'America's Greatest Rock Band'
Beaver County Times, PA
November 25, 2005
Pittsburgh - From the land of the Pilgrims comes Aerosmith, ready to blast away your post-Thanksgiving blahs with a Saturday concert stuffed with three hours of classic American rock.
"That'll be a good way to lose a little of that gravy weight, to come out and jump up and down with us," Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford said. "Yes, we're back at it, doing what we do best."
By that he means rocking arenas with a slick, sassy, blues-infused sound that's evolved over a 33-year recording career. For its "Rockin' the Joint" tour, Aerosmith created a stage inspired by U2's elliptical stage "which allows us to get closer to and further out in the audience," Whitford said. "That allows you to work the crowd in a much more intimate way." But before Whitford starts fully hyping his band's Mellon Arena show, he wants to remind you that Lenny Kravitz is the opening act.
"It's just a real pleasure seeing him play," Whitford said. "Lenny's got so many hits and he's sounding phenomenal." What are the odds of Kravitz joining Aerosmith on stage? "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised," Whitford said in a phone interview last Friday. "It's still a little bit early on the tour, usually that kind of thing develops over a few weeks. But I'd bet at some point we'll see either Lenny on stage with us, or Steven on stage with Lenny." That Steven would be Steven Tyler, the wide-mouthed, scarf-sporting Aerosmith singer who seems hell-bent on proving that 57 is the new 30.
With Tyler's chiseled foil, lead guitarist Joe Perry, and the rest of the original lineup intact (including Whitford, drummer Joey Kramer and bassist Tom Hamilton), Aerosmith is on the road promoting its new live CD, also called "Rockin' the Joint."
The CD and tour find the New England rockers digging deep into old albums to unearth forgotten treasures like "No More No More" from their 1975 "Toys in the Attic" album and "Season of Winter" from 1974's "Get Your Wings" album.
"Some of our oldest stuff is the best stuff we've ever done," Whitford said. "When I go through our whole catalogue, a lot of the stuff doesn't interest me. But it's really fun to dig up some of that old stuff, which you start to appreciate more with time."
Asked to pick the favorite lick he contributed to Aerosmith's arsenal, Whitford said it would be from either "Nobody's Fault" or "Last Child." Whitford is surprised to learn, according to a recent WDVE-FM report, that Aerosmith has played Pittsburgh 26 times.
In the early days, the band that started out as America's answer to the Rolling Stones would play twice a year here. But then asked to recall his favorite Pittsburgh memory, Whitford laughed and said, "I guess a couple of Pittsburgh things come to mind, but I couldn't mention them in a newspaper. Let's just say we met some friendly fans." Female fans, no doubt.
And so go the fringe benefits of a wildly successful career, which according to Aerosmith's Web site and promotional materials, has earned them the title "America's Greatest Rock Band." Whitford said he doesn't know who first started pushing the "greatest rock band" title; nor is he 100 percent sure if Aerosmith deserves it.
"I guess some people around us think we're approaching that status," Whitford said. "All I know is that it's a really good band, and I get to play in it." After a moment more of reflection he said, "I don't know if we're America's greatest band, but I think we're one of the best."
November 25, 2005
Pittsburgh - From the land of the Pilgrims comes Aerosmith, ready to blast away your post-Thanksgiving blahs with a Saturday concert stuffed with three hours of classic American rock.
"That'll be a good way to lose a little of that gravy weight, to come out and jump up and down with us," Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford said. "Yes, we're back at it, doing what we do best."
By that he means rocking arenas with a slick, sassy, blues-infused sound that's evolved over a 33-year recording career. For its "Rockin' the Joint" tour, Aerosmith created a stage inspired by U2's elliptical stage "which allows us to get closer to and further out in the audience," Whitford said. "That allows you to work the crowd in a much more intimate way." But before Whitford starts fully hyping his band's Mellon Arena show, he wants to remind you that Lenny Kravitz is the opening act.
"It's just a real pleasure seeing him play," Whitford said. "Lenny's got so many hits and he's sounding phenomenal." What are the odds of Kravitz joining Aerosmith on stage? "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised," Whitford said in a phone interview last Friday. "It's still a little bit early on the tour, usually that kind of thing develops over a few weeks. But I'd bet at some point we'll see either Lenny on stage with us, or Steven on stage with Lenny." That Steven would be Steven Tyler, the wide-mouthed, scarf-sporting Aerosmith singer who seems hell-bent on proving that 57 is the new 30.
With Tyler's chiseled foil, lead guitarist Joe Perry, and the rest of the original lineup intact (including Whitford, drummer Joey Kramer and bassist Tom Hamilton), Aerosmith is on the road promoting its new live CD, also called "Rockin' the Joint."
The CD and tour find the New England rockers digging deep into old albums to unearth forgotten treasures like "No More No More" from their 1975 "Toys in the Attic" album and "Season of Winter" from 1974's "Get Your Wings" album.
"Some of our oldest stuff is the best stuff we've ever done," Whitford said. "When I go through our whole catalogue, a lot of the stuff doesn't interest me. But it's really fun to dig up some of that old stuff, which you start to appreciate more with time."
Asked to pick the favorite lick he contributed to Aerosmith's arsenal, Whitford said it would be from either "Nobody's Fault" or "Last Child." Whitford is surprised to learn, according to a recent WDVE-FM report, that Aerosmith has played Pittsburgh 26 times.
In the early days, the band that started out as America's answer to the Rolling Stones would play twice a year here. But then asked to recall his favorite Pittsburgh memory, Whitford laughed and said, "I guess a couple of Pittsburgh things come to mind, but I couldn't mention them in a newspaper. Let's just say we met some friendly fans." Female fans, no doubt.
And so go the fringe benefits of a wildly successful career, which according to Aerosmith's Web site and promotional materials, has earned them the title "America's Greatest Rock Band." Whitford said he doesn't know who first started pushing the "greatest rock band" title; nor is he 100 percent sure if Aerosmith deserves it.
"I guess some people around us think we're approaching that status," Whitford said. "All I know is that it's a really good band, and I get to play in it." After a moment more of reflection he said, "I don't know if we're America's greatest band, but I think we're one of the best."
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