist of Aerosmith, one of the most formidable American rock bands in history. With 35+ years of recording experience and greater than 150 million albums sold, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and six string icon inspired legions of youngsters during the 1970’s to pick up a guitar, turn their amps to 11, and rock out. Perry is still doing more of the same today in comparable fashion, promoting the new Xbox 360 version of the game Guitar Hero II. An evaluation of Aerosmith’s musical career shows that there are plenty of people still listening and still turning their amps up loud in an effort to emulate Joe Perry.

Born September 10, 1950 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Joe Perry began playing the guitar as a teenager, fueled by the fire of British rock bands like the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and the Yardbirds. As a young musician playing in Sunapee, New Hampshire, Perry would subsequently form a musical partnership with a singer named Steven Tallarico. Soon the early forming of the rock band Aerosmith would be in place, as Tallarico became Tyler and bandmates Tom Hamilton (bass), Ray Tabano (guitar, soon replaced by Brad Whitford), and Joey Kramer (drums), stepped forward to create what would become one of the most influential hard rock bands of our time. With a unique blend of blues-based rock heavily driven by their British rock influences with a healthy dose of Led Zeppelin sprinkled in for good measure, Aerosmith would deliver their debut record in 1973, and would soon become one of the world's biggest rock bands. Albums like “Get Your Wings”, “Toys in the Attic”, “Rocks”, and “Draw the Line” followed and further established Aerosmith’s status amongst the elite bands of their time. Songs like "Dream On," "Same Old Song and Dance," “Back in the Saddle”, and "Sweet Emotion" filled radio airwaves everywhere. However, Aerosmith's flight to the top soon crashed and burned after only a short time, and Perry would soon grow frustrated with the band. He would leave Aerosmith in 1979 and form The Joe Perry Project. The band’s debut “Let the Music Do the Talking” was a strong musical effort but failed to match the popularity that Aerosmith had achieved. The Joe Perry Project would issue two subsequent efforts before Perry re-joined his former bandmates in 1984. The band’s return effort, 1985’s “Done with Mirrors” failed to bring Aerosmith to notoriety they enjoyed during the 1970’s. Then, out of nowhere, a surprise hit with rap artist Run-DMC, reworking the 1975 Aerosmith single "Walk This Way" would bring the band renewed attention and catapult Aerosmith, now clean, sober, and ready to rock, to the top of the charts once again. Albums such as “Permanent Vacation”, “Pump”, and “Get a Grip” soon followed and helped Aerosmith’s reclaim its position as one of the greatest American rock and roll bands ever. They are now the best selling American hard rock band of all time. The Joe Perry Project also re-emerged to record their self-titled disc in 2005, a bluesy blend of no holds barred, in your face rock and roll featuring Perry on all instruments except drums. The effort received an enthusiastic welcome from fans and provided Perry with a musical outlet he craved during Aerosmith downtime.

Today, Joe Perry is much more than just the band’s guitarist. He is also a proud parent. SOUND WAVES MAGAZINE recently caught up with Joe Perry to discuss his Father and Sons bond and an upcoming rare area appearance next month at the Fox Theatre with TAB-The Band:

SOUND WAVES: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk about your upcoming solo appearance.

JOE PERRY: Actually it’s a fascinating, one time thing and I don’t mind talking about it.

SW: Can you tell me about the break you’re taking from Aerosmith and the decision to play this solo show?

JP: Really this is a very unique, one off kinda thing. Where do we start? I’m trying to think of what the actual inspiration for this was. We were promoting the Guitar Hero game, and they asked me if I would play a small, private party. I said sure, and after I agreed to do it, I remembered that I don’t have a band. So then I started thinking about different ways to get that problem solved. The guys that I had from the solo record that I had put out a couple of years ago (2005’s “Joe Perry”) are from all over the place and getting them together to do one show would have been too much. I was sitting here brainstorming with John, my Road Manager, trying to think of some local guys. Meanwhile, my boys (son Adrian, 26, a Georgetown law school student and son Tony, 21, attending Boston University and pursing a career in Production and Music Engineering) are downstairs rehearsing, and they’re kicking ass. They’re wailing, and ever since they’ve starting playing together, they’ve blown my mind. Their drummer is going to B.U. as well and is studying to be a classical percussionist, but he’s a rocker at heart and a real good drummer. So the three of them have just been smokin’ ever since they put their band together. And my oldest son has been their Road Manager and has been helping out, so it’s really been a family thing. So we were brainstorming, and they’re downstairs rocking out. We said, ‘let’s see what they’re doing that night’.

