This Week Last Week Weeks on chart Artist, "Title" Peak Position
1 1 5 Usher, Confessions 1
2 - 1 Mario Winans, Hurt No More 2
3 - 1 Prince, Musicology 3
4 2 5 Various Artists, Now 15 2
5 3 20 Hoobastank, The Reason 3
6 - 1 Ghostface, The Pretty Toney Album 6
7 7 36 Jessica Simpson, In This Skin 2
8 5 5 Guns N' Roses, Greatest Hits 3
9 8 60 Evanescence, Fallen 3
10 10 11 Kanye West, The College Dropout 2
11 6 11 Norah Jones, Feels Like Home 1
12 - 1 MercyMe, Undone 12
13 11 31 OutKast, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below 1
14 9 4 Lil' Flip, U Gotta Feel Me 4
15 4 4 Janet Jackson, Damita Jo 2
16 12 12 Kenny Chesney, When The Sun Goes Down 1
17 - 1 Drowning Pool, Desensitized 17
18 16 21 Alicia Keys, The Diary Of Alicia Keys 1
19 15 50 Maroon5, Songs About Jane 7
20 17 13 Twista, Kamikaze 1
21 13 4 J-Kwon, Hood Hop 7
22 19 24 Josh Groban, Closer 1
23 21 25 Sheryl Crow, The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow 2
24 14 4 Eric Clapton, Me And Mr Johnson 6
25 - 1 Hanson, Underneath 25
26 22 5 Soundtrack, The Punisher: The Album 22
27 18 4 Aerosmith, Honkin' On Bobo 5

AEROSMITH's STEVEN TYLER Auctioning Off Cars - Apr. 29, 2004

Two cars previously owned by AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler are currently being auctioned off via eBay. A VW Bug (photo) and a Dodge Viper (photo), with 1,500 and 11,500 miles on them, respectively, will be autographed by Tyler upon request. For more information, visit the eBay auction pages: VW Bug , Dodge Viper .

From: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com

WE HEAR....THAT fashion's Roberto Cavalli is pitching a network reality show. He'll be teaming up with Cynthia Garrett in a search for the world's next big designer, with help from clients like Beyoncé and Steven Tyler as judges. The winner gets an apprenticeship with the House of Cavalli.

Aerosmith's 'Bobo' pays tribute to blues legends
By VICKI ST.JAMES, For the Courier

The boys from Boston pay homage to a star-studded lineup of blues legends with their 25th release, "Honkin' on Bobo," which debuted March 30th. So, what exactly does "Honkin' on Bobo" mean? Frontman Steven Tyler says the phrase was originally coined by jazz great Louis Armstrong to describe saxophone playing, yet Tyler admits there appears to be some double entendre involved with the phrase.

With "Honkin' on Bobo" Aerosmith delivers the most riotous covers imaginable of classic blues tunes by the likes of Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley as well as a new Aerosmith original, "The Grind." Expertly produced by Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry and Jack Davis ("Toys in the Attic"), the album begins with Tyler speaking: "Ladies and Gentleman, step right up, let's go see our friends." The first friend to be covered on "Bobo" is the incomparable Diddley, who tore up Chicago's Chess Studio with his innovative Afro-Caribbean clave beat back in the day. Perry's licks on Diddley's "Roadrunner" are hauntingly reminiscent of the sound that bled from Bo's signature triangular guitar, yet Tyler's guttural growls lend a whole new meaning to the lyrics: "Let's burn some rubber tonight."

"Shame, Shame, Shame," originally done by R&B's Jimmy Reed, is deliciously rip-roaring here with the help of guest pianist Johnny Johnson. If this cut feels like Johnny B. Goode, that's because Johnson was Chuck Berry's piano player for decades.

Another beefy cut on "Bobo" is the Muddy Waters classic, "I'm Ready," written by virtuoso musician/songwriter Willie Dixon. This mid-tempo track features ingenious high hat playing by drummer Joey Kramer, a strong bass line from Hamilton, mind-blowing riffs supplied by Whitford and Perry, and Tyler's percussive vocals which spit out lyrics like: "I'll prove to you Baby, that I ain't no square." On the contrary, the level of hipness to this song would do even a funky James Brown proud.

Truest to its original is the gender bending, "Never Loved a Girl" originally released by Aretha Franklin as "Never Loved a Man." These two songs, when played simultaneously barely miss a beat. All of the subtle nuances you loved in Franklin's original are present in Aerosmith's updated version.

A charming rendition of the rootsy Gospel song "Jesus on the Mainline," featuring Tyler's daughter Chelsea and Tracey Bonham on background vocals, as well as Perry on the bottle-neck slide guitar and Dobro, adds diversity to the album as does "Back, Back, Train," showcasing Perry's gorgeous lead vocals for a change.

Finally, the most outrageous of the pack is the cover of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You've Got to Move." Aerosmith has extended a song that was originally two minutes in length to a full five-and-a-half minutes of pure rebellious ecstasy. Get your fill of "Honkin' on Bobo" when Aerosmith takes on Hilton Coliseum in Ames on Tuesday.

From: http://www.wcfcourier.com

PIC

Coming off a lucrative decade-long run of power ballads, movie themes and pop singles, Aerosmith didn't have high commercial expectations for their new blues-covers collection, Honkin' on Bobo. So they were as surprised as anyone when it entered the Billboard 200 album chart at Number Five and sold 160,000 copies in its first week, nosing ahead of the other recent rock-star blues project, Eric Clapton's Me and Mr. Johnson.

When Aerosmith tackled blues classics such as "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Road Runner," Steven Tyler says the key was to avoid anything that sounded like a preservation-minded blues tribute: "This is not about a resurgence of the blues. It was us discovering you can do these songs and have a whole lot of fun. It just plain feels good."

The album presented a challenge for the band's label, however. "We knew that we'd have to take our chances on a marketing level," says Will Botwin, president of Columbia Records. "There's loyalty to the band among fans, but there's very little loyalty at radio. To me, this is not a hit-driven record or a video-driven record."

Surprisingly, stations in the "active rock" format are getting good feedback from the first Bobo single, "Baby Please Don't Go." "It definitely stands out as something unique," says Sean Elliott, program director at WLZR-FM in Milwaukee. "People seem pumped that Aerosmith are really rocking again. And the track lends a really cool sound to the radio station."

The album is poised for strong sales well into spring. Aerosmith are currently playing an average of five Bobo tracks at every show on their arena tour, which lasts until late June. Guitarist Joe Perry says they fit perfectly next to Aerosmith's originals. "People think that the blues is just older men," Perry says. "But when they wrote this stuff, a lot of times they were in their twenties and thirties, and they were just trying to get people off in the juke joints.

That's the thing about these songs: They're great vehicles for energy. They've got all the magic that got us into music in the first place, and the album has that crazy X-factor vibe you can't really explain about rock & roll."

Or, as Tyler puts it, "It's like smelling cinnamon in the morning. It can't be denied."

TOM MOON
(April 29, 2004)

From: http://www.rollingstone.com

By Daniel Hartman

With their new album, Honkin’ on Bobo, veteran rockers Aerosmith want fans to know that they are simply emphasizing what they have always been about; the Blues.

From the very beginning, the various members of the Boston, MA based quartet have found their musical style heavily influenced by the Blues. That includes guitarist Brad Whitford, who says he discovered a truly American musical form in a very roundabout way.

“Early on, I was heavily influenced by a lot of English artists,” he says. “I’m talking about artists like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and the Stones. The British Invasion had a influence on me, as well as the rest of the band.”

Whitford says this is because those artists found their sound by taking a look at American music of the time, including Rock n’ Roll and the Blues.

“Guys like Clapton and Page became real students of the Blues. They studied the Chicago and the Mississippi Delta styles and then gave it their own unique spin. I still find it funny that I got introduced to a lot of American music by guys from a different country,“ Whitford says.

“I learned about a whole new genre of music back then, and I’m still fascinated by it to this day,” says Whitford. “That’s true for all us in the band, and part of the reason why we decided now was the time to put out a record of some our favorite songs.”

That didn’t happen overnight though; Whitford says the album that became Honkin’ on Bobo was a long time coming.

“We talked about doing something like it for maybe five or six years. It was just never seemed the right time to actually do it,” Whitford says.

That right time came about a year ago, just after Aerosmith’s last tour. Whitford says after a few weeks of much needed rest after the rigors of touring, the group decided to get together in an intimate setting and record an album that they always had wanted to make.

“We all got together and started playing in Joe [Perry, Aerosmith’s lead guitarist]’s basement, and it really just went on from there,” Whitford says. “We just started playing some different songs that we had always like and the next thing we knew we were recording those songs.”

Whitford says that as that process they began to listen to more and more classic Blues and artists. This was an eclectic mix of artists, which included: Willy Dixon, Fred Matthews, Sonny Boy Williamson and even the “Queen of Soul,” herself, Aretha Franklin, whose “Never Loved a Boy,” Aerosmith covers on Honkin’ on Bobo, as “Never Loved a Girl.”

“All of us in the group brought ideas to the table what we wanted to record, some more than others,” Whitford says. “Joe in particular put a lot of compilations together, as did one the guys from our record company. We literally had libraries of this great music that we listened to.”

As that went on, Whitford says it became a process of elimination as to what should go on the new album.

“We started saying, ‘let’s listen to this,’ and ‘let’s try that one.’ Then someone would feel strongly about a certain song and we’d try that song. Most of the stuff we ended up trying were keepers. By the end, we got to the point at the end of those sessions where we felt we could make just about anything work. It was a good feeling,” Whitford says.

It was also during the recording of Honkin’ on Bobo, that Whitford says he gained a new admiration for the Blues greats.

“When were doing this thing, we were listening to a lot of the old stuff, I mean really listening to it, “ Whitford says. “As we were doing that, I just was taken aback by the feel of a lot of it.”

Whitford says how that music was recorded was that impressed him the most.

“That music was recorded in many cases as crudely as possible,” Whitford says “Maybe crudely isn’t the right word, as the process was probably modern in its time. Still by today’s standards it was crude. It doesn’t matter though, as they’ve got a sound and feel so unique, it would be impossible to capture even with the technology we have today.”

That feel became is what Whitford says Aerosmith tried to capture on Honkin’ on Bobo. Some songs he said really stand out more than others like a cover of a relatively obscure blues song called “Temperature,” that was originally recorded by Little Walter.

“Some songs we did were just so loaded, like ‘Temperature,’” Whitford says. “We listened to that one and went, ‘Oh my God!’ ‘That one was a real bulldozer.’ We just kept getting bowled over by that song, and it that’s how we ended up recording it.”

Also during the recording of the album, Whitford says he and his bandmates began to dissect the songs they wanted to cover.

“We just started pulling those songs apart, every performance of them, and trying to figure out just what made that song work. We just wanted to see what made it tick, so we could make it work on the same level. We couldn’t recapture the timber of the original performance, but we tried to recapture its feel. It was just a great experience for all of us,” Whitford says.

Aerosmith also brought in some “living legends,” of the Blues and Rhythm and Blues respectively to add something special to some of Honkin’ on Bobo’s tracks. Specifically legendary Blues pianist Johnnie Johnson and the Memphis Horns, who Whitford says added that “extra something” to the tracks they played on.

“Johnnie came in and added the piano after we had already laid down most of the track,” Whitford says. “His playing just took those songs up several notches just with his musical presence. I can’t say enough about what he added. Not many guys can play like that.”

Johnson’s special piano touches can be found on the tracks, “Shame, Shame, Shame,” as well as on the aforementioned “Temperature.” Whitford says it was an honor and a privilege to have Johnson perform on the album. As far as the Memphis Horns go, Whitford says they appeared on the track, “Never Loved a Girl,” through digital sampling.

“The Memphis Horns are on there because of some pre-recorded digital samples they sent us,” Whitford says. “It would have been too expensive and time-consuming to bring them all in, as we were never sure we were going to use them in the first place. We ended up using the samples and again, it added a lot to that song.”

Whitford says that listening too and playing all of those classic blues numbers has made it tough to pick one song as a favorite. He says as the band tours and plays those songs more, maybe that will change. He also says that one favorite may not come to him until much later.

With an album of Blues covers, instead of the usual hard rocking/pop sound that has become Aerosmith’s trademark since their astounding comeback in the late 1980s, one wonders how the fans that grew up on that sound will react. Again, Whitford says it’s really nothing that the band hasn’t done before.

“Like I said we’ve been influenced by the Blues for years,” Whitford says. “We just decided that after years of playing the more commercial stuff, it was time to make a record of our favorite songs.”

In fact Whitford says, they started playing material that is on Honkin’ on Bobo on their last tour. He also says so far on their latest tour, which is in support of the album, the fans are really taking to the new “old” music they’re playing up on stage.

“We started playing this stuff back in the fall, when we were touring with KISS. The crowd response especially to especially ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go,’ which Steven [Tyler, lead singer] and Joe took and added some Rock n’ Roll to.” Whitford says.

Besides rocking old Blues standards, Aerosmith also has featured Tyler on the harmonica on a number of songs over the years. Whitford says the new album just gives the group’s front man a chance to show crowds his prowess on with on the harp on a bigger scale. Tyler’s love of the harmonica also may explain the album’s title also.

“When I first heard it, I thought it was kind of a joke,” Whitford says. “Then I heard that it’s what some Jazz musicians call a saxophone, or like a guitar picking up his ax, or even what they call a trumpet. I prefer to look at it as some kind of tongue-in-cheek joke and say that I honestly don’t know.”

Check back next week for part two of Daniel C. Hartman's interview with Brad Whitford

From: http://iowastate.campusauthority.com

Steven Tyler and the rest of boys of Aerosmith, testing their improv skills at the Second City Theater, Toronto. Initially acting solely as audience members, S.T. and his gang were invited onstage for a few songs and unscripted routines. Proving multifaceted and promoting yet another album, these older gents just keep on struttin'!

From: http://www.eonline.com

Aerosmith: They let the music do the talking

By KYLE MUNSON
BACK IN THE SADDLE
04/29/2004

Thirty-four years on the road and more than 100 million records into their career, Joe Perry and his fellow Boston bad boys in Aerosmith have finally unleashed their long-rumored "blues album."

"Basic and back yard and back to the roots" is how Perry, 53, characterized "Honkin' on Bobo," the band's 25th release and first new CD since 2001's "Just Push Play."

Aerosmith's current tour kicked off March 11 in Lubbock, Texas, and continues through the end of June. The band sold 70,790 tickets in the first quarter of 2004 alone, while "Honkin' on Bobo" is perched comfortably at No. 18 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

More than just about any other band, Aerosmith has earned its survivor status with repeat comebacks born of tenacity and relentless touring. Last year's Aerosmith-Kiss doubleheader rated the No. 7 tour of the year and raked in $64 million.

Last week Perry lounged on his tour bus in Montreal prior to a concert and told his road manager to make a note that "Milk Cow Blues" should get worked into the band's setlist.

"We didn't want to make a record like the Eric Clapton record," he explained.

Perry chafes that Aerosmith's "Bobo" has been widely compared to Clapton's tribute to blues pioneer Robert Johnson, "Me and Mr. Johnson," which also was released on March 30. Aerosmith didn't aim for a "literal translation of the blues," Perry said, but rather a "vehicle" to "showcase some of our favorite tunes."

So Perry spent the last few years rummaging through his scattered CD and vinyl LP collection - which he intends to consolidate into a digital library with a hard drive he recently purchased - for songs to present to the rest of the band.

"We wanted to kind of just embrace our roots, so to speak, and just kind of build on it, make it more a statement of where we came from. In our generation there are a lot of guys in a lot of bands that were influenced just the way we were, by hearing all the English bands playing what they played."

As the saying goes, Aerosmith is America's answer to the Rolling Stones. And the playlist of "Honkin' on Bobo" is a screaming, rocked-up romp through Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go" and other blues chestnuts - plus one new Aerosmith original, "The Grind."

Aerosmith didn't notch its first No. 1 song until 1998's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," the syrupy ballad written by Diane Warren that was featured in the brainless blockbuster "Armageddon." But Aerosmith diehards who have felt, um, "Jaded" about the band's recent output and still prefer to dust off their scratchy LP copies of "Toys in the Attic" or "Rocks" are probably relieved to hear the retro blare of "Bobo."

The band's tell-all 1997 autobiography, "Walk This Way," chronicles the pivotal moment in the summer of 1969 in Sunapee, N.H., when singer Steven Tyler first witnessed Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton's nascent group, the Jam Band, careen through "Milk Cow Blues" and other bluesy fare.

"I knew a kindred spirit and fellow traveler when I saw one," Tyler writes in the book. "Something in my deepest being knew instinctively that if I could get into a groove with him and start writing songs, we could combine what I knew with the looseness that they had."

And so he did. Tyler hooked up with Perry and Hamilton, and then drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Brad Whitford.

"Honkin' on Bobo" recaptures that looseness partly because it was recorded primarily in "the Boneyard," Perry's home studio in the basement of his "rambling country-kind of mansion, very typical New England-kind of farmhouse" located about 20 minutes south of Boston. Perry has lived there 16 years, gradually adding on rooms and building a world-class recording studio.

His main control room is a cozy 12 feet by 12 feet with a 7-foot ceiling. The slightly larger recording space is where Perry laid down lead vocals as well as guitar for one of the album's most raw songs, "Back Back Train."

"It's really hard wanting to sing in a band when you have one of the top five rock singers this century, know what I mean?" Perry said. *** Having already written an autobiography, filmed a "Behind the Music" special for VH1 and rehashed many times over his status as a onetime rampant drug abuser and "Toxic Twin" alongside Tyler, Perry would prefer to put the 1970s and '80s behind him for good.

"It doesn't even feel like it's part of our history it's so old," he said and pointed out that he and his fellow band members have been sober, mature businessmen longer than they were stoned, reckless rockers.

Aerosmith will focus on its recent activity in a new behind-the-scenes special to air May 21 on the A&E network. It will show the band at the Boneyard, in concert - even at its Super Bowl gig that got overshadowed by Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction."

"It was kind of heartbreaking to see so much emphasis put on, one way or another, some kind of publicity stunt," Perry said. "I thought it was tacky."

Aerosmith is a well-oiled arena rock machine - not that Perry enjoys making all the business decisions about how much to charge for concert tickets, how best to combat scalpers, etc.

"Trading money for art is a pain in the ass but we're lucky enough to do it," he said. "I don't think anybody in the band has gotten to the point that doing business has ruined the fun of making rock 'n' roll."

Best of all, Perry revealed that as many as another dozen tunes in the vein of "Honkin' on Bobo" are in "various stages of being done."

So Aerosmith's bluesy rebirth might just be getting under way.

DETAILS
Who: Aerosmith, Cheap Trick
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Hilton Coliseum, Ames
Tickets: $45-$75 (through Ticketmaster)
Also: May 12 at Tyson Events Center, Sioux City, with tickets $55.50-$80.50

From: http://www.dmregister.com

Just in case this whole music gig doesn't work out, it seems Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has his golden parachute on simmer. Boston.com had the chance to sit down with Perry a while back after an autograph session at Newbury Comics promoting his spicy condiment, "Joe Perry's Rock Your World Hot Sauce: Boneyard Brew." Next to a pair of tin pans full of barbecue ribs, Perry talked about his hot sauce, how touring with Aerosmith has changed over the years, and the band's scene before they hit it big.

Boston.com: Why hot sauce?

Joe Perry: I like hot food, and I like good food. When I’m on the road, I’m kind of particular. I mean, I love Burger King, too…but with my hot sauce on it. From traveling so much, you get exposed to so many different flavors. There was a whole thing about hot sauce that started over 10 years ago…people were getting turned on to it.

But before that, I learned about Caribbean fiery sauce from being down there, and my travels. In Spain, we learned about the flavors in paella, and those kinds of things. We took aspects of different kinds of sauce that I liked and tried to incorporate that. There’s a hint of the southwestern thing, but I say it’s mostly based on a Caribbean flavor.

BC: What if you walk in Stop & Shop and see a big cutout of Joe Perry with his hot sauce?

JP: Yeah…that would be pretty cool.

BC: Do you take the sauce on tour?

JP: Yeah, we actually sell it at the venues. We always have a case backstage.

BC: What’s the band think of the sauce?

JP: Steven (Tyler) eats it every day. I don’t think he can go a day without it. You really want something to be an everyday sauce that doesn’t blow the top of your head off, but it does have a good bite to it.

BC: What’s the best food for it?

JP: I like it on eggs. When I have breakfast at about one in the afternoon…you can call it brunch, I call it breakfast. It works great on burgers and steak.

BC: Enough about sauce...on to Aerosmith. How has touring changed through the years?

JP: Well, I think when the band got back together in the 80s, we started to get used to the fact that the demographics were different. In the 70s, we were all kind of around the same age…us and the audience. Then you started to see that generation element. Obviously it gets wider every time you go out…I’m kind of used to seeing a variety of people in the audience. As far as getting out there and being ready to rock at nine o’clock, that hasn’t changed a bit.

BC: Give me a snapshot of Aerosmith pre-fame…in Boston.

JP: People would come to see us play, but I was spending more time at the girls dorm at Emerson than pretty much anything else. Then we’d play, and hopefully have beer money.

BC: Do you miss the Boston Garden?

JP: Yeah…yeah, I do. It was great there. Not just to play, but I saw so many great bands there. It really had a good vibe. But you know, we have the Orpheum. It’s still there, and it still has the same energy as it did when I saw the Eagles there in 1968. So that’s something to be thankful for, because there aren’t too many theaters left like that in the country.

BC: What’s the glue that holds Aerosmith together?

JP: We spend money as fast as we make it. We like living large. There’s nothing like a new Ferrari.

Chris Rattey is a content producer for Boston.com. Comments or questions can be e-mailed to crattey@boston.com

From: http://www.boston.com

1973 Aerosmith also plays in Boston MA at Paul's Mall

1988 Aerosmith plays in Johnson City TN at Freedom Hall Civic Center (White Lion opens)

1990 Aerosmith plays in Columbia SC at Carolina County Coliseum (Joan Jett opens)

1994 Aerosmith plays in Osaka Japan at Castle Hall

1999 Aerosmith plays in Dallas TX at Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheater (Afghan Whigs open)

Dodge : Viper SRT10 Conv.
2003 SRT10 Conv. Owned by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Miles: 1500
Doors: 2 doors or more
Transmission: Manual
Interior: Black
Engine: 10 - Cyl.
Year: 2003
Warranty: Existing
Title: Clear
Exterior: Black
Condition: Used
Inspection: --

Options
CD Player
Sunroof
Leather Seats
Driver Airbag
Anti-Lock Brakes
Air Conditioning
Power Locks
Power Seats
Power Windows

Vehicle Description
This 2003 Dodge Viper with only 1500 miles on it has one previous owner- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Car is in excellent condition and comes with transferrable manufacturer's warranty, signed window sticker, and a personal autograhped photo of Steven Tyler. Own a piece of rock and roll!! Steven Tyler will also sign car upon request.

Vehicle Condition
Vehicle is in brand new condition, no scratches or dings. Title is in hand. 3rd party inspection if wanted must be paid by buyer.

Terms of Sale
$20,000.00 refundable deposit, certified check or wire transfer only. Balance due upon inspection. Serious bidders only. Vehicle can be inspected at vehicle's present location only. Buyer is responsible for all shipping/delivery costs.




Volkswagen : New Beetle (1998-present) Bug (Beetle)
1998 VW Bug Owned by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Miles: 11500
Doors: 2 doors or more
Transmission: Manual
Interior: Black
Engine: 5 - Cyl.
Year: 1998
Warranty: No
Title: Clear
Exterior: Red
Condition: Used
Inspection: --

Options
CD Player
Anti-Lock Brakes
Driver Airbag
Passenger Airbag
Air Conditioning
Power Locks
Power Windows

Vehicle Description
This VW Bug with only 11,500 miles on it has one previous owner- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Car is in excellent condition and has a five thousand dollar custom Alpine stereo system with remote.Car will come with a personal autograhped photo of Steven Tyler. Own a piece of rock and roll!! Steven Tyler will also sign car upon request.

Vehicle Condition
Vehicle is in used, but excellent condition, no scratches or dings. Title is in hand. 3rd party inspection if wanted must be paid by buyer.

Terms of Sale
$10,000.00 refundable deposit, certified check or wire transfer only. Balance due upon inspection. Serious bidders only. Vehicle can be inspected at vehicle's present location only. Buyer is responsible for all shipping/delivery costs.

Last Sunday I was listening to a radio program, here in Spain, and the DJ played "You Gotta Move." When the song ended, he talked about this album, that was made of old songs that the band has covered, and said that they had tried to get back to rock with this failed work after two albums that didn't work well. He described the album as a bad revision of the old songs! After Aerosmith, he played Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones, as to compare one band with the other.

1973 Aerosmith also plays in Boston MA at Paul's Mall

1975 Aerosmith plays in Rochester NY at War Memorial Coliseum

1990 Aerosmith plays in Charlotte NC at Charlotte Coliseum (Joan Jett opens)

1994 Aerosmith plays in Osaka Japan at Castle Hall

Who needs spectacle when you have Steven Tyler?

Aerosmith did away with the mammoth stage show of tours past and got back to its roots Saturday night at the Resch Center with a lean slab of bluesy hard rock, slathered with Tyler in the flesh - not on video screens - and served up on a stripped-down stage. It was the "Honkin' on Bobo'' Special, with a side of vintage 1970s Aerosmith and easy on the pop schmaltz of the '80s and '90s.

