If you’ve seen Joe Perry do his thing with his Project, The Hollywood Vampires, or Aerosmith over the last few decades, then there’s more than a fair chance you’ve seen him playing a mouth-wateringly beautiful black Gibson Les Paul Junior with hard-to-miss mother-of-pearl inlay.

Of course, the guitar didn’t ship that way from Gibson's factory back in the ‘50s, nor was it that way when Perry got hold of it in the late ‘70s. In fact, Perry never intended it to be that way at all, but after he busted the headstock during an Aerosmith show – and after Steven Tyler nearly fed its remains to the ravenous audience – Perry was forced to pivot.

This leads to the Junior’s revival, and its current state. As for the details, we’ll leave those for Joe to reveal below.

What’s the story behind your black Gibson Junior double-cutaway with the hard-to-miss pearl inlay?

I’m pretty sure it’s a ’56. It’s one of those Juniors that started off with cherry stain, but it wasn’t a burst – it was just a cherry stain. It’s got one P-90. I actually had two of them in the mid-’70s, like the ones Johnny Thunders and Leslie West played. They’re killer guitars. It’s just volume, tone and a P90, and it screams. I was lucky enough to get two of them.

You broke one of those guitars while on stage, correct?

Yeah. We were doing a show at a festival and I threw this thing up in the air at the end of a song. This was before wireless, so it went to the end of the patch cord and came down on the neck – and the headstock snapped off.

I remember thinking as it was going up in the air, “Wow, I can’t believe it. That looks so cool.” And then, on the way down, I was thinking, “Holy shit, what did I do?” [Laughs]

After it came down and was broken, Steven grabbed it and wanted to throw it out into the audience, so I had to wrestle him for it. [Laughs] I knew we could fix it, you know? I got it back and gave the pieces to my guy, and the show went on.

Did you add the pearl inlay after you repaired the headstock?

I had some marble gargoyles in the backyard of the house I was living in, and I took some Polaroid photos of them and sent them to Gruhn Guitars in Nashville to see if we could incorporate them. A lot of people think the picture on there is a decal, but it’s all mother-of-pearl inlay work, and it’s still a killer guitar. It sounds great, and it’s one that comes to the studio with me as well as on the road.

I still have its brother, and that one is all original except for the chrome Grovers that pretty much everybody put on their ’50s and ’60s Gibsons if the tuning pegs started to rot, which they did quite a bit.

You’ve got hundreds of guitars. Given your love for tinkering and open-mindedness regarding tones, do you think you’ll ever find one guitar to rule them all?

My rat guitar, the Burned Strat, pretty much checks all of the boxes. It takes a guitar a while to settle in because they’re not designed to play with really light strings. I’m making generalizations here, but Strats and Les Pauls were designed to have heavier-gauge strings. I bet when you took a Tele out of the box in the ’50s, it had flatwound strings on it. [Laughs]

I’m sure Joe Bonamassa could tell you more about that than I could, but they were designed to have heavier strings – and not really roundwound. But over the years, we’ve managed to adapt and deal with that, so it takes a while if you’re gonna use the vibrato bar, and not just to divebomb. It takes a while for the guitar to settle in.

Have you found that since you’ve gone to lighter strings and the Vega-Trem that the Burned Strat has come into its own?

Yeah. The lighter the strings, the harder it is to get that to work. When you get a Strat-style guitar with that type of bridge, it takes a while for things to settle in. I don’t know… maybe that’s part of the voodoo, if you want to put it that way. So, with that guitar, if I’m doing a show, I can do things where I can trust it and count on it.

I know it’s gonna stay in tune. Of course, you never know if you’re gonna break a string, and with a floating bridge, when that happens, you’re fucked. [Laughs] It’s a roll of the dice, but I trust that guitar. I would use that one, even when I have access to all of my stuff.

At the end of the day, when it comes to “desert island guitars,” it’s a matter of taste. It’s not one-size-fits-all.

Right. It’s about what you’re looking for as far as the song. I’m driven by the song, you know?

I have a couple of hardcore rules, like when you’re playing live, you follow the singer. And if the song starts to sound like a trainwreck because somebody fucked up, just follow the singer and it’ll be less noticeable.

Hopefully, there’s a certain amount of charm to having a trainwreck onstage. [Laughs] If anything, it proves we’re not playing to a tape. The other thing is, like I said before, there are no wrong sounds. There might be a wrong sound for a particular song, but you keep searching until you find the right one. I have guitars that I paid $100 for, and they’re on some of our biggest hits. They worked in that particular situation.

Has anything new, gear-wise, caught your ear or eye?

I get guitar magazines all the time. I get Guitar World, and I look at the back pages for new pedals and whatever else, just messing around with different speakers and things. They all go down in the book, you know, in the back of my mind. I’m not organized enough to actually have everything in files on a computer, but I know where to get a particular sound or feel. It’s all built around what works for the song.

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Cardboard has become a weirdly talked-about tone-material in recent years, and now the brains behind the viral cardboard electric guitars has returned for its latest wood-less creation – the world’s first acoustic electric guitar made of cardboard.

In the past, we’ve seen Cardboard Chaos – the joint venture between Ernest Packaging and Signal – partner with the likes of Fender on Telecaster and Stratocaster-style guitars, as well as a bass, which have been played by everyone from Robby Krieger and Billy Gibbons to Keanu Reeves to Dweezil Zappa.

Now, the cardboard enthusiasts have unveiled the result of their latest collaboration with famed guitar builder Gabriel Currie – the world’s first archtop acoustic electric jazz guitar to be made almost entirely from cardboard.

The project has been a long time coming. The idea of an archtop of this ilk has been in the minds of the Cardboard Chaos team for “over a decade”.

To bring it to life, the jazz guitar began life at the Ernest Packaging innovation lab in Southern California, carving bodies, backs, sides and necks out of poly and paper. The lab’s leader, Mike Martinez, had to “push cardboard to its absolute limits” so he could pass the production baton onto Currie.

From there, Currie of Echopark Guitars – who has built instruments for Josh Homme and Steven Tyler – took it past the finishing line, but not before rethinking his approach to guitar-making: “Everything I thought I knew, I put aside,” Currie says of the build.

The guitar was inspired by a vintage Benedetto jazz box, of which the team had schematics and blueprints to study going into the process.

It’s something of an engineering marvel, built from countless resin-coated molds, a delicate archtop construction, lattice-style reinforcement and a neck made from mostly solid resin with paper as a binder. Throw in some electronics and you have a fully playable, fully functioning archtop made from cardboard.

“Chaos is an understatement when you set out to make an arch-top acoustic guitar out of cardboard,” a press release says.

“What comes out the other side is the world’s first Cardboard Acoustic Guitar that actually slays,” adds Signal, one of the driving forces behind the project.

“Not a prop. Not a joke. A real deal, jazz-style cardboard guitar that rings, sings, and proves what a small crew of friends with ridiculous ideas can pull off when they decide to bend the rules on purpose.”

Like the cardboard guitars to come before it, the Echopark Cardboard jazzbox will be put to use in an upcoming Cardboard Session.

Keep your eyes peeled on the Cardboard Sessions YouTube series for when it drops.

Joe Perry has recalled the time he saved a decapitated electric guitar from being unceremoniously discarded by Steven Tyler – in the middle of an Aerosmith gig.

In the new issue of Guitar World, Perry takes readers through his guitar gear history, shining the spotlight on a few of his favorite instruments.

One of the guitars that gets an honorable mention is his Gibson Les Paul Junior DC from the mid 1950s. Specifically, the one with the insane pearl fretboard inlay and eye-popping body artwork.

As Perry explains, he actually had two LP Juniors – one of which almost met a grisly end at the hands of Tyler, after a rather gruesome injury that led to the “killer” guitar going sans headstock.

“I actually had two of them in the mid-’70s, like the ones Johnny Thunders and Leslie West played. They’re killer guitars,” Perry says. “It’s just volume, tone and a P-90, and it screams. I was lucky enough to get two of them.

