In a recent interview with Classic Rock, Joe Perry, the guitarist of Aerosmith, shared insights about the band’s beginnings and his initial encounter with Steven Tyler. He recounted their first meeting and Tyler’s decisive moment that led to his inclusion in the group.
Perry recollected the occasion when his former band, featuring bassist Tom Hamilton, was performing at a local bar, and Tyler happened to be in the audience. Perry described the encounter:
“That’s when I was formally introduced to Steven. He had heard that the Jeff Beck Group was searching for a new singer. A mutual acquaintance of ours asked if we would serve as his backup band while he recorded a demo.”
According to Perry, during a collaborative recording session of The Beatles’ “I’m Down,” Tyler, who was initially a “singing drummer,” proposed an idea and issued an ultimatum regarding the band’s future. Perry recalled the conversation:
“I think that’s when he recognized something, and I did too. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll come to Boston, but I don’t want to play drums anymore; I want to focus solely on singing.’ I replied, ‘That’s great because we have this guy from New York named Joey Kramer who is considering joining the band…'”
Throughout their years of collaboration, Perry and Tyler experienced moments of conflict. One such dispute arose when Perry publicly stated that the band was in search of a new vocalist, following Tyler’s comments about prioritizing his personal brand, “Brand Tyler,” in 2008.
When asked about the public disagreement in another interview with Classic Rock, Perry shared his perspective:
“I’m uncertain about how I feel regarding that public feud. They say any publicity is good publicity, but I’m not entirely convinced. Perhaps it felt necessary to address our fans. Damn, I couldn’t tell you for sure. We were so distant from one another, I don’t know. Maybe we were attempting to set the record straight and be more transparent, letting people know what was truly happening. I’m not sure.”
Over the years, the relationship between Perry and Tyler seems to have improved, as they now prepare for their farewell tour with Aerosmith. Their final tour, named “Peace Out,” is scheduled to commence in September and conclude in late January.