News From The Road

Well folks, here we are again! They said it couldn’t be done, They said the 5 guys would never be in the same room again together, never mind the same stage but some 6 ½ months after the bad boys from Boston kicked some Middle Eastern ass the Most Explosive Force in Rock and Roll is at it again. This time taking South America by storm. It’s been 3 years since Aerosmith toured S.A. It was also the first time that they played in Bogota, Columbia and Lima, Peru in their 40 year plus career.

The fans down here are like none found anywhere. Aerosmith has die hard fans everywhere but there must be something in that water that they tell you not to drink. They are loud and energetic from the moment the lights go down until Elvis has left the building. But the real crazy thing is how the fans follow the band from the moment the band’s plane touches down on their soil. Landing in Lima it was business as usual. The band and crew all travel on the same plane. Once the plane’s doors open we are met by the local authorities that give us the once over twice. Then it’s off to immigration where are passports are stamped (fingers crossed) and our bags sniffed by dogs to make sure we didn’t smuggle a banana in from Bogota or someplace. Then it’s into people carriers to take us to the Hotel. It was pretty quiet in Lima until the big wooden gates that kept the 1000 or so loco Limians opened. Then the screaming started. It was a Hard Days night all over again. This time the band members names were Brad, Joey, Tom, Steven and Joe. It was pure pandemonium! As the vans pulled away the throngs of Peruvians made their way into their personal cars, taxi’s and Alpaca and buggy to chase the band. Some cars were so packed they looked like the freakin’ circus was in town. Where’s a cop when ya need one. Col. Sgt. Detective Donny Wightman would have met his ticket quota in about 10 minutes had he didn’t leave his pad in Boston and oh yeah and was out of his jurisdiction. When we got to the Hotel it started all over again. There were yet more people lined up outside of the hotel. The guys got out of the vehicles and walked over to the crowd but where soon escorted into the hotel for fear that the barriers would come down and someone might get seriously hurt. Just another day at the office!

Photo: John B.	Photo: John B.

The first 3 shows have been really good. The set list keeps changing. So far there has been 3 opening songs in 3 shows. I can’t remember ever seeing that happening at the beginning of a tour ever. The set list has been coming in at about 19 songs strong complete with a drum solo by the “Krame Dog” that has to be a highlight of the show. Joey hasn’t pulled out a drum solo in about 20 years and you just have to scratch your head and wonder why he hasn’t done it sooner. The guys near perfect timing would have John Cameron Swazey shouting “ Kramer takes a licking and keeps on ticking”.

In case your wondering how Steven is doing, never fear. The guy is like a cage animal waiting to be released on his prey. It’s Steven who cues for the curtain to be dropped every night and from the moment the canvas is released from the sky the Demon of Screamin’ is 100% on! It’s winter down here in South America so the temps are a little cooler than they are back home. It might be good for Joey who starts sweating on the first downbeat but for a singer the change in temperature can reek havoc on your voice.

Joe and Brad are locked in together also. I think the extra rehearsal time and that Joe and Brad just came off their own tours (Joe on his “Have Guitar will Travel” and Brad’s Experience Hendrix) have helped them perform like fine tuned machines with a certain amount of stank thrown in for good measure. Joe has been fine tuning his solo in his awesome Guitar Hero segment so look for that starting up again tonight in Santiago.

What can you say about the Master of the Big Bottom Tom Hamilton? Tom keeps it locked in with Joey. They have this chemistry that you can’t get overnight. Tom is rock solid and may be one of the funniest guys on the road.

In Bogota the band got their equivalent of the key to the city. The band went to City Hall on the day before the show and met the Mayor and just about everybody that worked there. There were about 2000 Columbians outside of City Hall waiting to catch a glimpse of the boys. The guys and the mayor also had a press conference were he applauded the guys for all their hard work in the music business and their effect on young people around the globe. I kept waiting for them to get the key to the city and for Steven to break into the intro of “Eat the Rich” but was a little disappointed to learn they got the plaque to the City. Got the right plaque baby but the wrong key hole doesn’t quite fit.

Next week I will recap our awesome visit to Santiago, Chile as well as stops in Brazil and Costa Rica. I will also be recognizing a member of the crew who continues to go above and beyond the call of duty.

See you on the Road!
John B.