Breaking the Mold
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV
February 18, 2006
Aerosmith keeps defying expectations, both with its live act and durable sound
Over the years, Aerosmith has made a career out of disproving many widely accepted conventions, among them:
• Young women don't hurl their underpants at grandpas.
• No one would pay good money to watch a grown man ride a mic stand like a hobby horse for a couple hours and then dry hump the stage.
• If you're not a gypsy or Stevie Nicks, it's not cool for your wardrobe to consist primarily of scarves.
And now Aerosmith has taken aim at another truism, one that has doubled as this city's motto in recent years: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Not anymore.
Last fall, Aerosmith released "Rockin' the Joint," a raw, off-the-cuff live disc recorded during a particularly overheated gig at the Hard Rock Hotel in January 2002.
Full of seldom played chestnuts like the dirt-beneath-the-fingernails blues shuffle "No More No More" and a throttling of Fleetwood Mac's "Rattlesnake Shake," the album strips the studio sheen from a band that's become pretty slick sounding in recent years.
"Listening back to the tapes to make this record, it was just one of those nights," recalls Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. "Usually when you put out a live record, you kind of cull them from a series of shows -- you get the best performance of each song and hone it down. But with that one, we just kind of let it fly."
And understandably so. After all, this city has a way of making visitors forget their inhibitions.
"Playing in Las Vegas is a really unique experience," Perry says. "There's certain audiences around the country where you can go, 'Well, they're really tough to impress in L.A.;' 'We know we always got a crowd in Detroit.' Every area has its little nuances.
"But in Vegas, everyone's just there to have a good time," Perry continues. "There's definitely a party atmosphere going on."
Having toured for more than three decades now, Aerosmith's back catalog should be getting moldy enough to double as penicillin. But, ironically, the group's bluesy, loudmouthed rock 'n' roll has sounded increasingly contemporary in recent years.
This is largely attributable to the fact that scads of young acts, from Jet to Silvertide to the Living Things, have attempted to adopt the beefy, blustery guitars and all-eyes-on-me swagger that defined much of the best '70s rock.
Granted, rock 'n' roll has always been a young man's game -- only strippers age less gracefully than rockers.
But Aerosmith has remained popular primarily because few next-generation bands can pull off all the larger-than-life, rock god peacocking as unself-consciously as this bunch does. It just seems to come naturally to them, as if these guys sprung from the womb with a week's worth of gigs already booked.
"(Our music) doesn't sound dated, because there are so many new bands that are trying to replicate a '70s sound or a '60s sound," Perry says. "The playing field is getting kind of leveled. If you want to go out and see what a big rock show can be, we're there to do it."
Still, in recent interviews, the band has started to hint that they may soon begin scaling back their overstuffed annual tour itinerary.
"I'm sure we'll ease into it," Perry says. "I don't know if we're really contemplating that at this point. It's not going to be some big change. It's a gradual thing."
After the current tour ends in April, the band is scheduled to begin work on its next LP just two weeks later.
"It's about just trying to top our last effort," Perry says of Aerosmith's next album. "We always feel like we're being chased. I look back at some of the records that we've done recently, and there's things about them that I like, and some that I don't. Those are the things that you lean on for inspiration."
Of course, the band will be back on the road this fall, whether or not the album gets finished. They're still selling out arenas, still one of rock's biggest draws. Like skintight leather pants, some things never grown old.
"There's something about it that still works," Perry says. "To draw on a sports analogy, there's a certain excitement that you get from watching that ball go in the hoop. That's still there, even though the sneakers are fancier."
"And there's still an excitement to that kind of rock 'n' roll," he adds with a chuckle. "It's still the same beat, you know?"
February 18, 2006
Aerosmith keeps defying expectations, both with its live act and durable sound
Over the years, Aerosmith has made a career out of disproving many widely accepted conventions, among them:
• Young women don't hurl their underpants at grandpas.
• No one would pay good money to watch a grown man ride a mic stand like a hobby horse for a couple hours and then dry hump the stage.
• If you're not a gypsy or Stevie Nicks, it's not cool for your wardrobe to consist primarily of scarves.
And now Aerosmith has taken aim at another truism, one that has doubled as this city's motto in recent years: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Not anymore.
Last fall, Aerosmith released "Rockin' the Joint," a raw, off-the-cuff live disc recorded during a particularly overheated gig at the Hard Rock Hotel in January 2002.
Full of seldom played chestnuts like the dirt-beneath-the-fingernails blues shuffle "No More No More" and a throttling of Fleetwood Mac's "Rattlesnake Shake," the album strips the studio sheen from a band that's become pretty slick sounding in recent years.
"Listening back to the tapes to make this record, it was just one of those nights," recalls Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. "Usually when you put out a live record, you kind of cull them from a series of shows -- you get the best performance of each song and hone it down. But with that one, we just kind of let it fly."
And understandably so. After all, this city has a way of making visitors forget their inhibitions.
"Playing in Las Vegas is a really unique experience," Perry says. "There's certain audiences around the country where you can go, 'Well, they're really tough to impress in L.A.;' 'We know we always got a crowd in Detroit.' Every area has its little nuances.
"But in Vegas, everyone's just there to have a good time," Perry continues. "There's definitely a party atmosphere going on."
Having toured for more than three decades now, Aerosmith's back catalog should be getting moldy enough to double as penicillin. But, ironically, the group's bluesy, loudmouthed rock 'n' roll has sounded increasingly contemporary in recent years.
This is largely attributable to the fact that scads of young acts, from Jet to Silvertide to the Living Things, have attempted to adopt the beefy, blustery guitars and all-eyes-on-me swagger that defined much of the best '70s rock.
Granted, rock 'n' roll has always been a young man's game -- only strippers age less gracefully than rockers.
But Aerosmith has remained popular primarily because few next-generation bands can pull off all the larger-than-life, rock god peacocking as unself-consciously as this bunch does. It just seems to come naturally to them, as if these guys sprung from the womb with a week's worth of gigs already booked.
"(Our music) doesn't sound dated, because there are so many new bands that are trying to replicate a '70s sound or a '60s sound," Perry says. "The playing field is getting kind of leveled. If you want to go out and see what a big rock show can be, we're there to do it."
Still, in recent interviews, the band has started to hint that they may soon begin scaling back their overstuffed annual tour itinerary.
"I'm sure we'll ease into it," Perry says. "I don't know if we're really contemplating that at this point. It's not going to be some big change. It's a gradual thing."
After the current tour ends in April, the band is scheduled to begin work on its next LP just two weeks later.
"It's about just trying to top our last effort," Perry says of Aerosmith's next album. "We always feel like we're being chased. I look back at some of the records that we've done recently, and there's things about them that I like, and some that I don't. Those are the things that you lean on for inspiration."
Of course, the band will be back on the road this fall, whether or not the album gets finished. They're still selling out arenas, still one of rock's biggest draws. Like skintight leather pants, some things never grown old.
"There's something about it that still works," Perry says. "To draw on a sports analogy, there's a certain excitement that you get from watching that ball go in the hoop. That's still there, even though the sneakers are fancier."
"And there's still an excitement to that kind of rock 'n' roll," he adds with a chuckle. "It's still the same beat, you know?"
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