“We were doing a show at a festival and I threw this thing up in the air at the end of a song,” he continues. “This was before wireless, so it went to the end of the patch cord and came down on the neck – and the headstock snapped off.

“I remember thinking as it was going up in the air, ‘Wow, I can’t believe it. That looks so cool.’ And then, on the way down, I was thinking, ‘Holy shit, what did I do?’

“After it came down and was broken, Steven grabbed it and wanted to throw it out into the audience, so I had to wrestle him for it. [Laughs] I knew we could fix it, you know? I got it back and gave the pieces to my guy, and the show went on.”

Despite Tyler’s attempts to discard the injured Les Paul Junior, Perry’s rescue mission was a success, and the guitar made a full recovery. In fact, it came out the other end with some fancy new additions – and he still uses it to this day.

“I had some marble gargoyles in the backyard of the house I was living in, and I took some Polaroid photos of them and sent them to Gruhn Guitars in Nashville to see if we could incorporate them,” Perry remembers.

“A lot of people think the picture on there is a decal, but it’s all mother-of-pearl inlay work, and it’s still a killer guitar. It sounds great, and it’s one that comes to the studio with me as well as on the road.”

Elsewhere in his Guitar World interview, Perry looks back on the painful memory of selling his ’Burst – and why he’ll never forget the moment it came back to him… via Slash.

For more from Perry, plus new interviews with Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy, and a tribute to the legendary Bob Weir, pick up issue 602 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

Mention Sting to us bassists and several hallmarks come to mind: his sparse basslines with the Police. His ability to sing while playing independent bass parts. And his jazz-infused, post-Police explorations, which further cemented his status as a favorite among fellow musicians without affecting his gift for selling millions of records to the general public.

His restless musical soul and inherent curiosity have led him down many different avenues over the years, including the time he hit the stage of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to rock the 2011 iHeartRadio festival alongside Jeff Beck and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Joining Tyler to kick off the second night with Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion, Sting took on Tom Hamilton’s iconic opening bass lick – but he hadn’t quite got it right, as bassist Tal Wilkenfeld was quick to point out.

Speaking to Bass Player in 2017 Sting said, “With Tal it was very funny; we were doing an event in Las Vegas, and we were playing an Aerosmith song and it was kind of a complicated bassline. And Tal came over and said, ‘Sting, it doesn’t quite go the way you’re playing it!’

“I really respected her courage to come up to me and teach me the right way to play the part, and I was very grateful. She's an amazing bassist with great ears.”

Wilkenfeld’s long-standing Beck association had previously seen her take up bass duties with Sting at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary Concerts, as Sting delivered a rendition of People Get Ready with Beck’s band, which also included Jason Rebello on keyboards, and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums.

“Vinnie is an extraordinary musician,” said Sting. “The only thing I'll tease him about is the double bass drum. I'll say, ‘Hey, where am I in this equation?’ And he'll crack up laughing, but we have a great relationship and I appreciate all that he adds to my music. Let's face it, a band is only as good as the drummer.”

While Sting would make a conspicuous return to playing bass onstage in 2011, billing his live shows as his “Back to Bass” tour, on record he's frequently enlisted other bass players, rather than handling bass duties himself.

“It's great to have a holiday so I can just sing! Will Lee, Christian McBride, Ira Coleman or Nathan East will often come to my aid and give me that holiday. I do listen, though, and if I don't agree with something, then I’ll let them know.”

Asked if any other bassists had caught his ear these days, Sting explained: “I love Metallica's Robert Trujillo. He's not only a great bass player, it's the drama of how he plays, and he's a showman, which I think is fantastic.

“I’m also impressed with the emergence of excellent female bassists. I've played with both Tal and Esperanza Spalding. And Esperanza, my god, she's a triple threat – she writes, she's a fantastic singer, and she's an incredible bass player.”

Jared James Nichols got the shock of a lifetime when rock royalty gatecrashed his band’s jam session – and ended up with him hanging out with Aerosmith.

The blues rock guitar ace doesn’t specify when this happened exactly, but after one of rock’s most iconic frontmen came to watch his band jam, he found himself welcomed into Aerosmith’s ranks.

“My band is jamming, and the door cracks open, and I hear, ‘Who the hell are you, man?’” Nichols tells the Playback Podcast. “And Steven Tyler walks in. He's like, ‘Play that again.’ And he starts getting all crazy, and the band's jamming.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, this is insane.’ Steven goes, ‘Hey, man, you kick ass. We're making a record in the back. Why don't you come hang out?’ So I walked back there. Joe Perry's back there. All these guys are back there. And I'm like, ‘Holy smokes, this is happening.’”

Perhaps buoyed by Tyler’s compliments, Nichols didn’t need a second invitation, and he quickly discovered how the other half live.

“They had a spread of food back there,” he adds, a little flabbergasted. “He's like, ‘Grab some food, man. Grab a beer.’”

His hosts were more than welcoming, and when Tyler told him, “We're gonna be here for a while. Come back whenever you want,” he did exactly that.

“The next day, I went back,” Nichols admits. “And then the next day I went back. It got to the point where I was hanging out so much, Steven would be like, ‘JJ, what do you think of this mix? Let's go listen to it in your car.’

“He would burn a CD, and we'd go into my friend’s Subaru Outback and listen to it, drive around, and he'd be singing along.”

It's unclear whether this was when Aerosmith were recording their last album, 2012's Music From Another Dimension!, or their surprise EP with Yungblud. Either way, it paints a fantastic image – and gave Nichols a lasting memory.

Nichols – who is also a GW columnist – recently explained why playing in a trio can improve your guitar solos and how to express yourself with your bends.

While the Yungblud-led VMAs tribute of Ozzy Osbourne was hailed by many – especially for bridging the gap between younger rock luminaries and veterans such as Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Perry, and Steven Tyler – the Darkness' Dan and Justin Hawkins were less than impressed by the performance.

In fact, they took to social media to deem it as “another nail in the coffin of rock n roll” and “cynical, nauseating and more importantly; shit.” Furthermore, there was a further insinuation that Yungblud was using Ozzy's legacy to further his own career.

After responding to these criticisms on Billy Corgan's The Magnificent Others, Yungblud is now taking things a step further on Jack Osbourne's Trying Not to Die podcast.

Osbourne opens up the difficult conversation with, “After the VMAs, some rock stars were slagging you off. Kind of being like, ‘Oh, he's just clout chasing. He's jumping on the bandwagon of Ozzy passing.’ But I kind of wanted to use this opportunity to talk about [this] – because as a family, we've talked about this, you've been so graceful over the last two months.

“But you were so much more involved, and we've respected that. You've respected that, but these people didn't fucking know... Dom [Harrison, Yungblud] meant something to my Dad. My Dad meant something to Dom.”

Osbourne goes on to say that he texted him on the night of the VMAs, and, on behalf of the whole family, told him to “crush it.”

“All I was trying to do was my best for your old man,” replies Yungblud. “Because he gave me such a gift. And when people try and intellectualize a sense of spirit and six musicians on a stage going, ‘We fucking love you, man,’ it's just bitter and jealous.”

According to Yungblud, the naysayers – especially those of a certain profile – are trying to “insert themselves into a conversation to obtain some kind of relevancy on the back of us honoring one of the greatest rock stars that ever lived”.

He continues, “I'm just gonna do it, and I'm gonna channel him, and I'm gonna do his ‘Hahahas,’ and I'm gonna do his hands, and I'm gonna do his eyes, and I'm gonna wear his cross, and I'm gonna just fucking do it, because what the fuck else are we gonna do?

“I couldn't fucking sleep, so I texted your old man the night before, and it didn't go through. I literally just said, ‘Tomorrow, I just want [you] to know wherever you are, I love you, and I'll give you everything I got.’”

Yungblud also notes that, “you will never see someone that's bigger or more emotionally evolved than you talk shit on you”.