An ageless wonder at 56, Tyler is still the ultimate rock 'n' roll frontman. On a stage that featured a catwalk down the center of the floor and smaller side ramps into the mezzanine, a cocked and loaded Tyler and his microphone stand worked every inch of it for two hours nonstop. Strutting, shrieking, whistling and flicking used harmonicas into the crowd like cigarette butts.

"360 (degrees), baby! 360 (degrees), baby!'' he shouted as he scanned a stoked crowd of 9,000 that filled the seats behind the stage. "Sold out!''

Even without a video component, Tyler managed to make half the arena feel like they had a front-row seat. He threw himself into pockets of fans on the side of the stage and let their hands cover him. He dropped flat on his stomach to get eye-to-eye at the end of the catwalk, and he pulled up a stunned young woman - probably still pinching herself today - to dance with him on "Walk This Way.''

Tyler and his bandmates of 30-plus years - guitar god Joe Perry, guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer - sampled heavily from their new album of blues covers, "Honkin' on Bobo.''

It's an unwritten rule of rock: When a veteran band announces it's going to play something off its new album, fans know it's time to grab a beer or hit the bathrooms. But not on Saturday. The free-wheeling fury Aerosmith applied to blues tracks like "Road Runner,'' "Shame, Shame, Shame'' and "Baby, Please Don't Go'' made for some of the best songs of the night. The rawness of Tyler's vocals is a natural for the blues, but Perry, whose precision guitar work was a thing of beauty all night, proved he had the pipes to pull off "Stop Messin' Around.''

The band dipped sparingly into its comeback radio hits of the last two decades. Songs like "Angel,'' "Rag Doll,'' "Janie's Got a Gun'' and "Pink'' were all smartly shelved to make room for "Bobo'' material. "Cryin'" benefited from a beefed-up live working, but "Jaded'' just came off as limp filler.

Aerosmith dug up old gems like "Fever'' to go along with classics "Dream On,'' "Walk This Way'' - with Perry playing behind his back - and a blistering "Sweet Emotion.'' The schmooze of inevitable power ballad "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for the encore was immediately forgiven when the snarling guitars of "Train Kept a Rollin'" came out for an undeniably old-school Aerosmith nightcap.

The ever-reliable Cheap Trick offered a 45-minute warmup with its high-powered pop, unloading the crunchy guitars and big hooks of classics like "I Want You to Want Me'' along with solid new tracks "My Obsession'' and "Scent of a Woman.''

From: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com

ROCK RADIO:
Last Week- #3 with 543 spins. (#1 was 570 spins)
This Week- #2 with 541 spins. (#1 was 604 spins)

ACTIVE ROCK RADIO:
Last Week- #24 with 700 spins. (#1 was 1928 spins)
This Week- #23 with 681 spins. (#1 was 2022 spins)

I was at the Hamilton, Canada show last week. Before the show started, they played a series of AC/DC songs (on the PA system) leading up to the boys taking the stage. Is this done at all venues?

1973 Aerosmith also plays in Boston MA at Paul's Mall

1974 Aerosmith plays in Worcester MA at Brooks Concert Hall

1990 Aerosmith plays in Chapel Hill NC at Dean E. Smith Center (Joan Jett opens)

1994 Aerosmith plays in Yokohama Japan at Yokohama Arena

1998 Aerosmith plays in Anchorage AK at Sullivan Arena; Steven tears his left anterior cruciate ligament during the encore

1999 Aerosmith plays in Woodlands TX at Cynthia Mitchell pavilion (Afghan Whigs open)

Liv Tyler is featured in a "Caffe Latte" commercial that can be viewed at http://www.mt-rainier-cl.com. This commercial started running yesterday and will continue to do so until end of June. It was filmed in New York, this year. Interview clips with Liv are coming soon (to be updated May 10th, they say)

Also, in Japan, a part of Jaded ("My my baby blue") is featured in Coca Cola TV commercial that runs every day. Audio from the song only, not a live clip or anything featuring the band.

1973 Aerosmith also plays in Boston MA at Paul's Mall

PICS:
CNN's Brooke Anderson interviews Joe Perry
World Café's David Dye with Steven and Joe
Tom Hamilton gets some laughs in Canada on Y108

Forgive me for I have sinned!
It's been almost 3 weeks since my last update!
Just as the guys are starting to hit on all cylinders we head into a break for a week. But never fail, Aerosmith will assault the midwest on May 4th in the great college town of Ames I-wah.

The guys filmed the Orlando show for an upcoming A&E special. The show is being directed by Mark Hafeli. Mark's recent credits include Paul McCartney's Drivin' USA special.

Mark will also be putting together a video for "Baby Please Don't Go" with the band's longtime collaborator Keith Garde. Keith directed in my mind the best Aerosmith video for "Eat the Rich."

The guys really let loose in Atlanta. The night before the show, Tom and Steven went to see the English phenoms "The Darkness." In case you don't know this band is really hot right now. The lead singer Justin Hawkins sings like he' been lassoed by the ballz. He changes his outfits more than a Bette Midler- Elton John tour. The guy really ripped off Steven in the wardrobe department but the Demon of Screamin' didn't seem to care. He hung out with the guys backstage with the master of the big bottom--Tom Hamilton, zany Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick.

Joe got serious and visited CNN headquarters and got interviewed by Brooke Anderson. The piece ran on Headline news.

The guys then played Philly for like the 60th time. In Philly you can always expect a visit by John Kalodner. He was raised there and usually comes to see the band in the city of brotherly love. JDK is a big reason why the guys are still around today. He signed them to Geffen records in the mid 80's and really went to bat for them. He even moved over to Sony with them for the Nine Lives CD in 1997. Even though he isn't currently working with the guys he is still part of the family and a great friend.

Steven and Joe spent an hour with David Dye. He hosts a nationally syndicated radio show called "World Cafe." This guy really knows his music. It was refreshing hearing an interview where the host doesn't bring up Drugs, Lips or Liv. It's all about the music and they even did 2 acoustic tunes. Joe played guitar and sung "Back Back Train" and then Steven sung "Hangman Jury." It was great hearing those tunes in that setting. Look for the show to be out in the first or second week in May.

The band had been following the Boston Bruins as they were crushing the Montreal Canadians in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But as fate and the ghost of Rocket Richard would have it; they lost 4 straight games to bow out of the race. I had the great misfortune to watch the game on TV in Montreal as the Habs took care of the Bruins in Boston.

Several of the Canadian's, Joe Juneau, Patrice Brisbois and Michael Ryder to name a few came to see the show the following day. Joe Juneau is an old friend of the guys having played with the Bruins in the 90's. He also helped give the band a star on Tower Records Walk of Fame. Sadly Tower Records is no more and has been replaced by a 7-11 or something. You can still see the star next to the slurpee machine however.

Steven filmed a commercial for a Sony Digital Camera in Montreal. It should be out soon. Espo, cameras for everybody!

Joe spent most of his day off shopping and visited Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts with his sister Anne.

The guys have been hanging in Toronto a lot while in Canada. It's a great city as is Montreal. In Hamilton, Tom did a very funny interview with Y108. He seemed right at home.

Next stop Green Bay!
See you on the road!
John B.

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

But sonic mud slows Cheap Trick

By Graham Rockingham
Additional Articles by this Columnist
The Hamilton Spectator

John Rennison, the Hamilton Spectator Aerosmith's Steve Tyler showed he's still got it to a capacity crowd.

It's taken three decades, but Aerosmith is finally starting to make the Rolling Stones look old.

Of course that's no major feat these days. With Mick and Keith both pushing toward pension eligibility, most people's mothers make the Stones look old.

But for Aerosmith, the Boston-based veterans who have long suffered under the "poor man's Rolling Stones" label, such things are important.

At a youthful 56, Steven Tyler showed a capacity crowd at Copps Coliseum last night that he still has the ability to electrify an audience with old fashioned, full-tilt rock 'n' roll.

Tyler strutted his stuff across three runways leading from an otherwise bare stage setting, letting his well-tuned body take care of all the contrived pyrotechnics upon which other lesser performers depend.

He also demonstrated that he can play a mean harmonica on the classic power blues numbers like Bo Diddley's Road Runner featured on Aerosmith's gutsy new album Honkin' on Bobo .

And, yes, Tyler can still hit that high, climaxing screech near the end of Dream On.

Then there's Joe Perry. As reliable a rock guitarist as they come, Perry, at 54, can still turn extended feedback into a beautiful thing.

From the moment he arched back into the opening notes of Toys in the Attic from the band's perch at the end of a 25-foot runway, you knew these guys were in full control (made possible by a lengthy period of '80s rehab).

The band took the crowd through a catalogue of songs that have sold a total of more than 100 million records including Back in the Saddle, the Other Side, Fever, Jaded, Living on the Edge, Walk this Way and Sweet Emotion.

Tyler even got tender, singing Cryin', the closest thing he does to a ballad. At one point he got down on his knees. It was almost touching .

The new/old blues numbers fit effortlessly into the act.

"This is a song we would have done 30 years ago, if we had known it then," Perry told the crowd before taking a rare lead vocal on the old Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac song, Stop Messin' Around. "But we didn't know it then, so we're playing it now."

While flashing neon signs turned the back of the stage into an old roadhouse window, Perry howled into the microphone while Tyler stepped into the shadows and honked on his harmonica.

The sour note of the night, was the terrible sound for opening act Cheap Trick, a band that at one time could easily have had Aerosmith open for them. Unfortunately, their 45-minute set served as little more than a sound check for the headliner.

While Rick Nielsen did his best trying to rouse the arena with an endless supply of flashy guitars and flying guitar picks, the band's first few songs were lost in sonic mud. It was all the more unsettling since lead vocalist Robin Zander's stellar voice was otherwise in fine form. The sound system clicked in for their 1978 megahit I Want You to Want Me and Scent of a Woman (the single off their latest CD Special One), but phased out again for Dream Police.

Zander pride's himself on his ability to speak fluent Japanese. There were times last night when he might as well of been singing Japanese. We would never have been able to tell the difference.

The pre-concert music at Aerosmith's How's It Honkin' tour stop in Philadelphia was a perfect reflection of the band's latest album, Honkin' on Bobo, with old time blues numbers being mixed with hard rock classics like AC/DC's "Given The Dog A Bone." A sense of tension was building in the near-capacity crowd, all of whom were on their feet long before the lights went down and the band was about to take the stage. When the lights finally did go down, it was unclear exactly where the band would enter from, until one section of the crowd erupted in cheers as the band members entered from the players' locker room entrance in the middle of the arena. After some high fives and with the help of a small army of concert security, the band made their way to the satellite stage in the middle of the floor and with minimal conversation launched into the decidedly old-school, undeniably brilliant opener "Toys in the Attic."

Dressed in a long black coat, Joe Perry made an instantly convincing case for himself as one of the coolest guitar players on the planet. The Keith Richards of Aerosmith, he is a sharp contrast to Steven Tyler's flamboyant Mick Jagger. Perry is content enough to just wail away on his guitar, backed by the band's other and oft-neglected guitar player, Brad Whitford, and the powerhouse rhythm of Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer. Perry has always been under appreciated in the realm of guitar gods, but is most effective in the live environment, with so many different tones, guitars, and tricks that it's simply sickening. To

put it succinctly: he is the man.

The satellite stage, which was just big enough for all of the band members to stand on, proved to be a very effective tool for Tyler and Perry throughout the night, as they often made trips to it via the ramp that connected it to the main stage. The solid three-song opening set, "Toys," followed quickly by the crowd-favorite "Love in an Elevator" and "Back in the Saddle" on the main stage set a very high bar for the rest of the show. However, the show did not reach its full potential (and certainly did not compare to Aerosmith's last stop

in Philadelphia), due to some definite issues with the set list.

The band launched into "The Other Side," from 1989's Pump album, and this was where the first sign of problems emerged. Tyler seemed to be motioning to a roadie or tech offstage and pointing, presumably, to his in-ear monitor which seemed to be giving him trouble throughout the night. Either he couldn't hear himself and was subsequently off-key or they need to drop this song from the set, because for some reason, the normally dependable Tyler was just unable to get in the right register for the song and it did not sound good. It would seem that his voice has weakened considerably since the band's last headlining tour, as there was a noticeable increase in the use of backing vocals, especially by the band's "hidden" extra musician, who hangs out next to Joey Kramer's drum set and fills out the sound with vocals, keyboards and, occasionally, an extra guitar.

The song choices that followed seem to mirror the band's creative struggle in the past decade. This is not a dilemma limited to Aerosmith; many bands face the question, when putting together the set list, of who exactly to play to? Do they play to the diehards, and play rarities, or do they play to the teenage girls and brand new fans by playing the more familiar MTV-era material and the tried and true radio staples? Combined with the need to cycle in some tracks

from the new album and it was very clear that the set list decision must've been a difficult one. Ultimately, the band tried to carve out a middle line which was both successful and unsuccessful depending on the song. The impassioned "Cryin'," from Get A Grip (1993) on one hand, came off very well in a rendition that was played just a little bit slower, with a little more of a blues feel and was absolutely killer. "Jaded," from the excruciating 2000 album Just Push Play, was merely mediocre. The lesson for the band? Good songs, even if they are blatantly commercial, sound good live. "Jaded," on the other hand, will

probably never sound good. Yes, it has a catchy chorus, but what passes for a guitar sound on that track sounds like it's out of a Bee Gees song. There is also a question of exactly how much singing Tyler is doing on "Jaded." Aside from the aforementioned backup vocals, there seemed to be some kind of backing tape playing for at least part of the song, and there was definitely a prerecorded segment for at least the beginning of "Roadrunner." Clearly, the band doesn't absolutely need to rely on tape backing, yet they do it anyway, as though they're afraid of really putting themselves all the way out there in front of the crowd.

To their credit, the band did work in five songs, nearly half, of the new Bobo album, none of which, with the exception of long-time concert staple "Stop Messin' Round" was even slightly familiar to the audience. But there is a lesson here for the band here too. Even though the crowd didn't know the songs, the audience members were clearly enjoying them, especially supercharged versions of "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "Roadrunner." "Stop Messin' Round," with Joe Perry playing a little bit of slide guitar, was also well-received. Aerosmith are truly gods in a live setting. If they really wanted to, if they really had the passion, they could turn the worst song in the world into something good. Give them good material, such as appears on the Bobo album, and they will simply blow the roof off of the venue. They proved this by reaching far into their back catalogue and cranking out a rip roaring "Lord of the Thighs" that came complete with one Perry/Whitford's best jams of the evening. But how they can possibly get passionate about crap that they didn't write? Crap like "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing," a crime in the encore slot, is obviously painful for them to play - Joe Perry was content to slump against his amp while playing it - so why play it? Any newcomers will be drawn in by the band's raw power, and anyway, there's enough pandering to the newbies by playing "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," and the (gasp) completely disposable (yeah, I said it) "Dream On." Playing "Sweet Emotion" is forgivable because the band really does put a different spin out every time - in those rare moments when they just jam the thing out, as was the case in Philadelphia, where Perry is pulling sounds out of his guitar that would make Jimmy Page weep openly, that is when Aerosmith is at its best. And, okay, "Walk This Way" shall be permitted because there needs to be one sacrifice to the new generation of Aerosmith fans in the name of good will. But for the love of God, after playing "Dream On" at every NFL event for like three years, its time to accept the fact that anyone who has ever wanted to hear the band play the song has probably heard them do it - ten or twelve times. It is time to retire this song, or at the very least, bench it for a while.

They could use the extra room to bust out more hidden chestnuts, like last tour's "Let The Music Do The Talkin'" or some other tracks that haven't seem the

light of day in far too long or ever, like "Combination," "Lick and a Promise" or "Kings and Queens." Or some better material from the new album, like the chugging "You Gotta Move." Its nice to hear a few surprises or some vintage classics, like the evening's hands-down, thumbs-up, mouth-agape highlight and tour-de-force spectacular that was "Draw The Line." Its rare that a band of guys

in their fifties can still just assault the audience with a full-out wall of sound, from screaming guitar duels to screaming vocals, pounding bass lines to a hammering bass, but Aerosmith did it. The only bad part of "Draw The Line" was that it wasn't longer and that it wasn't the set closer. A fierce performance of "Baby Please Don't Go" that followed simply paled in comparison. The same was true for the run-of-the-mill performance of "Walk This Way." It seems the band is most inspired when playing songs that haven't been bastardized by performing them with every flavor-of-the-month under the sun. Set closer "Sweet Emotion," as always, was full of awesome talking guitar work and all around technical wizardy by Joe Perry, as well as a fun bass solo by Tom Hamilton with a tease of the Beatles' "Within You, Without You" to lead into the song. The band's encore was a scant two songs: the unbearable Diane Warren-penned snoozer "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" and the concert staple "Train Kept A' Rollin" which was, like the best parts of the show, too short. The usual introductions followed, Joe Perry wished Philly a good night, and the band was gone.

Interestingly enough, the show did not employ huge video screens behind the stage as Aerosmith and most big acts usually do. This would prove to both help and hurt the band throughout the show. The absence of video screens in such a large venue necessitates an exaggerated stage show, which the band, at times, did not deliver. In place of the screens would be light up signs that were used to great effect during the blues numbers and added a very retro feel to the

entire night. The light show was simple yet effective, while the sound was a bit boomy in the beginning but seemed to clear up by the fourth number.

All in all, a good night of rock and roll with some great highs, but certainly not up to par with what Aerosmith is capable of. At $75 a head for decent seats, the band is asking a lot, especially if they're just going to trot out the warhorses that the diehards don't really want to hear. The boys from Boston should take a hint from the Rolling Stones and do a club show with a set full of obscurities there. That would allow the band to continue in the direction set forth with their new blues album by truly going back to their roots. It would be the perfect opportunity to drop all the extravagance of an arena show, throw away all the sappy ballads and overplayed radio mainstays, and finally and simply, let the music do the talking.

Toys In The Attic
Love In An Elevator
Back In The Saddle
The Other Side
Cryin'
Roadrunner
Jaded
Fever
Lord Of The Thighs
Stop Messin' Around
Never Loved A Girl
Livin' On The Edge
Shame Shame Shame
Dream On
Draw The Line
Baby Please Don't Go
Walk This Way
Sweet Emotion

Encore:

I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
Train Kept A Rollin'

From: http://www.electricbasement.com

..they filmed the video for BPDG at the Orlando show. During the show, they had the girls dancing with Steven's harmonica etc. He was supposed to play it and flip it out to them, but that was changed just before the show. Ended up that she had the harmonica in her bra, and whips it out.

Aerosmith rocked this way
By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun

AEROSMITH/CHEAP TRICK
Copps Coliseum, Hamilton
Thursday, March 22, 2004

Aersomith has got the blues.

And, in the case of their sold-out show on Thursday night at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum with fellow '70s rock veterans Cheap Trick, that's a very good thing indeed.

After being turned off by the icky stage antics of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler the last time I caught the band at the Molson Amphitheatre, I was pleasantly surprised Thursday.

Aerosmith was definitely having an "on" night and I suspect their latest album of old blues covers, Honkin' On Bobo, has a lot to do with it.

Granted, the standout songs of the night were their own '70s chesnuts such as Back In The Saddle, Dream On, Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion and the dramatic '90s tune Livin' On The Edge.

"You are too much," Tyler said after the deafening response to Dream On. "We're not worthy."

The inspired Boston rockers seemed determined to connect with the audience as they made full use of three catwalks -- one on either side of the stage and one out front -- time and time again.

The group even entered via a side entrance on the floor, which sent the crowd into a frenzy after they remained at the front of the catwalk for the first two songs -- Toys In The Attic and Love In An Elevator.

Tyler and his bandmates -- supremely gifted lead guitarist Joe Perry (who wowed repeatedly), guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer and a touring keyboardist -- did better justice to their new CD's blues covers in a live setting.

The group members, now all in their 50s, seemed jazzed about getting to play such dusty blues numbers as Road Runner, Fever, Never Loved A Girl, Baby Please Don't Go and Shame, Shame, Shame, with Tyler impressively wailing away on harmonica and Perry taking over on lead vocals for one song.

Helping to create a nice atmosphere for the blues songs was plenty of smoke and a neon-signed backdrop.

Sadly, Aerosmith chose the sappy ballad -- "from that space movie!" as someone behind me declared -- I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, as one of their encore songs.

As for the opening act, Cheap Trick never really stood much of a chance with horrible sound -- muddied and distorted -- that overpowered their first couple of tunes.

It seemed a little sad that applause was as generous for their TV/film compositions for The '70s Show and Joe Dirt as it was for their classics I Want You To Want Me, Dream Police and Surrender.

Guitarist Rick Nielsen said the first thing he did when he arrived in Steel Town was buy a new instrument -- one of several axes he played on Thursday night, including ones with two and five necks.

Cheap Trick's latest album -- 2003's Special One -- is finally getting Canadian distribution through Hamilton's own Sonic Unyon label, which will release it Tuesday.

From: http://jam.canoe.ca

----

Insider scoop.

The part where it says "he group even entered via a side entrance on the floor, which sent the crowd.." well my lil scoop is, one of my good friends who does security, was one of the people who walked out the band at this enterance, before she went out, they were ALL told "when you walk the band out, the fans will reach through the security to grab the boys, thats ok let them, BUT when you walk them out, DONT stop after and watch the show, cause if you do, Steven will call you up on stage and yell at you. As he has done this in the past."

Now I dont know if he did that before, but this is what they told the security. Walk them out, then leave.

Geoff

Summer bash to support TIC

When Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler speaks, people tend to listen.

So when Mount Blue restaurant co-owner Jayne Bowe received a call from Tyler, one of her restaurant partners along with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, with a suggestion for the annual summer bash, she took notice.

Bowe said Tyler had been talking to his doctor about the Talking Information Center and thought it would be a worthy organization to support through their annual summer party.

"I kept hearing good things about the organization from different sources," Bowe said. "I realized it would be a well-supported cause, because the TIC serves the whole South Shore."

Bowe added her good friend and area artist Nancy Colella also tipped her off about the value of TIC.

TIC provides news coverage over the radio to people who cannot read newspapers or other materials due to sight problems. TIC has been struggling with budget cuts over the years, cuts which could've threatened the well-being of the

organization and its six affiliates around the state. Those affiliates are located in Falmouth, Dalton, Springfield, Framingham, Lowell and Worcester. The main operation is out of Marshfield in the same building as WATD.

"We're thrilled and honored to be chosen for the party," said TIC Director Ron Bersani.

Bowe said every year, local non-profit organizations are encouraged to send her packages of information describing what their organization does. Based on that information and input from the community and other sources, she decides who will be the benefactor of the party.

Bersani said TIC public relations director, Susan Donahue, informed him of the annual Mount Blue party and the process for being selected.

"She had talked about it and I had heard a little bit about it too," Bersani said. "I've heard it's been such a good fundraiser over the years. We just figured we'd submit a package and give it a try."

"I had spoken to Susan Donahue when were accepting the packages and she had sent me a very nice e-mail," Bowe said. "At the time, we had a couple other ideas for the party in the pipeline."

But after the call from Tyler and the endorsement of Colella, Bowe called Donahue to give her the news that TIC had been chosen for the party.

"We're really psyched," Donahue said. "To be chosen is just outstanding. This party is going to be huge."

This year's party will be held Monday, July 26 from 6-9 p.m. at Mount Blue. There will be food, wine and beer, as well as three live bands and a silent auction. Through the silent auction and donations, the annual party typically raises thousands of dollars. Last year's party, held on behalf of Norwell's Habitat For Humanity project, raised $42,000.

"For us that's great," Bersani said. "Our budget has been so precarious over the past few years and corporate support is down this year. The party couldn't come at a better time, actually. We're still uncertain about what we'll get from the state for the next fiscal year.

"(Bowe) has been incredible through all this. She just goes and goes. She is so well organized."

"Being a non-profit is an ongoing struggle," Donahue added. "We rely on a lot of our funding from government contracts. We definitely have strong supporters and great volunteers but funding is crucial. We provide such an efficient service but there's not a lot of room financially. Sometimes it gets nerve wracking."

Bowe said she and the people at TIC will meet during the first week of May to iron out party details and invitations will be sent out soon.

Meanwhile, she will be collecting donations, getting the silent auction ironed out and getting everything else ready for the party.

Three bands have already been lined up for the event - The Joe Leary Band, the Swinging Steaks and Ryan Fardy, an 18-year-old blues guitar prodigy.

Bowe added there should be some great artwork available at the silent auction, as she is working with Colella on that front. She said there will also be items such as trips, sports tickets and gift certificates, items which typically

appear at the silent auction every year.

Bowe said the event is not a sit-down dinner, but rather a venue where people can walk around, look at auction items, have a few drinks and listen to some great music.

"I think it's going to be great," Bowe said. "So many people seem to know about the TIC and I've seen for myself that there are so many nice people over there. I definitely hope it helps out."

For more information or to donate to the silent auction, call Bowe at (781) 659-0050. There are no tickets to the event but reserving a space costs $50 per person. To reserve a space, send checks made out to Mount Blue/TIC to P.O. Box 916, Norwell, MA, 02061. If you want to donate extra money to the cause, that can be sent to the same address.

From: http://www.townonline.com

Last night my friend and I were at the Riviera Theater here in Chicago seeing Something Corporate and Yellowcard, and just before Yellowcard came on, they played "Love In An Elevator" over the sound system.

Some notes posted by CaesarSinder on AF1 board were:

The roadie was working on the trapeze and it looked good to go (maybe I missed something?) but it seemed as though Steven just skipped it. Instead, he ran to the end of the catwalk and pulled a cute 20ish girl up to dance with him.

