The History Of The Joe Perry Project Starts With Aerosmith In The Spring Of 1979. Now, Aerosmith Had Just Started Work On The Groups Album "Night In The Ruts." They Had All The Songs Done In A Very Short Time, But There Was One Problem. They Had No Lyrics, So The Album Was Delayed.
Now, Also At This Time There Was Another Problem For Joe. David Krebs {Aerosmith's Manager At The Time} Called A Very Rare Financial Meeting, In Which He Told Joe; "Well, Joe, Actually You're In Debt To The Band For Room Service." Joe Replied "Oh, Yeah? How Much Do I Owe?" David Told Joe That He Owed $80,000 In Room Service! Now, Everyone In The Aerosmith Got A Price Of What They Owed, But None Was Near Joe's Total. Joe Told Them "What Is This $80,000 Bullsh*t? What Can I Do About This?" David Said "Well, You Could Make A Solo Record, Get An Advance And Everything Will Be Fine." Joe Said "O.K., That's A Good Idea." AndThat's How The Seed Was Planted For The Joe Perry Project. Still, At That Point Joe Had No Intention Of Leaving Aerosmith.
Now, In April Of 1979, Aerosmith Headlined The Florida World Music Festival With Ted Nugent & Cheap Trick. Backstage, Joe Was Approached By Ralph Mormon, Who Had Been A Singer In The Outrageous Band Daddy Warbux. Mormon Asked Joe, "Do You Know Anyone Who's Looking For A Lead Singer?" To Mormon Astonishment, Joe Replied "Yeah, Me."
By This Time, "Night In The Ruts" Was Getting Nowhere. At One Point Joe Said, "It's Your Album. Do What You Want With It. You've Got My Work. You Can Use It Or Erase It. I'm Working On Something Else." It Was May Of 1979, The Album Was Supposed To Come Out In June And Be Called "Off Your Rocker." David Krebs Only Took Out Three Months Worth Of Studio Time, And Already Booked Twenty-Five Huge Festivals With Ted Nugent. They Could Not Cancel Them Without Devastation. It Was The Worst Frustration The Band Ever Faced, Going Out On The Road Before The Album Was Finished. They Had No Choice And Joe Really Freaked Out. At One Gig On The Tour, Someone Said That Ralph Mormon Was Available. Joe Contacted Him And Started Work On The First Project Album.
Now, At This Time Joe Was Still In Aerosmith. Although His Wife And Lawyer Both Advised Joe To Quit. That All Changed On July 28, 1979. Aerosmith Was Headlined The World Series Of Rock At Cleveland Stadium With Ted Nugent And Thin Lizzy. Backstage, Tom Hamilton's Wife Terry Said Something To Joe's Wife Elyssa. Well, One Thing Led To Another And Elyssa Threw A Glass Of Milk At Terry. This Lead To A Fight Between The Two Women. Although No One Was Hurt, It Was A Good Reflection Of What Was Going On In The Band. Now, There Had Been A Pattern At The Recent Aerosmith Shows. Steven Would Do Something To Piss Off Joe, And Joe Would Cold-Shoulder Steven On Stage--It Would Be Very Obvious--Joe Making A Point Of Not Singing His Vocals And Playing REAL Loud. Well, This Show Was No Different, And This Night Steven Had Enough, He Was So Angry.
Now, This Lead To The Now Infamous Fight Between And Joe And Steven. Joe Said "Maybe I Should Leave The Band." Steven Said, "Yeah Maybe You Fcking Should." "Oh, Yeah?" Jo Screams As He Gets Up. Steven Screams "FCK YOU THEN! GET THE F*CK OUT OUTTA HERE!!!" Joe Stormed Out, Aerosmith Literally Broke Up Over Spilt Milk. Steven Swore That Night That He Would Never Play On Stage With Joe Perry As Long As He Lived.
