Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and
"America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band."
Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide,
including 70.2 million albums in the United States alone. They also hold the record for the most gold albums
by an American group and are tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American group.
The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine number-one Mainstream Rock hits,
four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001
-Wikipedia
Members:
Steven Tyler - lead vocals, harmonica, piano, percussion
(1970-present)
Tom Hamilton - bass
(1970-present)
Joey Kramer - drums, percussion
(1970-present)
Joe Perry - guitar, backing vocals
(1970-1979, 1984-present)
Brad Whitford - guitar
(1971-1981, 1984-present)
Name Origin:
Kramer said when he was in school he would write the word aerosmith all over his notebooks. The name had popped into his head after listening to Harry Nilsson's album Aerial Ballet, which featured jacket art of a circus performer jumping out of a biplane.
Initially, the bandmates were confused. They thought he was referring to the Sinclair Lewis novel they were required to read in high school English class. "No, not Arrowsmith," Kramer explained. "A-E-R-O...Aerosmith."The band settled upon this name after also considering "The Hookers" and "Spike Jones."
From: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genre(s):
Hard rock,
blues rock,
heavy metal,
Classic Rock
Active From: 1970 - present
Associated Acts:
The Joe Perry Project,
The Jam Band,
The Jimmy Crespo Project,
Whitford,
St. Holmes,
The Strangeurs,
Chain Reaction
Quotes:
"Imagine taking off your makeup and nobody knows who you are."
Steven Tyler, Aerosmith's vocalist, on fame
"Steven knew how to keep things tight. We didn't have a clue about discipline, For us the whole thing was about the feel. So we needed each other."
Joe Perry, Aerosmith guitarist, on Steven Tyler
"I guess I am a feminist of sorts. I love women so much, and I celebrate the feminine in me because I appreciate it so much."
Steven Tyler
"We weren't too ambitious when we started out. We just wanted to be the biggest thing that ever walked the planet."
Steven Tyler
"I heard that your brain stops growing when you start doing drugs. Let's see, I guess that makes me 19."
Steven Tyler
"Whether it's fine artists, musical artists, or ultra right wing bull shit artists, we all need the right to freedom of expression"
Steven Tyler
"Younger bands are into jerking off and we're into @#$%&. That's all there is to it!"
Steven Tyler
"Good night, everyone- and remember- in this world, if you wanna get ahead, you gotta learn to give a little!"
Steven Tyler
After firing Megadeath as their opening act, Steven Tyler was quoted as saying: "We would like to help you out. Which way did you come in?"
Steven Tyler
We haven't quite been able to put together the deal for the shuttle -- we want to be the lounge act. Be the first band to play weightless!"
Steven Tyler
"I just want Aerosmith to always give me a hard-on, that's all I ever ask for, for it to be the most special thing in my life. As long as I look at it through those eyes, it will always be that way."
Steven Tyler
"You know...sometimes I'll be looking out at the audience and I'll be in the middle of a song, and I'll just stop dead. I'll look out at them, and think what is this... There's one thing that keeps me doing it though, I really love it, I believe in it."
Steven Tyler
"Our story was basically that we had it all, and we pissed it all away."
Joe Perry
"These days it's almost like a lot of kids get into bands because they want to get rich and famous, but when we started this band that wasn't really part of it. I never envisioned what I was doing as part of a career. We weren't even aware of all the stuff that came with it. We just looked at the bands that we idolized - like the Yardbirds - and we were blown away by how they could play. All we wanted to do was play like that, to be a great band like that."
Joe Perry
"You know, I definitely enjoy it, to be this close to that kind of insanity every day."
Joe Perry
(Joe on writer's block):"I think there was a time when I used to feel that way, but...it's like I'm past caring anymore. I know that it's gonna come out as good as it's gonna come out, and I know from history that people just don't lose it, y'know what I mean?"
Joe Perry
"I know that some of the great painters and some of the great artists didn't even start to 'peak', as you say, till they were in their fifties and sixties. And God knows, history is full of artistic people that weren't even recognized till they were dead and gone."
Joe Perry
"Steven's got a lot more time to be obsessed with sex now that he's not @#$%& up"
Tom Hamilton
"I think I deserve to ask MTV a question. Do I have any roast Beef in my teeth?, I just ate."
Tom Hamilton
"Steven and Joe had an argument the first night about Joe playing too loud, and so began an Aerosmith tradition."
Tom Hamilton
"I remember when Joe left, he gave an interview that really hurt me. He said, 'Aerosmith is not ready for the Eighties.' That hurt. It hurt because he was right. I though about that on New Year's Eve, when we were playing this great gig at home in Boston. It was my birthday, and I was thinking that Aerosmith is a band ready for the Nineties. We have a future now. For a while we didn't have one. It's one hell of a nice thing to have."
Tom Hamilton
"We never wanted to be a bar band. We were always a concert band."
Joey Kramer
"If we've handled everything up until now, we can do anything."
Joey Kramer
"Things were getting more like Sid and Nancy than Spinal Tap. It wasn't funny anymore."
Brad Whitford
It's to easy to do something different, the challenge is to stay in your own space, and keep it good. That's the hard part
Brad Whitford