“I hear a lot of music, and there’s a lot of great guitar players and bands out there – but Yungblud really had the stuff. So, we thought we’d throw our lot in”: Joe Perry on how Aerosmith ended up collaborating with Yungblud

Fresh off his trio of Grammy nominations, Yungblud is gearing up for the release of the One More Time EP with rock luminaries Aerosmith.

Marking their first new material in over a decade, the five-track EP ushers in a new era for the band after they announced their retirement from touring last year. It's one that honors their legacy and embraces the next generation of rock stars, while, at the same time, firmly asserting that Aerosmith are far from passé.

“I’m really looking forward to this,” Joe Perry says in an upcoming Guitar World interview. “All the songs are inspired by him working with us, and us inspired by working with him.

“I hear a lot of music, and there’s a lot of great guitar players and bands out there – but Yungblud really had the stuff, you know? So, we thought we’d throw our lot in. The first single worked out, so we’ll see how it goes.”

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As for how the band decided to collaborate with Yungblud, Perry states the collaboration made sense from the get-go.

“It was just one of those things, you know? Our manager’s son mentioned something about Yungblud, and how it would be a cool idea to get Aerosmith and Yungblud together, and he mentioned it to his dad.”

He continues, “They started talking to Yungblud’s manager, and I guess they thought it would be a great idea. And then, Dom [Yungblud] and I got on the phone and talked for a while, and he ended up coming down here to Florida last year, and we hung out for a couple of days. He said, ‘Let’s work on some stuff for my next record…’”

One thing led to another, and Yungblud, Perry, and Steven Tyler ended up bouncing around different studios until fully-fledged song ideas started to emerge.

“We got three songs done, and were like, ‘Holy shit, we’re really locking into something,’ and we were really excited about it.

“The record company said, ‘Well, you guys gotta write two more songs so you can put an EP out. That’s how we’re setting up to release stuff now…’ We said, ‘Okay,’ and we had six days right before I had to start rehearsing with my band, and we wrote another song.”

As for whether Aerosmith fans can expect at least a couple of one-off shows to celebrate the release, Perry remains cryptic.

“There’s stuff flying around, you know, ideas. I’m not sure, but I have to think… I mean… the latest thing is that we’ve been talking about doing at least one show, somehow, some way, in conjunction with a documentary about the band that tells the band’s story. We’re still talking… that’s maybe next.”

Joe Perry's full interview with Guitar World will be published in the coming weeks.

Recently, Perry and Tyler joined Yungblud and Nuno Bettencourt on stage at the VMAs for a fresh mash-up of Ozzy Osbourne classics.