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Once criticized for being a Rolling Stones knockoff, Aerosmith has soared into the pop culture stratosphere for more than 30 years to become one of America's most successful rock ’n' roll bands. And in the cockpit of this often turbulent flight are flamboyant front man Steven Tyler and his longtime creative partner Joe Perry. Currently on tour in anticipation of Music from Another Dimension!, the band's fifteenth studio album and first album of original material since 2001's Just Push Play, Aerosmith appears to be flying high again. But not in the drug-fueled manner that once earned Tyler and Perry the nickname, the Toxic Twins. While Tyler has remained in the spotlight as part of "American Idol," Perry remains the quieter member of the duo. But as the band returns to Atlanta this Thursday for the Global Warming Tour, Perry takes a moment to talk about the band's tumultuous longevity, the new album, and his favorite Georgia memories.

A resurgence in '70s and '80s-style rock seems to be a trend in music as of late. Aerosmith was part of that original wave and is still going strong.

What are your thoughts on why the style of music you originally made popular is surging once again?

There's a couple of things. One is with the older fans. It reminds them of when they first heard that kind of music and it's comfortable to hear it. I know because I'm a fan and I like listening to the music I heard when I was 18 years old or 20 years old or 25 years old. It brings back those good times. Then there are younger fans who are interested to hear what kind of makes up the music that they like now. Hopefully with this record we'll be bringing up a whole batch of fans that want to hear what an American rock band sounds like when they're in the studio writing new stuff.

Speaking of your new album, this will be the first Aerosmith original studio album in almost twelve years. The band's inner turmoil since then has been documented very well, especially recently. What was it like coming back together after all that's happened to write and record this new album?

The actual writing part of it was pretty close to what we used to do in the '70s. Everybody had bits and pieces. We've been working on this record on and off for the last ten years, so we've written and compiled quite a bit of material to work on...

Read the full article at Creative Loafing.