SW: So they will be joining you for this show? That will be great. How did you go about working on material?

JP: It really worked. They knew the Aerosmith songs that we did, and they knew their songs, obviously. So it’s really just a matter of going over the (Joe Perry) Project stuff that I wanted to do from my last solo record. It was a really amazing experience; they played great. And it’s not just a Dad thing, which is what it sounds like. It’s such a unique thing to do. I’ll probably do this show, maybe two or three others, and that will be it. I really want to keep it separate, because I have my own project that I want to play and they want to establish and keep their identity, and they want to get out there and play music and play their own stuff. And too much together would really kind of stifle that. We all know this is a one off thing, and that throws the heat up even more. So we really put everything we’ve got into them.

SW: What type of set list can we expect to hear at the show?

JP: The only complaints we received after the last show a few months back what that they wanted to hear more of the (Joe Perry) Project songs, which we’ll be doing. We’ll probably do three or four of their songs; the band is called TAB-The Band, so you don’t confuse it with the soft drink, and then we’ll be doing a couple of Aerosmith songs. And the rest will be off my solo record.

SW: And will you be handing the vocal chores?

JP: Probably half of the vocals, and Adrian sings lead as well.

SW: And do you enjoy that opportunity?

JP: A lot. I really love to. I figured that I’m a late bloomer. The solo record really gave me a chance to sing a lot. It takes a while to develop. And by doing this, it really gives me a chance to work it and get better at it. The main thing is that cross section of songs. These kids grew up listening to those Aerosmith songs backstage, and a lot of the solo songs, I’ve never gotten a chance to play live. So they’re excited about playing them. And the uniqueness of a lineup like that….I’ve really left them alone to follow their own musical path. I really haven’t done anything except loaned them the guitars they want and given them the space to make music.

SW: That’s a great opportunity for them to have that influence.

JP: Yeah, it was so opposite for me when I grew up, when it was tough to get my hands on just one guitar. It was so different. I was determined to give them as much opportunity as they needed without having them feel like they had to live up to anything. No pressure; you guys do what you want to do. I think Tony’s favorite player is Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and before this band (TAB-The Band), he had three bands that he played in. One was a Blues Brothers cover band, a real party band kinda thing. And then he worked with this girl vocalist who played piano. It was very light music. And the third band he was in was a Rage Against The Machine cover band.

SW: So there’s a little bit of everything there.

JP: Yeah, that band identified him as Tom Morello, and all those sounds he gets out of the guitar......I mean, I wouldn’t even attempt to go near that stuff. (My son) Tony would nail it and really become a Tom Morello student. Just to show how different things are now, if you want to learn how to play a solo or learn how a song is playing, you just go on-line and find the tablature. So there’s a lot of good shortcuts. And I’ll ask him, ‘how did you get that sound?’ and he’ll go ‘practice; you can do anything you want as long as you put the time in and practice’. That’s what he said to me and I was so proud of him, because that’s really it. You have to do the work, and he learned that early on. So that’s what really impressed me about Tony. And that’s what he did. He spent hours and hours learning the stuff. He’d hear “Norwegian Wood” and he’d learn it. He’d hear the Motown stuff from the Blues Brothers record and it opened that door. Then he’d hear a Zeppelin song that he would like, and he’d learn that. So he really got a jump start. Where as Adrian; his Grandfather is the head music teacher in the Cambridge (MA) Public Schools, so he taught Adrian some music; jazz and piano, and he learned how to play bass, and he played in jazz bands, big bands, and rock bands ever since he was 12. He learned early on about music. He played The Whiskey on Sunset Strip when he was about 15 years old. So they got together about two years ago and they started writing together. They started in the morning and by the night, they would have a song, and I would be blown away by it. They just kept at it. They thought of TAB because it was their initials (Tony, Adrian, and (drummer) Ben), and there you have it. They started playing some clubs, and they’ve just been going ever since. They put a record out, and their record is really good. But I was asked to do this gig because of the Guitar Hero thing, and they’ve already have wailing. And I want to make the distinction that it’s kinda like the Joe Perry Project, but it’s also me playing with them. We want to keep it really unique, so we’ll probably only do this two or three times. And the energy when were playing together…..I haven’t felt anything like it. I just let them wail, and it’s in the genes.

