Just last week, Aerosmith frontman and country music hopeful Steven Tyler hinted that the legendary Boston rock band would soon be saying goodbye with a massive farewell tour. But guitarist Joe Perry, who is set to hit the road with Hollywood Vampires this summer, says Aerosmith aren’t going anywhere.
“A farewell tour is something we’ve talked about doing for years, let’s say roughly in the last five years,” Perry says to Rolling Stone. “It’s just something the band’s talked about at various times. At this point, the five of us have never sat down and said, ‘It’s time to do it.’ So ‘considering’ is an appropriate word for that statement. A farewell tour is definitely not confirmed.”
Perry’s tour commitments with Hollywood Vampires, a supergroup featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and others, concludes in late July. The closest it comes to Boston is for a July 2 show at Foxwoods in Connecticut.
Later this year, Aerosmith are set to begin a tour in South America. They’ll soon regroup to discuss their future.
“We’re talking about some different options at this point,” says Perry. “Whether it’s to do some shorter tours like the last couple we’ve done or go into the studio and knock a few songs out and see how that feels, I’m not sure yet. But right now we’re really taking time off from the band and everybody’s off doing their own thing.”
That includes Tyler’s solo career, drummer Joey Kramer’s efforts opening New England restaurants and building his coffee brand, and guitarist Brad Whitford collaborating with Derek St. Holmes. Perry says he’s looking forward to more Aerosmith dates, but it’s not a priority right now.
“It’s getting to be about that time, but I’m really looking forward to the Vampires thing,” Perry says. “And I know Brad’s doing stuff with Derek and they’re buddies from way back. Everybody’s got stuff that they’re doing, so it’s kind of up the middle. It’s inevitable that once we get back together I’ll be ready to play ‘Dream On’ again.”