One of the sweetest things was earlier in the show when Steven leaned down along the side of the catwalk near a very young girl, maybe 8 years old ? ? ? Anyway he pointed to his cheek to get a kiss from her but she would have none of that. So he gave her a peck on the cheek and it was ADORABLE ! Then he addressed the crowd by saying "that's the future of rock and roll."

Walkin the Dog was so awesome! I saw the guy with the sign and bless his heart for getting us that extra song! Joey had already starting banging into Walk This Way when Steven stopped him and said "Joey, they want to hear Walkin the Dog."

And posted by Serenity:

Michelle said that a guy in front of her held up a sign that said Walkin the Dog and Steven read it and said "You want to hear that one?" and they just started playing it!!

---

"Pink Rose" thinks that Stop Messin Around was played much earlier in the show, than stated above, before Roadrunner... It seemed to her maybe The Other Side and Stop Messin switched positions. Haven't heard anyone else question the order though, and it seems it fit right in with all of the previous show orders as well. I would think if wrong, several would have posted such on various boards.. Guess we'll see if anyone else responds here or elsewhere.

- Something was going on Looked like a couple times Steven was motioning to turn up his mic. And he kept making the finger across his throat to someone off stage.

- The little girl that Steven stopped and kissed was maybe 5. She was very cute and was rocking all night with her adorable headgear to protect her ears.

1975 Aerosmith plays in Springfield MA at the Civic Center (Atlantic opens)

1990 Aerosmith plays in Orlando FL at Orange County Civic Center (Joan Jett opens)

1999 Aerosmith plays in San Antonio TX at Freeman Coliseum (Afghan Whigs open)

1973 Aerosmith plays in Boston MA at Paul's Mall

1983 Aerosmith plays the Superbowl of Rock in Miami FL at Miami Baseball Stadium

1986 Aerosmith plays in San Antonio TX at Freeman Coliseum (Ted Nugent opens)

1998 Aerosmith plays in Spokane WA at Spokane Arena

- Originally this date was booked to play a tour concert in Quebec but it was cancelled a few weeks before the gig was due to happen (April 2nd).

From Clive's site: http://www.cnewton.force9.co.uk

WINDOWS MEDIA
REAL PLAYER

From: http://www.501mp.com/videos.html

--

This clip was shot at the Nashville show last September. It was broadcast on a Memphis News show about a week later. The girl it was sent to is from the Memphis area.

Me and him? Both stuck in a past we didn't even experience.

I can give you a pretty good example. It's going on seven years that the Stones put out "Bridges to Babylon," an attempt to run with the new breed. So we were sitting around his off-campus apartment - on a Friday night, mind you, most likely eating a Party Pizza or two each and theorizing what the pop landscape might have looked like had Brian Wilson completed "Smile" - when mention of the Stones looping their beats on "Babylon" came up.

"Man, the Stones should stop trying to milk these stupid fads and go back to the blues." Heck yeah, brother!

You know, almost one decade later, I'm still waiting for our wish to come true. But in a bizarro kind of way, it has.

If we can't have the Stones, I'm cool with (never thought I'd say this) the next best thing: Aerosmith.

If you can get past their power ballad fixation, the Boston quintet always has been a nice facsimile of the "Exile" Stones, from riffy anthems right down to the inseparable duo of raised-by-apes lead singer and too-cool guitar god.

By now, I'm sure you've heard of "Honkin' on Bobo," Aerosmith's new all-blues cover album.

It's the one Mick 'n' Keef should have done in place of disco on "Some Girls" and "Emotional Rescue" and instead of the drum loops and samples on "Bridges to Babylon." In short, it's the one they should have whipped up eons ago.

So when I heard about "Bobo," I was instantly intrigued.

Then I saw Steven Tyler and the boys on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" - yeah, I'm man enough to admit I watch it - doing up a cover of "Baby, Please Don't Go" that dang near out-trashed the Amboy Dukes version of it.

I made a vow that would have been unthinkable an hour before: I would go see Aerosmith in concert.

Last Friday, when the band rolled into Wright State's Nutter Center, I fulfilled that vow. Oh, I knew going in I'd have to endure a whole bunch of crap, specifically that God awful "Armageddon" song, to get what I really came for.

If you can't tell, I've never been an Aerosmith fan. Pretty sure I had a copy of "Pump" in eighth grade, but that's it.

So Aerosmith marches out, not to the main stage, but to the end of a runway in the middle of the house.

There, gathered around Joey Kramer's drums in a spot smaller than most bathrooms, they tore the lid off "Toys in the Attic." It was one of those moments - cliche alert! - where only one thought ran across the brain: "Rock ain't dead!" Surely, as they thrashed away like five garage-punks, it must have been like witnessing the Stones in '71.

It floored me.

In fact, I was so dazed that I didn't even mind they did "Love in an Elevator" next.

But the real goods came a bit later, when back on the big stage, Joe Perry's hand slid down the guitar neck and they crashed into Bo Diddley's "Road Runner." Shortly after that came the savage take on "Baby, Please Don't Go."

Somebody send Mick the bootleg. I'll pay postage.

From: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com

Aerosmith plays the blues on 'Bobo'
By Todd Thatcher , Staff Writer 04/22/2004
Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Touted as a return to Aerosmith's blues-rock roots, Honkin' on Bobo turns out to be something of a mixed bag. The band gets the pared-down production right, but heart and soul are clearly missing from some of these 11 covers.

Opener "Road Runner" shows the fun side of the blues, bopping along with country swagger and boogie-rocking guitar work. Lead singer Steven Tyler welcomes you to the party with a "Good evening ladies and gentlemen" and the rest of the band is clearly having fun here, as each member fires off a quick live-style instrumental solo.

The band keeps cooking on the 50s-style romp "Shame, Shame, Shame," as well as on first single "Baby, Please Don't Go," which flies by in a blur of double-time drums and furious Joe Perry soloing.

Some of Bobo's slower material works equally well though. On the surprisingly-gentle "Never Loved a Girl," Tyler works himself up into a quite a lather as he apes old-time blues singers while Perry and Brad Whitford toss off sweet guitar licks. Harmonica accents give the song an added authenticity, but the instrument pictured on Bobo's cover takes center stage on the excellent "Back Back Train."

There, Aerosmith manages to recreate the brooding sense of menace that the best blues can conjure up with ease. All thumping drums, steely slide guitars, and soulful harmonicas, the song is surprisingly-effective considering that it's Perry delivering a rare lead vocal performance instead of Tyler.

But while these tracks are no doubt superb - capturing the spirit of the blues without coming across as mere covers - the band does veer dangerously close to parody elsewhere.

Later cuts like "Temperature" and "Stop Messin' Around" sound like nothing more than cheap bar-band rock, down to their gimmicky piano work and overly-conservative arrangements.

Sub-par vocal work mars "I'm Ready," an odd track on which Tyler's voice is augmented with a machine-like effect that seems out of place. And the atmosphere of closing acoustic track "Jesus on the Main Line" is destroyed by an overabundance of voices, turning what could have been a darker and more meaningful song into a group sing-a-long.

Thankfully, the lone new Aerosmith-penned track, "You Gotta Move," is rock-solid. Pairing bluesy verses with a classic Aerosmith ballad-style chorus, it would make a good second single to woo back newer fans scared off by the rollicking "Baby, Please Don't Go."

Still, the song should probably have been best placed at the end of Bobo - or saved for the Aerosmith's next album of original material. Despite the group's best efforts to slip it in effortlessly amidst the covers, "You Gotta Move" sticks out like a sore thumb.

As for that next record, the band would definitely be wise to take the back-to-basics approach that makes Bobo's best cuts works so well and apply it their own songs. This is a generally-fun and occasionally-powerful album, but hopefully it will be a stepping-stone to a truly new classic from Aerosmith a couple years down the road.

©Hershey Chronicle 2004

From: http://www.zwire.com

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Now, before you get too annoyed.. you can POST your opinion of the story on the site OR email the editor's email address. Both can be found at the bottom of the article page: http://www.zwire.com

What needed to be said, I feel, has already been posted on the site, however, so just relax! *lol:

---

Posted on the site..

Thanks for the review. A few corrections are needed. One of the "negatives" cited by the author related to his opinion that "You Gotta Move" belonged on an album of originals...

Not sure how Todd Thatcher missed this but "You Gotta Move" is a COVER not an Aerosmith original. In fact, it's credited to Mississippi Fred McDowell (along with Reverend Gary Davis) who also wrote "Back Back Train" AND "Jesus Is On The Main Line" both also on Honkin' On Bobo. Seems a music reviewer would be aware of this since the STONES covered this song on their "Sticky Fingers" release.

The writer is correct in that the song really rocks and Aerosmith did a GREAT version of it and the rest of the covers on this album but his reasoning that it is an original and belongs on an album of originals is incorrect.

There is one original on the CD - "The Grind". A completely different arrangement that was done for this album versus when it was first written as "Into The Grind" a couple of years ago by Tyler, Perry and Frederiksen.

I'm still wondering how the review warranted a 6.5 out of 10 based on the actual text as it seems the writer enjoyed the entire CD minus the vocals on "I'm Ready" (the song was taken straight from a rehearsal and put on the album - very cool in my opinion) and the track "Jesus Is On The Mainline" which is meant to be a sing- a-long gospel type tune in the first place hence the "abundance of vocals". "Stop Messin' Around" has been a live concert staple for Aerosmith for a decade now by the way.

The vocal "effect" the author noted..on the song "Temperature" perhaps is example is a widely used traditional blues vocal effect of singing straight into an amp through a harmonica mic.

Anyway, thanks for the review but thought it was important for the author to know "You Gotta Move" is indeed a COVER and that the only original on the CD is "The Grind" which he did not even mention.

I know you reported a little while back about an e-bay seller auctioning Honkin On Bobo with 6 bonus tracks. Now i am not buying it so i do not know, but i believe (and if this is wrong i am sorry, so take it with a grain of salt) but i believe these sellers may be lying about the amount of bonus tracks on the album. I believe thier is only 1, and that song is...Jaded. Amazon.com has the Imports of Bobo on slae and that is the bonus track on their, and it only says one, not six of them. It may be a remixed version of Jaded, but probably nothing special.

1973 Aerosmith plays in Boston MA at Paul's Mall (live on WBCN)

1983 Aerosmith plays the Superbowl of Rock in Orlando FL at the Tangerine Bowl

1986 Aerosmith plays in Corpus Christi TX at Memorial Coliseum (with Ted Nugent)

1990 Aerosmith plays in Fort Myers FL at Lee County Civic Center (Joan Jett opens)

1999 Aerosmith plays in Lafayette LA at the Cajundome (Afghan Whigs open)

Also, I don't know if the whole band stayed or not, but I do know Steven stayed in Montreal for an extra day on the 21. The gazette reported this morning that Steven was sighted downtown on St. Laurent street yesterday at the site of a Sony commercial shoot. There was a nice color picture of him leaving the set along with two lines underneath explaining why he was there.

"Honkin' On Bobo," Aerosmith (Columbia)
I thought I was done with Aerosmith. It was just one too many formulaic power ballads that sent me into Aerosmith apathy, and it sometimes sounded as if the band felt the same as I did. Maybe that's why the group finally decided to record the blues cover album that guitarist Joe Perry has hinted about for years. The result has fellow motorists giving me the evil eye as I drive down the highway while blowing out the speakers on my car.

For "Honkin' On Bobo" ("Bobo" is a harmonica), the band pulls out the stops. From the opening notes of Bo Diddley's "Road Runner," it is loud and nasty and raucous. That noted, "Honkin'" is not exactly a blues album. The band draws from blues, early rock 'n' roll and soul for material.

The slow songs include a sizzling cover of "Never Loved a Girl" (popularized by Aretha Franklin as "I Never Loved a Man the Way That I Love You") and the one band-written original, "The Grind." Had the latter been on another album, it might seem like another dreaded emotive ballad. Here, though, it's ragged and raw with the blues base brought to the forefront.

Yet it's the rockers that tempt you to do permanent damage to your speakers. The workout on Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go" is wonderfully over-the-top with Perry's squalling guitar and Steven Tyler's banshee vocals. And "Shame, Shame, Shame" (popularized by Smiley Lewis) is a jump back into good-time rock 'n' roll.

And, in a rare occurrence for an Aerosmith album, Perry takes lead vocals on two tracks ("Please Stop Messin' Around" and "Back Back Train" - helped by Tracy Bonham on the latter).

"Honkin' On Bobo" is one of those rare instances when long-in-the-tooth rock veterans sound like they still have some bite.

Grade: ****

From: http://www.knoxnews.com

---

Lots of inaccuracies in Jodi's Velvet Rope experience I'm afraid...and yeah, it IS misleading...likely why they chose that person's story..heck maybe they were willing to write it that way to help push VR.

Some "interesting" accounts in this story not necessarily true:

"The Velvet Rope is made up of sound checks, meet-and-greets, as well as the occassional celebrity sighting". I'll bet there are a lot of VR folks who would not agree with that statement LOL.

They DID let the VR into the LA soundcheck first but I was still able to secure a spot right up against the actual stage when the rest of us were let in right after. And I could have sworn the VR people were notified BEFORE the show day that they would be included in the soundcheck so the entire account of Kelly's great news cell phone call of announcing "We're going to get to watch the sound check" sounded a bit stretched.

"Then Mr. Tyler started talking to our Velvet Rope group, "What song do you want to hear?". Hmm..I wasn't in the Velvet Rope and yet I looked right at him and yelled Reefer Head Woman and then Nobody's Fault.

"the two-dozen Velvet Rope fans shout the words to the chorus" - LOL...re: Nobody's fault..well I wasn't Velvet Rope but I sang the ENTIRE song not just the chorus as did everyone around me LOL.

"It's like an Aerosmith concert for two-dozen people". Hmm...I think there were a couple hundred there not a couple dozen. A bad of food and the willingness to wait in a long line and a soundcheck was yours.

And the most interesting of all...the quote: Aerosmith drops into a rendition of Get A Grip"???? Huh? The soundcheck setlist was:

Come Together
Big Ten Inch
Seasons of Wither
Nobody's Fault
Adams Apple

So yes, an interesting account indeed.

----------------

Jodi Summers

You know..I HOPE this isn't the Jodi Summers that wrote that article. I knew I had heard the name before and here's where I had heard it from. I sure hope there is another Jodi Summers that really IS a fan club member. Of course I'll post this over there too LOL. Might explain why it was written as it was though huh?

Jodi Summers is the president of World View Media, an eleven-year-old company that supplies entertainment and new technology material to magazines, newspapers, Web sites, and online services throughout the world. The company currently supplies entertainment-oriented articles, photographs, and columns to more than 140 college newspapers in the United States and 40 publications throughout the world. Internationally, the average weekly readership of World View Media materials is in excess of 15 million individuals. Its material has been on America Online and the Prodigy network, and can be found on the Internet at www.sweetstuff.com, www.filmzone.com, and www.jitter.com,among others.

Aside from her duties at World View Media, Summers has more than fifteen yearsÕ experience as a music industry journalist. Her work has been published in every leading music industry publication. SheÕs been editor and photo editor for such renowned U.S. music publications as Hit Parader, Rip, Rockbeat, and Hot Shots. Domestically, her work has been published in Rolling Stone, Esquire, People, and Time, among others. Internationally, sheÕs worked with numerous publications throughout Europe and Asia including Blickpunkt:Film, Musik Woche, Bravo, Audio, il Giornale, Zounds, Viva Rock, Tokyo Today, Music Life, and Crossbeat.

Summers lives in Santa Monica, California.

From: http://www.allworth.com

1990 Aerosmith plays in Miami FL at Dade County Auditorium (Joan Jett opens)

1994 Aerosmith plays at the House of Blues in Los Angeles CA

1998 Aerosmith plays in Colorado Springs CO at the World Arena (Space Hog opens)

JORDAN ZIVITZ
The Gazette
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

PIC
Steven Tyler revs up the crowd as drummer Joey Kramer keeps the beat during Aerosmith's performance at the Bell Centre last night. Opening act Cheap Trick played a static opening set before Aerosmith's big entrance.

CREDIT: JOHN KENNEY, THE GAZETTE

"I'm a roadrunner, honey, and you can't keep up with me," Aerosmith's Steven Tyler yowled last night at the Bell Centre. It wasn't an idle boast.

They might be into their fourth decade and edging up on the legal retirement age for an Average Joe, but Aerosmith can still leave bands 25 years their junior sucking their sleaze-rock exhaust.

Almost 12,500 people passed through the turnstiles last night, and they got more than nostalgia: They got a band that's been at the top of its game for longer than anyone is expected to be.

After more than 30 years, Aerosmith can still make a surprise entrance. While strobe lights panned the main stage in anticipation of some dynamic show-starter, the band was snaking its way through the crowd toward the smaller platform set up in the middle of the floor.

Most acts with similar two-pronged designs use the smaller of the two stages as a breather for a few acoustic songs; this one tore through Toys in the Attic and Love in an Elevator with wall-of-amplifier intensity, as Tyler hoisted up his microphone stand the way a prizefighter hoists his belt.

That stand would end up spending a considerable chunk of the evening airborne.

As electric as the opening numbers were, the band seemed more at home when they could stretch their legs on the main stage and when Tyler could preen, prance and shimmy up the two ramps jutting out to the left and right.

Between the two stages and the ramps, there were four front rows that got an extreme closeup of Tyler's monolithic lips.

Getting in as many people's faces as possible was in keeping with the band's crowd-pleasing tendencies - as was the set list, spanning Dream On (from the 1973 self-titled debut) to about half of this year's Honkin' on Bobo, a salute to the blues and a return to hard-rocking form after more than a decade spent courting the pop crowd.

Fever - from 1993's Get a Grip - was an inspired selection aligned with the band's new direction, but it was one of the only surprises of the set; the band crammed as many singles into the set as possible, and many of the greatest hits still had to be left in the dressing room.

Early in the evening, Tyler apologized for his sore throat in a voice that was either oozing sarcasm or determined to push itself to the limit.

Considering Tyler often sounds like he's on the verge of herniating himself to death, any hoarseness went unnoticed. He gave Cryin' - the best Aerosong of the 1990s - a dose of frazzled romance, and the Bobo material the low-down moaning it deserved.

There were moments when he was gasping for air, but you'd be too if you were kangaroo-hopping down a catwalk while holding a tune.

That catwalk was put to good use throughout the night, with Tyler taking a running leap down it, at one point, to join his bandmates on the main stage for Come Together.

"This goes back to the first movie we ever did - and boy, did it suck," he said by way of introduction, not bothering to mention the 1978 travesty Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by name.

The film might have sucked, but the band's slithering performance of the Beatles classic did not.

If Tyler is Aerosmith's wild card, lead guitarist Joe Perry holds the band's reserve of unshakable cool.

When he took the mike for the straight-ahead blues stomper Stop Messin' Around, Perry turned the Bell Centre into the biggest bar in the city.

Honkin' on Bobo might have given Aerosmith an artistic rebirth in the studio, but the band didn't need any rejuvenation on stage.

Last night's blowout was magnetic, but it was also business as usual for a group that stands as one of the most bruising arena acts in America even on a bad day.

And we got them on a good day.

Cheap Trick used to tread many of the same arena stages as Aerosmith, but the years spent out of the spotlight were evident in the quartet's rather static opening set.

The radio staples sounded surprisingly vital, but batty axeman Rick Nielsen - at one point sporting a five-necked guitar - had to carry enough charisma for four until singer Robin Zander loosened up halfway into the set.

Even then, the Tricksters had to work hard and throw out plenty of "Go Habs, go"-ing to win over an audience cooling their heels for the headliner.

From: http://www.canada.com

If you click on the AC show, you can see an ACTUAL seating chart WITH CATWALK, and there are specific seat areas!! The best info yet from AF1!

Tier 1 $175.50 First 23 rows of sections 102, 103 and 104

Tier 2 $125.50 Row 6 of sections 101 and 105, Rows A-E of sections D, H and C

VR $650.00 Rows 9-11 (first come, first serve)

From: https://www.aeroforceone.com

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And don't foget, Draw The Line is playing there the same day, earlier at the Trump Marina so you get a double dose at the same venue.

1983 Aerosmith plays in Glens Falls NY

1999 Aerosmith plays in Biloxi MS at Convention Center Arena (Afghan Whigs open); rescheduled from 1/20/99

KITCHENER (Apr 19, 2004)

It was one heck of an office party.

A Waterloo company rented out the entire Kitchener Memorial Auditorium last night, gathered its employees and friends in the 6,000-seat arena and treated them to a surprise rock concert.

The headliners? None other than Aerosmith and The Barenaked Ladies.

This is how Research in Motion throws a party.

"It's amazing," said Laura Schellenberg, 26, a software tester from Waterloo, who went to the party with her twin sister Mary and brother Scott.

"You never hear of anyone doing anything so nice for their employees. It's unbelievable."

Schellenberg was gushing about the show just after The Barenaked Ladies' performance, which included a spontaneous rap song about singer Steven Page's broken Black- Berry, RIM's flagship device.

Many in the audience waved their BlackBerrys, glowing like lighters, in the air during the band's slow song, What a Good Boy.

It was not an ordinary audience, as rocker Steve Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith, quickly noted.

"This is going to be the freakiest crowd of all," he screamed into his microphone as the packed arena cheered and whistled. "Let the freak out. Let it out."

RIM worked hard to keep its employees and other guests in the dark about the whole affair.

Two weeks ago, RIM sent its 5,000 invitees a cryptic e-mail telling them to keep Sunday, April 18, open. Then, early last week, the company sent another e-mail telling them how to get to the Aud.

The guest list included investment bankers and business partners from across North America.

Many of RIM's 2,000 employees, most working in Waterloo, attended the show. Employees from the Ottawa office were bused in.

Employees who work abroad were not flown in and had to settle for consolation dinners in their home cities.

"We kept a very tight wrap on this," said Mark Guibert, vice-president of corporate marketing.

"Only a handful of people were aware of the details."

The surprise worked well.

Many employees had no idea what they were going to see before the concert started.

"People have been trying to guess since we first heard this was happening," RIM sales employee Cameron Sutherland, 27, said as he made his way to his seat.

"I have no idea what will happen. I think it's a concert, but that's all I can guess. I can't wait to get seated and have everything start."

The giant party was held to celebrate RIM's 20th anniversary and its explosive financial success, including a recent issue of shares that netted $1.2 billion for the company.

"If we don't enjoy and celebrate our 20th anniversary, what are we doing?" Mike Lazaridis, RIM founder and president, told the packed arena before the concert began.

"We should all enjoy this. We worked hard. This is our night."

No one would say how much last night's bash cost, but it can cost up to $300,000 to rent the city-owned auditorium, according to general manager Kim Kugler.

RIM, with a bank account worth $1.65 billion, split the bill with the 15 investment banks that sold the latest RIM shares, a service that earned them a combined $50.9 million.

It's not the first time RIM has held a party of this nature. It has a tradition of hiring big names like The Tragically Hip, The Barenaked Ladies and Tom Cochrane to celebrate its success.

But Aerosmith, a band that began in Boston 32 years ago, is easily the most famous act.

"To see them at a small venue like this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Pierre Sauvé, 42, said as Aerosmith launched into its hit Jaded.

The Waterloo man was invited to the party by a friend who works at RIM.

"This is my first time seeing them. It's a great experience."

The legendary band, on tour promoting its latest CD, agreed to do the RIM party after a scheduled concert last night in Quebec City fell through.

The band's next show is in Hamilton on Thursday.

"It's a private gig, they consider it a day off," said Josh Glover of Sony Music Canada, which is affiliated with Aerosmith's record label, Columbia Records.

Before the band stepped onto the stage, Debbie Morrison got to meet Tyler and have her picture taken with him.

"He was very nice and very polite," said the Toronto woman, whose husband, Don, is the chief operating officer of RIM. "And he told me they love the BlackBerry. He said it's fantastic."

Tyler wore a BlackBerry on his belt throughout the concert.

RIM was launched in 1984 as a two-person startup that developed video-signalling software.

It has since evolved into one of the world's best-known makers of wireless communication devices, with a workforce of more than 2,000 people and sales of $800 million.

Last year, it made a profit of $69.6 million.

The BlackBerry is a handheld gadget that enables people to send and receive e-mails, browse the Internet and make and receive phone calls.

Posted by knjw on AF1 board. I believe the source is www.therecord.com as the article can be found there, but cannot access it..for subscribers only.

The article can be found at: http://www.thestar.com with the source listed as "the record" as stated before....

From: http://www.hot100brasil.com/chtalbums.html

Mauricio Soto Neisser from Santiago, Chile:

AEROSMITH
HONKIN' ON BOBO
2004. Sony

By: Alfredo Lewin
From: http://rockaxis.com

En Aerosmith la quieren dejar clara, éste es su primer álbum "purista" de blues, pero ellos no son una banda de blues... propiamente tal. "Honkin' on Bobo" es un disco de esos blues-rock como aquellos que fuesen grabados en los '60 cuando míticas agrupaciones inglesas (entiéndase Cream o Fleetwood Mac) re-interpretaban el sonido del viejo blues afroamericano y eso era "moda cool". Para Aerosmith, la inspiración de otras bandas que décadas atrás manejaran el concepto de blues rock, tales como Yardbirds o The Rolling Stones, fue fundamental a la hora de decidirse a hacer música. 30 años después hacen algo que pudo haber hecho entonces o sea que es la más pura esencia de "vuelta a la raíces".

