Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has said he doesn’t recall his band treating Rush badly on tour – but he hopes he apologised.
The prog icons have previously discussed how they were denied sound checks and had their volume cut while they supported Steven Tyler and co in the 1970s.
Rolling Stone this week repeated a long-standing story that, when the Joe Perry Project later supported Rush, frontman Geddy Lee made sure they were well-treated and told the guitarist: “I would never want anyone to feel the way we did when we opened for you.” Lee says he doesn’t remember the conversation, but that Perry apologised.
Now the guitarist has responded, telling Rolling Stone: “Frankly, I don’t remember playing with Rush.”
But he adds: “The competition between bands was stiff, the competition between crews even stiffer, so I don’t doubt Geddy’s word.”
He says Aerosmith were always given “the short end of the stick” when they opened for English bands, and so he always told their crew to “take care of our openers.”
Perry continues: “I want to thank them for treating the Project so good, and actually taking the time to ask if everything was okay. I hope I had the presence of mind back then to apologise.
“I want to congratulate Rush on their longevity, because, like us, they’re still around to tell the tales.”
Perry last weeks said he hoped another Aerosmith album was on the horizon. Rush are midway through what’s likely to be their final large-scale tour:
Jun 19: Toronto, Air Canada Centre, ON
Jun 21: Montreal Bell Centre, QC
Jun 23: Boston TD Garden, MA
Jun 25: Philadelphia The Wells Fargo Center, PA
Jun 27: Newark Prudential Center, NJ
Jun 29: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Jul 09: Kansas City Sprint Center, MO
Jul 11: Denver Pepsi Center, CO
Jul 13: Salt Lake City Maverik Center, UT
Jul 15: Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome, AB
Jul 17: Vancouver, Rogers Arena, BC
Jul 19: Seattle Key Arena, WA
Jul 21: Portland Moda Center, OR
Jul 23: San Jose Sap Center At San Jose, CA
Jul 25: Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena, NV
Jul 27: Phoenix UA Airways Center, AZ
Jul 30: Irvine Meadows Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, CA
Aug 01: Los Angeles Forum, CA