“You ain't ever gonna see fucking James Hetfield slag off a young rock star. No, because he's James fucking Hatfield,” he observes. “[You ain't ever gonna] see your dad slag off a fucking rock star because they [haven't] got anything to prove. They don't need to insert themselves into a conversation.”

Elsewhere, Yungblud and Aerosmith recently announced that they're releasing an EP together.

Last weekend, Yungblud led an all-star cast of rock greats out onto the VMAs stage for a medley of Ozzy Osbourne classics, which was performed as a tribute to the late Black Sabbath singer.

Many of those in the audience and watching at home were quick to praise the Crazy Train / Mama, I’m Coming Home mash-up, but Dan Hawkins wasn’t among them. Instead, The Darkness electric guitar player took to social media to blast the performance – and he didn’t hold back in his assessment.

“Another nail in the coffin of rock n roll. Cynical, nauseating and more importantly; shit,” he wrote, before taking direct aim at the musicians involved in the tribute medley itself.

He adds, “Makes me sick how people jump on this shit to further their own careers.” Hawkins captions the clip – which also features pop singer Ariana Grande admiring the show – “What a bunch of bellends”. Comments for the post have been turned off.

For the medley, Yungblud – one of the standout performers at Back to the Beginning, whose awe-inspiring rendition of Changes was regarded as one of the many highlights of the event – was joined by Nuno Bettencourt, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.

Alongside Perry, Bettencourt – who proved to be the MVP of the show that night with his supergroup-spanning contributions – was on hand with his Washburn to deliver the goods for the medley, while Tyler (just as he did at Back to the Beginning) demonstrated that his vocals were still in fine form, despite the fact Aerosmith retired from touring last year.

Prior to the performance, Yungblud shared a picture of himself with Ozzy at Back to the Beginning with the caption, “They’ve asked me to pay tribute to you at the @vmas on Sunday night. I’ll try my best to do you proud Oz. Tune in from up there. I love you forever”.

During Back to the Beginning, Ozzy had also given Yungblud a necklace, which was worn during the VMA show. Yungblud – whose own man-of-the-people ethos resonates with Ozzy’s legacy – has waxed lyrical about his admiration for Osbourne in the past on numerous occasions. Footage of the pair’s pre-show meet up was also recently released.

After shredding a self-made Ozzy Osbourne medley on tour with Extreme, Nuno Bettencourt teamed up with Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Yungblud for a fresh mash-up of Prince of Darkness classics at the VMAs over the weekend.

Ozzy passed away in July mere weeks after his final, history-making show. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes, including those from the likes of Wolfgang Van Halen, and Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp. During the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, Bettencourt and an all-star cast of music greats offered a tribute of their own.

Starting with a rambunctious Crazy Train, complete with Bettencourt's dazzling guitar solo exploits, it smoothly segues into another tender, hair-rising take of Changes, which Yungblud so masterfully handled at Back to the Beginning. That portion is iced with some tasty licks from the Portuguese guitar hero as well.

The pair then peel off stage as Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Steven Tyler waltz on from either side, with Perry donning a reverse headstock Stratocaster for Mama I’m Coming Home.

Aerosmith were forced to retire from touring last year amid Tyler’s ongoing health issues, and while Perry hopes the band can play at least one more show, Back to the Beginning marked Tyler’s first big show since the announcement, having previously linked up with Bettencourt at a charity show in January.

As a collage of photos of Ozzy flickers on the screens behind the pair, Yungblud – one of the voices of the new generation of rock musicians – returns to duet with Tyler, with Perry serving up one last solo for good measure. It’s a rousing end to a very classy tribute.

“Ozzy forever, man!” beckons Yungblud as Bettencourt wraps things up on a 12-string acoustic guitar.

“They’ve asked me to pay tribute to you at the @vmas on Sunday night,” Yungblud posted to social media prior to the performance, along with a picture of him and Ozzy. “I’ll try my best to do you proud Oz. Tune in from up there. I love you forever.

Yungblud's stock has been rapidly rising in recent months, with his tradition of jamming songs on stage with young fans part of a legacy that resonates with Ozzy's working-class, man-of-the-people ethos.

He's also recently spoken about his “voodoo” ES-330, which he wants to turn into a signature guitar, following the success of his signature Epiphone SG Junior.

And while Perry has hit the road with members of Stone Temple Pilots and Black Crowes, Bettencourt has reflected on the time he broke the golden rule of the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992 to honor his favorite band.

As the search goes on to reunite Michael J. Fox with the Back to the Future ES-345, which hasn’t been seen since the film wrapped shooting 40 years ago, the actor’s guitar chops have come to light thanks to an Instagram post from Aerosmith.

The film’s iconic school dance scene inspired the likes of John Mayer, Mark Agnesi, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin to pick up the electric guitar, along with so many others. Speaking of the scene, Fox says he used the spot to reference a host of legendary guitar players because, as a guitarist himself, he wanted to do things right.

When Coldplay headlined Glastonbury in 2024, they invited Fox on stage to play with them as a way of thanking the actor for sowing the seeds of the band, but it turns out it isn’t the only time he’s graced the stage with rock greats.

Aerosmith have lifted footage from their fault that shows Fox teaming up with vocalist Steven Tyler to play Johnny B. Goode – the song he plays in the film – at a small club venue. It’s unclear when the clip was filmed, but it’s further proof that his guitar chops are far more real – sadly – than the Delorian.

Not only that, he's playing an appropriate Gibson ES model. He's behind Tyler for much of the clip, but we do get a glimpse of the sunburst guitar's Varitone switch and split fretboard inlays. Going off that own alone, it looks to be an ES-345 – the same model (albeit in a different finish without the Bigsby) from the movie.

“Jamming Johnny B. Goode with none other than Marty McFly himself - Michael J. Fox,” reads the caption. Fire emojis in the comments section are plentiful.

Speaking to Empire in 2020, Fox says he told Back to the Future writer Bob Gale that he was going to play the song while filming, rather than just miming for the camera.

“I had a great guitar teacher who taught me how to play,” he explains. “I said to Bob, ‘When I do this scene, I play guitar, so you can finger-sync me. Feel free to cut to my hands any time you want.’ Having said that, it put pressure on me to get it right.”

Meanwhile, Gibson has revealed a key feature of the missing ES-345 that will help identify it properly. The firm says it has been inundated with submissions for its search, which coincides with the film’s 40th anniversary, and has turned to the big guns to help find it.

It has hired the two investigative journalists who helped uncover Paul McCartney’s Höfner violin bass 50 years after it went missing. The ES-345 was loaned from Norman’s Rare Guitars after a last-minute switch (and faux pas) from the props department. It hasn’t been seen since.

The Joe Perry Project has performed its first shows, with the Aerosmith guitarist’s all-star solo project fronted by Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes and featuring Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots on bass guitar.

Flanked by his fellow Aerosmith alumni – Brad Whitford on guitar, keyboardist Buck Johnson – with Jason Sutter completing the lineup on drums, Perry performed a set classics over two nights in Florida.

There was some STP – Interstate Love Song, Vasoline – as well as some Black Crowes; Twice As Hard, Jealous Again. There was a lot of Aerosmith, with the band opening with Let the Music Do the Talking and closing it out with Walk This Way – Joe Perry rocking his leftie Stratocaster. They covered Led Zeppelin, too.

With Perry out and about, he has been sharing some thoughts on the future of Aerosmith, which, as of right now, is over as a touring entity, the venerable US rock institution grounded by frontman Steven Tyler’s injured larynx.

And yet, watching Tyler hold Villa Park in the palm of his hand at Back to the Beginning as he performed Train Kept A-Rollin’, Walk This Way and Whole Lotta Love, many people – Perry included – might be forgiven for harboring thoughts that A) Tyler has still got, and B) there is no good reason why Aerosmith couldn’t pull together, at least for one last hurrah.

Speaking to WBUR, Perry did not rule out the possibility that the band would take flight once more – which would be fitting given they had to cancel the remaining dates on their farewell tour.