On October 10, 1979, Leber-Krebs Issued A Press Release: Joe Perry And Aerosmith Announced Today In New York Perry's Plans To Depart The Group To Pursue A Solo Career. Perry's Departure Will Officially Commence Upon Completion Of The New Aerosmith Album, Night In The Ruts. Perry Will Remain On CBS And Will Continue To Be Managed By Leber-Krebs, The New York-Based Managers Of Aerosmith. Perry Plans A January Release Of His Solo Effort, The Joe Perry Project. His Departure Is Described As Amicable And His Desire To Explore A New Musical Direction Has Been Cited As His Reason For Leaving The Group.
Now, At This Point The Album Was Not Completely Done. Joe Still Had To Come Down To The Studio And Do The Overdubs And Leads For The Album. Steven Called And Called Joe To Come To The Studio, But Joe Was To Upset. Joe Would Not Come Down. Steven Later Said "This Is When Our Friendship Broke Up." After Calling Dozens Of Times And Finally Getting Through, Joe Said "I Want Excitement, I Wanna Play Clubs." Steven Told Him "No One In Their Right Mind Would Go Back To Playing Clubs For The Rest Of Their Lives After Being In A Big Band."
Aerosmith's Album "Night In The Ruts" Was Released In November Of 1979. It Cost Over A Million Dollars To Make, Most Of It In Wasted Studio Time. Joe Played On Five Tracks On The Album. Jimmy Crespo (Joe's Replacement), Neil Thompson, And Richie Supa Contributed The Missing Guitar Parts After Joe Left The Band. The Album Made The Top 20 And Eventually Went Platinum.
This Was A Hard Period In Joe's Life. There Was A Short Time Where He Had No Band, No Recording Contract, And No Management {He Fired Leber-Krebs Over The Phone, Saying He Would Manage Himself Along With His Lawyer Bob Casper}. It Was Just Him And Elyssa Alone In Boston. All Joe Had Was The Idea To Do Some Music. He Was Psyched To Do His Own Thing, But A Part Of Him Wanted To Be In Aerosmith. A Part Of Him Was Missing, And He Just Denied It.
The Joe Perry Project Was Put Together Over The Summer Of 1979. Ralph Mormon Was The Singer. Joe Said, "He Reminded Me A Lot Of Paul Rodgers {From The English Band Bad Company}, Always My Favorite Singer After Steven. Joe Also Said, "Ralph Was Just Great, But He Drank A Lot And Was Terrible On The Road."
David Hull Played Bass And Had A Lot Of Rhythm--Really Good. He Came From A Connecticut Band, The Dirty Angels. Before That, He Played Bass With Buddy's Miles's Band, Which Is How Steven Knew Him. Steven Introduced Joe To David, Who Became Joe's Druggie Bud. They Roomed Together, Found Girls To Party With, Copped Dope. One Of The First Drummers Joe Auditioned At The Wherehouse Was Ronnie Stewart, Who Worked At E.U. Wurlitzer's Music Store In Boston. People Had Been Telling Joe He Was The Best Drummer In Boston That Was Not Involved In Another Band. Ronnie Was Jazz-Oriented But Played Hot, Funky Rock And Joe Hired Him On The Spot.
The Band Played All Summer And Fall In Joe's Basement. Ronnie Kept His Day Job. The Project's First Gig Was The Rathskeller--In Reality, A Cafeteria At Boston College--On November 17, 1979: Joe Was Pacing Nervously Around A Classroom Upstairs, Smoking Two Cigarettes At Once. The Set List Was Written On The Blackboard. Steven Tyler Came, Said Hello, And Left Before They Played. People Were Kidding Joe: "Hey, You've Played In Arenas All Over The World. What The F*ck Are You Nervous About?"
The Place Was Packed With Kids Hanging From The Rafters And Standing On Tables. They Played The Aerosmith Songs "Same Old Song And Dance," "Walk This Way," And "Get The Lead Out." Joe Sang On Jimi Hendrix's "Red House" And Elvis's "Heartbreak Hotel." The Band Walked Off And The Crowd Started Chanting, "We Want Joe!" And "Two More!" They Didn't Know Two More Songs. The Encore Was "Life At A Glance," Which Joe Literally Wrote The Night Before The Gig. And That Was It. The Joe Perry Project Was Off And Running.
