In a new interview with Bass Player, Aerosmith bassist, Tom Hamilton, discusses how close the band came to missing out on "Sweet Emotion", his near-grudge over "Janie’s Got a Gun", why he was glad Joe Perry quit, the development of his video screen bass, and more. And excerpt from the feature follows.
Bass Player: Many say Rocks is Aerosmith’s best album – do you agree?
Tom Hamilton: “I’d have to agree it’s the album that defines us. I’d say it’s virtually neck and neck with Toys. Both of those albums were a friggin’ blast to put together. Working with Jack was really fun and exciting. He and the band were very much into experimentation, and you can really hear that with those records.”
Bass Player: How do you look back on the tough period of the late ’70s?
Hamilton: “By the time we started work on Draw The Line, drugs were becoming more destructive. I don’t consider that a great Aerosmith album, although a lot of people really like it. It definitely has some great moments on it. Then came Night In The Ruts. It was actually a step in the right direction, but by that time, the band was starting to fall apart. We were only partway finished with that record and we had to go on the road. A tour had already been booked and we couldn’t put it off. There was a lot of anger building up, and it came to a head during that tour. We were doing stadiums, but we let the bad feelings overtake our ability to appreciate what we had. The result was Joe and the rest of us parting ways.”
Bass Player: Do you remember Joe’s departure?
Hamilton: “I think we’d just played Cleveland Stadium to a huge crowd. We gathered in a dressing room trailer and everything exploded. I knew there was no point in trying to talk it out. I just wanted to be free of all the conflict. I was actually glad that it happened. Joe went off and did solo projects, and the we found Jimmy Crespo, who was an excellent guitarist and writer. We all set up shop in New York and started work on an album. We got work done – but just barely.”
Bass Player: Is that what led to Brad Whitford leaving?
Hamilton: “Brad finally got sick of the madness and took off. The rest of us kept working and finished Rock In A Hard Place. Jack suggested we replace Brad with a lovable madman named Rick Dufay – who was just this side of being out of control, but he contributed a lot in a crazy way. He helped out musically and added a lot of personality into the mix. We put the album out and went out on the road, which was the definition of the word ‘fiasco.’ Too many shows ended early due to the excessive use of chemicals.”
Read more at Bass Player.