“I would bet that there’s an Aerosmith show left,” said Perry. “There’s been talk about doing a documentary, that might be part of it.”

An Aerosmith documentary is long overdue. The Making of Pump was a vital snapshot of the band in 1990, working under the auspices of Bruce Fairbairn. The only career-spanning doc we have is a VH1 Behind the Music episode that aired in 2002, and a lot has happened since. What won’t happen, sadly, is a tour. Whatever repair Tyler’s larynx is in, it is not fit for 40 nights in the world’s enormodomes.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with Steven,” continued Perry, “and he just doesn’t want to tour and he can’t tour. It’s tough. I’m not sure I would want to go out and book another 40-city tour. It’s a long way to the top and staying there takes it out of you, especially an Aerosmith tour.”

For the foreseeable, if you want to hear classics lifted from the Aerosmith catalog, try and catch the Joe Perry Project.

Perry announced this new lineup and tour in May. Stone Temple Pilots drummer Eric Kretz was meant to be joining them but had to sit it out following a family emergency. Perry plays Toronto tomorrow night. See Joe Perry for full dates and ticket details.

When Back to the Beginning was first announced, not only was it promised to be “the greatest day in the history of heavy metal”, it also vowed to bring together a mind-bending array of special guest guitar heroes for a range of Sabbath-honoring and supergroup sets.

And arguably the most anticipated supergroup of the evening was the ‘metal Yardbirds’ – a reunion of sorts between three electric guitar greats, all of whom grew up in similar musical circles when they were younger, and whose team-up had been teased by Sharon Osbourne back in February.

That hotly anticipated group comprised Tom Morello, Billy Corgan and Adam Jones, who came together for a Rage Against the Machine/Smashing Pumpkins/Tool super-band that performed two tracks on the night.

Morello, Corgan, and Jones – who shared near-identical early experiences growing up in similar music circles, before branching out into their own styles – were flanked at Back to the Beginning by Judas Priest royalty K.K. Downing, and former Ozzy and Dio bassist Rudy Sarzo, for a rampant Breaking The Law, before a Sabbath nod via Snowblind, from 1972’s Vol. 4.

The songs played host to plenty of whammy and wah pedal action, with the Flying V-wielding Downing, and Les Paul wielders Morello and Jones, delivering a bevy of high-octane guitar solos, each one oozing in a classic rock ’n’ roll spirit.

Elsewhere, Corgan was exclusively assigned to vocal duty for the two songs, meaning the wait to hear the six-string triumvirate of Morello, Jones and Corgan regrettably goes on.

Speaking of his connection to Morello and Jones – and the concept of the 'metal Yardbirds' – earlier this year, Corgan had said, “Somebody will get mad at me, but it's the closest thing to Beck, Clapton and Page kind of growing up in the same hood. We have had our influence in what followed.

“If they want to get mad at me, they can, but that's not an insane theory. I find it really fascinating, because what was it in the water that we were all drinking?”

Intriguingly, Jones says Tool originally turned down the chance to get involved with Back to the Beginning, with curator Tom Morello eager to involve his former schoolmate.

Elsewhere, there were some other noteworthy spots. Steven Tyler, who continues to recover from vocal issues that forced Aerosmith's retirement last year, made a triumphant return to the stage and joined Ronnie Wood, Tom Morello, Nuno Bettencourt and Andrew Watt group for three tracks.

Taking to Instagram to reflect on just shy of 10 hours of riffs and tributes, Billy Corgan had some heartfelt reflections.

“Music is the soundtrack to our lives, but yesterday, in my estimation, was something truly special,” he wrote. “As a three-dimensional soundtrack was being crafted in real time. All to celebrate this coming home for the band once known as Earth.

“Every great journey has trials and tribulations, tragedies and surprises. Therein lies the magic, therein lie the tears. I both whooped yesterday in sheer exultation to be in the right spot at the right moment, and I wept silently as my heroes fell on their wizardly, mythic sword to bid us farewell.”

The most anticipated heavy metal event of all time, Back to the Beginning, took place last weekend (July 5), and as expected, the nine-hour affair proved to be the perfect send off for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.

To bring the curtain down on Ozzy and Sabbath’s epic live careers, the legendary band were joined by a who’s who of guitar royalty, with the likes of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Halestorm, Lamb of God all making up the lineup.

Throughout the evening, these guitar heroes and special guests were arranged across a stacked itinerary, with some playing 15 minute sets (Ozzy and Sabbath covers included) and others joining forces for special one-off supergroups.

Billy Corgan’s ‘metal yardbirds’ were arguably the most hyped supergroup of the night, but they were given a run for their money when Steven Tyler made a triumphant return to the stage with a three-song set that also featured Ronnie Wood, Nuno Bettencourt, Tom Morello and Andrew Watt.

Tyler, whose high-profile vocal injury forced Aerosmith to retire from touring last year, showed absolutely zero signs of a musician whose powers were apparently waning, instead putting in a strong case for ‘vocalist of the evening’ as he confidently and robustly belted through The Train Kept A-Rollin’, Aerosmith’s Walk This Way and Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love.

The supporting cast of guest guitar heroes played their part, too. Wood, fresh from his Glastonbury 2025 appearance alongside Rod Stewart, sauntered through the sleazy, untethered bends and riffs of that first song, before giving up the stage to Nuno, Watt and Morello for the rest of Tyler’s set.

Watt – longtime Ozzy collaborator and super-producer to rock’s elite – donned an SG for the occasion, while Morello and his Arm the Homeless Superstrat helped hold down the classic Aerosmith and Zeppelin riffs.

And then there was Nuno, whose contributions to the evening cannot be overstated. A foundational presence throughout the entirety of Back to the Beginning, Bettencourt was – in the words of Guitar World’s Michael Astley-Brown, who watched the entire show – the MVP of the evening.

His presence for the Tyler cameo was equally influential, padding out riffs when required, supporting in the vocals department, and serving as the six-string supergroup glue that, in large parts, held the evening together.

All this is to say, Tyler looks to be in seriously good form, and though a one-off appearance lasting 15 minutes is a very different to sustaining an entire show, it makes chatter of a potential Aerosmith send-off all the more believable.

Last week, Joe Perry said there had to be “at least another Aerosmith gig”, while bassist Tom Hamilton previously admitted, “I refuse to consider it over,” when asked about a potential return.

With Tyler sounding as good as this (especially on Aerosmith classics) a reunion now looks more likely than ever – and, as the evidence shows, it would sound killer...

Last summer, Aerosmith officially announced their retirement, bringing to a close their epic 50-year live career after it was confirmed vocalist Steven Tyler would be unable to recover from a long-standing vocal injury.

At the time, Tyler and co said it had been a “heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision” to make, but now electric guitar icon Joe Perry has seemingly left the door ajar for a potential reunion at some point in the future.

Speaking to Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM (via Ultimate Classic Rock), Perry discussed the possibility of a final Aerosmith concert, which could indeed become a reality if some logistical and organizational hurdles could be overcome.

“I’m always hoping, but going on the road, it’s a big deal pulling that together,” Perry admits. “It’s one thing to sit there and look online and see who’s touring and stuff, and there’s dates that show up, but there’s so much planning, and what it takes out of you physically, it’s a lot more than people realise.”

Logistics aside, there is also an intense physical toll that touring has on an aging rock institution, another consideration that could jeopardize a grand finale send-off.

“It’s a really physical thing, going out on stage,” he continues. “And all that energy that you’re putting out, that you’re transferring to the audience, it takes something out of you in a physical and emotional way. And all of that energy that you give, that’s flowing out there, that’s making people feel good, it takes it out of you.

“So I don’t know, man. But we’re talking about it. I mean, except for anything on the calendar, we’re all alive and well. So, we’ll just have to see.

“I know there’s gotta be at least another Aerosmith gig, and I’m not looking forward to putting the setlist together for that one. But I don’t know, man. We’ll just have to see.”