Joe Had A New Sense Of Freedom Now, A Focus On This New Project. He Was F*cked Up, But At Least He Had A Band. He Was Full Of Fire That They Were Gonna Make Money And Have Fun. Now, From The Start The Fans Didn't Let Joe Down. They Came To The Clubs And Supported Joe And The Band Without An Album, Without Anything Except Joe's Name. The Project Was Rehearsing All Week And Doing Clubs On The Weekend, Like Every Other Band Starting Out. They Used The Clubs' PA Systems And Just Tried To Kick Ass And Create Some Excitement.
The Project Did About Ten Gigs Before They Signed An Album Deal With Columbia Records. The Label Wasn't That Eager Because Aerosmith Had Been Bringing Albums In Way Late. But Joe Went Down And Convinced Them That He Was A Walking, Talking Viability Instead Of The Burn-Out They Thought He Was. As Soon As Joe Knew He Was Doing A Solo Record, He Called {The Veteran Aerosmith Producer} Jack Douglas. Jack Replied, "F*ck Yes!" Joe Was Driven To Write New Stuff Because He Had A Lot To Get Off His Chest. He Had Something To Prove. There Was An Element Of Risk.
They Worked On The Album That Winter With Jack Douglas At The Hit Factory In New York. They Cut Five Basic Tracks In Five Days, Finished The Album In Six Weeks, And Came Under Budget. Joe Had Pre-Produced And Arranged Everything At The Wherehouse, So When They Went In The Studio And Played The Tracks Live. Joe Said, "It Was Like Recording The First Aerosmith Album--A Soundtrack For The Live Shows."
The Songs Came Really Fast. Joe Wrote The Riff For "Let The Music Do The Talking" When He Was Still In Aerosmith. The Title Of That Song Had To Do With How Sick Joe Was Of Talking About Aerosmith. "Conflict Of Interest" Was About David Krebs And Joe's Situation With His Debts. "Rockin' Train" Was Kind Of A Funky, R&B-Type Song That Joe Loved To Do And Could Have Done With Aerosmith. "Discount Dogs" Was Originally Titled "Discount Drugs." "Break Song" Was Just A Instrumental Jam That Had {And Always Used In Their Live Shows}. David Hull Showed Joe The Riff And Joe Arranged It Into One Minute And Fifty Seconds Of Screaming Guitar. "Shooting Star" And "Ready On The Firing Line" Were Just Riffs That Joe Liked. "The Mist Is Rising" Was Written At Four In The Morning At Joe's House. And "Life At A Glance" Was About Joe's Life, Pure And Simple.
The Album, Entitled "Let The Music Do The Talking", Came Out On Columbia Records In March Of 1980. The Cover Was A Picture Of Nine Suits Sitting Around A Glass Board Room. The Reviewers Were Kind, But They Did Not Get A Lot Of Air Play. The Album Reached Number Forty-Seven On The Charts And Sold Over Two Hundred And Fifty Thousand Copies. David Krebs Admitted Burying The Record On More Than One Occasion. Years Later, Tim Collins Heard From Bruce Lundval That He Made Every Effort To Squash It In Order To Get Joe Back In Aerosmith.
Joe Had To Take The Band On The Road, So He Rented This Tour Bus For The Project. This Was His Dream: Get On It And Go. Joe Had Never Been On A Tour Bus: Bunk Beds, Lounge, Bathroom, Private Compartment In The Back, TV, VCR, The Whole Thing. Joe Knew He Would Be Away For Six Months, So He Bought Six Thousand Dollars Worth Of Heroin!
The Project Sold Out Almost Every Place They Played. Joe Said "They Were Some Of The Best Moments Of My Career." The Only Thing Joe Missed Was Brad Whitford, His Consummate String- Bending Comrade-In-Arms. They Had Built A Certain Chemistry That Couldn't Be Replaced. Joe Felt Naked, He Had To Change His Playing From Long Runs Of Notes To A More Simultaneous Lead/Rhythm Style.