El tratamiento para clásicos de Sonny Boy Williamson o Bo Diddley pone el tono de "Honkin' on Bobo", blues movedizo y dinámico en vez de aquel blues lento y melancólico. Arriba de la pelota, fiestero. Lo que más se aplaude de esta placa no es la búsqueda de actualizar el cancionero tradicional del folklore estadounidense, sino escuchar a un Aerosmith liberado de tanta producción y post-producción, del exceso de arreglos de cuerdas y vientos y también de las pegajosas baladas power de siempre. Algo bien característico del grupo desde hace 15 años. El modelo 2004 es como recaer en lo que hicieran en 1974 cuando versionaron "Train Kept a Rollin" y tocaban en vivo algunos números de Willie Dixon y Muddy Waters. Sin dejar de añadirle algún toque de su propia cosecha, 'You Gotta Move' -de Mississippi Fred McDowell- no suena como los Stones del "Sticky Fingers" sino que como ellos, con nuevos acordes y un beat más apuradito -para ser precisos muy shuffle en vez de ser lenta acústica rural-.

Aerosmith le pone sabor al blues, por un lado la voz llena de lascivia de Steven Tyler y por otro el ritmo algo tribal que lo torna en algo bailable y entretenido. Joe Perry (quien también pone algunas pistas de voces en dos tracks, sobre todo a la hora de tributar a Peter Green de Fleetwood Mac) habrá aprendido blues en la sala de clases del profesor Clapton, pero lo cierto es que rápidamente se escapó al bar de la esquina para pulirlo o "desaliñarlo". Hago el alcance en la guitarra de Perry no sólo porque sea el socio de Tyler -la jefatura de la Aeroforce-, sino porque esta placa esta saturada de guitarras y distorsión. Ciertos licks que se escuchan en 'Eyesight for The Blind' (bien blusera), 'Roadrunner' y 'Shame Shame Shame' (ambas bien rock&rolleras) son "bluseadas", que el tipo había ensayado hace años luz en temas ajenos y también propios como 'Walking the Dog' o 'Big Ten Inch Record'. Por eso tiene tanto sentido el observar como la banda -con un claro propósito junto a Jack Douglas en las perillas- ha querido recuperar el sonido de los '70, era del Toys o el Rocks.

Todo esto se nota en la versión de un archi-recurrido 'Baby Please Don't Go' en que al grupo no le queda otra que hacerla como si tuviesen 25 años, simplemente porque es un tema muy típico. En 'I'm Ready' (realmente remozada) Joe Perry y Brad Whitford se descargan con solos (uno a cada lado de los speakers) que suenan como un duelo que tuviesen pendiente hace años... era necesario para ellos hacerlo. 'Jesus is on the Mainline' es la nota sorpresiva ya que es relativamente acústica, aunque marchosa y 'Back Back Train' le sigue de cerca con una dosis de mayor solemnidad que el resto.

Me llama la atención que se arme una polémica al definir (o no hacerlo) este "Honkin' on Bobo" como un disco de blues, son impresiones de puristas radicales las que siempre olvidan que el blues es un género y estilo, no un sonido. Y el rock moderno se lleva de la mano con él, suben los decibeles, se apura el ritmo, pero se respeta el sentimiento. El mismo que empapa los momentos más sensibles de esta placa, 'Never Loved a Girl' y la única de la autoría de Perry y Tyler, 'The Grind' -nada de sorpresivo ésta viene a ser la única balada power-.

Este intento de llenarse el gusto con música del alma es algo válido en tipos que ya superaron la barrera de los 50 años y te va a dejar satisfecho, tanto si eres un fanático de ellos como si lo eres del blues. Eric Clapton ya se había entrometido en el camino de Aerosmith cuando lanzó hace casi una década un gran disco que reactualizaba el blues ("From The Cradle") y justo ahora volvió para editar otro llamado "Me and Mr. Johnson"... cosa que a Aerosmith le tiene sin cuidado, ya que claramente están apuntando a públicos diferentes. Parece que para los bostonianos aún se tratara de una gran fiesta en donde no hay espacio para cosas tan finas o depuradas; es la crudeza, el groove y la onda: la pasión y la furia.

Alfredo Lewin.

From: http://www.rockaxis.com

---

There was also a poll at www.rockaxis.com, the rock website of santiago, chile. Today it finalized:

Aerosmith, Good : 70%
Aerosmith, Bad: 30%

In spanish the poll said:

"La legendaria banda de Boston, Aerosmith, acaba de editar "Honkin' On Bobo', placa donde versionan viejos clásicos del blues...

¿Qué opinas al respecto?

1.- Excelente, han vuelto a sus raíces... Es una manera de reinventarse como banda.
2.- Pésimo, no saben qué hacer para mantener su éxito... Se les acabó la creatividad.

1980 Aerosmith plays in New York City NY at Speaks Club

1986 Aerosmith plays in Fort Worth TX at Tarrant County Coliseum (Ted Nugent opens)

1988 Aerosmith plays in Lakeland FL at the Civic Center (White Lion opens)

1990 Aerosmith plays in Tampa FL at the Sun Dome (Joan Jett opens)

1998 Aerosmith plays in Denver CO at McNichols Sports Arena (Space Hog opens)

Research in Motion thanked their employees on their 20th Anniversary last night in Kitchener, Ontario with a private party! Opening band Bare Naked Ladies warmed the crowd up for non other than Aerosmith! Just got off the phone with my bestfriend Steph (a new ~Aero fan~ is born)! She said it was an awesome show and the boyz looked great! As she is not a fan, she could tell me any of the songs! WTF Will post more later still shaking! Kazzy

1999 Aerosmith plays in Birmingham AL at the Jefferson Civic Center (Afghan Whigs open); show rescheduled from 1/22/99

Clive

FOR THEIR latest album, veteran Boston rockers Aerosmith decided it was time to return to their blues roots.

Thus, Honkin' On Bobo -- possibly the most memorable title of 2004 -- was born. The 12-song disc, released March 30, saw Aerosmith tackling old blues/roots covers such as Muddy Waters' I'm Ready and Mississippi Fred McDowell's You Gotta Move plus one Aerosmith original, The Grind.

Drummer Joey Kramer, down the line from San Antonio, Tex., prior to the band's Thursday night stop at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, said the concept has been in the works for a long time.

"The new album is back to the roots of what Aerosmith is all about," said Kramer, 53. "A lot of people have been bugging us to do that kind of album for years. Like, 'When are you going to do an album like your old stuff?' Well, here it is. But it's some old blues songs and it's renditions of some stuff that we dug up out of our past. It's a pretty interesting record."

Kramer said the blues classics helped inspire the band, rounded out by his fellow original members -- singer Steven Tyler, 56, guitarist Joe Perry, 53, guitarist Brad Whitford, 52, and bassist Tom Hamilton, 52.

"It did but so much of our roots is there in the blues to begin with," Kramer said.

"I mean, we've done other albums which have a lot of blues in them. But this one is specifically around that. We've done an old song by Blind Willie McTell and an Aretha Franklin cover, and most of the songs, except for one, are cover songs. But they're not your traditional contemporary blues like Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan. We dug back into the '30s and '40s and came up with stuff from there and did our renditions of that. And it was a little bit more of a challenge because the feelings which those guys played with back then was a lot more difficult for us to cop."

In other words, when you've sold more than 100 million albums in the past 34 years, as Aerosmith has done, it's hard to sing the blues -- Tyler's and Perry's well-documented personality clashes and heroin use in the past notwithstanding.

Perhaps the most stimulating thing for the rock quintet this time out was recording Honkin' On Bobo in Perry's basement studio, a.k.a. The Boneyard.

"We did a lot of recording and we had a lot of fun doing it," Kramer said. "It was the first time in a while that we all just piled into a room, down into Joe's basement. And the beauty of the record is that it's just the five of us in a room playing. And we had a blast. There are very, very few overdubs on this. It's just the real band playing the real s--t. There were a lot of (covers) that we did that aren't on the record."

Speaking of the record, what's up with that title?

"It's really an old slang saying for old jazz musicians, referring to a saxophone or a trumpet or whatever -- you know, 'honkin' on bobo,' " Kramer said. "You can make out of it whatever you choose. Which I hope most of us do."

Aerosmith's previous album was the 2001 studio effort Just Push Play, which spawned the hit Jaded.

The Grind, meanwhile, was written by Tyler in Hawaii, and fit neatly into the blues concept of Honkin' On Bobo.

When asked about the band's longevity despite early drug use, a rotating lineup in the '80s, and Kramer's own battle with depression when his father died in 1996, the drummer attributed it to just one thing.

"I think basically, the bottom line, it's really been the music," Kramer said. "That's what we've always been about. And we've been through our pettiness, and our nonsense, and our arguing over money and wives and all the other bulls--t that breaks bands up, drugs, and we just finally came to a point where we realized that there's something that we do and it's only the five of us that can do it together. And so, fortunately for us, we came to our senses about that and we just continued on."

Given the band's wild lifestyle of the past, Kramer also had a few surprising things to say about Janet Jackson's breast-baring stunt during her Super Bowl halftime performance with Justin Timberlake.

For those of you who may have forgotten, Aerosmith, who also have an upcoming cameo in the new Get Shorty sequel Be Cool, were part of the Super Bowl pre-game show back in February.

"We were sitting in the audience and I was too far away to actually see it happen," Kramer said. "I thought it was a pretty cheap ploy, to tell you the truth. Because it was planned. It was done on purpose. Unfortunately, I think that they've pretty much ruined it for the future because they don't want to take a chance on anything like that ever happening again. So, I think, pretty much what you're going to see from now on is marching bands and pom-pom girls. They're all running scared."

Meanwhile, Kramer said the band's own tour, with fellow '70s rockers Cheap Trick as opening act, will be a more scaled-down affair than past outings.

"It's basically the same kind of a thing as the way we rehearsed and the way we recorded the album," he said. "It's going to be the five of us on stage and we'll have a great light show and the band will play great and we're looking forward to just being out there on our own."

Aerosmith last hit the road with KISS in 2003 and the potent combination made for one of the top-grossing tours of that year. (Sadly, the pairing didn't make it to Toronto.)

"It's kind of the opposite ends of the spectrum," Kramer said of touring with KISS. "They were more the show, we were more the music."

So what does Kramer make of Gene Simmons' releasing a solo album called A--hole next month?

"Good luck to him," he said with a chuckle. "It's called A--hole? Ah, good. If the shoe fits..."

From: http://www.canoe.ca

Posted on Sun, Apr. 18, 2004
Aerosmith (i.e., old guys) don't try for the charts, instead show they can still rock in `Honkin' on Bobo'
HONKIN' ON BOBO Aerosmith Columbia
By Malcolm X Abram

Beacon Journal staff writer

For most of the decade Aerosmith has been filling its albums with increasingly calculated-sounding attempts to stay near the top of the charts.

There's nothing wrong with that in theory, especially since most bands that have been around for more than 30 years put out perfunctory albums as an excuse to tour, where the real money is generated. But in its quest to remain relevant, the band saddled its once-raw blues-rock sound with slick production and too many overwrought, though popular, power ballads.

So, when the fuzzed-out E chord that announces Road Runner comes charging out of the speakers heralding the arrival of Honkin' On Bobo, the band's collection of blues, rock and R&B covers, it should draw a sigh of relief from longtime fans still caressing their copies of Rocks.

Recorded relatively rough and rugged in both guitarist Joe Perry's basement studio The Boneyard and singer Steven Tyler's home studio The Bryer Patch, Honkin' On Bobo demands to be cranked up loud. The record is not really a blues album per se, though the blues has always been a major influence on the band.

The thick layers of guitars, keyboards and vocals that made their recent releases sound rather toothless have been eschewed, and the record has the raw sound of five guys sitting around a studio jamming and, perhaps most importantly, having a damn good time.

Bo Diddley's Road Runner gets a loose, dirty midtempo treatment and sets the mood well for the rest of the record. Tyler, whose stock vocal theatrics can sound mannered at times, sounds like a wild man singing songs he's listened to for years who is (this will be a recurring theme) having fun.

While the band members don't do any major rearranging of the well-known tunes, it still manages to make them sound like Aerosmith. Sonny Boy Williamson's Eyesight to the Blind gets a standard treatment anchored by Tom Hamilton's walking bass line, while legendary Chuck Berry pianist Johnnie Johnson and Perry on slide guitar spar back and forth. The uptempo shuffle Baby Please Don't Go gets a nice breakdown mid-tune that builds to a wailing guitar solo and some nice interplay between Perry and Brad Whitford.

They even take a crack at Aretha Franklin's Never Loved a Woman (retitled for proper sexual orientation) and don't embarrass themselves. Willie Dixon's I'm Ready gets a slinky blues riff as part of a slightly ominous and effective stop-start arrangement, with Tyler affecting Dixon's deep raspy tone and a wailing harmonica solo.

Perry takes the vocal duties on a sparse rendition of Mississippi Fred McDowell's Back Back Train, with help from singer Tracy Bonham that almost works, but his deep voice and limited range sound better on the 12-bar Stop Messin' Around.

The disc's sole new tune, The Grind, is a slow grinding blues with typical late-era Aerosmith power ballad chorus, but fits well with the rest of the album.

Perry has said the band was wary of making Honkin' On Bobo, but after the experience promised that the relatively loose method of recording would likely find its way into the band's next batch of original material. Let's hope so, because if nothing else, Honkin' On Bobo shows that the old guys can still actually rock on record when they're less concerned with making Billboard's Top 10.

From: http://www.ohio.com

FAIRBORN | Rick Nielsen was only partly kidding when he called this out to the near-sellout Nutter Center audience Friday night: "That's right! Cheap Trick and Aerosmith! Combined we have more than 5,000 years of stage experience!"

As anybody who's attended a few "classic rock" concerts can attest, that much stagetime can either mean a group has ossified into dinosaurhood or has gained from extra, seen-it-all chops. Friday night's bill showed that these two 1970s giants are definitely in the latter group, happily for us.

Nielsen, Cheap Trick's goofy, gifted guitarist, led his band through an opening set that was good enough to make one wonder whether the hard-rocking Chicago quartet might not steal the show from the Boston bad boys who followed them. Cheap Trick seemed very much the same band one might have seen in its 1979 heyday - Nielsen, changing guitars on every song and tossing handfuls of picks into the crowd; blond Robin Zander hitting every high note; Tom Petersson playing cool bass playboy. The only change: Bun E. Carlos doesn't chain-smoke any more at the drum kit - but other than than, one might still leave an arena thinking Surrender is one of the 10 greatest rock songs ever written.

Until Aerosmith came on, that is.

It tore up the house and gave the audience exactly what it came for - a glam-blues cauldron of high camp, bad behavior and extreme rock 'n' roll fireworks that spanned all the many strange, up-and-down phases of a career that stretches back 30-plus years.

Steven Tyler still preens, struts and glides across the stage in a weird, semi-androgynous flurry that seems the only thing to match the Joe Perry-Brad Whitford guitar onslaught.

Those two ranged from the stompin' blues covers that appear on the band's new album, Honkin' on Bobo, to the newer tunes like Jaded that have kept Aerosmith up to date with hits that somehow appeal to today's teenage girls, lots of whom showed up to dance in the Nutter aisles.

Not enough of the mid-'70s slam that made the band great? Too bad. They'd probably tell you that a band's gotta change with the times or simply die - and by the time the confetti came pouring down, you might have found it hard to argue.

https://www.daytondailynews.com

This is true, I have seen the tech ryder. Events manager, the one who is my connection, called me into his office and showed me the email. It had EVERYTHING on it. The one I saw a few months back was a rough draft. This one I saw was the final one. Each band member gets a dressing room, there are 11 busses, 2 for band members and 9 for the crew. There is about 80 crew members. They have their own catering room, and Absolutly no booze.

---

A couple of years ago the Smoking Gun posted a tech rider, but obviously it has changed a bit since then. Eight pages of it are still on the site. See: http://www.thesmokinggun.com

Nevermind. Aerosmith only needs seven dressing rooms in the Gateway Arena after all.

On Wednesday, Dennis Gann, executive director of Sioux City's Convention Center/Auditorium/Tourism Bureau, said the superstar rock group would need 14 dressing rooms for its May 12 concert. The arena has six.

"The problem has been resolved," City Councilman Marty Dougherty declared Friday during the mayor's weekly news conference. "We found we really didn't need 14. We have six 'star' dressing rooms and an officials' room.

"We actually found we have 11 spaces with bathroom and shower facilities. There's plenty of space for the group and their band. We're told that if we can accommodate Aerosmith, we can accommodate anybody."

Dougherty is chairman of the Events Center Executive Committee, which discussed the dressing room issue Wednesday after Gann said more dressing rooms would have to be found.

"Our facility continues to exceed expectations," Dougherty said. "They've sold 8,000 tickets already to Aerosmith. ... These are major national concerts. They have specific things they put into their contracts."

Gann said 148 people are in Aerosmith's entourage.

On Thursday, a group met on the dressing room miniflap. Attending that meeting were Gann, Jim Towler, the events center project coordinator; Glenn Walinski, facility manager; Walt Johnson, director of operations, and Dan Boie, senior project manager for the city's construction managers, Mortenson/Klinger.

"After looking at what the tech writers were asking for, we determined we could accommodate them without making any changes," Towler said. "They need seven rooms."

Gann said, "We have been in touch with their security people and advance team and they're in agreement with the setup."

When asked where the 14-room requirement came from, he said he was told when booking the group that 14 dressing rooms would be needed.

"We told them two months ago we didn't have that," Gann said. "We've been working on it ever since. They will double up a couple of people. They're sharing some rooms."

A dressing room will be given to each of the five members of the rock group, while a sixth dressing room will be available for others. The lead-in act, Cheap Trick, will use the officials' room as the seventh dressing room. Each room has its own television, telephone, shower, sink, toilet and mirrors.

In addition, crew members will be able to use the locker room for the Bandits' "away teams'" until 6:30 p.m. on the night of the concert, when those restrooms are open to public use.

The city will make the Musketeers' lounge/exercise room available to feed the band. All the equipment will be moved to the Musketeer's locker room, freeing up that space for Aerosmith.

"They moved that stuff out for Kenny Chesney," he said of the country star's concert April 4.

In addition, Towler and Dougherty said the city will provide space in the adjacent Municipal Auditorium to provide catering services and storage for Aerosmith's entourage.

Because the auditorium is under renovation, the city will make sure the entourage will be located in a secure area away from the construction zone and the public.

"We're far enough along with construction that we'll take the future kitchen area, set up tables and they will cater food for up to 150," Towler explained.

That room will become the major kitchen facility for the Gateway Arena. The kitchen is just about completed, except for the flooring.

"We will use the marshalling area space to store whatever trunks and other equipment they bring in," he said.

City crews will install portable partitions to block off the area.

"By the 12th of May there won't be much construction activity in that area and won't cause much of a disruption, if at all. We also will provide space for the fan club or that 'meet and greet' area.

"Once our auditorium becomes fully functional, there will be spaces in the auditorium to support these huge events in the Gateway Arena," he said.

In addition, Aerosmith will be allowed to park its 11 buses and three semi-trailer trucks in the arena's loading dock. The city will install a chain link fence around the area to secure it. The city already owns the fence, since it was purchased to secure the arena's construction site.

By the time Aerosmith arrives, Towler said a unisex bathroom will have been installed near the stage that can be used by any group playing the arena. Currently, only the public restrooms are available, making it inconvenient or impossible for the crews to get to a bathroom during a performance.

Towler said it was discovered that the semi truck drivers had trouble backing their rigs into the loading dock because a new curb created problems. The curb had been installed near the west parking lot of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce building. The curb has been removed.

From: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com

http://cgi.ebay.com

Apparently Steven Tyler was seen today (ed: yesterday?), around 6 PM, trying on clothes at a store on Queen Street West, in downtown Toronto. I didn't see him myself (even though i was in the area at the time!! dammit!!), but a friend I met a couple of hours later told me that she saw him... there was a big crowd, and a friend of hers who manages the store at which Tyler was shopping said that it was really him, and he was in the changeroom.

Aerosmith are playing in Hamilton on the 22nd, which is less than an hour out of Toronto, and that Quebec date was cancelled, so i guess they're in the area a little early. Wish I could have seen him!!

Richard Rosenbaum,
Toronto, Canada

Just got done watching a tape of the Knock First shows featuring Tony Perry and Chelsea Tyler as well as Joe's interview on CNN Headline News courtesy of my good friend Carol.

So amazing how much Tony and Chelsea have grown up and how much they both look like their respective Aerosmith dads!

Tony..burlap? Uggh. When I was a kid, we did lots of things with those huge burlap sacks and I remember that "smell" and the "shedding". Not sure I'd want that in my room LOL.

Chelsea is amazing. Did folks catch the Blue Man Group plug? That is the group Tracy Bonham's band was opening for PLUS she performed with them. I would love to hear the full story as to whose idea it was to have Chelsea and Leila join the Aero Gospel for the HOB Jesus track - very cool indeed.

They always come across as pretty cool and down to earth kids. Funny how different their lives are now as Tony travels with the band, Chelsea doesn't too much. I enjoyed seeing Tony at work in his dad's studio..and with Chelsea there with him..priceless. Watching the Aero generations continue on into the world of music. Though I hear Zack (Brad's son) prefers acting to music but it was pretty cool that he and Brad had their acting debuts together in Danny Provenzano's "This Thing Of Ours" along with the cool Whitford Aero tune Nobody's Fault LOL.

I love watching songs evolve from the first riff to a full blown song and I gotta say, the kids did a pretty good job of getting down to business...creating a new track faster than probably their dads band could do these days and with only minor irritations among the members too!

It's odd to see Joe Perry on CNN Headline News but fun too! Also funny to hear a very straight looking anchor say Honkin' On Bobo. I wonder just how many of the media people don't know the real slang meaning behind the title and how badly they would blush if someone told them while they were on air LOL.

The CNN Headline News piece will continue to air throughout the weekend from Friday, April 16th to Sunday, April 18th so be sure to catch it if you can. Short but sweet.

There will be an Aerosmith special on the Japanese channel WOWOW this coming April 20th... I believe it is the making of "Bobo"

Last April 10, MTV Philippines aired the MTVIcon: Aerosmith...

Also, in terms of that article posted on the AF1 boards, I did not get my information from that article alone. There was another one in which Steven talked about Misery, but I can't for the life of me find it again. Anyway, sorry about the confusion my message caused.

Tuomas Kukkonen

The Psychedelic Sandwich (an Aerosmith tribute)

The sound was good, and so don't really understand why Come Together would have been dropped with nothing in it's place. One thing that I did report that apparently didn't make it on the site was that Tom did a few snippets of the Beatles "Within You Without You" on bass prior to the start of Sweet Emotion. No other song inclusions during the middle part of Sweet Emotion, but it was very Zeppelinesque with dry ice, colored lights and the theremin. The added lyrics from Hangman Jury were a nice addition....would have liked to have heard more of it.

Tuomas who submitted it either wrote it wrong or misunderstood. The band Aerosmith DID turn down Misery and Steven might have considered it for a solo project though that was not the other song he mentioned in the article he made the comments about Oxygen. It was another one..but rest assured, the song was written by Richie Supa..Misery that is. You can confirm this on the CD by Pink, on various websites, etc.

You got to remember that I get a ton of info submitted to from fans and from various fan run lists every day.. not all of it is confirmed news (this thing about "Oxygen" being released, for example, may very well be bullshit altogether), nor have I got the time (nor the interest) to read through all the details of all that I post.. I skim most articles and posts that I make, but mistakes do slip in there, probably more often so than I will ever become aware of...

Remember: that something is posted here at Rock This Way doesn't necessarily mean that it is the truth. As always that is, all that is in black and white isn't true, think for yourself and be critical to what you read!

AEROSMITH
A RETROSPECTIVE
LIMITED BOX SET WITH 8 x 7" (VINYL SINGLES)

Track list:
1. Amazing
2. Animal Crackers
3. Blind Man
4. Chip Away The Stone
5. Come Together
6. Crazy
7. Draw The Line
8. Dream On
9. Fall Together
10. Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)
11. Falling Off
12. Fever
13. Gotta Love It
14. Head First
15. Hole In My Soul
16. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
17. Sweet Emotion
18. Taste Of India
19. Walk This Way

Format: 7" Box Set
Label: ?
Labelno.: BX 45307
Country: ?
Year: ?
Additional info: picture sleeve

From: http://cgi.ebay.nl

The rock group Aerosmith will need more than twice as many dressing rooms as there are in the new Gateway Arena when it appears in concert May 12.

That requirement prompted some hard questions from members of a citizens' committee overseeing the Tyson Events Center project.

"There will be 148 people with Aerosmith," Dennis Gann, executive director of the Convention Center/Auditorium/Tourism Bureau, told the Events Center Executive Committee Wednesday. "They will need 14 dressing rooms."

The arena has six. In signing the contract to bring Aerosmith to Sioux City, Gann said he agreed to provide those dressing rooms.

"I don't know where we will find room for more dressing rooms," Jim Towler, events center project coordinator, said. "If you add more, you're talking big dollars."

Gann replied, "For a major event like Aerosmith, we have no choice. We have more than 8,000 tickets sold. ... They expect it to look the same as Chicago, no excuses. ... It's like moving the 4th Army Division in. They're prima donnas."

He said he will use some of the Musketeers hockey team dressing room area, as well as look for space in the adjacent Municipal Auditorium, which is under renovation as part of the Long Lines Family Center project.

City Councilman Marty Dougherty suggested storage rooms on the west side of the Gateway Arena could be converted to dressing rooms for performers. He said stackable chairs that are used on the main floor for concerts are stored in one such room.