Perry isn’t the only Aerosmith member to have these thoughts, either. The guitarist says he “thinks” Tyler would be up for it as well, while bassist Tom Hamilton previously told Guitar World that he refused to believe the band was actually over.

“I refuse to consider it over,” he said last year during an in-depth interview. “There are a lot of things we could do in the future. We'll just have to see once we get out of reaction mode and back to creative mode… I find it hard to believe that we'll never play again.”

In related Perry news, last year the guitar hero sat down with Guitar World to take a look back on his Aerosmith career – and his 600-strong guitar collection.

Ever wondered about your best gig ever (so far)? Every musician has one – and for Pat Travers, it was sharing the stage with a host of legendary names at Day on the Green, a recurring concert series at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. Promoted by rock impresario Bill Graham, the series began in 1973 and drew some of the biggest acts of the era and crowds of around 65,000 people.

“The best show I ever did was 1978 in Oakland, California,” Travers tells tells Rick Beato. “It's Aerosmith headlining, Foreigner, my band [Pat Travers Band], AC/DC, and Van Halen. Five bands starting at 11 a.m.

“So I'm not sure if Van Halen went on first, or AC/DC did. One of them did. It didn't matter. And of course, Bill Graham was the best, and the backstage area had AstroTurf and tables and umbrellas, trailers – and everybody's hanging out together.”

The fantasy lineup of classic rock musicians extended to Travers' backstage encounters – including a comical one with none other than Steven Tyler.

“That was the first time I met Steven Tyler, and that's so funny. Somebody from my record company says, ‘Pat, you got to meet Steven Tyler.’ And I went, ‘Yeah, I've just got to meet Steven Tyler.’

“So they walk me over. He's sitting in a chair underneath an umbrella with a frozen daiquiri, and he's got big mirrored aviators and the biggest dive watch I ever saw, and he's just sitting there, and someone goes, ‘Hey, Steven, this is Pat – Pat, this is Steve.’ And I go, ‘Hey, Steve, how you doing?’”

Tyler’s response? “He goes, ‘My fucking lips are killing me.’ [laughs] I liked him, just loved him immediately. I went, ‘That's my kind.’ He just didn't get it. I mean, he had chapped lips because it was so dry out there, yeah, but he [had] forgotten that, ‘Oh, by the way, your lips are so big you can whisper in your own ear.’ It's funny.”

Another one for the books? An encounter with two guitar greats, and a photo to prove it. “There's a great picture of Eddie [Van Halen], Pat Thrall, and myself backstage. Oh man, we look awesome – three guitar players, just 24 years old.”

In the same Rick Beato interview, Travers revealed he owned three Gibsons by the age of 16 – all of which met an unfortunate demise.

Last August, Aerosmith dramatically announced their retirement from touring, citing frontman Steven Tyler's ongoing vocal injury as the primary reason for the abrupt decision.

Over this past weekend (February 2), however, Tyler returned to the stage for a mini-set at a fundraiser for the Janie’s Fund foundation at the Hollywood Palladium.

Also along for the ride were some friends, including Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton, Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson, and one Nuno Bettencourt.

The Extreme guitarist took to the stage to accompany Tyler for the entirety of his performance, which included both Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion, Walk This Way, and Toys in the Attic among them – and Extreme classics, the latter coming in the form of, what else, More Than Words.

We need a “missing” poster, though! In a nod, we're guessing, to the brawn of the Aerosmith material at hand, Bettencourt left his Washburn N4 signature guitar at home in favor of a swanky black Gibson Les Paul.

Washburn or not, Bettencourt had plenty of leeway to get the funk out – moving the proceedings along with plenty of fiery outbursts and some flavorful tapping to boot.

“Keep your eyes on this man!” the always-colorful Tyler told the crowd before Bettencourt kicked off another of the evening's jams, a loose cover of that ultimate classic rock staple, Whole Lotta Love.

Though a rare occurrence indeed, Bettencourt has taken to the stage on other occasions without his trusty Washburn, notably wielding a Les Paul copy while shredding onstage with Stone Temple Pilots last year.

As for Aerosmith, does this mean they're un-retired? According to Tom Hamilton, the situation is complicated.

Just last month, he said that Tyler was recovering “really well” from his injury, but also made sure to caveat that by saying that the healing process “goes at its own pace.”

“Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it’s a big ‘if’ and the last thing I want to be doing is to try and push Steven in that direction,” Hamilton said. “If we do anything in the future, it would come from him.”

Last summer, the American rock institution Aerosmith shocked fans by announcing the band's retirement from touring after five decades on the road. In a social media statement, the band attributed the difficult decision to frontman Steven Tyler's vocal injury, forcing them to cut short an extensive North American tour.

However, it seems like this might not be the last we’ve heard from Aerosmith in the live circuit, as bassist Tom Hamilton shared with Boston radio station WBUR that the renowned frontman is recovering “really well” but added that the healing process “goes at its own pace.”

“Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it’s a big ‘if’ and the last thing I want to be doing is to try and push Steven in that direction. If we do anything in the future, it would come from him.”

The bassist had previously told Bass Player that, “as far as the career goes, I refuse to consider it over. There are a lot of things we could do in the future.”

He continued, “We’ll just have to see once we get out of reaction mode and back to creative mode. I’m going through a phase now where I can feel my playing taking a step upward. Inspiration is always right around the corner.”

As to whether this will take the shape of a full-scale reunion, Hamilton added, “I find it hard to believe that we'll never play again. I’ve been surprised by things that have happened with this band too many times to think that the future is closed.”

US rock icons Aerosmith have announced their retirement from touring after over 50 years on the road.

In a social media post, the band attributed the “heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision” to frontman Steven Tyler’s vocal injury.

“It was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith,” the post begins. “Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades. Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock ‘n’ roll history.

“It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.

“We’ve always wanted to blow your mind when performing. As you know, Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision - as a band of brothers - to retire from the touring stage.

“We are grateful beyond words for everyone who was pumped to get on the road with us one last time. Grateful to our expert crew, our incredible team and the thousands of talented people who’ve made our historic runs possible. A final thank you to you - the best fans on planet Earth. Play our music loud, now and always. Dream On. You’ve made our dreams come true.”

Ticket holders for the band’s canceled tour dates will be refunded.

In September 2023, Aerosmith postponed the remaining US dates on their farewell tour due to Tyler’s fractured larynx.

Founded in Boston in 1970, Aerosmith are one of America’s most iconic bands, and hits including Sweet Emotion, Dream On and Walk This Way have been part of rock’s pantheon for decades.

“I’m just so thankful to the fans because without them we wouldn’t still be here,” guitarist Joe Perry told Guitar World last year.

“Our career has been a blessing, and sometimes I still can’t believe it. When we started, I never imagined we’d be here doing this 50 years later. To have it be the same guys out there together at the end is amazing, and I’m very thankful for that, too.”

On June 6, 1992, Guns N’ Roses headlined the Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris. Touring on the strength of their hugely successful 1991 Use Your Illusion albums, the band wanted to make a big splash in the French capital, and thought that inviting some special guests to the stage with them might do the trick.

Three of the band's classic rock heroes – Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, and Jeff Beck – were among those contacted. Perry and Tyler were to join Guns N' Roses for a version of Train Kept A Rollin', with Beck set to play the Use Your Illusion II cut, Locomotive, with the band.

While Tyler and Perry would indeed take the stage that summer night, performing Aerosmith's Mama Kin, in addition to Train Kept A Rollin', with GN'R, Beck did not, having abruptly pulled out prior to the show.

Luckily for us, though, a local television crew happened to be on hand during Beck's initial rehearsals with Guns N' Roses, capturing their loose but nonetheless fascinating soundcheck jam on Locomotive.

The video above begins with a look at Beck – playing, of course, his trademark Stratocaster – soundchecking. While that may not sound particularly interesting, those initial shots do provide some tantalizingly close looks at Beck's fingerpicking and whammy bar techniques. 

