Conference napalm::guitar

>>   He's not really polished, and the grungy sound
>>   just works in the context of their material.
    
>>    There no doubt that Joe has worked the pentatonic minor scale to death
>>    but he still has managed to do the near-impossible:  Create a guitar
>>    sound/style that is instantly recognizable as his.
   
    Name any popular guitar player that *hasn't*  worked a minor pentatonic
    scale .....I, too like his very recognizeable, kinda
    "hap-hazard_all_over_the_place" style.  From what I've heard, his
    sounds are typically "low gain" almost clean tone....very little
    distortion....kind of a blues style spin off.
    
    FWIW
    
    Steve (NOT a Steven Tyler fan, however)                 

    I remember being kind of shocked when I saw the video "The Making of
    'Pump'" a couple of years ago.  It was interesting seeing and hearing
    them in the studio doing their parts.  Joe Perry especially surprised
    me.  A lot of the sounds he got were not what I considered (at the
    time) to be "good" guitar sounds, in fact, I'd say they were pretty
    gross sounding, in a lotta cases.  Clanky, outta tune sounding.  But
    when they pulled up the rest of the faders, his parts and sounds fit
    *perfectly*.  Made me completely rethink guitar tone, 'cause I've loved
    Aerosmith and Joe Perry for a long time.
    
    Greg

Yes, I HIGHLY recommend checking out BOTH the Aerosmith vids:

- The Making Of Pump
- Things The Go Pump In The Night

Both were HIGHLY enlightening.  I'm *not* an Aerosmith fan, but I certainly
respect what they've done - and they've done just about everything, so...

jc (Who LOVES Seasons Of Wither)

    
    
        Okay, I'll bite.    
    
        What the heck does "Crespo-Dufay years" mean.   Was that when Joe 
    did that J.P. Project thang?
    
    
        Rick.
    
        PS:  The thing that I got out of "the making of...", was the 
             tension between Tyler and Perry when they talked tunes. 
    

    Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay played with the band while Perry and
    Whitford were sowing their oats.  One album resulted, "Rock in a Hard
    Place", which is considered by many fans to be not "real" Aerosmith.
    
    Must have been tough to come into a superstar band at a point where
    they were just about ready to fall over.
    
    					Marshall Stax

>    Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay played with the band while Perry and
>    Whitford were sowing their oats.  One album resulted, "Rock in a Hard
>    Place", which is considered by many fans to be not "real" Aerosmith.

I was surprised to look at an Aerosmith history one day, and realize that
Jimmy Crespo was in the band for SIX years! It didn't seem that long,
in retrospect.....

BTW, just my opinion, but I think that 'Draw The Line' is the most underrated
Aerosmith album, followed closely by 'Night In The Ruts' and 'Done With 
Mirrors' (none are as good as the classics, but I still like all three
albums a lot).

alan

      And even though it wasn't the original line-up,
      the "Rock and a Hard Place" album wasn't horrible.
    
      "When the Lightning Strikes" is a great song.
    
      *******************************************
    
      Early on, I meant to say that I thought Joe was a great slide
      player. I was praising him for developing his own sound within
      the context of the pentatonic minor scale, not ragging him!
    
      "Perry Goes Phrygian...Witford Pissed...New Album Ships Cardboard!" 
    
      Finally, for those that have seen "The Making of Pump" video, how
      about those racks and racks of various guitar heads that you can
      see behind the band.  Cost a coupla more bucks than my set-up....
    
      BD

    Draw The Line is a great album, with some serious playing on it, but
    the lush mix hides a lot of chops.  Rocks is a little bit clearer in
    presently the playing thru the dinn.
    
    I agree Night In The Ruts is a great album, but Done With Mirrors
    left me cold cold cold!  I'll listen to Rock in a Hard Place before
    DWM.

    My favs were Draw the line, Rocks, Toys in the Attic, and Get Your
    Wings.
    
    Mike

    Yeah, "When the Lightning Strikes" rates up near the top of Aerosmith
    tunes in my book (and there are plenty of great ones).
    
    But, has anyone ever seen a good live Aerosmith show???  Every time
    I've seen em, it was like being inside a vaccuum cleaner bag.