The Other Thing That Bothered Joe Was That Ralph Mormon Was Terrible On The Road. He Got Drunk Before The Shows Until Maybe The Forth Show, When Joe Smacked Him Around For F*cking Up. Ralph Wouldn't Ride The Bus, So He Would Follow The Band In A Station Wagon And Would Not Get To The Gig On Time. If The Band Made Him Ride In The Bus, He Would Fall Asleep And Piss In The Bunk.
They Finished The First Project Tour In The Late Spring Of 1980. The Band Was Getting Better Every Night. They Were Playing Clubs. The Next Tour There Would Be A Step Up To Theaters. Joe Was Talking About Adding A Second Guitarist Or A Keyboard Player To The Project To Lighten The Load On Himself A Little. The Last Club Gig Of The Tour Was At Joe's Father's Place Out On Long Island. Joe Fired Ralph Mormon And Replaced Him With Joey Mala {The Singer For The New York Club Band Revolver} For The Rest Of The Tour.
The Project Played Six Nights A Week On The Road In The Fall Of 1980. In November, They Started A Six Week Tour Opening For Heart, Which Took Them Around The Country. Joe Was Home In Boston One Night When Jack Douglas Called Him. Joe Was Glad To Hear From Him, Because He Was Originally Going To Produce The Second Project Album And It Hadn't Worked Out. But Joe Was Not Prepared For What Jack Said. Jack Told Joe The John Lennen Was Dead. Jock Was Working On The Lennen Album "Milk And Honey" At The Time, He Had Just Said Good-Bye To Him. It Really Shook Jack Up. It Shook Everyone Up.
When Ralph Mormon Got Fired And Things Didn't Exactly Work Out With Joey Mala, The Project Had To Find A New Singer. They Listened To A Hundred Audition Tapes And Came Up With Charlie Farren, Who Was In A Local Band Called "Balloon" That Had A Single On The Radio At The Time. Charlie Was A Good Rhythm Guitarist Who Could Sing. The Project Started Rehearsing In Joe's Basement And Came Up With Some Songs: "Soldier Of Fortune," "I've Got The Rock 'N' Rolls Again," And A Bunch Of Others. Joe Was So Broke He Was Having Difficulty Keeping The Band Together And Affording His Lifestyle. He Took Every Cent He Got And Spent It On Drugs. Also Around This Time Joe Replaced Bob Casper With Don Law, The Veteran Boston Promoter.
In The Spring Of 1981, The Project Started Working At Joe's House On The New Record. Then They Moved Back To The Wherehouse, Where They Developed Songs By Charlie Farren {"East Coast, West Coast} And David Hull {"Dirty Little Things" And "Buzz Buzz"}. They Also Cut A Version Of Elvis's "Heartbreak Hotel", Intended As A Single {Which Never Happened}. Joe Took A 30 Second Shuffle He And Aerosmith Did And Turned It Into "South Station Blues." The Record, Originally Titled "Soldier Of Fortune," Was Produced By Bruce Botnick, Who Had Worked With The Doors As An Engineer And Had Produced Their Last Great Album, "L.A. Woman." They Brought The Record Plant's Truck Back Up To Boston, Parked It On Washington Street In Front Of The Boston Opera House, And Cut The Album Inside The Elegant But Decrepit Old Theater.
They Mixed The Album At The Record Plant In Los Angeles. Columbia Released The Album As "I've Got The Rock 'N' Rolls Again" In June Of 1981 And Promptly Buried It. The Album Only Got Up To Number One Hundred On The Charts. To Pay The Bills, They Went Out On The Road, Playing With Heart, ZZ Top, And The J. Geils Band, Who Had A Hit Record With "Centerfold." The Project Worked Again In The Fall Of 1981, And Through The Rest Of 1982, Constantly On The Road.
By 1983, Charlie, David, And Ronnie Had All Left The Band. The Last Version Of The Project Was Totally Insane, And So Was The Year They Spent Together On The Road. The New Singer, Cowboy Mach Bell, Was A Rock 'N' Roll Guy Who Grew Up In The Next Town Over From Joe And Had A Group Called Thundertrain. He Loved To Rave And Be In A Band, So He Replaced Charlie Farren. They Auditioned Danny Hargrove And He Replaced David Hull On Bass. Joe Pet Replaced Ronnie Stewart. Joe Said "It Was Just Fun, A Good-Time Band, No Illusions About The Group Going Strait To The Top. They Were Young Guys Who Didn't Give A Sht, Like Wild Men, Fukin' Pirates. Just Get In The Van And Go."