Gilby Clarke and Slash – both wielding Les Pauls – soon emerge and, with Beck in tow, Guns N' Roses (sans Axl Rose) launch into Locomotive. Beck and Slash go on to trade some blistering, characteristic leads, as Tyler and Perry look on.

In a recent interview with Total Guitar, Perry told the story of how the gathering came about, and his theory on why Beck ultimately pulled out.

"We played with Guns N’ Roses when they were starting to get rolling," Perry said. "It was after they opened for us. It was great watching that happen because it’s the most exciting time in any band, when you realize you’re not just trying to fill the club with your friends. 

"In ’92 they were playing the racetrack in Paris. There were 100,000 people or something, and they invited me and Steven and Jeff to play Train Kept a-Rollin’. It meant us doing dropping everything and getting on a plane, but of course we would do it. It’s one of those things you just do." 

It's unclear whether or not Beck was originally supposed to join Guns N' Aerosmith for Train Kept a-Rollin’ that evening, as Perry recalls, but either way, he can be seen playing the song with them at soundcheck at around the 9:20 mark of a second rehearsal video (which can be seen directly above).

"At the soundcheck I really didn’t talk to Jeff much," Perry recalled to Total Guitar. "I don’t think he liked the sound he was getting at the soundcheck. I knew it was bound to be a lot of fun, and again, Guns N’ Roses are a great band. We went through the soundcheck, and the next day Jeff’s gear was gone. I said, ‘Where’s Jeff?’ I mean, that’s kind of the reason I wanted to do this. They said, ‘Well, he wasn’t feeling right about it so he went home.’

"There were the stories about [Beck] leaving a tour with The Yardbirds and that kind of thing, but it was the first time that that side of his personality touched me. But the soundcheck was fun. I thought it sounded good, but he is what he is. 

"When you’re going on to somebody else’s stage like that you have to have to adapt a little bit to what they’re doing," he went on. "You don’t have the same kind of control as when it’s your own gig, so I wasn’t surprised. When you go and jam with somebody you want it to be as good as it can be, but very often you’re not using your own amp. Playing outdoors like that in a huge arena, you’ve really got to feel comfortable with it if you’re gonna do your best, and that’s what Jeff’s all about."

Beck, however, went on record saying that it wasn't his live sound that bothered him at the soundcheck – and subsequently discouraged him from performing with Guns N' Roses – but rather his ongoing struggle with tinnitus.

In a 2010 interview with Clash, Beck remarked that, in the early '90s, he "was going through misery with the tinnitus, I was thinking I was gonna die, and I couldn’t deal with it. 

"I went over to Paris to do a show with Guns ‘N’ Roses," he went on. "We’d rehearsed in the dressing room and went out to do a soundcheck. Matt [Sorum, the band's then-drummer] hit one bass drum and it was like forty million watts going through me, and I had to walk away."

Fascinatingly, after the aborted performance with Beck, Guns N' Roses not only didn't play Locomotive that evening, they didn't perform it again for 27 years. Only at an October 2019 show in Wichita, Kansas would the band perform the lengthy, complex rocker live again.

To read Joe Perry's full interview with Total Guitar – which also covers the time he accidentally stole a pedal from Beck, and gave him one of the first Klon Centaurs in return – pick up a copy of the new issue of the mag at Magazines Direct.

Aerosmith returned to the stage for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, as the rock ‘n’ roll heroes reunited for a show at the Maine Savings Amphitheater, Bangor, on Sunday (September 4).

In a show that also marked frontman Steven Tyler’s first live outing since returning from rehab, electric guitar players Joe Perry and Brad Whitford linked up with their Aerosmith bandmate Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer stand-in John Douglas for a 19-song set that spanned the band’s repertoire.

Fan footage shows Aerosmith making their way through a cover of The Shangri-Las’ Remember (Walking in the Sand), which had followed renditions of Back in the Saddle, Same Old Song and Dance, Rag Doll and Mama Kin.

Multiple clips from the evening captured the energetic dual guitar action of Perry and Whitford, with the former paying thanks to the audience for attending the show – despite the fact “none of us have been on stage for two-and-a-half years” – before launching into Stop Messin’ Around.

The setlist had plenty of room for other Aerosmith favorites, including Hangman Jury, I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, Love in an Elevator and Dude (Looks Like a Lady). For the first time since 2017, the band also performed ballad Full Circle.

A 17-minute video that shows the entire encore – comprising mega hits Dream On and Walk This Way, as well as a cover of Bull Moose Jackson’s Big Ten Inch Record – has also been posted.

Before the Maine Savings Amphitheater show, Aerosmith had last performed on February 15, 2020 as part of their Deuces Are Wild Las Vegas Residency. Their scheduled European and UK tour appearances for that year were then canceled due to the pandemic.

Though the band didn’t tour in 2021, Aerosmith did announce they had plans to continue their Vegas residency in June of this year, but this was delayed after Tyler was admitted into rehab.

“Our beloved brother Steven has worked on his sobriety for many years”, the band said in a statement at the time. “He has recently relapsed and voluntarily entered a treatment program to concentrate on his health.”

A further delay to Aerosmith’s return came when drummer Joey Kramer announced he would be taking a “temporary leave of absence” from the band. It was announced that drum tech John Douglas would take his place for the band's 2022 live shows.

According to NME, the multiple delays have resulted in Aerosmith’s longest period off stage since their formation.

Aerosmith will perform one additional warmup show at Boston’s Fenway Park later this week (September 8) before resuming their Las Vegas residency on September 14 at the Dolby Live at Park MGM stadium.

For a full list of dates, visit Aerosmith’s website.

A clip of Steven Tyler and Billy Gibbons performing Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well at the Mick Fleetwood & Friends tribute concert has been shared online.

It sees the Aerosmith and ZZ Top frontmen trade lead vocal duties on the 1969 Then Play On cut, while Gibbons also lays down some killer, gained-up electric guitar lines with former Fleetwood Mac six-stringer Rick Vito.

The footage is taken from the star-studded Peter Green tribute event, which took place on February 25, 2020, and saw performances from Kirk Hammett, David Gilmour, John Mayall, Jeremy Spencer, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey, Pete Townshend, Noel Gallagher and more.

Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green And The Early Years Of Fleetwood Mac is now available in three formats, a quadruple vinyl version, a 2CD/Blu-ray edition that includes a 20-page Mediabook, and a Super Deluxe edition.

The latter also features a 44-page hardback book with notes by Anthony Bozza, co-author of Mick Fleetwood's memoir Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac. 

“The concert was a celebration of those early blues days where we all began," says Mick Fleetwood, "and it’s important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early Fleetwood Mac had on the world of music. Peter was my greatest mentor and it gave me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent. 

"I was honored to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician."

To pick up a copy of Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green And The Early Years Of Fleetwood Mac, head to the Mick Fleetwood & Friends store.

Mick Fleetwood’s all-star tribute concert to Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green took place at London’s Palladium on February 25, 2020, just months before Green’s passing at age 73 that July.

Now, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the tribute show to the famed electric guitar player, a new video has been released from that evening’s performance, featuring ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler leading the charge through the Fleetwood Mac classic Rattlesnake Shake.

Backing Mssrs. Tyler and Gibbons on the performance are Mick Fleetwood, Dave Bronze, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, Ricky Peterson, Zak Starkey and Rick Vito.

The one-off celebration, which also featured David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Noel Gallagher, Bill Wyman, John Mayall, Neil Finn, Andy Fairweather Low, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey and more, is being released online via video-on-demand, as well as in a variety of physical formats, including 4LP gatefold vinyl, on April 30.

Late last year, another performance from the evening – The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown), with Gibbons paired up with Kirk Hammett and his Greeny Les Paul – was unveiled as well.

To preorder Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac, head here.

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are set to join actors Mike Myers and Dana Carvey for a virtual Wayne's World reunion.

The event is to air as part of actor Josh Gad's Reunited Apart YouTube series, which celebrates cult film classics, reuniting their cast members for in-depth virtual discussions. The series has thus far brought together the casts of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ghostbusters and The Goonies, to name a mere few.

