THE Guitar INTERVIEW: AEROSMITH’S JOE PERRY & BRAD WHITFORD
Although it once had a reputation for anything-goes attitudes and X-rated billboards for equally X-rated nightclubs, today Sin City feels a little more sanitised than you might expect. On this particular weekend, the Strip is overflowing with families queuing up for candy at M&M’s World, video-game luminaries networking before the annual DICE Awards, enterprising rappers peddling mixtapes to hapless passers-by who stray too close, and smiling showgirls offering Kodak moments for a modest fee.
Las Vegas and rock ’n’ roll have much in common. Both the destination and the genre possess a waning notoriety, having reined in their behaviour over the past few decades in favour of safer, more corporatefriendly comportment. Rock music still bares its teeth but, these days, it rarely bites.
It’s fitting, then, that we’re here to see one of the last great rock bands, and find out how Aerosmith’s famed guitar duo view the evolution of the music that’s given them so much over the years.
ROCK ROYALTY
We meet Joe Perry in the 5,200-seat Park Theater at the Park MGM resort. His dressing room is a dimly lit, cosy home away from home, with antique rugs hanging on the wall behind the couch and tarnished firearms resting on the coffee table in front of it. Scarves adorn the makeshift apartment’s ebony furnishings, strewn about selectively like snow on a model railway village.
Perry tidies up while Viva Las Vegas emanates from a nearby iPad. He momentarily switches over to Johnny Cash before abandoning the music entirely. “It’s distracting,” he says with a grimace, thoughtfully deferring to the nature of our visit.
Reclining with one of the last great guitar gods, the gravity of it all sets in: Joe Perry’s name is synonymous with the instrument, yet he remains kind, accommodating and illuminating, carefully considering the questions before answering.
Congratulations on 50 years.
“Thanks, it’s a big deal.”
How have the residency shows differed from a normal tour?
“With not having to travel from city to city after every show, the wear and tear is a lot less. You get to play on the same stage with the same equipment, same sound system.
“The venue was designed for music. They used the [Beatles’] show as a blueprint for how to get the best event, so everybody feels like they’re getting the best possible mix. When we heard it was that kind of building, we were excited