Now By This Time Tim Collins Was Their Manager, Joe And His Wife Were Split, And His Son Was Two Years Old. Joe Was Free, Single For The First Time. He Went Out On The Road And Went Berserk For The First Time In His Life. Wine, Women, And Song. Exotic Dancers, A Playboy Bunny, He Had Never Done That Stuff Before. One Night On The Road, The Band Was Driving From New Orleans To Florida In This Beautiful Air-Conditioned Van And Had Stopped For The Night At A Holiday Inn Family Resort. Since Joe Was Wasted In The Back Of The Van, They Wrapped Him In A Blanket, Carried Up To His Room, And Put Him Into Bed. The Band And Their Road Sluts Went Swimming In The Hotel Pool, Drunk Out Of Their Minds.
These Crazy Roadies Started To Moon The Tourist Moms And Dads, Who Supplied Them With The Horrified Reaction They Needed. Then This Lunatic Roadie Got On The Diving Board, And People Started To Stampede On Out Of There As He Pissed In The Pool. Mach Bell Was Parading Around Nude And Out Of Control. The Police Arrived, Arrested Mach Bell And The Roadie, And Threw The Band Out Of The Hotel.
Joe Was Comatose, So The Roadies Wrapped Him Back Up In His Sheets And Carried Him Across The Street--Asleep--To Another Motel, Where He Wakes Up, Not Realizing He Had Been Moved. Mach Bell Called Tim Collins Up From Jail Saying "Tim, What Do I Do?" Tim Freaked Out, "What The Fu*k Am I Doing With My Life?" Tim Called Joe, Who Was Completely Wasted & Slurring His Words. He Told Tim, "Tim, Take It Easy. What Are You Yelling About? Everything's Fine. We're In The Holiday Inn." Tim Says, "Joe, Look At The Phone." "That's Weird, It Says Ramada Inn." "How Did I Get Here?" Tim Just Hung Up And Called Another Road Manager, Earthquake {Greg Mortin}, Who Flew Down, Got Them Out Of Jail So They Could Finish Their Tour Dates, And Come Home.
In Early 1983, Tim Booked The Project In Venezuela, Where They Spent Two Weeks Snorting The Indescribably Fresh Products Of Nearby Peru And Eating Delicious And Cheap Steaks. In Caracas, Joe Met A Hospitable Girl Named Adrianna Who Got A Song Named On The Project's Next Album. Mach Bell Introduced Joe To A Hairdresser Named Glenda {Which Explains Why Joe Looks Like He Does On The Third Album Cover}. Joe Moved In With Glenda So At Least He Had A Roof Over His Head. Tim Collins Got A Record Deal For The Project With MCA, And That Spring They Had Made Their Third And Final Album "Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker" At Blue Jay Studios In Carlisle, Mass., With Joe Co-Producing With Michael Golub.
Joe Liked That Record. It Sounded Unproduced And Was Basically Live. The Song "Four Guns West" Was What The Band Was All About. "Bang A Gong" Was The Old T. Rex Riff They Used To Worm Up On. They Played It At Live Shows And Saw The Kids Really Getting Off On It. "Women In Chains" Came From A Band In Nashville. Joe Thought It Was Cool To Do A Pro-Woman Song After All The Heavy Metal Misogyny That Was Around. Joe Never Liked That Stuff. The Band Put A Disclaimer On The Back Of That Record. "There Are No Synthesizers On This Album." Halfway Through The Record, MCA Tried To Drop Them. MCA Had A New President {Irving Azoff} And He Just Didn't Want To Know. In The End, They Figured It Would Be Cheaper To Finish The Record--And Bury It-- Than To Buy Out Joe's Contract.
