The Beatles just changed everything right across the board. They just had that right combination of clean-cut good looks - a cute band - but under that they had a real rock n roll thing going on.
Joe PerryI collect firearms, and I've got a Winchester, an Indian rifle. It has tacks for every warrior that was shot, like notches on a pistol, and it's got feathers and beads hanging off it. It's like a work of art.
Joe PerryWhen I plug in my guitar and play it really loud, loud enough to deafen most people, that's my shot of adrenaline, and there's nothing like it. That's what it's always been for me - to be the flame the tribe dances around.
Joe PerryIndia brings out so many different feelings in me. I've been fascinated with India and Indian culture as long as I can remember - ever since the '60s with the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Joe PerryThere are definitely things about 'Legendary Child' that echo the music we did earlier in our career. It's got the right stuff.
Joe PerryI think that's really important, that kids get exposed to music as soon as they can - not necessarily to become musicians, but at least have an outlet. It's an art form that's easily accessible to young ears.
Joe PerryI think we're just a garage band that got lucky. It's the enthusiasm from the audience that keeps it going.
Joe PerryI was very fascinated by the time when firearms went from being fire sticks to being something people could use to hunt and to survive.
Joe PerryI know that some of the great painters and some of the great artists didn't even start to 'peak', as you say, till they were in their fifties and sixties. And God knows, history is full of artistic people that weren't even recognized till they were dead and gone.
Joe PerryI have always been fascinated with guns. I grew up in America so granted, it is part of our heritage and it is written into the laws of how this country is run.
Joe PerryI didn't think I could go onstage and play unless I had a beer to loosen up. Well, if it was only one beer to loosen up, I'd probably still be drinking today.
Joe PerryThe really pop country stuff can sound a little bland because they put in strings and horns and all of that.
Joe PerryFive years after Aerosmith got back together, I realized how fragile we are as humans. There was a time I thought we were bulletproof, but then things happened and I came to the realization that I had to play every gig as if it was my last show. You have to start thinking that way, because you never know what's going to happen next.
Joe PerryThe Beatles had some juice when it came to distortion, but Clapton was finally able to break through those early studio engineers' fear of overloading. He defined the sound that guitarists spend the rest of their lives trying to get.
Joe PerryI love Indian food - it's my favourite cuisine. I love the mixture of spices and the subtle flavours. It's really erotic; the spices are so sensuous.
Joe PerryI don't see anyone avoiding the Stones because DJs make jokes about them being a part of the Geritol set. All it does is make the DJs look stupid.
Joe PerryI don't think there's anything anybody's doing that the Beatles didn't at least try at some point.
Joe PerryHopefully I'm bringing to rock n' roll the kind of spontaneity that I love, and always believed rock and roll stands for.
Joe PerryMy chosen instrument is guitar and, fortunately, I'm able to muddle through that. I can play guitar to the point where I can express myself artistically.
Joe PerryA band isn't a band unless they're playing together. Otherwise it's just five guys that are living off their royalty checks.
Joe PerryYou can always pound out demos and send them to record companies, but most of the successful bands I've seen are the ones that can sustain themselves.
Joe PerryI've come to realize that you live on through recordings; they're like a musical diary, a window into somebody's soul.
Joe PerryIf you take your last album & try to copy it, then thats sure to hell the way to stagnation. And that makes me bored...and if I'm bored then the music is boring and so are the band!
Joe PerryOver the years, when you're in a band with a catalog like Aerosmith's, you accumulate a lot of instruments to duplicate those songs.
Joe PerryWhen I got sober and started working out, I fell into that trap of working out too much. I know a lot of guys can relate to that - if you don't get that runner's high every day, you feel like, 'Oh my God, I'm losing it.'
Joe PerrySteven and I stood on the stage at the Boston Garden after the Stones had just played there and the stage was still up. We had been playing cards, maybe a high-school dance, to 400 or 500, maybe a thousand. We just stood on the stage and thought, 'Well,man,maybe someday.' In 4 years that was OUR stage.
Joe PerryIt's probably listening to country music that got me to start playing a lot cleaner, not as distorted.
Joe PerryBerry's On Top is probably my favorite record of all time; it defines rock and roll. A lot of people have done Chuck Berry songs, but to get that feel is really hard. It's the rock and roll thing-the push-pull and the rhythm of it.
Joe PerryI'm glad that I never ended up killing myself, though I came close more times than I would like to admit.
Joe PerryI know that the gift that God gave me isn't gonna just wither up and die unless I let it die, so it's a matter of me having the faith that it's gonna come out. Whether or not the public's gonna like it is another story. But I think as long as I keep changing and sticking to what I really love - and the same goes for Steven and the other guys in the band - then people are gonna like it.
Joe Perry