Gann said that wouldn't work -- at least not for Aerosmith. He said the entourage doesn't want to mingle with the ticket-paying public and they would have to walk across a public hallway.

Towler said, "We can identify rooms where that might work and where they will not commingle with the public."

He emphasized, "This facility was designed as a multipurpose facility where we have hockey, basketball, truck shows, concerts and even weddings. If Denny's out making promises we can't keep, we've got a problem."

Dougherty said of the Gateway Arena's design, "I don't understand how it could be off this much."

Towler answered, "Nobody ever said we would need 14 dressing rooms. We designed it for what we thought was needed."

Gann said, "We've got two concerts already that had $1 million in gross sales with Alan Jackson and Martina McBride and Kenny Chesney. That's where we'll make our money."

The Jackson/McBride concert was held Feb. 19, while Chesney performed April 4.

In an interview, Gann said he ended up providing 10 dressing rooms for the Jackson/McBride group. He said the top performers in the country expect to have those private dressing rooms. Each of the five members of Aerosmith will have his own dressing room, with nine more needed for the rest of their band and crew.

He said the performers don't want to use their buses for dressing rooms because those buses must be secured from the public.

"It's all about security," he explained. "A lot of these stars have stalkers who follow them all over the country. They've got people threatening their lives. These artists do have a 'meet and greet' where fans can come meet them. ... But, at concerts you don't know who's out there. Out of 9,000, some 90 are not too normal. ... Aerosmith is so huge that they can require this and get it."

In addition to the dressing rooms, the facility manager agrees to provide food and beverages the performers want.

For Aerosmith, Gann said, "They like vegetables and lots of fruit. They want Gatorade, a half gallon of milk, Perrier water, doughnuts. They want Diet Cokes. Sugarless gum. There are no alcohol requirements. It's a pretty clean show."

The committee agreed with Councilman Craig Berenstein's proposal to direct Gann and his staff to meet with City Manager Paul Eckert about the dressing room issue. If additional money is needed, Eckert will bring the matter to the council for a decision.

"We can't overreact, but we need to react," Berenstein stated.

In addition, Aerosmith will require a blackout curtain be installed. Dan Boie, senior project manager for the city's construction managers, Mortenson/Klinger, said he just got the go-ahead to order the curtain.

On another matter, Gann said he needs to find some narrower chairs for the arena's floor in order to have a greater arena capacity. Using the 16-inch wide folding chairs, he said the capacity is 9,300. To get the number up to 10,000 smaller chairs are needed. That higher number is key to attracting some major performers, he said. The committee asked him to report back.

From: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com

Like a lot of guitarists of my generation, I first heard Chuck Berry because of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I was so blown away by the way the Beatles and the Stones were playing these hard-core rock & roll songs like "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Around and Around." I'd looked at the labels, under the song titles. I'd seen the name "Chuck Berry." But I was fortunate enough, again like a lot of guys from my generation, to have a friend who had an older brother, who had the original records: "If you like the Stones, wait until you hear this!" I heard Chuck you hear this!" I heard Chuck Berry Is On Top -- and I really freaked out! That feeling of excitement in the pit of my stomach, in the hair on the back of my head: I got more of it from Chuck Berry than from anybody else. The Stones were a close second, because they were one of the few bands then who could play Berry's stuff and really sound like they knew what it was about. They had the right combination of technical skill, with that punk attitude of "Let's lay it down!" They did their homework, but they were also able to tap that feeling, that rhythm, which was so important in Chuck Berry's music.

It's not so much what he played -- it's what he didn't play. His music is very economical. His guitar leads drove the rhythm, as opposed to laying over the top. The economy of his licks and his leads -- they pushed the song along. And he would build his solos so there was a nice little statement taking the song to a new place, so you're ready for the next verse.

As a songwriter, Chuck Berry is like the Ernest Hemingway of rock & roll. He gets right to the point. He tells a story in short sentences. You get a great picture in your mind of what's going on, in a very short amount of time, in well-picked words. He was also very smart: He knew that if he was going to break into the mainstream, he had to appeal to white teenagers. Which he did. Everything in those songs is about teenagers. I think he knew he could have had his own success on the R&B charts, but he wanted to get out of there and go big time.

He was also celebrating the music and lifestyle of rock & roll in songs like "Johnny B. Goode" and "School Days" -- how anybody could make a guitar sound like the ring of a bell. Anytime you put the words rock & roll in a lyric, you have to be careful. But he did it perfectly. "Johnny B. Goode" is probably the most covered song ever. Bar bands, garage bands -- everybody plays it. And so many bands play it badly. As much fun as it is to play, it's also easy to destroy it. But it was probably the first Chuck Berry song I learned. It hits people on all levels: lyric, melody, tempo, riff.

It's funny -- my twelve-year-old son, Roman, came back from his guitar lesson today, and I said, "What song were you learning today?" He said, "We're learning 'Johnny B. Goode.' " That's the essence of the appeal of Chuck Berry. When you're a young guitar player now, you're confronted by all these guys: Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page. But you can sit down and get your guitar to sound like Chuck Berry in a very short amount of time.

The other thing is, Chuck Berry was a showman: playing the guitar behind his head and between his legs, doing the duckwalk. It's not like you could close your eyes and hear his playing suffer because of it. He was able to do all that stuff and make it look like it was so easy and natural.

I still listen to Chuck Berry Is On Top. Except for one or two songs, like "Blues for Hawaiians," the whole thing just rocks out. That's why I love it -- for the same reason I love AC/DC records. They just don't stop. That was another thing he did: He stayed in that groove. He could have done one or two of those "Johnny B. Goode"-type songs, or a couple like "Maybellene," then gone off and done whatever. But he stayed in that place, that groove, and made it his.

I also have a bunch of different compilations, and I hear the direct influence on me. The way he phrases things, that double-time stop, where you get the two notes bending against each other and they make that rock & roll sound -- that's what I hear when I listen back to a lot of my solos. It's a little bit of technique, but it's mostly phrasing.

And kids today are playing the same three chords, trying to play in that same style. Turn the guitars up, and it's punk rock. It's the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. That new band Jet has that vibe. I hear it in the White Stripes, too.

I think he's kind of forgotten, in a way. He doesn't get played much on the radio, although he's on my fucking iPod, in my top ten records. But as far as the general public goes, I think he is kind of an artifact.

But people will always cover Chuck Berry songs. When bands go do their homework, they will have to listen to Chuck Berry. If you want to learn about rock & roll, if you want to play rock & roll, you have to start there.

I've had the fortune to shake his hand once or twice, but I've never really had a chance to tell him any of this. It was always in passing, at an airport or something. The last time was in the Seventies. I was walking through the airport, and someone said, "It's Chuck Berry over there." Well, I had to go over and shake his hand. But he was tongue-tied. Then he was gone.

(From RS 946, April 15, 2004)

From: http://www.rollingstone.com

Rock This Way
By Joe Perry & Brad Whitford of Aerosmith
How to play "Dream On," part three
BREAK TIME

JOE PERRY In our previous two columns, Brad and I showed you how to play the intro, verse and pre-chorus sections of "Dream On." This month, we'll go over the song's interlude and solo sections. First, let me review: the pre-chorus section ("Sing with me...") consists of the chord progression F5-Eb5-Db5-Eb5, which is then repeated; the chorus ("Dream on...")-where we play the chord sequence Bb5-C5-Db5-Eb5-F5 twice-doesn't appear until after the interlude. The interlude follows the lyric "Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away," at which point I begin fingerpicking threenote chord shapes with my thumb, index and middle fingers on the top three strings, as shown in FIGURE 1 (Gtr. 1 part). As the melody notes move up the high E string, I have to reshuffle my fretting fingers to play the notes of each chord shape. The key is to do this quickly and cleanly, in order to keep the notes ringing together as much as possible as you fingerpick them. The phrase ends with the pinkie sliding from the eighth fret up to the 13th, sounding a high F.

To read the rest of this column and to see its accompanying music and TAB, please pick up the June 2004 issue of Guitar World, on sale now.

From: http://www.guitarworld.com

Pic that is with GW article online...

Quebec City OFFICIALLY CANCELLED (I removed the French translation LOL)

The Quebec City show originally scheduled for April 18th 2004 has regretfully been CANCELLED. AF1 will be refunding credit cards for ticket and Velvet Rope purchases on April 16th. Fans that have booked the Quebec City Travel package will be contacted by AF1 Customer Service and offered a choice of full refund or the opportunity to join another travel package. Refunds for tickets purchased directly from the promoter can be obtained at the Colisée Pepsi box office as of Tuesday, April 6th at 10am. The promoter apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused.

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

On radio: 'The Wiseguy Show'

NEW YORK (AP) -- Vincent Pastore -- the late Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on HBO'S "The Sopranos" -- will host "The Wiseguy Show," a weekly "three-hour celebration" of Italian-American culture, Sirius Satellite Radio announced.

The show premieres Saturday. Pastore will interview guests from the Italian-American community, discuss world events, review movies, perform skits, give sex advice and interact with listeners.

"Each week we're going to have a guest from the Italian-American community, whether it's an actor, or writer or painter, an athlete," Pastore told The Associated Press on Friday. "And we're going to do a thing called 'What's Your Beef?' People call in and complain to us about potholes and government and whatever they want to complain about."

He said his dream is to get Bruce Springsteen, who's part Italian, on the show. He's already signed up Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler for a visit.

"Steven's Italian, oh yes he is. A lot of people are going to be on the show you didn't know was Italian," Pastore said.

"The Wiseguy Show" also will include music from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Al Martino, Jerry Vale and other classic crooners.

Pastore said he is constantly recognized as "Big Pussy" everywhere he goes.

"I'm going to do a segment called 'Man on the Street' where I go to Radio City Music Hall and talk to tourists," he said. "That's where the positive comes in with Big Pussy. They walk up the street and go, 'Oh, there's Big Pussy!' So they walk over to me and I interview them. If I was standing there and I was Joe Bland, they wouldn't. You know what I'm saying?"

As posted by XenaAmber on AF1 board
From: http://www.cnn.com

ROCK RADIO:
Last Week- #3 with 537 spins. (#1 was 670 spins)
This Week- #2 with 539 spins. (#1 was 607 spins)

ACTIVE ROCK RADIO:
Last Week- #23 with 659 spins. (#1 was 1759 spins)
This Week- #22 with 671 spins. (#1 was 1789 spins)

1988 Aerosmith plays in Jacksonville FL at jacksonville Coliseum (White Lion opens)

2004 I'll be in Dayton OH seeing Aerosmith at the Ervin J. Nutter Center

WEEK #1- #5 with 160,582
WEEK #2- #11 with 79,500

Thanks to Soundscan and Soldetti for these figures!

1999 Aerosmith plays in Greensboro NC at Greensboro Coliseum (Afghan Whigs open); show rescheduled from 1/6/99

Here the lyrics for There's Nothing I Wont Do (per http://www.stlyrics.com):

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

And so I dont know why
Ain't no matter how hard I try
I can't wave my tears goodbye
There's nothing I wont do

Oh baby I think of you; my heart is on the line
Oh baby I get with you; my heart feels so fine

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

Yea yea yea yea, ye
Yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea
Yeah
Woah hoaaah
Hooooaaaah

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

And so I dont know why
Ain't no matter ho w hard I try
I can't wave my tears goodbye
There's nothing I wont do

Oh baby I think of you; my heart is on the line
Oh baby I get with you; my heart feels so fine

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

And so I dont know why
Ain't no matter how hard I try
I can't wave my te ars goodbye
There's nothing I wont do

Oh baby I think of you; my heart is on the line
Oh baby I get with you; my heart feels so fine

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

There's nothing I wont do
Anything you want me to
I can't keep my hands off you

Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
There's nothing I wont do

Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you
Can't keep my hands off you

Yea yea yea yea, ye
Yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea
Yeah
Woah hoaaah
Hooooaaaah

Rate the following bass players on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being somebody that has no business playing 4 strings and 10 being a Bass God.
Nikki Sixx = 4
Frank Bello = 5
Jason Newsted = 7
Steve Harris = 10
Michael Anthony = 7
Robert Trujillo = 10
Tom Hamilton = 9
Lemmy = 9
Gene Simmons = 11
Duff McKagan = 8

Touring with Aerosmith or Touring with Motley Crue =
At least with Motley we got to do a full set.

1979 Aerosmith plays in Orlando FL at the Tangerine Bowl for the Florida World Music Festival (with Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick)

--

Tuomas Kukkonen writes:
From what I remember, around the time Pink did that song with Steven, Steven said he was been toying with the idea of one day doing a solo project using some of the songs he has written but that Aerosmith did not use because they didn't sound "Aerosmith" enough. Misery that Pink did on her second album was one of those songs, and Oxygen is another. I did not know he had actually recorded it yet though.

--

Christopher Stapleton writes:

I distinctly recall reading about it on the web at some point in the past few years. I almost think it could have been your site, but then again it may have been a news article. I can't remember whether it was around the time of the JPP sessions or the Oh Yeah sessions, but I do remember the news piece stating that it was a song that was written by Steven and Marti but not well received by the rest of the band. In fact, I think it may have come up in an interview with Steven asking him about the prospect of a solo album. I know nothing was mentioned of it actually being recorded.

--

Looking through the archives, I see that he was correct. This was posted back in the summer of 2002:

Some of the songs Tyler has taken to Aerosmith of late -- namely "A Good Thing" and "Oxygen" -- have been rejected by his longtime colleagues. So he's talking about making a solo album, sooner rather than later. ("Aerosmith's Steven Tyler sounds off about his hits, misses" by Jon Bream - Minneapolis Star Tribune - June 30, 2002)

Apparently, in the 'Making of GYW' part of Walk This Way (I haven't dug it out to verify myself), Jakc Douglas talks about how this was included at the beginning of Pandora's Box. Aparently, there was a watchman at the studio, who did nothing all day, but doodle on his clarinet, so they got him to record this for them. Turn the volume up all the way & you'll be able to hear it. It's only abt 3-4 secs, and there's no band member playing, so I don't think it counts as a cover.

Another person who e-mailed me claimed the snippet of "I'm In The Mood For Love" was played by Tyler on a wood flute...?

For those of you on cable, my local prevue channel by TV Guide has been including a piece on HOB in their Sound Scan segment. It was on last night and today. Don't know how often they have been repeating it or how long it will be on. Do you think it's the same as the commercial? It starts with a clip of Steven riding his motorcycle through some gates (at Joe's house?) The main interview is with Tom. It's neat trying to figure out when the shots were taken.

AEROSMITH: HONKIN' ON BOBO

WHEN was the last time you heard good blues? Not talking about Chelsea here, boys.
Steven 'Can't-See-My-Chin-Coz-My-Lips-Too-Thick' Tyler is in good form here as he belts out catchy blues tracks, with that trademark aahaaaaa vocal pull at the end of every other line, giving a raunchier, harder, rock 'n roll feel to them.

The band hits one track after another like they were born to rock and play the blues. Not many can claim to pull off old blues standards with this kind of penchant and ease.

And the harder task is to make them radio-friendly. But every track is, although it would be hard to imagine them ranking that high up on MTV.

There is a lot of merriment here as guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford sizzle with their versatile, distorted, fuzz-guitar stylings, and Tyler's equally reliable harmonica playing and vocals.

There is much macho swagger with classic blues tracks by Willie Dixon's I'm Ready, Sonny Boy Williamson's Eyesight To The Blind, Big Joe William's Baby, Please Don't Go, and Mississippi Fred McDowell's You Gotta Move given a rougher edge without distorting the original blues tone.

It is blues even for non-blues fans, and listening to stuff like Muddy Water's Back Door Man makes you feel delighted that there are real talents like Aerosmith around. If it was a beauty pageant, the album review could well be summed up: Almost as good as Liz.

From: http://www.emedia.com.my

Catch Aerosmith's celebrated Classic Rock Guitar God, Joe Perry, on CNN Headline News Wednesday, April 14th at 8:15PM and 10:15PM. Joe talks tour, album and what it's like to be Joe Perry. The interview will continue to air throughout the weekend from Friday, April 16th to Sunday, April 18th.

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

THE DARKNESS To Cover AEROSMITH? - Apr. 13, 2004

THE DARKNESS are set to pay the ultimate tribute to their rock heroes AEROSMITH - by covering their classic hit "Walk This Way", according to World Entertainment News Network.

The Brit Award-winners will reportedly team up with U.K. hip-hop collective GOLDIE LOOKIN' CHAIN to remake the hit track - with a contemporary edge.

In related news, members of AEROSMITH and CHEAP TRICK were reportedly present at THE DARKNESS' April 8 gig in at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Ga. "About halfway through the show, [THE DARKNESS frontman] Justin Hawkins informed [the crowd] that members of [the two bands], who were in town for their concert Friday night (April 9) at Philips Arena, were in the audience," a gig attendee told BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "They were sitting in the balcony on the side of the stage. They seemed to enjoy the show."

From: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com

1999 Aerosmith plays in Memphis TN at Pyramid Arena (Afghan Whigs open; rescheduled from 1/10/99)

Never heard about a such, which I told him and asked him to tell me all he knew.. Anyone else heard of this?

"Darkness Brings Light to Classic Hit"

The Darkness is set to pay the ultimate tribute to their rock heroes Aerosmith - by covering their classic hit "Walk This Way."

The spandex-clad Brit Award-winners will team up with UK hip-hop collective Goldie Lookin' Chain to remake the hit track - with a contemporary edge.

The "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" rocketed to fame with their chart topping debut album 'Permission to Land' last year and are currently on a sold-out tour.

Copyright World Entertainment News Network

Source: "L.A. Guns Rip The Covers Off Some Covers" melodicrock.com 9 April 2004

http://www.geocities.com/gonzaloc80/aeroout.htm

--

At the beginning of Pandora's Box there is a tune that is played. An old tune -- my mother (born 1924) identified it as "I'm in the Mood for Love", an old song ; I havent compared it for accuracy. But that would be another cover.

1988 Aerosmith plays in Huntsville AL at Von Braun Civic Center Arena (White Lion opens)

1999 Aerosmith plays in Columbus OH at the Schottenstein Center (Afghan Whigs open); show rescheduled from 1/24/99

A lot of prominent acts have gone back to the blues for inspiration, most recently Eric Clapton, who just released a full album's worth of Robert Johnson covers.

But when Aerosmith reached back to its roots, it cranked things up a notch and then some for "Honkin' on Bobo," a 12-track collection of songs by the likes of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Based in the blues, it's still vintage Aerosmith as guitarist Joe Perry, singer Steven Tyler and company went spinning back to the music that brought them together more than 30 years ago.

Though it's steeped in blues traditions, "Honkin' on Bobo" is loud, sweat-soaked and fully fueled with guitar layers, pounding rhythms and Tyler's trademark over-the-top vocals.

"Ladies and gentlemen, step right up," howls Tyler during the album's opening moments, setting the rock 'n' roll circus in motion with a raucous cover of Bo Diddley's "Road Runner." Aerosmith proceeds to rip through a barnstorming take of Jimmy Reed's "Shame Shame Shame" -- with Chuck Berry's former main man Johnnie Johnson on piano -- and a slide-guitar layered version of Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind" that sounds like it could have been recorded live in a Southern juke joint decades ago.

Produced by Tyler, Perry and Jack Douglas, who worked on early Aerosmith hits including "Toys in the Attic" and "Rocks," the set is a party album. The track that's already getting a lot of airplay is the blistering "Baby Please Don't Go," recorded by everyone from Big Joe Williams to Them and the Amboy Dukes. Aerosmith rips the roof off the song, and it's one of the disc's highlights. There's a similar harp-driven, slide-fueled feel to McDowell's "You Got to Move," which features a wild, out-of-control ending with guitars blazing.

The Boston rockers toss in some surprises. One is a horn-splashed cover version of "Never Loved a Girl," which is synonymous with Aretha Franklin, who recorded an amazing version of it under the title "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" in 1967. Aerosmith's take doesn't top the Queen of Soul's, but it is intriguing. The band also delivers a boogie-fueled, harp-layered rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Stop Messin' Around," which features Perry on lead vocals.

Perry also takes over on a couple of other standouts, including the swampy traditional "Back Back Train," in which he plays dobro and hurdy gurdy while singing a growling duet with Tracy Bonham. She returns later for a rousing finale of the old spiritual "Jesus Is on the Main Line."

The disc offers one new Aerosmith original, "The Grind." Aptly titled, it's slow and churning, fitting right into the mood of the set.

At this point in their careers, Aerosmith's members are getting to do what they want, when they want. "Honkin' on Bobo" is most definitely a labor of love, and they make the most of it.

From: http://www.oregonlive.com

Aerosmith drops rock pretenses with Bobo
Album made up almost entirely of blues classics
Canadian Press
Thursday, April 08, 2004

Honkin' On Bobo, by Aerosmith

Listen to any Aerosmith song and the influence of the blues hits you so hard that it rings in your ears.

Now the band is dropping its rock pretenses with Honkin' on Bobo, an album made up almost entirely of blues classics.

But make no mistake, this is not Aerosmith Sings The Blues. This is one of the world's most successful rock bands making the blues explosive.

Most of the songs are re-imagined Aerosmith style, with Steven Tyler's wailing, howling vocals and Joe Perry's screaming guitar slides.

On Bo Diddley's Road Runner, for example, Perry kicks it up a notch with a wicked, in-your-face effort that nearly makes his guitar sound like it's singing.

Tyler's rocked-out vocals nicely update Sonny Boy Williamson's Eyesight To The Blind and Willie Dixon's I'm Ready.

Perhaps the band's best effort is showcased on Big Joe Williams' Baby, Please Don't Go, which is elevated from its typical head-nodding pace to frenetic romp.

The 12 tracks feature only one new Aerosmith song, The Grind, which is perhaps the only downside of the album. When you're writing to compete with the likes of Fred McDowell, who penned Back Back Train and You Gotta Move -- songs also featured on the album -- you have to be more than good, you have to be great. And The Grind simply isn't great.

With so many musical acts trying to be artsy these days (think Godsmack's unplugged album and Rod Stewart singing standards), Aerosmith managed to remember the music that inspired them and then make it their own.

From: http://www.canada.com

I despise this CD. I honestly do. There are times where I wish that I´d never heard this CD once in my entire life. You might be thinking to yourself, "Wow, this CD must be really, really bad." On the contrary, it´s actually a very good, quality release from a legendary band.

So why then would I hate such a great album? It´s because these songs are so catchy that they stick in your head and no matter what you do, you can´t make them go away. Whether you´re trying to go to sleep, mowing the lawn, fixing dinner, or checking e-mail, you´ll be playing these songs in your head. I´d almost guarantee it, but maybe I´m the only weirdo that this happens to.

OK, so Aerosmith has been together for almost four decades, they´ve got one impressive catalog of hit music and they´ve released a new album. Nothing new, right? Wrong.

"Honkin´ on Bobo" is all blues, and I don´t mean just the regular Aerosmith rock with some blues licks thrown in. We´re talking full-on blues here. To answer the questions of Aerosmith fans that haven´t heard it yet - yes, it´s still loud. Yes, it still rocks, and yes it´s incredible.

Over the past few albums, Aerosmith felt very slick, produced and contrived, in my opinion. I guess that´s why other than their ´70s releases, I´ve never been that big of a fan. Well, they´ve thrown all that out the window on this release. It´s raw, passionate blues with that Aerosmith "kick" to it. I haven´t heard these guys sound this good in a long, long time.

For people like my wife, who are die-hard Aerosmith fans from the ´80s and ´90s era, this might be too much of a throwback for them. On the other hand, I don´t see how anyone can´t like a good solid blues album, but that´s just my taste, I guess.

There are two big surprises on the album, at least for me anyway. Joe Perry (lead guitarist) takes the lead vocals from Steven Tyler on two songs, "Back Back Train" and "Stop Messin´ Around." "Train" is one of my favorite songs on the album and unfortunately the one that sticks in my head the most often. Tracy Bonham lends her help to Perry with her background vocals that almost steal the show. She really has an incredible voice.

"Road Runner," "Baby Please Don´t Go" and "Never Loved a Girl" are three of the best performances that I feel are worthy of being called hits, but I doubt you hear them on the radio much, if any. This doesn´t seem to be a very radio-friendly album with such a heavy blues influence. We´ll just have to see. As for now, all I hear on the radio are the old standards like "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion."

For Aerosmith fans, and classic rock fans in general, I´d have to file this under the "must purchase" category. I´ve been extremely happy with it, and I´ve always been very critical of this band over the past 15 years or so. If you buy it, don´t call me all upset saying that you can´t get these songs out of your head. You´ve been forewarned of the risks.

The High Spots: A very enjoyable album from one of rock´s biggest acts.

The Low Spots: The heavy blues might alienate some listeners that hopped on the wagon in the ´90s, but isn´t that a good thing?

Rating: 10 out of 10

From: http://www.zwire.com

...

With blues and blue men, singer Bonham starts anew
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 7/16/2003

Tracy Bonham is on the rebound. The former Bostonian just finished performing on four songs for Aerosmith's upcoming blues album -- and she is now the opening act for a surprise summer shed tour by Blue Man Group, with which she also sings four songs during its set.

All of this was made possible by one December night at a New York club called Fez.

''Aerosmith's producer Jack Douglas was there to see my show,'' says Bonham. ''And three of the original guys in Blue Man Group were there, too. It was a great night. And it taught me a valuable lesson: Don't take small club gigs for granted, because good things can happen.''

Bonham has experienced some bad luck since receiving two Grammy nominations in 1997 for the hit ''Mother Mother,'' from her CD ''The Burdens of Being Upright.''

