Legendary AEROSMITH guitarist and songwriter Joe Perry kicked off a short U.S. tour with his THE JOE PERRY PROJECT last night (Saturday, April 15) at Foxwoods Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Joining Joe in the 2023 lineup of THE JOE PERRY PROJECT are EXTREME‘s Gary Cherone on lead vocals, AEROSMITH backing singer Buck Johnson on keyboards and vocals, Jason Sutter (Cher, Chris Cornell) on drums and David Hull on bass.
The tour will make stops at the House of Blues in Boston on April 16 and New York City’s Webster Hall on April 18 before concluding on April 22 in Pontiac, Michigan at The Crofoot Ballroom.
Fan-filmed video of the Mashantucket concert can be seen below (courtesy of the Toshi Aizawa YouTube channel).
Last week, Perry released a new single, “Fortunate One”, featuring vocals from THE BLACK CROWES‘ Chris Robinson. Co-written and recorded in London with Joe‘s sons Tony and Roman, the song contains a bluesy riff that glides over raucous piano as Robinson‘s gritty delivery instantly takes hold. Reaching a climax, Joe‘s deft guitar playing gives way to an earworm of a solo.
Perry will release a new album, “Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII”, on May 26 via Roman Records. The LP will be made available via all DSPs as well as on vinyl which was not the case when he dropped “Sweetzerland Manifesto” in 2018. The new LP includes six new tracks and alternate vocal appearances and mixes from the earlier version.
“Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII” serves as the perfect companion and spiritual successor to the original “Sweetzerland Manifesto”. Joe wrote and recorded the bulk of the material for both versions at the Los Angeles home of fellow “Vampire” Johnny Depp back in 2017. During a few months at “Sweetzerland”, he experienced a groundswell of creativity and welcomed various collaborators into the fold, including vocals courtesy of David Johansen (NEW YORK DOLLS, Buster Poindexter),Robin Zander (CHEAP TRICK) and Terry Reid. Johnny served as executive producer, while AEROSMITH‘s go-to producer Jack Douglas, Bruce Witkin and Joe‘s sons Tony and Roman also contributed to production.
Throughout his career, Perry has achieved permanent iconic stature in the pantheon of rock. He has helped to drive AEROSMITH, over the course of four decades, to sales of more than 150 million albums, critical acclaim, four Grammy Awards (one of which includes the guitar-based instrumental “Boogie Man”) and induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Perry‘s work with AEROSMITH has resulted in an unending array of accolades and honors. Beyond their Grammy Awards and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction, other key milestones over the over-50-year history include: 12 MTV Video Awards; two People’s Choice Awards; six Billboard Music Awards; eight American Music Awards; 23 Boston Music Awards; and an Academy Award nomination for “Best Song”, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” (from the soundtrack to “Armageddon”).
October 2014 saw the release of Perry‘s first book “Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith”, which debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at No. 8. Throughout the book, Perry reflected on his career with AEROSMITH and his life as a musician, husband and father.