Thank You, Aerosmith
Just a brief appreciation of what these guys meant to those who got the chance to live through their time.
When news broke recently that Steven Tyler was unable to continue to sing live and complete their “Peace Out” farewell tour, my initial feelings were mixed. Indifferent, even. It was as if I expected it, yet didn't want to admit it.
My introduction to the “Toxic Twins” might have been considered appropriate for the time. Run DMC was all over everything in New York in the mid-1980’s. The track “Walk This Way” was a catchy track with a guitar, but who was that lady singing? I didn't have MTV as a teen, so I only had a vision of what I thought was going on around Run, Jam Master Jay and Darryl.
Upon further research, I learned of a once-popular Boston band who had fallen on hard times. Done With Mirrors was the initial results from a reconciliation among Tyler and his musical brother, Joe Perry. The 1979 split (literally over spilled milk) resulted in a mess for all involved. There was excitement in the camp as the boys felt they were on to something and playing reasonably well, but Mirrors backwards printed LP and sleeve spoke to the state of where they were at; good enough to play, just their old stuff.
Seems Rick Rubin might've had the same idea. Run DMC had been rapping over Joey Kramer's intro drum beat for a while, and an idea changed the careers of many a person as a result.
I got a hold of Aerosmith's Greatest Hits on cassette from a bargain bin and began to disseminate the tracks. Ten singles released by the band during their 1970’s run at the top of the bill. Fourteen years old, I was. Yet by the time the last track played, I felt I knew everything I needed to know about sex.
It began a weekly pilgrimage to the record store during high school lunch. I needed to know more. I needed to hear more. So, one by one, I would get the cassettes. Rocks. Draw The Line. Get Your Wings. Bootleg. Aerosmith. Rock In A Hard Place. Classics I & II. Gems. Mirrors. I'd find bootleg records from the underground places over the last tour. I was hooked.
My first guitar was a plastic toy Village People guitar that I quickly learned Pete Townsend had the right idea in smashing them up. The second I spent two weeks trying to learn the intro riff to “Same Old Song and Dance.” Joe Perry and Brad Whitford were great players who understood groove, and Aerosmith at their best had it pouring out of everything they did. That pocket was so greasy, yet tasted so good. From that moment on, I was a guitar player.
That pocket was established for us all by Kramer. At first glance, Joey doesn't strike you as a funk and soul player behind the drum kit, you're wondering when he's going to change your tire. Tommy Hamilton, a pretty tall blonde guy who nods his head a lot. Yet, they provided the engine for millions of records sold over fifty years.
This was the band that changed my life. The swagger. The confidence. The presence. When Tyler sang a lyric, as I gained more “life experiences,” I understood exactly what he was talking about. The sly substance references, the blatant ones. The personal struggles. The victories and the victims. I lived them, and I knew them all.
I could go through every single song on each album, and give a why, how or when. I read every page, respecting how clear those facial lines become over time. By the grace of God, Smithers and a dozen or so others, all five members are still with us. Unfortunately, any further live performances will come via YouTube or on a previous recording unearthed, because we've seen the last of the World's Most Indestructible Band.
It is with that thought and a single, soft tear of sadness, that I give a heartfelt thank you to the five guys who like getting high, laid and playing music when they were kids and adults. For countless memories, and those accidentally forgotten on account of I had no idea those were drugs, mom. For teaching me how to be myself and cool by being myself and cool. For over fifty years of everything, good and bad, about rock and roll, and the inspiration to keep it loud.
Aerosmith, thank you.