Those burdens grew heavier in subsequent years as she endured a professional divorce -- from her record label -- and a personal one, from her Belgian husband. Hopefully her luck has turned. Fans can judge for themselves when she performs tonight at FleetBoston Pavilion with Blue Man Group, the performance artists who are emphasizing music more than theatrics on this tour.

Now living in Los Angeles, Bonham resided in the Boston area from 1987 to 1998 and was discovered here. Before ''Mother Mother'' became a hit, she still had enough local buzz to open for Aerosmith when the group debuted its Mama Kin club on Lansdowne Street. So it was an additional thrill when Douglas dug her set at Fez and asked her to come to Steven Tyler's home studio on the South Shore recently. ''I was immediately welcomed with open arms,'' she recalls. ''We started off by singing an old spiritual together, and that really set the tone. . . . And then we started doing some blues.''

Bonham will play an acoustic-driven set tonight. She will be followed by buzz band Venus Hum, then Blue Man Group. She is also selling a new EP at the shows.

''Tracy has been a peach to work with,'' says Peter Moore, who is playing keyboards and strings for Blue Man Group. ''She's terribly talented, and we didn't even have to rehearse long because she is so good.''

Tracy Bonham performs with Blue Man Group at the FleetBoston Pavilion tonight. Tickets are $30-$50. Call 617-931-2000.

This story ran on page D5 of the Boston Globe on 7/16/2003.

She went on to say that she believed Aerosmith were fashion icons. They showed a picture of Steven and Joe at the Grammy's. And she stated that Joe was a fashion god with his canes and all. And then said that she can't wait to get a little older so she can use a cane too.

Sharon presented this lady with a really vintage Aero t-shirt. I didn't even recognize it. I would guess that it was from the late 70's or so.

Here are the chart positions for the week ending April 17, 2004:

Billboard 200 - Honkin' On Bobo - #5 (160,500 copies)
Billboard Comprehensive Albums - Honkin' On Bobo - #5
Top Blues Albums - Honkin' On Bobo - #1
Top Internet Albums - Honkin' On Bobo - #1
Top Pop Catalog - Greatest Hits - #40
Mainstream Rock Tracks - Baby Please Don't Go - #9

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

--

The ISSUE date is tied to the magazine...from Billboard customer service. Still seems odd to me to not list the CHART date but oh well....

The April 17th date is the week ending date. That's the last day that that particular issue will be sold on the newstand.

ROCK RADIO

Last Week: #3 550 spins (#1 was 731 spins)
This Week: # 3 537 spins (#1 was 670 spins)

=========

ACTIVE ROCK RADIO

Last Week: #24 684 spins (#1 was 1812 spins)
This Week: #23 659 spins (#1 was 1759 spins)

1988 Aerosmith plays in Birminghmam AL at the Jefferson Civic Coliseum (White Lion opens)

---

Harold adds:

The sound was bad, both the music and the vocals were off. Joe and Steven could been seen on several occasions talkng and motioning to the sound guys about problems they were having.

Joe Perry didnt joke about BBT and then quit, he tried to start twice, and was getting a lot of feedback. After the second attempt, he said "Sorry, I cant do this" and changed instruments and called for Stop Messin Around.

There are rock stars. And then there is Steven Tyler.

Is there a better frontman in rock 'n' roll today? If you polled the more than 12,000 fans at the Aerosmith concert Wednesday night at the Colonial Center, the answer would be an emphatic no.

It's the lips, the tight pants and the scarf-covered microphone stand. Oh, yeah, don't forget the rocked-out voice.

Whoa, yeah.

The stage was Tyler's playground as the guitar machine Joe Perry ripped dynamic riffs. Tyler prowled the catwalk on the arena floor like he owned the place (and you know he did), and he confidently strutted the walkways that were on either side of the stage.

He let anyone who wanted to touch him do so, and like a thief, he stole the hearts of many. But he gave back, too. He handed a woman his ring, and into another outstretched hand he laid his harmonica.

"He is the rock star of rock stars," said 27-year-old Robbie Gregg of Columbia, who was one of the lucky ones to touch Tyler. "If you want a rock star, he's the guy."

You Reebok and Converse wearers should also know that Tyler was sporting Nike Airs.

No cameras or video equipment were allowed into the arena, but lights still flashed. Camera phones were working to save the electrifying experience.

Tyler was given a bottle of water when he first stepped onstage. From his mouth, he let the water dribble onto fans before slinging the bottle into the crowd.

That's a rock star for you.

And the songs. Man, Aerosmith is one of the best bands - if not the best - to play in the Colonial Center.

Old and newer material got the same level of applause. Joe Perry had some guitar trouble, forcing him to cut a song short, but other than that, it was nonstop rock.

"Dream On," "Livin' on the Edge" "Cryin'" and "Jaded" had the audience dancing crazily. Can't forget about "Walk This Way" because Tyler showed out as he moved down the catwalk.

How many rock stars pull off a trapeze stunt? Well, Tyler, for one.

During "Dream On," he swooped over the crowd in a swing before flipping off on the stage.

It lasted only five seconds, but it was amazing.

Cheap Trick opened the show with black-and-white-checkered theatrics. Rick Nielsen threw about 200 guitar picks into the crowd, but the music was too loud.

Robin Zander still has his voice, making songs like "My Obsession," "Surrender" and "The Flame" sound brilliant.

From: http://www.thestate.com

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - A strong second sales week for Usher's "Confessions" gives the album a second straight week at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, and forces Janet Jackson's highly anticipated "Damita Jo" to settle for a No. 2 debut.

In a typical second week decline, U.S. sales of "Confessions" fell 56% to 486,000 copies in the period ended April 4, according to Nielsen SoundScan data issued Wednesday, giving Usher's LaFace/Zomba album a two-week total of 1.58 million.

Jackson's Virgin set, meanwhile, sold 381,000 copies in it first week, and is the artist's first album since 1989's "Rhythm Nation 1814" to not debut at No. 1 on the chart. Her last studio release, 2001's "All for You" opened with first week sales of 605,000 copies and has sold 3 million to date.

"Damita Jo" is among five debuts in the top-10, joined by releases from rappers Lil' Flip and J-Kwon and pure blues turns from Aerosmith and Eric Clapton. Overall U.S. album sales fell about 1.5% from the prior week to 12.5 million, but were still about 18% ahead of the comparable week last year when albums from the White Stripes and Cher debuted in the top-10. Year-to-date sales remain higher than 2003 by 9.8%.

Lil' Flip earns his strongest showing on The Billboard 200 with "U Gotta Feel Me," which enters at No. 4 on sales of 198,000 copies. The Texas rapper's first top 10 debut is the follow up to his 2002 breakthrough, "Undaground Legend" (Sony), which entered at No. 12 with 68,000 copies and has sold 646,000 overall.

Tapping into their blues roots, Aerosmith and Clapton arrive back-to-back on The Billboard 200. Featuring one new track amid a list of notable covers, Aerosmith's "Honkin' on Bobo" (Columbia) lands at No. 5 with sales of 160,500 copies. The band's last album, 2001's "Just Push Play," arrived at No. 2 with 240,000 copies and has gone on to sell 1.3 million.

Clapton chose to pay homage to the blues legend Robert Johnson with a full set of his music for his latest album. "Me and Mr. Johnson" (Duck/Reprise) enters the chart at No. 6, having sold 128,000 copies. The artist's 2001 studio set, "Reptile," entered at No. 5 with 102,000 copies and has sold 557,000 to date.

Hip-hop newcomer J-Kwon lands at No. 7 with his Arista debut, "Hood Hop." The set sold 103,000 copies, fueled by the success of the hit single "Tipsy," currently No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks chart.

Filling in the rest of the top 10 is 15th volume in the "NOW That's What I Call Music!" series (Universal/EMI/Zomba/Sony, No. 3), Norah Jones' "Feels Like Home" (Blue Note, No. 8), Guns N' Roses' "Greatest Hits" (Geffen, No. 9) and Kanye West's "The College Dropout" (Roc-A-Fella, No. 10).

Other notable arrivals include Tracy Lawrence's "Strong" (DreamWorks, No. 17), DJ Kayslay's "The Streetsweeper Vol. 2, The Pain from the Game" (Sony Urban Music/Columbia, No. 27), Bob Dylan's "The Bootleg Series Vol. 6" (Columbia/Legacy, No. 28), Shakira's "Live and Off the Record" (Epic, No. 45) and the compilation "Music from the OC, Mix 1" (Warner Bros., No. 52).

Reuters/Billboard

From: http://www.reuters.com

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - She stole the spotlight at the Super Bowl with her breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction," but Janet Jackson's new CD, "Damita Jo," was upstaged in stores this week by incumbent sales chart topper Usher.

Jackson's new album, "Damita Jo," sold an estimated 381,000 units in its first week ended April 4, ranking No. 2 to R&B star Usher's "Confessions," which remained at No. 1 for a second week running, selling 486,000 units, according to sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan.

For Jackson, "Damita Jo" becomes her first studio album since 1989's "Rhythm Nation 1814" not to debut at No. 1. Both "Rhythm Nation" and its 1986 predecessor, "Control," did eventually reach No. 1. The sales for "Damita Jo" were considerably lower than those of her previous album, "All For You," which opened with 605,000 units in 2001.

Fueled by the hit single "Yeah!" featuring rap artists Lil Jon and Ludacris, "Confessions" last week posted the biggest album debut this year when it sold nearly 1.1 million copies, becoming only the second 2004 release to sell more than 1 million copies in its first week in stores.

Jackson had kept a low profile following her bare-breasting incident at the Super Bowl, which sparked public outrage, a Federal Communications Commission probe and calls for stiffer fines for broadcast indecency.

But the pop diva stepped back into the limelight in recent weeks to promote the new Virgin Records CD by appearing on "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Good Morning America."

Retailers said the Super Bowl incident did not seem to influence the sale of "Damita Jo" one way or another, noting interest in the album was dropping in its second week.

"I think first week sales came from her fan base and it's already forgotten. I haven't sold any hardly this week. It's getting some radio airplay but not as much as Usher," said Brent Caley, manager of Manifest Discs music store in South Carolina.

Matt Serletic, chairman and chief executive of Virgin, a unit of EMI Group Plc, said the label was pleased with Jackson's first week, calling the album a "long-term project."

"We expect to be very involved in this and will be promoting more singles to radio," he said.

Rounding out the top five on the charts were Vol. 15 of the "Now That's What I Call Music!" compilation series, ranking No. 3 with 225,000 copies, followed by rapper Lil' Flip's "U Gotta Feel Me," (198,000 copies) and Aerosmith's "Honkin' On Bobo," (161,000 units).

Usher's label, Arista, a unit of Bertelsmann, has said "Confessions" was its biggest release in the label's 30-year history. Robust sales for "Confessions" and other albums like Norah Jones' "Feels Like Home," have helped the embattled record industry stage a turnaround this year after a protracted sales slump, variously attributed to rampant online piracy, competition from other entertainment and lackluster offerings.

U.S album sales for the first quarter ended March 28 rose 9.2 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Overall U.S. album sales in the latest week totaled 12.6 million units, up 19 percent from the year-ago week.

The sales uptick is especially good news for many of the biggest music companies that have recently announced deep staff cuts and restructurings to compete more effectively in the market. (Additional reporting by Dean Goodman)

From: http://www.reuters.com

1979 Aerosmith plays in Los Angeles CA at Memorial Coliseum for the CA World Music Festival (with Ted Nugent, Van Halen)

1986 Aerosmith plays in New YOrk City NY at Madison Square Garden (Ted Nugent opens)

1988 Aerosmith plays in Atlanta GA at The Omni (White Lion opens)

9 PICTURE PHOTO GALLERY: here

After all these years, there aren't many surprises at an Aerosmith show.

Judging from the number of vintage tour T-shirts in Monday's crowd at the TD Waterhouse Centre, the band's core demographic probably thinks "emo" is the first name of a comedian rather than a musical genre. It's also obvious that a fair number of the guys inside those shirts are now thicker around the middle and thinner on top.

No matter.

The audience, which came close to filling the arena, knew what to expect. Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and the band delivered.

The band's nearly two-hour set, which was filmed for a future TV special, was arena-rock of the highest order. Big, bombastic guitar solos from Perry, over-the-top vocals and stage presence from Tyler. A liberal dose of vintage hits mixed with rocked-out blues from the band's new Honkin' on Bobo.

After an unremarkable 45-minute opening set by Cheap Trick, Aerosmith emerged in blue-collar fashion. Band members strolled through the crowd on the floor to open with "Toys in the Attic" at the end of a long runway that extended from the stage to the center of the arena.

The sound for the first two songs was a cacophonous roar that made Tyler's vocals unintelligible, but the mix stabilized when the band returned to the huge stage. It was a utilitarian set-up, with two ramps extending from each side, but nothing else to distract attention from the musicians.

The guys are aging gracefully, especially the quietly magnetic Perry. But if bassist Tom Hamilton insists on getting so close to the crowd, he might want to tone up or ditch the tank-top.

Not that most folks would've been able to see such details. Noticeably lacking were any jumbo video screens that might have offered a better glimpse of Tyler's famous mug for the cheap seats.

That omission was particularly obvious because of the two camera operators filming the show for that future TV special. They were like extra members of the band, moving in for tight close-ups as Tyler shook his maracas or mugged for the cameras. Beaming those shots to the audience would have been thoughtful.

Nevertheless, Tyler worked the crowd admirably. Dressed trendily trashy, he leaned over the audience on the runways, did slinky dance moves, tossed harmonicas into the crowd and offered high-fives (or low fives?) swinging over the floor by his feet from a streamer-adorned trapeze.

And his shrieking was still powerful on "Dream On," the acid test for his vocal range.

Dressed in a Matrix-worthy ebony overcoat, shiny black leather pants and glittery matching boots, Perry exuded a more subtle presence.

"That sound all right to you?" he asked the audience, as he tuned his Flying-V guitar before taking lead vocals on Honkin' On Bobo's "Stop Messin' Around." He's a passable singer, but his guitar style on several extended solos was charged with emotional range.

Most of the blues songs fit comfortably next to the band's familiar hits, though it was a strange transition from "Road Runner" into the radio-friendly rock of "Jaded." At least it wasn't that sappy song from the Armageddon soundtrack.

But the band eventually pulled out that song, the Diane Warren ballad "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" to open its two-song encore. With the big hits already out of the way, the finale was more of a whimper than a bang, even with the confetti cannons.

Fortunately, Aerosmith had already demonstrated that it still has plenty of firepower.

From: http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Ready for the MTV-imposed reality to shatter? Aerosmith is BACK on the rock scene, with a hip-grinding, pulse-racing album, "Honkin' on Bobo." Although technically the newest addition to Aerosmith's vast discography, "Honkin'" reaches back in time to resurrect the raw, raunchy style so noticeable on older albums, such as "Toys in the Attic" (1975) and "Rocks" (1976).

"Honkin'" is a collection of blues covers, (and one original composition, "The Grind"), rocked out and pumped up, Aerosmith-style. You certainly can't call this a traditional blues album. It's Aerosmith's interpretation of the blues. Much like bands of the British invasion, (the Yardbirds, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin), Aerosmith has put its own high-energy twists on songs by blues masters. Especially noteworthy are "You Gotta Move", (a faster version than the Stones did), "Baby Please Don't Go", (the current single), and "Never Loved a Girl" (originally titled "Never Loved a Man" by Aretha Franklin). Honestly though, it's hard to pick a favorite track on this album. In an age where many new albums have one or two noteworthy tracks, Aerosmith breaks the mold with a solid CD.

Still not convinced? Aerosmith may be your parents' band, but the music goes beyond age barriers. New bands like Jet and the Darkness are prime examples of the continuing influx of "classic" songs and styles. Although Aerosmith may be a bit more "mature", the guys of Aerosmith are still belting out the crunchy rock 'n' roll that will always brand them as the eternal teenagers they are.

Are you ready to see what Aerosmith is really all about? As Steven Tyler growls on the track "I'm Ready": "I'm ready for you. I hope you're ready for me." From: http://www.buffalonews.com

Expect a 40% or so drop off next week. Hopefully less....

Till Next Week...
The AeroFANatic

1979 Aerosmith plays in Los Angeles CA at Memorial Coliseum for the CA World Music Festival (with Van Halen, Ted Nugent)

Apparently. steven did his harmonica parts in the shower for BBT..not sure if they made it on the final but I think so! Here's a press blurb on it:

The blues record, which the band plans to release in the fall, will feature both originals, like a slow blues called "Girls of Summer," and standards like "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "Back Back Train," which features Perry on lead vocals with Tyler providing a harmonica part he recorded while standing in Perry's shower.

http://www.berklee.edu

From Aerofanatic.com as reported by Ms. Welch.

PIC 1: Joe Perry with Little Richard after LR's show at South by Southwest in Austin

PIC 2: Speaking of the bus. Our bus driver had a dream of getting Joe's bus and the band plane together for a photo shoot and he made it happen in Tallahassee. So here it is.

It's 2:00 AM here in FLA. No wait! Sh*t! It's 3:00 AM. Damn daylight savings. I know, I know, but at least it will be lighter longer, right?

Great show tonight in Sunrise. Yes, the set was the same as Tallahassee. It will change I promise, but I have one question. How many people go to every show? I can see Last Child every night and it's different. Brad kicked major ass during it tonight.

The show was taped by 12 cameras. Look for a television special to be in the works on a finer cable station in the very near future.

Joe went by WBGG today. He answered questions and played "Back Back Train" acoustically. It sounded great, and the in-studio audience seemed to really enjoy it.

Lenny Kravitz came to the show with his entourage. Steven and Lenny are best friends and Steven always gets pumped to see him. Lenny even rents Joe's bus from him when the boys are off the road, which hasn't been all that often recently.

Joey made the short commute from his house in Florida.

Ross "All friendly" Halfin was back shooting more pictures. He set up an impromptu shoot with Joe before the show which will be used for a "Monster Cable" ad. If you get a chance check out his website at RossHalfin.com. Ross's view on the world is slightly distorted and highly amusing. He is one of a kind (thank God) and an amazing photographer.

I totally forgot to mention in last weeks news that Joe stopped by the South by Southwest convention in Austin on his way to Memphis. He sat-in with Gavin Degraw and his band and played a John Mayall tune. After that he took in Little Richard's show at a local theater. It was great seeing one of the first true pioneers of Rock and Roll in all his glory. Richard kicked butt. Tootie Fruity, Good Golly Miss Molly and Lucille to name a few. After the show we went back and met him. He was so cool and way out there. Everything the father of Rock and Roll should be. I have read that Steven is influenced by Little Richard to some degree and you can kind of see it, although LR didn't swing from a rope 60 feet into the crowd or run around more than Forest Gump that night. As we were leaving he blessed our bus driver and the bus to make it to Memphis safe and sound.

Speaking of the bus. Our bus driver had a dream of getting Joe's bus and the band plane together for a photo shoot and he made it happen in Tallahassee. So here it is.

Honkin' on Bobo is out and still getting rave reviews. Don Imus spent nearly 3 days pumping it. Imus knows a thing or two about music and it was great hearing this radio legend talk about it. Just hearing him say "Honkin' on Bobo was a hoot!

The guys have been busy as ever and look for them to turn up on the tube really soon. The blitz continues and you'll be seeing a lot of Aerosmith all summer.

See you all on the road!
--John B.

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

"Ladies and gentleman, step right up!," cries Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler at the start of this album, the first all-blues effort of the band's three-decade recording history. He sounds more like a carnival barker than a blues singer, but that's the point.

The Boston-based quintet's approach to the blues couldn't be less solemn or reverent. These musicians, whose rock songs have often had a strong blues component, seem to look at blues and rock the same way. Both offer them an opportunity to have a rowdy good time.

This album will appeal more to the kind of classic-rock fans who revere Aerosmith than blues purists, who will be turned off by Tyler's cartoonishly salacious delivery and the lack of originality in Joe Perry's guitar riffs. But it's unquestionably a step in the right direction for Aerosmith. The band has not shown many signs of life on its recent studio albums, but it has never sounded more joyfully frenetic than it does here, covering songs like Bo Diddley's "Road Runner," Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" and Smiley Lewis' "Shame, Shame, Shame."

The band's definition of the blues is broad. "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" -- with the gender changed, and identified as "Never Loved a Girl" -- is really a soul ballad, while "Jesus Is On the Main Line" adds some gospel to the mix.

"Back Back Train," sung by Perry, offers a haunting, low-key alternative to Tyler's theatrics. But another Perry-sung song, "Stop Messin' Around," is more generic -- Aerosmith as bar band. The album's lone original song, "The Grind," is a midtempo blues-rocker. It's not bad, but the band sounds stiffer here than it does on the covers.

Maybe Aerosmith needs to be playing classic blues songs to loosen up. And maybe the band should continue doing just that.

From: http://www.nj.com

Aerosmith swapped one faded '70s rock act (Kiss) for another (Cheap Trick) as touring partners for its latest concert tour supporting the group's first-rate new blues-oriented CD, Honkin' on Bobo, but so long as Steven Tyler and company rock this way, why stop?

Still boasting its original lineup of musicians who banded together in Boston in 1970, Aerosmith was last in South Florida in September on a co-headlining tour with Kiss. The group still managed to fill much of the massive Office Depot Center on Saturday.

It's easy to explain why. Aerosmith is among the last of a dying breed. There's the Rolling Stones, the obvious blueprint -- but the Stones haven't released a studio CD with the fire of Aerosmith's Honkin' on Bobo in nearly 25 years. Tyler -- 'the demon of evil lovin' screamin' '' as bandmate and lead guitarist Joe Perry dubbed him after a locomotive closer, Train Kept a Rollin' -- somehow defies the aging process.

Lean and inexhaustible, Tyler, 56, burst onto the stage's catwalk for the hyper opener Toys in the Attic, rode his scarf-festooned mike stand as if it were a horse, swung it over his head and carried the metal stand throughout the entire 95-minute set, except for a brief moment during Walk This Way when he caught a ride on a swing -- hanging by his legs.

And, no, Tyler didn't resort to lip-syncing like a young aerobic-dancing pop tart recently did in our parts.

In fact, Tyler often invested more vocal passion into material like I Don't Want to Miss a Thing and Jaded than those subpar songs warrant.

He was ably backed by the others, notably Perry, who convincingly sang lead on one of the show's highlights, Stop Messin' Around, a cover of a fast-tempo blues number from the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac featured on the new CD. That album also gave the concert much of its spark and freshness, as such material as the galloping Road Runner and the anguished Never Loved a Girl, Tyler's gender reversal of a 1967 Aretha Franklin recording, proved well received.

Otherwise, this tour is, to quote another Aeroclassic, the Same Old Song and Dance -- albeit a high caliber one. Aerosmith's set stuck primarily to familiar arrangements of its biggest singles (Back in the Saddle, Dream On, Sweet Emotion, Cryin', Love in an Elevator, etc.) and may have benefited by adding overlooked album cuts (may we suggest Big Ten Inch Record, Adam's Apple, Eat the Rich, No Surprize, Rats in the Cellar?)

Opening act Cheap Trick played well but disappointed. The group's new material is terrible. While aloof vocalist Robin Zander sang in peak form and colorful lead guitarist Rick Nielsen provided the only personality to be found among the foursome, the '70s band that once enthralled a generation with its live At Budokan LP has lost the attitude, charisma and the indefinable ''It'' factor a group needs to carry an arena show.

From: http://www.miami.com

OFF THE AIR Former WBCN disc jockey Mark Parenteau will serve three years in federal prison for sexually abusing a child. The 54-year-old DJ, who left 'BCN in 1997, was indicted last year on a host of charges, including sexual abuse of minors, prostitution, and conspiracy. In January, he agreed to plead guilty to a single count of child sexual abuse. (He was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old boy.) A prolific partier during his 20 years at 'BCN, Parenteau was extremely close to the members of Aerosmith, which may explain why the band's former manager, Tim Collins, distributed a letter last fall soliciting donations for Parenteau's defense. After leaving Boston, Parenteau worked for two years in New York City and then at XM Satellite Radio in Washington, D. C., where his title was comedy program director and "resident lunatic." Over the weekend, an emotional Parenteau called close friend and Comedy Connection owner Bill Blumenreich, who had ponied up some of the dough to pay Parenteau's bail and had written a letter of reference to the sentencing judge, Patricia Broderick. Blumenreich said that Parenteau was upset because he had hoped to avoid prison and to be given probation.

AND…..

THE SHOW MUST GO ON "The advantage of being in this," mused Representative Barney Frank before Friday's "Banned in Boston" show at Avalon, "is that you don't have to watch it." He was just kidding, of course. Frank's a regular at the annual charity bash put on by the Urban Improv and MC'd by WCVB-TV anchor Natalie Jacobson. (Celebrity no-shows this year included newlyweds Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm, Senator John Kerry, and Mayor Tom Menino, all of whom had been rumored to be appearing.) Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith did appear, on video at least, and treated the crowd to a "wardrobe malfunction" by exposing a nipple. Other participants included FleetBoston's Chad Gifford, Hill Holliday's Jack Connors, Red Sox president Larry Lucchino, Ray and Tom Magliozzi of "Car Talk," Charles Hotel owner Dick Friedman, and Avalon owner Patrick Lyons and wife Kristina. Jacobson summed it up well when she said, "I haven't seen this much ego in one place since I interviewed Tom Finneran."

From: http://www.boston.com

The band, never a stranger to booze-rock and the bad-a** blues in its early days, is back to playing down-home dirty and gritty. Many lapsed Aerosmith fans seeking those good ol' sleazy days of Get Your Wings, Rocks, or even Permanent Vacation, will find some rich pickings on Honkin' On Bobo.

