Aerosmith has gone through a lot this year, and guitarist Joe Perry understands that the ride could be coming to an end. It was hard enough dealing with frontman Steven Tyler's throat surgery back in the spring, but bassist Tom Hamilton's fight with throat cancer really hit home. Perry told the San Antonio Express-News, "What happened with Tom is beyond comprehension. It really knocks you back and makes you appreciate what you have. It's not like somebody left the band or (the health issues) are something under our control. If it was a drug relapse, it would be something of our own doing. We've had so many trials and this is just another one." Tyler also had surgery on one of his ankles this year, to correct a long-standing problem, while Perry got clocked in the head with a one-ton camera boom earlier this month and suffered a concussion.
Perry also said, "We realize that every gig could be the last. We are definitely closer to the end than the beginning, so we just count our blessings and keep going. We've put ourselves through so much over the years between the car wrecks and all the drugs. We've survived everything. It really makes you appreciate every day in a way you can't imagine."
Aerosmith's next show is Wednesday (November 29th) at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Since it's relatively close to the Boston area, there's talk that Hamilton might come out to the gig, but nothing's been confirmed yet.
The band is supposed to put out a new studio album next year. They wanted to release it in time for their current Route Of All Evil tour with Motley Crue, but they couldn't finish the songs in time. Instead, they put two of the tracks on their new greatest-hits collection, titled Devil's Got A New Disguise.