SW: What did you listen to back then and now and how things have changed from when you were that age?

JP: Well, it’s funny, because there’s a lot of music that I love that they’ve grown attached to. And again, it’s kind of interesting because of the bloodline. They really dig Deep Purple, bands like that. It’s got nothing to do with which bands are cool. And it’s really been interesting because I learn so much from them.

SW: Do they bring something to your attention and keep you listening to new music?

JP: Without a doubt. And not just the music. That’s just a small part of it. I consider myself somewhat of a business man in the music business. Well, actually my wife does most of the business in the family. And she’s really got a handle on the business end of things. We were both watching this change in the music business. I thought Napster was the greatest thing. It was so great to be able to listen to something and be able to pull some songs out that weren’t even popular enough to make the classics list. But they’re easily as good as some of the other stuff. They can go to Napster and find it. You can listen to Tens Years After, or Tom Waits’ second record…..all this stuff that’s out of print. So I was able to make Tony a list of like twenty songs that were really cool back then that I used to listen to, and it really turned him on to some good stuff. But it’s fucked up that musicians didn’t get the money for them. And the fact that they just shut it down…..people obviously wanted it. They just did not get what was going on. Watching all this go on and watching how kids are listening to music and what they grab and how classic music has changed it’s meaning so much. At one point, we couldn’t even get an alternative band to open for us. We were so-called a classic band. It had a whole different meaning to it. Some of the stuff, I just don’t get it. But there’s something about the song that’s catchy, so have at it guys. That’s what it’s all about. So yeah, I do learn a lot from them. And also guitar playing. I mean, there’s things that they’re doing on guitar that they’ve picked up from the tablature. And same thing the other way. They ask me how certain riffs were played. But very little of it; a less than you’d think.

SW: But that’s a great source of trading secrets and ideas.

JP: Oh yeah. The place it really shows its face is playing live on stage. I can’ emphasize enough how unique these shows are. We’re really not going to do this very often. I play different and freer and, I’ll have to just say better than I’ve played in years, just getting off on the way that those guys play together. They listen to what I do and I listen to what they do, and we’re having a good time. It’s just a riot. We’re filming the shows and taping the shows, so we’ll probably, at some point, put some kind of a DVD together. It really doesn’t happen every day. And when I’m out there standing there in the middle of my two guys…..

SW: That’s a proud moment, isn’t it?

JP: Yeah, it is. And the band’s rockin’. It’s a pretty amazing thing. I gotta say, the proud part of it is kinda weird. It’s like I’m going around waiving my kid’s test with an “A” on it, but I mean, it’s not that. It’s more like, this music, this is what rock and roll is supposed to sound like.

SW: It sounds like they would impress you even if they weren’t your children. In other words, you’re impressed with what they’ve accomplished and how ambitious they are in doing something like this.

JP: I think you just put it in the best way I’ve heard it put. I was looking for a way to say it. That’s kind of the way it is. That’s the way it feels, and thanks for that.

SW: You can use that (laughs). Thinking back to when you were that age; a young, hungry musician in the Boston area…..what was it like back then, and how does it feel to have made it and then actually had a second chance? Can you recall those days and how you felt?

