'Walk This Way' ... with bagpipes?
There's no telling what might happen when Aerosmith and the Dropkick Murphys share the stage next week
Two great Boston flavors will hopefully taste great together next week when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hard rockers of Aerosmith team up with the beloved Celtic punks of the Dropkick Murphys for a show at the
When scheduled opening act ZZ Top had a conflict with the Mansfield date, Aerosmith assistant tour manager and longtime Dropkick Murphys buddy John Bionelli suggested the "Tessie" crew. "It was just so obvious," says Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. Not only will it be the first time that the two local institutions share a stage, but it will also mark Perry's first time seeing the Murphys perform live.
We recently had a conference-call chat with Perry and Dropkick Murphys bassist-vocalist Ken Casey about the historic Hub summit. Perry checked in from his home on the South Shore, where a recent thunderstorm had done a number on his phone lines, and Casey was on a cellphone driving to Needham for a satellite appearance on ABC. Although the conversation was a little garbled at times - can you hear me now? - the mutual admiration came through loud and clear.
On their excitement about playing together:
Ken Casey: When we went on our first tour in 1996, we put everything that we had into buying one of those MBTA handicapped vans and we had no money left and our drummer . . . had no cymbals. Aerosmith [via Bionelli] actually gave us cymbals to go on that tour. [Laughs] So I think it's kind of ironic 13 years later we're still working and get the opportunity to play with them. It's a big honor. Obviously, the band was a huge influence on all of us as kids. So you've got to wonder if there was no Aerosmith, would there be a Dropkick Murphys?
Joe Perry: I think that it's great the way you guys have built your career on your own, outside the business and you're doing it your way. I've always really had a lot of admiration for that. I've never seen you live. As with most Boston bands, I'm always on the road, so I look at it as I finally get a chance to meet some new musicians and hear them play. I'm really looking forward to this show, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the audience reaction.
On what they like about each other's band:
Perry: Bagpipes. Certainly they use them with a lot more finesse and technique than AC/DC did, but I've always loved the sound of bagpipes. The way these guys use it, it's such a different way to go at it, man, and it's part of the whole picture. I'm really anxious to see the whole thing.
Casey: Oh, man, obviously Aerosmith is one of those bands where I don't know if I could ever pick a favorite song, but I know my first album was "Draw the Line." I'm not super old enough - [here Perry laughs] - to go back any earlier. I owned all the albums. My favorite song when I was a little kid was "Kings and Queens," I don't know why. I think my neighbor used to play it all the time. I was lucky enough to get turned on to rock 'n' roll at an early age, and Aerosmith, along with probably Led Zeppelin and J. Geils, would be the first bands I ever heard. Obviously I had a taste for stuff like that, and my direction went into listening to even heavier music than that. But that's what probably started me on the twisted path that I went down musically. [Laughs]
On why many of Boston's most successful musical exports have been gritty, hard-rock groups:
Casey: I think it's a great party town, so music is an influential part. And I don't know whether it's the bitter cold New England winters, but people have a little bit of an attitude, a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, and I think those two combinations make for good songs.
Perry: I also think the influx of 100,000 new kids every year. [They] come to the colleges, and it's their first experience away from home, and they get a chance to get out there and cut loose.
On the possibility of them jamming together at the Comcast Center:
Perry: I don't know. I know that at least from my point of view they're going to want to put on their show the way they do it. If we have time at a sound check, if there's something going on, we'll see.
Casey: We're game for anything. You got any songs in B-flat? The bagpipes can only play in B-flat. [Laughs]
Perry: Well, listen, that's the Chuck Berry key, man.
Casey: There you go.
Perry: So I have no problem with that. Those are kinds of the things you can't answer until the day of the event.