The virtual Wayne's World reunion will be hosted in support of the First Responder’s Children’s Foundation.

Aerosmith revealed they'd be involved in the event in an Instagram post on December 5. “‘Sibilance… Sibilance’ Surprise… We were ‘worthy enough’ to reunite with our friends Wayne and Garth!”, they said.

Wayne's World was released in 1992, based on a Saturday Night Live sketch from 1991. It follows rock fans Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, played by Myers and Carvey respectively, who broadcast a public-access television show in Aurora, Illinois.

The movie is also credited with coining several popular phrases widely used within the rock music subculture, including “No Stairway, denied!” and “We’re not worthy!”

Wayne's World 2, which was released in 1993, featured an appearance from the full lineup of Aerosmith, as they performed Dude (Looks Like A Lady) and Shut Up and Dance.

The Wayne's World reunion episode of Reunited Apart airs today at 9PM PT (December 7). Stay tuned over at Josh Gad's YouTube channel.

Mick Fleetwood’s all-star tribute concert to Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green takes place tonight, February 25, at the Palladium in London.

In addition to Fleetwood and the house band, the bill for the historic tribute to the singer and electric guitar player includes Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Kirk Hammett, Steven Tyler, Noel Gallagher, Jonny Lang, Bill Wyman, John Mayall, Neil Finn, Andy Fairweather Low, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey and more.

Of course, Greeny – the 1959 Les Paul Standard that was famously owned by Green and, subsequently Irish rocker Gary Moore, and now belongs to Hammett – will be in attendance as well.

In advance of the gig, Fleetwood has shared a short rehearsal clip that shows the assembled musicians jamming Fleetwood Mac classics like “Oh Well” and "Station Man."

Said Fleetwood about the show, officially dubbed Mick Fleetwood and Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac, “The concert is a celebration of those early blues days where we all began, and it’s important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early Fleetwood Mac had on the world of music.

“Peter was my greatest mentor and it gives me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent. I am honored to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician.”

For more information, head to Mick Fleetwood and Friends.

Hollywood Vampires, the supergroup featuring Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp, are in the midst of a short run of West Coast tour dates in advance of their forthcoming sophomore album, Rise. 

The band’s stop at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on May 11 saw them joined by two special guests—Marilyn Manson, who came on for a cover of Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen,” and Perry’s Aerosmith band mate Steven Tyler, who sang Tiny Bradshaw’s “Train Kept A-Rollin,” a staple of Aerosmith’s live shows for more than four decades.

You can check out “Train Kept A-Rollin’ ” above and “I’m Eighteen” below.

The band, which also features Alice Cooper guitarist Tommy Henriksen, will release Rise on June 21 via earMUSIC. For the full tour itinerary, head here.

Back in 2017, Jeff Beck released Live at the Hollywood Bowl, a CD and DVD documenting the set he played at the titular venue to celebrate his 50th year in music. Above, you can check out one of the set's highlights, a clip of him performing "Train Kept A-Rollin'" with Steven Tyler.

Tyler was just one of the many special guests who appeared with Beck that night. The performance also featured Billy Gibbons, Jan Hammer, Beth Hart, Jimmy Hall and Buddy Guy.

Live at the Hollywood Bowl documented a set that revisited several often-neglected corners of his long and varied career; including versions of the Yardbirds' “For Your Love” (the original version of which features Eric Clapton on guitar), “Over Under Sideways Down” and "Heart Full of Soul," plus his early solo material (“Beck’s Bolero,” "Rice Pudding"/"Morning Dew," his 1968 version of the Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things"), his Seventies and Eighties masterpieces ("Freeway Jam," "‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers," "Big Block") and beyond, right on up to his latest album, 2016's Loud Hailer.

The show climaxed with all the guests delivering a stirring performance of “Purple Rain” as a tribute to Prince, who had died just a few months before the show.

You can see the complete track listing—and watch the video of "Train Kept A-Rollin'"—below.

TRACK LISTING

• 1. The Revolution Will Be Televised
• 2. Over Under Sideways Down
• 3. Heart Full of Soul
• 4. For Your Love
• 5. Beck’s Bolero
• 6. Rice Pudding/Morning Dew
• 7. Freeway Jam
• 8. You Never Know
• 9. ‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
• 10. Star Cycle
• 11. Blue Wind
• 12. Big Block
• 13. I’d Rather Go Blind
• 14. Let Me Love You
• 15. Live in the Dark
• 16. Scared for the Children
• 17. Rough Boy
• 18. Train Kept A’Rollin’
• 19. Shapes of Things
• 20. A Day in the Life
• 21. Purple Rain

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler has recorded a version of the Rolling Stones’ 1971 hit "Brown Sugar" for the compilation album Muscle Shoals…Small Town, Big Sound. The new effort, which will be released on September 28 via BMG, is a tribute to Alabama's Muscle Shoals sound. Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt also plays on the track, which was recorded at FAME Studios.

Speaking with Joe Rogan Experience host/comedian Joe Rogan, Tyler described the song as "sick as fuck.” He added about his version of "Brown Sugar": "We got all the players from way back then, the horn sections, got girls to sing it."

"Brown Sugar" by Tyler and Bettencourt will be available for instant download upon pre-ordering the album, starting August 31.

Muscle Shoals…Small Town, Big Sound features many people who have recorded hits at FAME studios over the years, covering hit songs from generations earlier. Artists include Chris Stapleton, Alan Black, Alicia Keyes, Lee Ann Womack, Willie Nelson, Steven Tyler, Demi Lovato, Vince Gill, Kep Mo, Kid Rock, and Candi Staton.

Muscle Shoals…Small Town, Big Sound track list:

01. Road Of Love - By Keb' Mo'

02. I'd Rather Go Blind - By Grace Potter

03. Brown Sugar - By Steven Tyler & Nuno Bettencourt

04. Gotta Serve Somebody - By Jamey Johnson, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton & Lee Ann Womack

05. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) - By Demi Lovato

06. Snatching It Back - By Kid Rock

07. I'll Take You There - By Aloe Blacc

08. Cry Like A Rainy Day - By Michael Mcdonald

09. True Love - By Vince Gill & Wendy Moten

10. Come And Go Blues - By Alison Krauss

11. Respect Yourself - By Mike Farris & The Blind Boys Of Alabama

12. Steal Away - By Eli "Paperboy" Reed

13. Wild Horses - By Alan Jackson

14. Mustang Sally - By Brently Stephen Smith

15. We've Got Tonight - By Chord Overstreet

16. Givin' It Up For Your Love - By Tom Johnston & Delbert McClinton

You can pre-order Muscle Shoals…Small Town, Big Sound here.

Early Wednesday morning, Aerosmith stopped by the Today show. The legendary rockers performed "Sweet Emotion" and "Love in an Elevator," and announced a Las Vegas residency for 2019. You can see the band's performance of "Sweet Emotion" below.

The band's Las Vegas residency, dubbed Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild, will feature 18 shows, taking place from April-July 2019 at Park Theater at the new Park MGM resort. Giles Martin—best known for creating the soundscape for The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas—will produce the concerts. 

During their appearance on Today, the band took some time out to discuss the residency onstage. 

“We want to bring a show that still has Aerosmith and all the guts of Aerosmith, but has a whole other element that we’ve never been able to do before,” guitarist Joe Perry said of the show. You can watch the band's full onstage interview below. 

You can check out the full Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild itinerary below. For tickets and more information, head on over to aerosmith.com.

Aerosmith's full performance—including their rendition of "Love in an Elevator"—can be seen over at today.com.

April 2019: 6, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 26

June 2019: 19, 22, 24, 27, 29

July 2019: 2, 4, 7, 9

Joe Perry is reportedly recovering from a health episode that caused him to collapse last Sunday at a gig with his band Hollywood Vampires.

But his longtime Aerosmith bandmate Steven Tyler is worried. He says he’s reached out to Perry, but so far he’s heard nothing back.

“It’s starting to scare me a little bit,” Tyler tells Billboard.