JP: It was so different because of the whole social thing that was going on at the time (with the war). And if you we’re under 30, it was ‘are you with us or are you against us’? Music was the marching theme for the social thing that was going on. You know what I mean? There were the bands that would just totally not be bands if they weren’t politically orientated. MC5; everything they did was a political thing. Almost every band had some kind of political thing. Some because it was fashionable, and some because they really believed in it. Neil Young, for example, it was part of their reason for existing. And they used it as a vehicle to put their political message out. The music was a whole different thing. There was no MTV. You only saw bands in magazines or very sterilized live shows on TV in black and white (unless you were upper middle class and had a color TV). I don’t think my family got a color TV until pretty close to me moving out. It was a weird time. The music was a whole other animal because of the politics. I can remember going to the clubs and the theaters every weekend and it didn’t matter who was playing, because you were going to run into other people who believed in the same things that you believed in. And if it was a band that you really liked, it was that much better. Very often, there would be three bands on the bill, and they would play two shows per night. Jethro Tull, the Jeff Beck Group, and Richie Havens, all on the same bill, and they would each play a 45 minute set. Then they would supposedly turn the house over, and that whole show would play again. But nobody left; more people came. Being a big fan, I couldn’t wait for the weekends to hear the bands. For some reason, one of the first things that held over after the first English invasion, the only true bands were the Beatles, the Stones, and then a whole bunch of other one-hit wonders. If you had an English accent, you were there. I knew bands that were from Long Island and they had English accents and the audience loved them. There were only a few, really good bands, as it is with most trends. Just like the alternative bands from Seattle, where there were really only a couple of good bands. So back then, after all of those shitty bands wrecked the whole thing, the Beatles stopped touring, and the Stones stopped touring, the second undercurrent of rock music that really depended on the playing came along, and people were starting to hear real players. The people really just went to the shows because it was a group gathering. It was tribal, and it was all different kinds of music on the same bill. It was Joan Baez and Richie Havens on the same bill as Ten Years After and Deep Purple. Woodstock just happened to be one of the big shows. It wasn’t the first one and it wasn’t the last one, but it probably was the biggest.

SW: Did you ever get to a stage where you considered moving on or just quitting and doing something else or did you know music was going to be your career path?

JP: No, not at all. I just played in bands because I loved it. Steven (Tyler’s) Father was a music teacher, so he learned a lot of piano and that kind of thing. He was a few years older and he had some experience in the business. We went out there and learned everything from the ground up. We moved from New Hampshire to Boston because it was the nearest big city. I had known Steven from playing in places up in New Hampshire and it went on from there. That was the thing that was different. It was all about live and all about getting up close to the front of the stage. And bands played tried to blow the other guys off the stage. There was a lot more competition back then. It just made it really more exciting. It’s so different than it is now, at least on one level. You’ve got that other level where you’ve got bands where the only way they’re going to make it is to be a really great live band. That’s the advice that I give them, and that’s what were going to do this time at Foxwoods. That’s what they’ve learned form me. That live is where it’s at. And that’s what they’re into.

SW: What’s next for Joe Perry?

JP: Well, I’m gonna do this gig. Then we’re going to get in the studio and I’m just going to write and write and write. And whatever works for Aerosmith is going to go in the Aerosmith pile and whatever works for the Project is going to go in the Joe Perry Project pile. Then I think that we’re going to keep working on the (Aerosmith) record. We may do some shows. We’ve been getting asked to do a lot of charity events. And we’ll probably go out on the road some time in the fall. Hopefully the record of some form of music will be out by then. I think that it will be pieces of music, maybe a few singles here and there, and then after a while it will morph into an album of songs, kinds of the way it used to happen in the 60’s when bands would put a few singles out, and then when you had enough singles, you put out an album.

I would like to see us put out a few singles here and there and then have an album come out. But I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I just know that there’s going to be a bunch of new Aerosmith music

Joe Perry will join his sons in “TAB – The Band” at the Fox Theatre on Friday, February 8th.