By stripping down to the bare bones and turning to the Delta to restore some rock 'n' roll respectability, the dynamic duo of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have pushed Aerosmith a little harder and crafted an album that rarely runs out of steam. Ironically, the band going flat out to retrieve the ragged and raw years is possibly the best thing it has done in more than a decade. With today's blues-rock resurgence, Aerosmith is spot on.

For sure, you can fit anything from this fired-up Honkin' On Bobo effort between your daily doses of White Stripes, Soledad Brothers and Black Keys.

This 12-track blues only tribute, covering the greats like Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters, Fisher/Hopkins and Blind Willie McTell, is a sublime showcase, not only in the widely travelled music delivered, but also as an enjoyable back to the roots long player. Only a few outfits genuinely straddle the crucial link between the blues and rock 'n' roll, and Aerosmith is one of them.

Here's a bunch of hound-dog musicians, pushing the mid-50s, who can respect their influences while cutting loose and kicking it out. A gravel-voiced Tyler flying off the rails on the lead-off track Road Runner and the entire band boiling away beneath Baby Please Don't Go and the slide-guitar salvation on I'm Ready, are just some of the few nasty highlights fashioned from the band's major influences. Between the sweaty and the soulful, there's heaps of swaggering blues and hoochie coochie moves to savour from a band that surprisingly sounds like it hardly aged a day since Sweet Emotion.

The backbone of Aerosmith's music comes to the forefront - it's Bo Diddley and Willie Dixon by way of Yardbirds and Rolling Stones - all the way, but how those raunchy and freewheeling chops have been done well. The devil must be grinning.

From: http://www.star-ecentral.com

Rock solid Apr 5 2004
By Simon Rushworth, The Journal

AEROSMITH may have resorted to stealing other bands' songs for their latest offering but the mightily impressive Honkin On Bobo (Sony) is a brilliant return to form from Steve Tyler and the gang.

Blues rock at its very best, this 12-track taster of the band's latest change of direction evokes memories of the quintet at their peak.

From: http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk

According to the local radio station here in Orlando, 96.5 FM, tonight here in Orlando (TD Waterhouse Centre) is where they are doing the filming.

From: http://mmr247.com
From: http://mmr247.com

Does a pair beat a single?
That's the question at the top of the Album Chart this week as the Janet Jackson's debut week for Damita Jo (Virgin) goes up against Usher's Confessions (LaFace/ZLG) after its million-plus debut last week. "Yeah," the ubiquitous Usher single featuring Ludacris and Lil' John, fueled his monster debut week, and second single "Burn" is catching fire too. But Janet has had a lot of, um, exposure in the past two months. Also, she had a full schedule of TV appearances over the week. Both records appear headed towards a number in the 400k range.

Midweek reports from retail had Usher outpacing Janet slightly, but this one could come down to the wire. Keep checking back on the Building Album Sales chart like the obsessive compulsive person you are, though you may notice that there are no stills from her Super Bowl appearance on that page.

Also debuting this week are Lil' Flip (Sucka Free/Columbia) which is headed towards 200k, Aerosmith's blues album (Columbia) which is on target for 150k, Eric Clapton's blues album (Reprise) looking like 110k, J-Kwon's not blues album (So-So Def/ZLG) approaching 110k, and Michael Buble's not blues album (143/Reprise) landing in the 60-70k range.

It could be the breast week ever.

From: http://www.hitsdailydouble.com

This morning I turned the TV on FUSE (ch. 339 on Direct TV) and there was a LONG commercial about HOB!!! I didn't see the beginning, but it must have been at least 2 minutes long. It was GREAT - it showed clips of them in the studio recording the songs. I'VE GOT TO GET THAT ON TAPE!!!!! Has anyone else seen this and if so, do you know if it's playing on the other music channels?

Thanks and I hope you all get to see it!

Rockers roll through town
But age catches up with the Aerosmith boys
Saturday April 03, 2004
Chris Rose

Local Aerosmith fans may have been scratching their heads, wondering why their favorite band was booked last Thursday in Lafayette and last Saturday in Biloxi, with no tour stop at the obvious midway point between Cajun Country and the Gulf Coast -- New Orleans.

Well, I don't have the answer to that question. But I can tell you the band members did the obvious thing: They settled in New Orleans for a little R&R between the shows.

And what we learned was that, here in the postmodern age of pop, encounters with the titans of rock just don't have the same snap and sizzle they used to.

For instance, in the days of yore, no doubt the boys in the band would have been partying down with bourbon and blow while strippers swung from chandeliers in the best rooms at the Monteleone.

But, this time around, in a time when Aerosmith's green room contains nothing stronger than Evian, instead of hanging out with nude groupies, drummer Joey Kramer went to Sutton Galleries on Royal Street and bought three black-and-white nude photos taken by local monomonikered photographer Bernardo.

That's what it has come to: From collecting women to collecting pictures of women. Ah, age.

And then there's Aerosmith's lead singer, former party boy and all-time chick magnet Steven Tyler, that omnisexual rock god of soaring vocals and facial elasticity.

Lord knows what kind of dark and dangerous corridors this guy has traveled in this town after 25 years on the road, but this time around, a fan's encounter with him took place not in an opium den or in a darkened barroom booth, but, of all places, the optometrist.

Are we getting old or what?

Anyway, this is a report filed by Wendy Amato, a technician at Eyecare Associates in Metairie. She e-mailed me this week to tell me that Steven Tyler had gone to her sister's place of employment, St. Charles Vision down in the CBD.

Amato begins her story: "You have to understand, he is my all time fave and my husband and sister and I have seen (Aerosmith) dozens of times over the years."

Maybe so, but the folks at St. Charles Vision were not as clued into the rocker's identity at first -- though they were close, sort of.

"The downstairs crew there really weren't sure exactly who he was," Amato continues. "So they called my sister (Daphne, who works in data entry) upstairs and said: 'We think Mick Jagger may be here, get down here and see.' "

So Daphne hurried downstairs and there was no Rolling Stone, but Steven Tyler instead. It appears he needed help with his troublesome contact lenses. (I mean, we may be getting old, but the idea of Steven Tyler doing a concert in bifocals is a little too much to stomach, no?)

So, Daphne, ever the professional, blurted out: "My sister and I took a picture with you a long time ago!"

"He had no clue (what Daphne was talking about)," Amato writes. "In 1990, I won a radio contest getting us backstage at UNO for a quick photo with the group. I can't believe he forgot."

The story continues: "He had a personal assistant with him tending to his every need. He was friendly, cool and, of course, eccentric. He asked the tech if she would remove his contacts so he could give his eyes a rest. He would return the next day and have her reinsert them. That's where I come in . . ."

Amato took a long "lunch" hour from Eyecare Associates to get to St. Charles Vision at precisely the same time Tyler was scheduled to return.

"When he came in, personal assistant in tow, he was talking on a cell, asking the sales girl to show him a pair of Dolce & Gabana sunglasses in the window," Amato writes. "I freaked and he pinched my ribs as he passed me. Before he sat for his contact lens insertion he asked for the restroom. I said I'd show him.

"He got a kick out of that. He asked if I was an eye doctor. I explained: No -- a technician, and I can help you with your contacts (even though I don't actually work there but he doesn't know that).

"After getting his lenses inserted, his eyes were watery, of course, and that personal assistant must have been daydreaming or something because the man needed a tissue! The tech had to hand him one. I can't lie: I wanted that Kleenex tissue for a keepsake.

"He then asked everyone to bring him whatever they would like him to sign. I grabbed a piece of copy paper and had him sign it for my husband. The rest of the crew lined up and he was signing anything and everything. He then signed my sister's picture and I asked if he would write on mine: "I love you Wendy." And he did.

"He loves me!

"As I left, praying that I still had a job, he was buying those D&G shades he first saw in the window."

And so it is, another tale of rock 'n' roll from the Naked City. Ain't nuthin' like it used to be. At least he bought some cool sunglasses.

From: http://nola.com

http://www.rosshalfin.co.uk

From: http://www.sonymusic.com

Sony Music is listing it (worldwide) as a limited edition although it's not numbered like some of the previous special editions.
I expect they will continue to market it whilst it is on the charts and then will delete it from the catalogue.

On another information note, the album entered the UK charts at 28, 2 below Eric Clapton (who dropped 16 from 10 this week). It sort of marks in a way the end of a chapter (UK), as the last 6 albums since PV (on their current assigned label), they have entered in the top 10. Just Push Play broke with tradition and was the first not to get a sales certification award (but entered at 7) since they finally achieved some success on the UK charts in 1987. The UK was one of the few in Europe where they still seemed to selling well as the last two G Hits discs (Young Lust and O Yeah both got Gold discs and were on the charts for a good period).

It was also surprising to see GNR rise one position on the UK album charts to return back to No2 after 3 weeks on and wouldn't be surprised if sales on Billboard this week are still good and maybe relegate Honkin to a position just outside the top 5 (it will be close).

Posted by Nick on AF1 board as reported by Chris:

April 3, 2004 Sunrise, Florida

Toys In The Attic
Love In An Elevator
Back In The Saddle
The Other Side
Cryin'
Road Runner
Jaded
Fever
Last Child
Stop Messin' Around
Never Loved A Girl
Livin On The Edge
Dream On
Same Old Song And Dance
Baby Please Don't Go
Walk This Way
Sweet Emotion
=====================
I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
Train Kept A Rollin'

Interesting Notes:

Same set as Sweet Tallahassee

The show was taped for a network special, A&E

Chris was talking to Joe before the show and we may start seeing Accoustic Versions of Back Back Train being played!

During the Harmonica solo of Cryin steven reached into his pants for the harmonica grabbed the wrong one and threw it into the crowd.

Extended Jam @ the end of Last Child

After Fever Steven was commenting on all the arena names and said whats next the Tampon Center?

BIG NEWS!! Also from Joe's mouth to Chris' ears. The band recorded Louie Louie during the BoBo sessions but the band played different instruments then normal. Joe played Drums, Steven played Guitar, Brad I think played bass, Tom sang, and Joey played guitar. Chris will most likely clear up what LI3 played. It will be released on a Box Set eventually.

As always AeroFanatic.com is the play for Setlist and Aero247.com is the place for concert pics.

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

1998 Aerosmith appears on the Nickelodean Kids Awards

Just Push Play 240K #2 (with a TON of promotion)
O' Yeah 137K #4
Nine Lives 130K #1
Get A Grip 170K #1
Young Lust 11K #191
A Little South Of Sanity 56K #12
Big Ones 90K #6

--

There is generally a lot of marketing games going so releases miss other releases. As I recall Nine Lives had a narrow window and if released the week on either side it was struggled to be top 3.

Apart from the promo, JPP benefited from the multi-formats (vinyl, Best Buy, std) and that from big imports (as didn't appear in Europe until 2 weeks later). After it's first week's sales when it was picked up by major fans buying numerous copies, it dropped to 50% of its sales in week 2 (as did O Yeah).

Honkin'On Bobo looks to be on for No5 at best depending on how the G N R sales slip. The last few weeks position 5 has been around 100K. Last week 150K would have been good enough for No1.

--

Clive further adds:

Terry's original list detailed Just Push Play only hit No2 with 240K. Just Push Play was held off the No1 position by Dave Matthew's Band who spent a 2nd week at No1 with 280,000. Everyone knew at the time that Just Push Play was going to have to settle for No2 or No3 when Matthews debutted the week before with approaching 750,000 copies.

Nine Lives managed to squeeze into a narrow window where it did get No1 as a lot of pressure on after the success of GAG (the week before release U2 were No1 with 350,000 and the week after, it was Puffy Daddy with about 650,000). It was only there for a week (I vaguely remember they kept shifting the possible release date a few times before they officially announced it's release date around the world. The 140,000 it sold in week one was the lowest of that year to date in getting to No1. Nine Lives did better than most recent albums in only lost 25% of its weekly sales in the 2nd week and slipped to 5 and spent a total of 3 weeks in the top 10.

No Aerosmith album has ever spent more than 1 week at the top and always been the first week of release. GAG did spend about 12 weeks in the top 10 and a third of its about 100 weeks on were in the top 20. Pump spent the most weeks in the top 10 with about about 17 and next highest was Rocks with 10 weeks.

--

It's hard looking at the numbers though and making direct comparisons. Both NL and GAG appeared after Aerosmith had been band had "hibernated" from the music scene for a few years whereas the last 3 years they have hardly been off the scene from a touring and album release perspective (JPP, O Yeah. HOB). Despite the music industry continually moaning of sales loses, I don't think they were that high on average in the early 90s. Playing about with multi-formats/limited editions (etc) also inflates the figures, so we see a high first week but unable to maintain it.

Just Push Play was only selling less than 15% of its first week's sales after 6 weeks. The same was true for O Yeah. Nine Lives was still selling 50% of its first weeks sales after 4 weeks (40% after 6wk).

Whilst promotion may not seem as it in the past with appearances and stuff (sign of the times sadly), the promotion still happens heavily on a record/online shop level for new releases.

Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/02/04
By ELYSA GARDNER USA TODAY
Many musicians have paid their dues to play the blues, but few likely could describe the experience as colorfully as Steven Tyler.

"The blues are just a heightened sense of awareness of life's ups and downs, and things that a guy sees after a couple of hits of Jack Daniel's," Aerosmith's 56-year-old frontman says. "You know, you can have a shot of Jack and cry in your beer, or you can put it to music."

Tyler's band has focused on the latter approach, more or less, for more than 30 years. Though the singer and lead guitarist Joe Perry, 53, once got as much press for their indulgence in certain substances as their creative chemistry, it's their revved-up, blues-based style that has made them icons.

On Aerosmith's new CD, winkingly titled "Honkin' on Bobo" -- more about that later -- the longtime cohorts, now party animals in spirit only, let their roots show.

In the tradition championed by such other noted baby-boomer artists as Eric Clapton, Robert Palmer and John Mellencamp, the album features covers of some of the group's favorite blues nuggets, including "Road Runner," "Eyesight to the Blind," "I'm Ready" and "Baby Please Don't Go." (Perry, Tyler and producing partner Marti Frederiksen also wrote an original song, "The Grind.")

But despite their abiding affection for such material, Tyler and Perry are reluctant to categorize "Bobo" as a blues album.

"We're not traditionalists or blues crusaders who are trying to convert the world," Perry says. "We just wanted to make music that would convey some of the excitement we feel when we're playing live. Our last couple of records were very technically oriented, and we really wanted to make something more organic. So we didn't have any expectations when we were laying this all down; it was kind of free, just riffing and having a lot of fun playing."

One of the biggest challenges, Tyler says, was narrowing down the track list.

"We wanted to do 'House of the Rising Sun.' We did 'Louie Louie,' and some crazy stuff in the studio. But the cream definitely floated to the top. By the end, we realized the project was more about what songs we were relating to and which ones we do best. When we played them all back, it was, if I can toot my own horn, this fantastic rock 'n' roll album."

STEVEN PIC
AND QUOTE: "I'm grateful for the road," says Steven Tyler, frontman for Aerosmith. The band is touring in support of its latest CD "Honkin' on Bobo."

Like Perry, Tyler is eager to introduce Aerosmith's new versions of old classics to live audiences on the band's current tour, which wraps up June 24 in its home city, Boston. (On May 21, A&E will present "Aerosmith: A&E In Concert," which also will feature studio and other behind-the-scenes footage.)

The band tentatively is scheduled to perform at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel on June 20 and in Atlantic City on June 12. Ticket information for both shows has not yet been announced.

"I'm grateful for the road," the eternally spry star says. "It gets me in shape. I feel like I'm 25 years old after the first or second week. I'm so grateful that my body can get that kind of great workout, as my brain is getting vicariously made love to by 20,000 kids every night."

That brings us back to "Honkin' on Bobo," a term, Tyler points out, Louis Armstrong used to describe saxophone playing, although it more commonly has been used to connote a sexual act.

"So people will go, "No! You didn't just say that, did you?' We actually thought about going with 'Honkin' on Bono,' " Tyler quips, "but he's had enough trouble with the FCC already."

Yet the duo once known as rock's "Toxic Twins" realizes that its bad-boy era is long over, offstage at least. Nowadays, Tyler and Perry are avowed family men. The singer speaks proudly of his son and three daughters, among them actress Liv Tyler. "Every time I turn around, she's like a different type of orchid," he says, and Perry takes his wife and children on the road as much as possible.

Aerosmith's guitarist doesn't even blanch when asked whether, after all these years, he and his bandmates might be considered role models.

"When we came up, there were no people having any kind of longevity," Perry says. "There was this sense of, 'What are you gonna do when you're 30?' It was a natural thing for a band to dissolve, so we all figured that would just happen. Who knew?

"Now we see guys like B.B. King and Willie Nelson still touring, and, of course, The Stones. There are those rare people who are a lot older than us, still making music. I think we show that you can have a rock band and have a career at it. You have to find your own path, and everyone has their own set of demons to battle off. But it can be done, and we're here to prove it."

From: http://www.app.com

Honkin' on Bobo
Aerosmith

Both 3 ½ of 4 stars

The Year of the Blues officially ended in February and has yet to be the boon of the ailing blues industry, though it seems to have sparked the opportunity for a few rock legends to pay homage.

Neither Eric Clapton nor Aerosmith is a stranger to the music; both have sturdy credentials in the genre, which has informed much of their respective catalogs. Yet by looking back at such a late date in their respective careers, they've tapped into rock's steadfast fountain of youth: the very music that set their once formative minds in creative overdrive.

The blues had a monumental effect, after all, on a generation of rockers placed in direct contact with the music and performers of the blues revival of the 1960s, none more so than ex-Yardbirds/Cream guitarist Clapton, who digs deep into the Robert Johnson repertoire for his tribute album Me and Mr Johnson.

Writes Clapton reverentially in the liner notes: "His music is like my oldest friend, always in the back of my head, and on the horizon. It is the finest music I have ever heard."

Clapton's approach is dutiful as well. Choosing 14 of Johnson's 29 extant songs, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer gives studious attention to the words and feel of the Mississippi blues master's music.

That's not to say Clapton replicates Johnson's intricate fingerpicking on acoustic guitar. Most tunes get a small-combo Chicago-style arrangement, which works fine because Johnson's polished country blues of the 1930s was a prescient road marker for the emerging electric blues sound a decade later.

Highlights include the near nefarious slide guitar that wraps itself around "Milkcow's Calf Blues," the hill-country boogie adaptation on "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day," the gospel stomp of "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and a ragtime run-through of "They're Red Hot."

Clapton also stakes his own claim on two songs famously covered by the Rolling Stones, "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" and "Love in Vain."

It's interesting to see what he leaves out, notably "Cross Road Blues," which is arguably more intertwined with the Clapton legacy thanks to Cream than even that of Johnson.

This is hardly Clapton's first testimonial to the blues - there was 1994's From the Cradle as well as his 2000 collaboration with living mentor B. B. King, the great Riding with the King.

But Me and Mr Johnson is the strongest case yet that Clapton has arrived at that familiar crossroads both a humble servant and his own master of the form.

--

Aerosmith's take is the polar opposite in Honkin' On Bobo. If any more fun could be injected into a blues record, it'd be, well, rock, which is what the Boston band does best after all.

Forgoing any sense of authenticity, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and crew blast their way through 11 tasty covers and one original, "The Grind" (the weakest tune, actually).

Playing guitar as if he has been listening intently to the garage blues punch of the Porch Ghouls - the Memphis band he signed to his label, Roman Records - Perry drives the sessions with a possessed fever.

"Baby, Please Don't Go" is perhaps the best version of that standard a rock band has ever recorded, not to mention a worthy successor to Aerosmith's take on "The Train Kept A-Rollin'."

Tyler also sings his lungs out on such songs as the Aretha Franklin classic "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," heard as "Never Loved a Girl" - and the band's Stax feel is intentional, down to inclusion of the Memphis Horns.

Where Robinsonville's Robert Johnson guides Clapton's disc, Como, Miss., legend Fred McDowell does the same for Aerosmith, which interprets three of the bluesman's tunes, "Back Back Train," "You Gotta Move" (another song the Stones got to first, though the latter band never envisioned it as the psychedelic raver Aerosmith does) and disc closer "Jesus on the Mainline."

That last song, delivered in a loose, lanky acoustic arrangement with gospel harmonies led by singer Tracy Bonham, sounds right at home with Otha Turner's rendition heard on Jim Dickinson Field Recordings: Delta Experimental Project Vol. 3 (see Hot Sound), though one suspects the Aerosmith boys also got an idea or two from the version by fellow Beantown act Mr. Airplane Man.

Given that Aerosmith has been messing with blues and R&B since its formative days, revamping songs by the Memphis Jug Band, Rufus Thomas and others, it comes as no surprise that the rock giant tailors each song on Honkin' on Bobo to its own amped-up personality.

And isn't that the ultimate lesson of the blues, not to achieve some sort of artificial re-creation but to internalize the message?

In that regard, Aerosmith and Clapton both succeed, suiting the blues to their individual dispositions not unlike their influences of old.

From: http://www.gomemphis.com

Joe Perry is mesmerized by the art in his room at a Holiday Inn in Tupelo, Miss.

"Every picture on the wall is a velvet Elvis," Perry says. "He's got Lisa Marie with him in one of them, and he has one of those fancy shirts on. It's really cool. All of Tupelo is proud of their native son."

Aerosmith, which performs with Cheap Trick on Monday at the TD Waterhouse Centre, recently absorbed the vibe of the King's hometown on its tour behind the new Honkin' on Bobo.

The album, in stores this week, is a rootsy revisitation of traditional blues such as Bo Diddley's "Road Runner" and Willie Dixon's "I'm Ready." In keeping with the theme, the tour is hitting historic rock landmarks such as Tupelo and Buddy Holly's hometown of Lubbock, Texas.

A visit to Presley's childhood home left the guitarist with a renewed sense of the singer's legacy.

"People can come out of nowhere," he says. "That's one of the things about the American dream. It's fascinating to see Elvis' shotgun shack and realize that was one of thousands lived in by fathers and mothers just trying to keep body and soul together.

"The miracle that one of those kids running around in the yard actually grew up to be Elvis Presley is an amazing thing. Say what you want about America, it's a pretty good advertisement for what can happen here."

Honkin' on Bobo was recorded with a nod to the simple production behind Presley's landmark singles for Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn. It was a departure for band members who have become increasingly comfortable with a more isolated studio process.

"As a band, we had a real need to record with everyone in the same room," Perry says. "With a lot of records we've done in the last 10 or 12 years, even if we played live we knew we'd redo guitar parts and vocals. On Just Push Play, we never played as a band."

Aerosmith spent just under three months recording the new album, which shifts from reverential arrangements to more stylized songs. "Road Runner" was heavily influenced by the early British Invasion sound of the Pretty Things.

"We took our cue on every song from different places," Perry says. " 'Road Runner' is sort of a tip of the hat to Bo Diddley via the Pretty Things. Most of this music we wouldn't have been turned on to if it weren't for the British bands."

So how does Aerosmith's new blues infatuation fit in concert next to the familiar hits ("Dream On"; "Walk This Way"; "Sweet Emotion") that put the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

"A lot of blues music is designed to party, and you don't necessarily have to know the song," Perry says. "It makes you want to dance, which is what they wanted to do in 1935 on the corner by the juke joint. Not much has changed, just the amplifiers."

And the wardrobe.

Nobody remembers, but Aerosmith played at this year's Super Bowl, where Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction started a national debate on objectionable entertainment.

Like the vast majority of Americans, Perry missed it.

"It was so shadowy and there was so much going on out there, it wasn't really that big a deal at that time."

Besides, the guys in Aero- smith, who were watching in a luxury box after playing the pre-game, were more excited about their hometown New England Patriots.

"We were really digging the football game," Perry says. "We're from Boston and the kids are winning. We're playing this incredible game."

Though the controversial halftime show didn't offend him, Perry isn't giving Jackson a pass on something he says shows poor judgment.

"I'm against any kind of censorship by the government, but I think people have to take some responsibility," he says. "As a musician, I knew where I was playing. When I'm at the Super Bowl, I know I'm not at an Aerosmith show."

In Orlando, that show will reinforce the long-standing connection from rock and blues.

"It's always been there and it doesn't go away. Blues music is really the meat and potatoes of rock, so it's good that it's still out there."

From: http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Posted on Thu, Apr. 01, 2004
'Bobo' pays tribute to the blues
By KEVIN O'HARE

They've been floating the idea for years, to record an album that reaches back to their raw, rowdy, rock 'n' blues roots.

Finally, Aerosmith decided it was time to get it done.

"We always talked about doing something like a cover record, like John Lennon's 'Rock 'n' Roll' record," said Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry recently, talking on the phone from a San Antonio hotel, just prior to the start of his Boston-based band's 40-city North American tour, along with fellow rock veterans Cheap Trick.

"Everybody wants to pay homage to some of the songs that turned them on," he added. "The last couple of years it just felt like we were due to do it... because we're getting closer to the end than the beginning, and we don't have all that many years left where it's gonna matter. It felt like this was the time."

It turned out to be the right time. For the band's new Columbia album, "Honkin' on Bobo," which came out Tuesday, is a party record steeped in the blues but with Aerosmith's hard-rocking wild side prominently on display. Featuring 11 vintage covers and one new Aerosmith original ("The Grind"), the disc is a fitting salute to the music that inspired Perry, singer Steven Tyler and their bandmates in their formative years.

