News

Name: Josh

Story: My younger brother Josh is without a doubt, Houston's most deserving  

Aerosmith fan. Josh meets all the basic mega-fan criteria: he owns  

every Aerosmith album, he hasn't missed an Aerosmith concert in  

Houston in over 10 years, he has posters and magazine pics of you  

guys all over his room, he almost always has on an Aerosmith tee, and  

doesn't leave the house without rockin his gigantic Aerosmith belt  

buckle. But Aerosmith has a much deeper meaning to Josh. Josh is  

brain damaged.  He has no concept of time or money, he cannot read or  

write.   He developed slowly as a child and struggled with connecting  

with people. In his mid-teens got into you guys entirely on his own,  

and his own sense of identity began to grow rapidly. His connection  

to your music has given him a foundation to reach out to others, and  

as he ages his communication skills continue to develop. Now, at 28,  

he can converse almost normally, and at the heart of his social  

skills is his love for Aerosmith. It gives him common ground with  

people- he can start a conversation there and end up talking about  

anything- but it always begins with "What's your favorite Aerosmith  

song?", or "Did you know that Steven Tyler's last name is really  

Tallerico?" Josh is often the life of the party- creating a true good  

vibe that everyone can feed off of and get down with. He is the  

friendliest, most easy going, gentle, genuine, person I know. You  

would LOVE him!! I read "Walk this Way" out loud to him a few summers  

back, he loved every word. We had a blast! Although he can't write to  

express himself,  he CAN write all the names of your songs and he can  

spell all of your names. He knows all the facts and crazy stories.  

This is a guy who has trouble remembering how to spell his own name.  

When it's about Aerosmith- he remembers.

Josh is also a wicked visual artist, and Aerosmith has been a major  

artistic inspiration. He has notebooks filled to the brim with  

original art inspired by Aerosmith songs and iconography. He makes  

'Steven Tyler' mic stand replicas out of found objects like  

broomsticks and shredded bed sheets. He has a series of 'Joe Perry'  

guitars, intricatly detailed with knobs, strings and tuners, all made  

out of cardboard, pipe cleaners, trash bags, wood scraps, weed eater  

line (for the strings), masking and electrical tape- his favorite  

materials to work with. He spends 2-3 hours a night putting on his  

own private Aerosmith concerts singing along to albums and online  

videos. Your music continues to bring Josh deep inspiration, helping  

him connect to himself and the outside world. To meet the source of  

his greatest joy would surely be the baddest, most Earth-shattering  

moment of his life!!!!!!!

With respect and gratitude,

Zack