Joe Didn't Really Care, He Just Wanted Another Record So He Could Go Out On Tour. "Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker" Was Released In September Of 1983 And Went Unpromoted And Unheard. Although It Did Manage To Sell Forty Thousand Copies. When It Came Time To Choose The Video For The Album, They Chose The Song "Black Velvet Pants." The Story Line Involved A Girl Putting On A Pair Of Black Velvet Pants And Going To See The Project, Eventually Ending Up On Stage Playing Sax With The Band. The Video Didn't Get Much Airplay, But Joe Did Meet His Future Wife Billie On The Set.
By October Of 1983, Everyone Knew That "Once A Rocker" Had Bombed And That Joe's Solo Career Was Going Down The Tubes. Aerosmith's Brad Whitford {Now Out Of Aerosmith Himself} Came And Worked A Bunch Of Shows With The Project, Which Contributed An Amazing Burst Of Energy, But It Was Getting Harder To Book The Project Without Any Record Company Support. It Was A Low Period. Joe Hit Bottom In Los Angeles, While The Project Was Playing Some Gigs At The Country Club On Reseda In January Of 1984. The Project Played There Before And Done Well; Now They Couldn't Even Sell One Gig. They Had Severe IRS Problems, Child Support Problems That Threatened To Send Him To Jail.
Tim Collins Was Trying To Get Aerosmith Back Together. After The Joe Went Back To His Apartment Tim Had Rented While He Was Dealing With MCA. Joe Didn't Look Happy. "Tim," He Whispered, "Throw Everybody Out. I'm Bummed. We've Gotta Talk." And He Just Opened Up: The Pain, The Separation From His Family, The Fighting, The Drugs. He Just Broke Down. Nobody Had Ever Seen That Before From Joe. Tim Told Him To Call Steven Tyler, And He Did. Joe Went To See Aerosmith In February Of 1984 And They Talked About Getting Back Together. The Press Picked Up The Story And The Rumor Mill Was Started.
In April Of 1984, Nothing Much Was Happening Except Rumors, Although Joe Was Getting Support From The Project To Get Back With Aerosmith. Mach Bell Told Joe, "Go Ahead, Man. We Don't Wanna Stand In Your Way." Joe Said "They Were Really Good Guys, Who Where Probably More Aware Of What Aerosmith Had Meant To People Than We Were." By This Time Tim Collins Got A Call From Alice Cooper, Who Wanted Joe To Help Him Write Some Songs For His Next Album. This Really Freaked Steven Tyler, Who Said "How Can You Be Fu*kin' Be Working With Alice? You Need To Be Here!" Joe Agreed And Re-Joined Aerosmith. Although The Project Still Toured Though May Of 1984, Everyone Knew The It Was Over. Tim Collins Still Tried To Get The Project Another Record Deal. He Sent A Tape Of "Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker" To Various Record Companies.
One Of The Record Companies Was Geffen Records {Which Eventully Hired The Reunited Aerosmith}. Now, John Kalodner {From Geffen Records} Listened To The Tape And Called Tim And Said: "I Got Your Tape. It Completly Sucks. How Could You Even Send Out A Piece-Of-Sh*t Tape Like This? I Love Joe Perry, You've Got A Real Artist Here, But This Tapes Just Blows." All Of The Other Records Companies Just Said, "Hey! Joe Perry! Great Tape! No Deal." So That Spelled The End Of The Joe Perry Poject.
In Later Years, Joe And Aerosmith Would See Great Success With Years With Geffen. They Would Sign A Contract Coming Back With Columbia For Thirty Million Dollars! Columbia Records Re-Released The First Two Project Albums In The Late 80's And Early 90's. Most Of The Members Of The Project Kept Working, Especially Charie Farren, David Hull, Danny Hargrove, And Joe Pet. Joe Has Made Some Little Steps To Going Solo Again. He Worked With Alice Cooper On His 1989 Album "Trash" And He Did A Version Of "Blue Christmas" On The 1997 {Steve Vai Put Together} Christmas Compilation "Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas". And He Has Sung Lead Vocals On Two Songs In The Past Few Years, "Walk On Down" And "Falling Off." Only Time Will Tell If The Project Will See The Light Of Day Again. If Not, We Can All Dream Can't We?
Source: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/1680/history.html