One group that heavily influenced both Perry and Tyler was the blues-based early version of Fleetwood Mac, which featured guitarist Peter Green.

Tyler first heard Perry and future Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton's Jam Band in 1969 playing a version of Fleetwood Mac's "Rattlesnake Shake" at a club in New Hampshire. Tyler immediately knew that they had a lot in common. That meeting of the musical minds paved the way for Aerosmith's career, so it's especially appropriate that "Honkin' on Bobo," features another early Fleetwood Mac track, "Stop Messin' Around."

"To most people Fleetwood Mac is this huge pop band, but they don't realize the original band was a hard-core, very influential blues band," Perry said. "The way their two-and-three-guitar lineup worked was an inspiration. They were a blues band, but they were a rock band, kind of like what Zeppelin was doing but in a different way. So to me they were a really big influence, especially Peter Green. They were a big part of why this band sounds the way we do."

"Honkin' on Bobo," the group's 14th studio album, is highlighted by a series of blues songs, including Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind," Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go" and Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Got to Move."

But the arrangements vary, and while generally faithful to the originals, Aerosmith stretched things out on occasion.

"We used a really broad definition of this kind of music," Perry said. "For a lot of people, when they hear we did a blues record, they're going to think of it sounding like the last Eric Clapton record, a Jonny Lang record or an early Stevie Ray Vaughan record. But we're not going there. We aren't those kind of players. We're a rock band playing blues songs and adapting them to our style."

One track Aerosmith adapted to its style for the new album is "Never Loved a Girl." Aretha Franklin first popularized the song under the title "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)."

"Steven's always had that love of doing that gender-bending thing," said Perry. "He's got that kind of voice that he can sing that stuff, so why limit ourselves to just the guy songs?"

Prior to the start of recording, Perry assembled a list of 15 to 18 songs he thought might work on the album, and the other band members came in with their own suggestions. But on several occasions, they found themselves surprised and changing course, particularly when they decided to try a version of Bo Diddley's "Road Runner."

"We really didn't plan on putting that on the record, we just thought it was a lot of fun to play," Perry recalled. "But then we heard it back and it just slams. I thought, what a great way to start the record. All of a sudden it went from being a 'maybe' to 'It's got to be on there.' "

(OPTIONAL TRIM BEGINS)

For the album, they were reunited with veteran producer Jack Douglas, who worked on some of Aerosmith's best-known albums in the past, like "Toys in the Attic" and "Rocks."

"A band like ours doesn't need anybody to help us get sounds," Perry said. "I know what my guitar should sound like and Steven knows what he wants his voice to sound like. We know what we want. But it's still good to have somebody in there who is unbiased and kind of a coach. That's what we need a producer for. It's nice to have somebody throw some ideas out there and kind of help us realize our vision, and that's what Jack did."

(OPTIONAL TRIM ENDS)

After more than 30 years, Aerosmith is still going strong, still driven by the dynamic duo of Perry and Tyler. They live within a mile of each other, and when they're not onstage they're known to go hang-gliding, water skiing and motorcycling together. But Perry says the key to the relationship is knowing when to give each other space as well.

"We're probably closer than brothers but we don't hang around all the time," Perry said. "We keep our distance and when we do get together it means a little more. A lot of our goals are the same and a lot of the things that we like are the same, but how we get there, well, there are very often different paths. And sometimes it's not a pretty picture and sometimes it's a rocky path with big cliffs and ravines and stalactites. Nevertheless it is a path and we have the same visions of what it's supposed to be like at the end."

That path has taken them right back to their roots with "Honkin' on Bobo."

"I think once people hear it, it's going to define itself," Perry said. "I think it's the party record that people have been waiting to hear from us for a long time."

From: http://www.sunherald.com

Jackson Reveals Play for No. 1
Fri Apr 2, 2004 08:49 PM ET
By Geoff Mayfield

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Janet Jackson has a shot to land her sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, but current champ Usher might bar the door.

Based on retailers' first-day sales, chart watchers estimate Jackson's "Damita Jo" (Virgin) will draw 375,000 to 400,000 sales in its first week. A source close to the project says it could end up in the range of 425,000 to 450,000.

The album has been under a media spotlight since Jackson ignited debate about decency standards when her right breast was exposed during halftime at this year's Super Bowl.

Albums that start large, as Usher's "Confessions" (Arista) does with its 1.1 million-unit bow, tend to fall by 50% to 60% in the second week.

Such a drop would yield a still-strong 438,000 or more for Usher.

Although radio has accorded tepid play to the first two tracks from Jackson's album, her all-out TV assault with release-week visits to "Late Show With David Letterman," "Good Morning America" and "On Air With Ryan Seacrest" could help her overtake Usher.

Behind that tug of war, sales watchers think Lil Flip's "U Gotta Feel Me" ( Columbia) will clear 200,000 copies.

Three other titles from the March 30 slate could beat 100,000, which would mark the second straight week that five or more titles debut in the Billboard 200's top 10.

Aerosmith's "Honkin' on Bobo" (Columbia) looks good for 150,000 copies, while rapper J-Kwon's "Hood Hop" (Arista) and Eric Clapton's "Me and Mr. Johnson" (Duck/Reprise/Warner Bros.) are on target for 100k or more. The Clapton and Aerosmith sets already see early bows on Top Blues Albums.

Reuters/Billboard

From: http://www.reuters.com

If you look on the main contest page you'll see a link for "entry details, eligibility and official rules". Click on that and there is a link near the bottom of the first paragraph where you can go directly to the Sony link. It opened in Media Player for me and I could play it FULL SCREEN!! Woooohoooooooo!!!!

FINALLY got to see the video and you DON'T have to have the CD in to play it.

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

---

By the way...I think that big screen/no CD process at this time will only play PART 1 of the TWO PART video clips. Maybe they will add PART 2 eventually so it also can be watched that way. The reason only PART 1 is there is because the contest itself is tied to what is said in the clip only.

1988 Aerosmith plays in Louisville KY at Freedom Hall (White Lion opens)

2001 Just Push Play goes Platinum

Honkin' On Bobo Autographed CD Contest

Win ONE of SIX Autographed copies of HONKIN' ON BOBO
Here is the deal. Grab Honkin' On Bobo. Throw the disc into your computer. Then GO ONLINE and watch Part One of CONNECTED video. email us the answer to the following question:

QUESTION: Who does Joe Perry say the band is paying homage to, with the track Baby, Please Don't Go?

EMAIL US your answer before midnight April 30, 2004.

Six winners with the correct answer will be chosen at random to win one of six copies of Honkin' On Bobo autographed by the entire band.

hint: there are two correct answers, you just need one!

tip: be sure to quit out of all applications on your PC before inserting Honkin' On Bobo into the CD drive.

CLICK HERE for more information from Columbia Records on how to use the ConnecteD portion of your Honkin' On Bobo CD.

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY. For complete entry details, eligibility and official rules CLICK HERE.

From: http://www.aeroforceone.com

PIC

ACAN Nathan Myers, an air traffic controller from NAS Whiting Field, and 49 other Sailors, Marines and Airmen from Navy Region Gulf Coast shake hands with Steven Tyler and the other members of the rock group Aerosmith less than an hour before the group's concert at the Pensacola Civic Center earlier this week. Aerosmith donated 50 tickets to local military. The concert, with a sold-out crowd, was designed as the last concert to kick off the sale of their new album "Honkin' On Bobo," which hit the stores March 30.

Myers said, "I got a phone call while I was at Wings Club (during lunch). (AC2 Anthony Dominick) told me the chief wanted to see us immediately. I thought we had done something wrong and we were in trouble, because they didn't tell us what the chief wanted. I called Chief (NCC Pamela) Stephens and she asked if we wanted to go see Aerosmith. I was stunned, ecstatic."

Tyler, lead singer for Aerosmith, said the band loves the military and was happy to donate the tickets. "It's because of what they do for us. They listen to our music over there in Afghanistan and Iraq. I've talked to some of the fans after shows and their (spouses) are in Afghanistan or Iraq and it really amazes us."

Tom Hamilton, Aerosmith's bass player, added, "We don't do typical benefits to be seen. We like to do it privately. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. They (military) do good things to keep us free."

Tyler said, "We're honored that they want to come see us. We feel the same way about them."

From: http://gosport.pensacolanewsjournal.com

The guys in Aerosmith don't want you to get the wrong idea.

True, their new CD, "Honkin' on Bobo," is billed as their first all-blues album.

But singer Steven Tyler emphasizes the band is not a blues band.

"We know that all (the critics) are just waiting to say, 'This doesn't sound like a blues record,"' says singer Steven Tyler.

"Bobo" is modeled after the English reinterpretation of American blues in the '60s by bands like the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and the Yardbirds. It's a hard-rocking wallop of a CD that treats blues as slamming party music rather than as the soul-searching stuff of legend.

In other words, it's an Aerosmith record. Or, rather, an Aerosmith record of the '70s. Indeed, the most exciting aspect of "Bobo" isn't its blues roots, but the fact that it features no ballads, no pop melodies and none of the string and horn arrangements that have characterized Aerosmith's commercialized music of the past 17 years.

The group had some role models from past recordings, including its version of the old blues number "Train Kept a Rollin"' from its second album in 1974.

On "Bobo" the band rollicks through pieces like Bo Diddley's "Road Runner," Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind" and Willie Dixon's "I'm Ready." The band cut its teeth on such pieces in 1970.

As familiar as its repertoire may be, Aerosmith provides some twists. It performs Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move," but adds new chords and a Bo Diddley beat.

"We were hell-bent on making it our own," Tyler says. "We made it more tribal."

From: http://www.wcfcourier.com

CD reviews: Veterans' CDs span blues spectrum
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News
April 2, 2004

Aerosmith
Honkin' on Bobo, Columbia Records Grade: A

…..Aerosmith's more swaggering, salacious workout, Honkin' on Bobo.

And when you leave Professor Clapton's classroom, you find Aerosmith in the bar around the corner, blasting out sloppy, beer-soaked blues.

Honkin' on Bobo may be an obvious step - Aerosmith has covered plenty of blues before, from Walking the Dog to Big Ten Inch Record - but man, was it ever needed. The slick studio albums of the '90s squeezed out a handful of radio hits, but they just didn't sound like Aerosmith.

On the new disc, it's suddenly 1974 again. Guitars are going nuts all over the place, the drums are big and fat and loud, and Steven Tyler's seemingly ageless voice is lascivious and leering.

Unlike Clapton, they manage to make every song their own, be it the overdone Baby Please Don't Go or relatively surprising cuts such as the acoustic run through Jesus is on the Mainline.

The band produced the album with veteran producer Jack Douglas, going back to a warm, rock sound.

On I'm Ready, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford blare out of separate speakers, a blues duel that they've needed to do for years.

Other artists may fear taking such a step "backwards," but Aerosmith fans will find this the breath of fresh air they've needed.

From: http://www.rockymountainnews.com

RETURN TO ROOTS
Back in the saddle
BY HOWARD COHEN

That roaring hiss you hear is the sound of a million or more Aerosmith fans crying YEESSSSSSS! in unison.

That's because the Boston bad boys have just released Honkin' on Bobo, a pulverizing new CD that pays clear homage to the band's blues roots and, in doing so, is vintage Aerosmith, sidling on a shelf just below Rocks and Toys in the Attic, two classic hard rock LPs from the mid-'70s. The CD feels inspired by the music and the joy of playing it -- not on whether MTV or pop radio will air it.

Lead singer Steven Tyler, shaken from a sound sleep mid-afternoon in an Alabama hotel room, knows where you are going with this line of questioning. You're going to take a shot at the post-rehab Aerosmith of the '80s and '90s, when it sought help from outside mainstream songwriters. None were more egregious than Diane Warren, the composer behind Aerosmith's sole No. 1 single, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, an overblown pop ballad from the equally disposable movie Armageddon.

''There are moments in the day when I agree with you and others when I don't,'' says the 56-year-old Tyler, sounding not a bit groggy on the telephone despite having hit the sack at 5 a.m. after a concert in Pensacola.

''In the creative mode it's called Dare to Suck,'' Tyler opines. ``If you ever need to . . . boldly go where no band has gone before, you've got to play the game Dare to Suck. [I Don't Want to Miss a Thing] didn't do us any harm. It was our first No. 1 single -- I had to look that up. I'd forgot we never had one.''

The point, Tyler says -- and it's valid -- is that Aerosmith's catalog is diverse and the especially good albums like Honkin', Rocks and Toys, are there for the playing.

''[The song] Girls of Summer, that was such a stretch for Aerosmith,'' he says. ``Young Lust. Cryin'. Dream On. Mama Kin. [The album] Pump and all the strange interludes between its songs. . . . So much diversity. I love that about this band and that's one of the things that has kept this band alive.''

Making the new album in lead guitarist Joe Perry's basement studio, reunited with producer Jack Douglas and engineer Jay Messina who go all the way back to the raw second album, Get Your Wings (1974), resparked the band creatively and personally after two lackluster CDs, Nine Lives and Just Push Play.

''There were a lot of discussions about what songs to do,'' Tyler says. ``I brought in Baby, Please Don't Go. I first heard that in 1961 and that is what made me want to be in a band. Joe wanted Eyesight to the Blind.''

Honkin' on Bobo includes one Tyler/Perry original in The Grind, along with tracks first recorded by Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Fleetwood Mac, Fred McDowell and Sonny Boy Williamson, but it's first and foremost an Aerosmith album. Blues were always an element of the band's music. The 1973 eponymous debut included a cover of Walking the Dog.

''Look at Love in an Elevator,'' Tyler says. ``That song was panned by [label representative] John Kalodner who said it had too many blues riffs and would never make it on the radio, but we added lyrics to it and it made it on the radio. We always had blues in our music. When you put [Bobo] on from beginning to end it's not a certain type of music, it just has a feel.''

Assuming, though, that it is a blues album, its gestation has been a long time coming, at least eight years. Eric Clapton was the problem. The English guitarist released From the Cradle, a blues CD, and Aerosmith didn't want to follow.

Ironically, Clapton's new blues album, Me and Mr. Johnson, was released Tuesday -- the same day as Honkin' on Bobo.

''This time we didn't find out Clapton was doing it . . . but we didn't care,'' Tyler says. The two are chasing completely different audiences anyway. Clapton's polished take on the blues will appeal to laid-back boomers. Aerosmith's is livelier, a party album with a broader demographic.

Leave it to Tyler to find the one commonality. ''Both albums make references to genitalia,'' he says mischievously. ``Me and Mr. Johnson. A guy from People magazine pointed it out to me. I didn't realize it.''

Coming from the man who helped pen innuendo-laden lyrics to songs like Walk This Way and Love in an Elevator, we're not sure we believe him.

The title Honkin' on Bobo, he explains, was partly inspired by a photograph of a sax player in a juke joint. Everyone in the band was laughing at the potential for double entendre. ''But I heard somewhere along the line that Louis Armstrong used that phrase for playing the horn, so it is what it is,'' says Tyler, who will appear in the upcoming movie Be Cool with John Travolta and Uma Thurman.

Aerosmith's tour, which hits Office Depot Center on Saturday night, will feature about five songs from the current album.

''Playing music live, having that audience-artist love thing has always been more important to this band than all the s--- that breaks bands up,'' Tyler says. ``We're still living on the tail of a comet 30 years later.''

From: http://www.miami.com

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry says that "Honkin' on Bobo" (Columbia), the veteran Boston group's new album of blues and rock covers, was something of an antidote to the meticulous process the band employed to record its last studio album, 2001's "Just Push Play."

"I think it was important for us to press the reset button, and part of the way to do that is to go back and listen to your roots," Perry says. "It's a process that any artist does. If you're a painter, you go back and look at some of the old masters that turned you on and got you interested in painting to start with.

"That's that same spirit that we approached this album with. We felt like it was time to get into one room together and make a record of the band playing live. And that's basically what we did."

And having done that on songs made famous by Bo Diddley, Blind Willie McTell, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Joe Williams and Fleetwood Mac, Perry says he can't imagine Aerosmith recording any other way in the future.

"I think we'll carry some of this experience forward when we go to write new songs and do a new Aerosmith record," he says. "I don't think we could do another Aerosmith record where we put it together piece by piece.

"Very few bands can go in and play with the kind of energy this band plays with. That's an asset we don't want to forget we have, so I don't think we'll make another record unless it falls in those guidelines."

From: http://www.cleveland.com

Notes:
- 1st two songs performed from end of catwalk
- Joe had sound probs with his mic during Stop Messin .... he was barely audible for the vocals but the guitars & harp sounded fine
- Steven did make reference to the 'take me back to-a South Tallahassee' line in Last Child before they launched into it, then the Boyz treated us to an extended jam at the end
- Joe's Pants - HOLY S**T!!! ..... no, I don't mean to turn this into another JISMFH thread, but he had a hole on the inside right thigh that kept GROWING all night .... he eventually had to cover it with strategically placed guitars

1978 Aerosmith plays in Detroit MI at the Masonic Temple

1986 Aerosmith plays in Knoxville TN at the Civic Coliseum (Ted Nugent opens)

1988 Aerosmith plays in Little Rock AR at Barton Coliseum (White Lion opens)

ONE-DAY SALES: JANET TAKES OFF

Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter, Bub, It Just Means Her New Album's Selling Well

March 31, 2004

In case you were thinking Janet Jackson's now-notorious "wardrobe malfunction" might result in a sales malfunction for her new album, Damita Jo (Virgin), guess again. According to early reports from national accounts, Janet's new collection is off to a solid start, logging sales in its first day of release that should translate to just shy of 400k for the week, though the superstar's ongoing television blitz could easily push that number higher.

And some are thinking if this thing really takes off, it might even end up being her personal breast-though if mammary serves, her last album busted out somewhat larger in its first week. Okay, okay, but what do you expect from boobs like us? Maybe we should just nipple this in the bud. Ohhh!!!

Anyway, Janet coming in at around 400k really does have some thinking she could give Usher a run for #1 on next week's chart-if his Confessions (LaFace) falls by as much as 60% in its second week, which is not out of the question for an album this big. Usher, of course, dominated this week's chart (and the year so far) with first-week sales of 1.1 million.

Prognosticators currently give the edge to Usher for next week's top chart berth, but they also warn not to count Janet out.

In other new-release news, Columbia's Lil' Flip is registering surprisingly strong numbers for U Gotta Feel Me, and could reach 200k or better by the end of the week.

And another Columbia artist, Aerosmith, is likewise seeing strong numbers for a blues album, as Honkin' on Bobo appears headed for a first week on the order of 150k.

Meanwhile, J-Kwon's Hood Hop (Arista) and Eric Clapton's Robert Johnson tribute, Me & Mr. Johnson, each look like they could do 100k or better for the week.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled titillation of choice.

From: http://www.hitsdailydouble.com

From: http://www.usatoday.com

AEROSMITH's JOE PERRY has spoken about how "surreal" it was working with producer JACK DOUGLAS again for the first time in over 20 years. The WALK THIS WAY guitarist told Boston, Massachusetts radio DJ OEDIPUS that the decades simply vanished when the veteran rockers worked with Douglas on new album HONKIN' ON BOBO.

Perry says, "After not working with him in the studio since '79 (on NIGHT IN THE RUTS), making the record with Jack was surreal."

Douglas - who has also worked with THE WHO and JOHN LENNON - produced a number of classic Aerosmith albums in the seventies, including TOYS IN THE ATTIC and ROCKS.

Perry adds, "There were some times when we'd be rehearsing in the studio, and I'd look up and see him and it would be like a wicked flashback, like 20 years has passed, but not a moment has passed. "That was pretty bizarre, but it was great."

From: http://www.musiclub.sonystyle.com

Rocking for real: Aerosmith's "Honkin' on Bobo" is a welcome change from increasingly lackluster rehashes of the formula that restored the group to popularity in the '90s.

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By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register

Eric Clapton, "Me and Mr. Johnson" (Warner Bros., in stores Tuesday) and Aerosmith, "Honkin' on Bobo" (Columbia, in stores Tuesday) - When in need of an inspired jolt to restore credibility, there's one surefire salvation: Get back to the roots of rock 'n' roll and do 'em justice.

Always works like a charm for Clapton, anyway, and now Aerosmith is discovering the same. Both Hall of Fame inductees are about to release excellent homages to the blues that are high on the list of the best work from either act in the past 20 years.

In Clapton's case, it's proof that the older he gets, the better off he is excavating influences; his feel for original pop- rock has grown stale while his blues instincts are as sharp as ever. Few revive the genre with as much finesse, keeping faithful to sources yet making them fresh for a new era.

And "Me and Mr. Johnson," a superb tribute to Robert Johnson that adds a Chicago sheen to the pioneer's slide- filled Delta tunes, makes Clapton three for three in a decade - it's every bit as remarkable as his 1994 return-to-form "From the Cradle" and arguably stronger than the 2001 B.B. King collaboration "Riding With the King."

Never flashy, always serving the song first, whether sultry (a great "Love in Vain") or jumped-up (the zippy fun of "They're Red Hot"), Clapton and his troupe of session pros are relaxed but smoking here. A few heavier remakes, in fact - "Traveling Riverside Blues," especially - suggest a wizened Cream. Great stuff.

Aerosmith's "Bobo," however, is a genuine shock - not because you couldn't imagine the Boston veterans making this kind of gritty roar anymore but because it was starting to seem like they wouldn't want to ever again. After years of increasingly lackluster rehashes of the formula that restored them to popularity in the '90s, the band now seems reborn once more.

The material brings out the best in them; Joe Perry's steely solos and Steven Tyler's high-pitched howls and harp blowing (to say nothing of the rest of the group's thunderous touch) sound terrific on punched-up remakes of Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon, even the Aretha-associated gem "I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Love You)." Not once, even on oft-covered bits like "Baby Please Don't Go," does the band fail to fit the tune into its meaty aesthetic.

Give some credit for that to producer Jack Douglas. The man chiefly responsible for the sound of those classic Aerosmith albums from the '70s, Douglas recaptures the hurricane expanse of "Rocks" while making concessions to the polish that resurrected the band's career. The result is some of the most alive and passionate rock Aerosmith has laid down. I'll take it over 10 more versions of "Just Press Play" any day. Both: A (Ben Wener/The Register)

From: http://www2.ocregister.com

"THUNDERTRAIN: INBETWEEN NOW & THEN"

SEE THE THUNDERTRAIN DVD TRAILER NOW!!

Rewind to the summer of 1974. Five rebellious musicians from the suburbs of Boston meet for the first time. Rehearsing, writing, and dreaming in the basement of Jack's Drum Shop downtown on Boylston Street. Thundertrain wanted to play their own music, do it their own way, and live a life filled with adventure.

This documentary follows the group as they get off the ground, record their two singles and full-length album, and proceed to blow the doors off New York's CBGBs and Max's Kansas City, Cleveland's Agora Ballroom, their hometown Rat in Boston, and every rowdy roadhouse and high school gym inbetween.

According to one fan, "It was like a spaceship. Thundertrain had this sexy, raw energy and they created a heavy metal, hard rock sound that was okay for the punks to like." The band soon found themselves in the pages of Rock Scene, Creem, Boston Groupie News, Time and 16 Magazine. Thundertrain pushed the limits until they chose to self-destruct, as the 70s drew to a close.

Thundertrain began releasing independent singles in 1975. A year later, their "Hot For Teacher!" 45 rose to #3 on the then-new alternative charts in the UK. Thundertrain's TEENAGE SUICIDE album was released across the USA in 1977. Decades later, Thundertrain's original music was unexpectedly reissued on compact disc by the enigmatic indie label Gulcher Records to international acclaim. The stage was set for a rebirth.

GULCHER RECORDS

Fast forward to today. See Thundertrain return to the stage as they left it. Five rebellious musicians still doing it their own way, touring their hometown Boston-area haunts and Florida's sunny beaches in 2003.

Telly Award winning director Woody Bavota (Bill Bruford's Earthworks FOOTLOOSE IN NYC) captures candid interviews with the band, deejays, writers, promoters, groupies, fans, insiders, roadies, jet-setters, lowlifes, and wheeler-dealers. All the colorful characters that have played important roles in the still-unfolding Thundertrain legend.

"THUNDERTRAIN: INBETWEEN NOW & THEN" features never-before-seen mid-70s footage of Thundertrain's tearing it up at The Rat in Kenmore Square. Electrifying concert sequences shot during the Thundertrain 2003 reunion tour prove that, decades later, this brotherhood is still raw-edged, hairy, and as entertaining as ever.

The Escape TV documentary "THUNDERTRAIN: INBETWEEN NOW & THEN" pays homage to all garage bands struggling to make themselves heard.

THUNDERTRAIN HOTLINE

[Promotional Mailing from Gulcher Records, 11500 Westwood, Orlando FL 32821. ]

I listen to the show every morning here at work, and this AM around 9:00, they play a little bit of "Jesus is on the Main Line". The one guy says "Aerosmith singing gospel"??? Then they were kidding around about them trying to get on the bandwagon with "The Passion of Christ" movie. They were saying what a great album it is and how much they love it. D.C. said he was "Honkin' on Bobo all night". Steve said D.C. was one of the first to run out and buy it yesterday and said he was going to buy it today. Then they played a little bit of "Baby, Please Don't Go". They kept saying how much they loved the album. They also said how Steven's voice was so well suited for the blues.

The above is not verbatim, but as close as I could relate it.

Sally Moldenhauer - Saegertown, PA, USA

1986 Aerosmith plays in Nashville TN at Municipal Coliseum (Ted Nugent opens)

And April was a good month for releases:
1975 Toys in the Attic released
1986 Classics Live released
1993 Get a Grip released