Perry passed out backstage during the Vampires’ Sunday-night show at the Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island, New York. Page 6 reported that the 65-year-old Aerosmith guitarist went into cardiac arrest around 9:30 p.m. He was rushed to Coney Island Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. The cause of his collapse remains unconfirmed.

While Tyler doesn’t know what caused Perry to fall, he has a theory that the guitarist’s grueling work habits are to blame.

• “I know they’re putting out nothing but ‘He’s recovering, he’s really good, he fainted, exhaustion,’” Tyler says. “But I know my brother. He’s just about the only other guy that’s as passionate about his art as I am. He’s always asking me to do three, four shows in a row, and I can’t. I’ll blow my voice out. I know how to maintain my career, my health, and Joe’s passionate. I don’t think he knows how to.
• “I think he’s out there and someone’s overbooking him. They’re doing like eight or nine shows in a row, or five in a row. I think they’re all a little burnt. I think they may need to look at that.
• “Not young anymore, y’know?”

The Vampires have continued their tour without Perry. The group’s publicist confirms that Perry will rejoin the group at a later date when he’s well again.

Perry and Aerosmith are also scheduled to begin a South American tour on September 29. But Tyler—who is currently touring behind his country solo album, We’re All Somebody from Somewhere, which comes out Friday, July 15—says his only concern for now is Perry’s health.

“I don’t give a shit about the band,” Tyler says. “I want Joe to live. I’m really concerned and worried right now that I’m not getting any news. I’m a little bummed out, and that scares me. I don’t know whether it’s heat prostration or whether he’s been working himself too hard, or getting off on wrong things passionately. I don’t know what it is, but I know that nobody’s talking to me. I can only tell you that Joe’s my brother and I love him so much.”

In the all-new Holiday 2012 issue of Guitar World magazine, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler give you the scoop on everything from their new album, Music from Another Dimension!, to their battles over Aerosmith's destiny. Check out an excerpt of that story here.

Then, Paul Stanley discusses Kiss' new album, Monster, how the band is celebrating their 40th year together, and how they keep going and going.

After 16 years away from the studio, Soundgarden is back with their return album, King Animal. Kim Thayil discusses the group's reunion and tells the secrets behind his tunings and tone. Check out an excerpt of that story here.

After spending much of 2012 wowing music festival crowds with his fiery blues-rock fusion, Gary Clark Jr. completes his breakthrough year with Blak & Blu, his major-label full-length debut.

Plus, there's a holiday gift guide featuring:

• Vox Amphones
• Marshall Headphones Hanwell
• The Beatles Stereo Vinyl Box Set
• Casa Noble Santana Tequila

... and more!

And four songs with guitar and bass tabs:

• Asking Alexandria, "A Prophecy"
• Aerosmith, "Sweet Emotion"
• Curtis Stigers & the Forest Rangers, "This Life"
• Rick Springfield, "Jessie's Girl"

You'll also find Tune Ups on Down, Peavey's Self-Tuning Guitar, Jimmy Herring, Dave Keuning of The Killers, Steve Vai, Jerry Horton of Papa Roach and a Dear Guitar Hero feature with Martin Barre of Jethro Tull. There's also a 2013 Album Preview.

And then there's the gear reviews, featuring columns on:

• DigiTech 5th Generation Whammy Pedal
• Framus Mayfield Legacy Guitar
• Dean Rusty Cooley Signature RC7X Wraith Seven-String Guitar
• Electro-Harmonix Supergo Pedal

... and more!

Aerosmith have just premiered the latest single from their upcoming 15th studio album. Stream "Lover Alot" via the SoundCloud player below.

"Lover Alot" is taken from the band's upcoming album, Music From Another Dimension!, which is slated for a November 6 release via Columbia Records.

The album marks a renewed focus on Aerosmith by frontman Steven Tyler, who recently announced his departure from American Idol to focus on the band.

“After some long ... hard ... thoughts, I’ve decided it’s time for me to let go of my mistress American Idol before she boils my rabbit,” Tyler said in an official statement. “I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back -- but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I’m kicking the door open with my band."

When Fox's American Idol returns to TV screens in early 2013, one very familiar face will be missing. Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, an Idol judge for the past two seasons, has announced that his Idol days are over.

The reason? It's time to "kick some serious ass" with Aerosmith.

“After some long ... hard ... thoughts, I’ve decided it’s time for me to let go of my mistress American Idol before she boils my rabbit,” Tyler said in an official statement. “I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back -- but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I’m kicking the door open with my band.

"The next few years are going to be dedicated to kicking some serious ass -- the ultimate in auditory takeover. On November 6, we are unleashing our new album, Music from Another Dimension, on the Earth, Moon, Mars and way beyond the stars.

"Idol was over-the-top fun, and I loved every minute of it. Now it’s time to bring rock back.”

While Idol's ratings were sliding during the show's latest season, Aerosmith were hard at work on their 15th studio album. Earlier this week, the band debuted their first new music video in more than eight years. Scroll down to check out the official video for "Legendary Child."

"This record is different from the recent past, say the last 20 years, where everybody is getting in the studio and throwing down their songs," Joe Perry recently told Billboard.com. "This record is a lot more band-written stuff than there has been in the recent past."

Aerosmith are on the road with Cheap Trick as part of their Global Warming 2012 tour.

Sagging ratings? Trot out the Led Zeppelin!

American Idol, which has been catching some flack this season -- its 11th -- for its lower-than-usual ratings and a panel of judges (including Aerosmith's Steven Tyler) who refuse to say anything even remotely useful, critical or mean to the contestants, got slightly more interesting last night when contestant Elise Testone belted out Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."

She actually did an awesome job -- although, was she supposed to sing over the guitar solo? People should never sing over guitar solos ...

Testone got a standing ovation from the panel, which also includes Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to pull that off,” Tyler said. “Nobody can pull that song off. You made Robert Plant proud tonight, girl.”

Check it out below.

When last we checked in with the boys in Aerosmith, it was revealed that the band would be contributing a track to a major motion picture this summer.

It's now been revealed that the film will be the new GI Joe movie, GI Joe: Retaliation, which is set to hit theaters in late June.

Guitarist Joe Perry revealed via Twitter recently that the track is called "Legendary Child," writing, "On the way to the studio with John B and BilliPerry to mix 'Legendary Child' with Jack, Warren and Steven."

"Legendary Child" is reportedly an outtake from the sessions for 1991's Get a Grip and will likely be included on Aerosmith's new album, which is still tentatively due this year.

"I think people are going to see a lot of Aerosmith later in the year," guitarist Whitford recently told thetimesnews.com. "We’ve got a new song that’s gonna be used in a major motion picture this summer, so that’s probably the first new music fans will get to hear. We may even debut it on ‘American Idol’ in May. We’re definitely planning on touring the U.S. later in the summer."

Joe Perry also went on record as saying America's rock band would be hitting the road this summer, citing a June kickoff date.

Despite some questions marks still looming, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford says that fans will indeed hear new Aerosmith this summer.

"I think people are going to see a lot of Aerosmith later in the year," Whitford told thetimesnews.com. "We’ve got a new song that’s gonna be used in a major motion picture this summer, so that’s probably the first new music fans will get to hear. We may even debut it on ‘American Idol’ in May. We’re definitely planning on touring the U.S. later in the summer."

As for the new Aerosmith album, Whitford says the music is completely done, with the band only waiting for Steven Tyler to add vocals and lyrics.

"Hopefully, we’ll have that done sooner rather than later," he said. "It’s been a decade since we last had new music out, and I know I’m ready for it."

You can read more from the article here.

Speaking to Rolling Stone recently, frontman Steven Tyler said of the new album, "We’re gonna have a vintage sound, 'cause we’re going to tape and a lot of good things like that. We’re keeping tracks lean, not a lot of overdubs, and like I said, we’re using Jack [Douglas, producer] to his fullest. So you’re gonna hear some stuff where you might think Aerosmith’s back."