Aerosmith‘s Toxic Twins – Mr. Steven Tyler and Mr. Joe Perry – talked about the band’s 1988 tour with Guns N’ Roses, and how their struggle with substance abuse affected the whole thing. You can check out the conversation with Classic Rock Magazine below.
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Was it tough touring with Guns N’ Roses [in 1988] when you’d just cleaned up?
Tyler: “No, they were great. That was one of the most fun tours that we had. We pulled in so many people.”
Perry: “It was good. It was great seeing them taking off too because that’s the most exciting point in a band’s career. You’re trying to make it, you’re trying to break through here, break through there, and all of a sudden something happens and the word’s out and you’re the newest, hottest thing.
“No matter what you accomplish down the road, whatever next hurdle you get to, there’s nothing like that first time in your life when people are finally showing up. That’s what that tour was for them; they went from being an opening act to a headliner.”
Did you see them very often?
Tyler: “That whole thing about us telling them they couldn’t drink backstage, that was never said. What happened was, the first night I brought them into my dressing room and we were going over something. There was a guy in the band I used to get my heroin from named…”
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Perry: “Izzy.”
Tyler: “Izzy Stradlin. We’d just gotten sober so I simply told those guys, ‘This is my dressing room.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah? No shit.’ I said, ‘Well, if you whip out a bundle of coke, I’m going to have to leave my own dressing room. Please don’t do that kind of thing around me.’ That was it. Then it was printed that we banned them from drinking. Never.”