“Livin’ on the Edge” began not as a typical outside-writer pitch, but as a moment of pressure, instinct and recognition inside Joe Perry’s home studio, The Boneyard. The broader atmosphere mattered. The song was written in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots of April 29 to May 3, 1992, a moment when America’s racial, … More The Writing of Aerosmith’s “Livin’ on the Edge”
In late 1990 and early 1991, Aerosmith were the most valuable band in rock and a band still under contract to someone else. Tim Collins had walked David Geffen out of a re-signing meeting on Robertson Boulevard with the symbolic small win of refusing to pay for lunch, and walked into Michele Anthony’s office at … More The Two Makings of AEROSMITH’s Get a Grip: From “I Don’t Hear the Hits” to Grammy winner, the full 1991/1993 timeline
The Record That Nearly Killed the Band When Aerosmith signed a reported $30 million deal with Columbia Records in 1991 — their original label from the 1972–83 era — the expectation was simple: deliver a blockbuster follow-up to 1993’s Get a Grip, which had sold fourteen million copies worldwide. But the band couldn’t even begin … More Nine Lives, Nine Hundred Lives: The Tortured Making of Aerosmith’s Most Difficult Album
This is the tape that killed the Miami album. Dated 26 June 1996, the Glen Ballard mix tape is the closest thing that exists to the lost Nine Lives — eighteen productions spanning the full scope of the South Beach and Criteria sessions, plus two earlier tracks from May. It was assembled during the seven … More Glen Ballard’s Unreleased Mixes of AEROSMITH’s Nine Lives from June 1996
One month after the AC/DC concert that spawned their album’s title track, Aerosmith documented everything they had. The result — a reference cassette labelled “Aerosmith Demo Songs Tape 2/21/96 Tape 1 of 2” — is the most complete snapshot of the Nine Lives project at any single point during the Miami period. Where the earlier … More The South Beach Sessions Tape: Aerosmith’s Nine Lives Takes Shape, February 1996
A private collector’s tape offers a rare window into the raw material that existed before Glen Ballard formally took the producer’s chair. The tape is a second-generation cassette, later transferred to digital, containing eleven tracks in various states of completion. Quality varies throughout: some stereo elements survive but the sound is often faded toward mono, … More The Album Before the Album: Aerosmith’s 1995–96 Demo Tape
In late 1995, A&R legend John Kalodner heard Brother Cane’s “And Fools Shine On” — a #1 Mainstream Rock hit — and tracked down the songwriter. “He really loved the song and said, ‘Who wrote this song? I want to hook this guy up,’” Marti Frederiksen recalled during a 2020 Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp … More How Marti Frederiksen Wrote His Way Into Aerosmith and the solo sessions with Perry
If you’ve been to an Aerosmith show in the last two decades, you’ve seen Trace Foster and Greg Howard’s work, you just didn’t know it. Trace was Joe Perry’s right hand from 2009 until Aerosmith’s final bow, and Greg was Brad Whitford’s guitar tech from 2002, a partnership that stretched over two decades across multiple … More From Aerosmith’s Crew to AC/DC’s Stage: Catching Up with Trace Foster and Greg Howard in Argentina
Brad Whitford took the stage on March 25, 2026, at the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame Induction Celebration in Boston, held at the Boch Wang Theatre. The night honoured legendary artists including Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Greg Leisz, Bobby Rush, Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter, recognising the legacy of the Chicago blues scene that … More Brad Whitford LIVE in Boston – Folk Americana Hall of Fame Tribute Night
By the time Aerosmith cut their debut at Intermedia in Boston in September and October 1972, most of the album was not being invented in the studio so much as captured there. The real writing story starts earlier: in the band’s first year, living together around Commonwealth Avenue, rehearsing obsessively, and road-testing songs at places … More Aerosmith 1970–1972: Writing and Recording the Debut Album
Aerosmith’s Legendary Edition of their debut album is now out, and with it comes a fresh 2024 remix of the full record plus a fascinating set of bonus tracks. Below is our detailed track-by-track review, breaking down what stands out in the new mixes, what has changed, and what these alternate takes, rehearsals and jams … More Aerosmith’s Legendary Edition 2024 REMIX and Bonus Track REVIEW
The first Aerosmith album is one of the most important debut records in American rock, yet for a long time it seemed unlikely that it would ever receive the kind of deep remix treatment later albums often get. The reason traces back to a story that began circulating in the late 2000s, when the band … More Aerosmith’s Legendary Edition: from “lost masters” to a 2024 remix, a famous Paul’s Mall tape, and one very intriguing Aerojam
Aerosmith (Legendary Edition) finally made Paul’s Mall an official part of the band’s catalogue, this recording had already spent decades living one of the strangest double lives in Aerosmith history. It was never exactly lost. Collectors had known it for years, traded it in several forms, argued over its date, its completeness and its best … More Paul’s Mall: the definitive story behind Aerosmith’s March 20, 1973 show
One of the most interesting little details to come out of the One More Time story is that the Joe Perry and YUNGBLUD connection seems to go back further than most fans probably realised. In Rolling Stone UK’s feature on the project, it was revealed that YUNGBLUD went to Perry’s home in Sarasota in July … More Could Joe Perry and YUNGBLUD’s “lost” 2024 songs still be waiting in the vault?
“Wild Thing” has a strange, winding connection to Aerosmith that stretches across nearly two decades and several very different corners of pop culture. Long before the band recorded a short television version for the NFL, the song had already brushed against their world in the late 1980s through one of the most chaotic rock-and-comedy collaborations … More Aerosmith and Wild Thing: From Sam Kinison’s Video to NFL Playoff Television
In the fall of 2003, Aerosmith unexpectedly became part of one of the most recognisable traditions in American sports broadcasting: the opening of Monday Night Football. For more than a decade the show had begun with country legend Hank Williams Jr. performing his signature anthem. The song had a long lineage — Williams had written … More When Aerosmith Joined MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL for “All My Rowdy Friends”
On June 25, 2001, Aerosmith stood inside Cipriani’s on 42nd Street in New York City to announce their partnership with Dodge, tethered to the rollout of the all-new 2002 Ram. Steven Tyler wielded a can of spray paint and tagged the tailgate of a Ram truck on stage. Robot women styled after the Hajime Sorayama … More Aerosmith × Dodge Ram: The 2001–2002 Campaign and the Lost “Under My Skin” Performance Spot
Inside the jacket of Rock in a Hard Place appears a reproduced Criteria Recording Studios reel log dated 29 March 1982, Studio E, listing Aerosmith with Jack Douglas producing during the Miami sessions that ultimately shaped the album. On that sheet, among the handwritten entries in the title column, is a line that reads “NEW … More Far, Far Away: A Rock in a Hard Place Studio Mystery
Jam for Janie’s 2026 marked Steven Tyler’s return to the stage with a six-song set, sounding strong and confident overall. While he did not give any press interviews, Tyler was visibly emotional on the red carpet prior to the event, holding back tears while posing for photos with the girls supported by the charity. Beyond … More Jam for Janie’s 2026: Steven Tyler’s Six-Song Return
For a brief moment, Aerosmith Legendary Edition appeared on Rough Trade… and then vanished just as quickly. Screenshots circulated, listings were cached, and suddenly fans were staring at what looks like a three-CD deluxe reissue of the band’s 1973 debut, tentatively dated for March 1. If the listing was accurate, this would be no ordinary … More Aerosmith “Legendary Edition” Deluxe Remix Pack — real deal or mirage?
The Back-Burner: Aerosmith Outtakes & Demos 