    I've always wonder this:
    I was told that Aerosmith was never a "Cover Band", and that they
    always played original stuff. Is it true that they all used to live
    together in an apartment in Boston and saved up money from their day
    jobs to rent big halls where they would do shows? Must take a lot of
    guts and perseverence to pull that off if it's true. I gave up trying
    to make my living with a Bass guitar back in the early 70s because I
    hated playing the same old tunes which somebody else wrote, over and
    over. It is said that Perry and Tyler used to drive around nailing
    posters on telephone poles and stuff in order to advertise a show.

    Two of their best old songs IMO are "Come Together" and "Helter Skelter"
    both Beetles toonze. They may never have been all covers but the ones
    they did are pretty damn good. 
    
    
    Brian 

    
    	I liked "Walkin' in the Sand" also.
    
    	Did they do "Helter Skelter"?
    

    re -1
    
    Yeah... they did a cool cover of Helter Skelter, I just heard it on the
    radio last Sunday. When I was a kid I actuall thought the Aerosmith did
    these songs (not the Beetles) because the only time I ever heard them
    was on a friends Aerosmith album.
    
    Who originalld did Walking in the Sand ?
    
    Brian 

I first Aerosmith as the warm-up act at a Sha-na-na (sp?) concert that included
all the beer you could drink - must have been around 1973.  Dream On was their 
big finishing song.  What a strange night.

Jim

    
        Let me guess...
    
        Sailsbury<sp> Beach?  
    
        I have no idea about the folklore questions you have 
        on Aerosmith.  Urban legend is based on stories that 
        everyone would like to believe.
    
        Sounds like a nice story 'bout a bunch of hard workin'
        guys who made it to the pay off.  But, they _did_ make
        it and it's easy to see them wacked outta their minds 
        sharing some crappy apartment in Boston. 
    
       -Rick.
    
           _Forty_years_old_&_I_still_like_Aerosmith_
                                                     

    
    I actually met these guys backstage at a concert in Maine a few years
    ago.  Later that year I spent a whole day with some of them and their
    families at a wedding out on Thompson Island in Boston Harbor.  Took
    a boat out and back together, etc.  I thought two of them were very nice.
    

    
    	Aerosmith opening up for Sha Na Na ... wow.
    

    I saw Aerosmith live at the old Westboro Speedway. The opening act
    was "Duke and the Drivers". Burned up a clutch just getting out of
    the parking lot after that concert. 
    
    Mark

    Man - I saw jon Butcher at Westboro Speedway...
    
    I guess it's a shopping mall now, eh?
    :-)

The Aerosmith/Sha Na Na show was at the MIT Rockwell Athletic Cage - dirt floor,
about the size of a football field, 12 kegs of beer with taps installed and 
running til the keg was empty (then repeated).  A very interesting night.

Jim

    
    
       Talk about feeling old...
    
       John Butcher Axis:  Live and rockin at the Mohawk. (Remember
       Barker Gang, Lace & ITMB?) 
    
       Duke and the Drivers: First seen at the Billerica Forum and 
       then many times after.  One night while playing the Commodor
       in Lowell, Duke himself showed up.  (Well, ya there was no 
       Duke, but this night there was.)  Remember the Sax player? 
       He has a twin brother.  All night long he'd bounce off stage 
       only to re-appear two seconds later wearing something else.
       Some minds where getting seriously twisted trying to figure 
       this out.  All the while they were saying that "The Duke" 
       had been seen in the building and would be there soon.  It 
       was a great show and great fun.  (For all us twisted out on
       25 cent vodka drinks.  Jeeeesh.)  Finally the twin brother
       and the sax player were on stage at the same time and he 
       was intro'd as... 
    
       The Duke. 
    
       All in all it was great show.  Too bad their record sucked. 
    
    
       Rick.   _Fond_old_memories_indeed_
        
                    

    Here's a couple more Aero-covers for ya...
    
    Rockin' Pneumonia and Boogie-Woogie Flu (and Joe Perry too...)
    Mother Popcorn
    
...and some other Beatles song I can't remember from Permanant Vacation.    
    
    Larry

   "Walk the Dog" off their first album is a cover, too.

   -- Sam
   

    That's"I'm Down"From PV.

    Re. .22
    
     Wow... The Mohawk! Jon Butcher was always there, his band before that
    was Johanna Wild. Saw the Joe Perry project there also! Derringer was
    there a lot also. Open Bar! Yahoo!! Great party spot with good bands!
    A bit on the dingy side for some women/girls though.

    Dingy???   Yeah!!!
    :-)
    
    jc (Who saw ther Outlaws there on numerous occasions...)