AEROSMITH's JOE PERRY Says His Memoir 'Goes Deeper' Than A Lot Of Other Autobiographies

August 29, 2014

In a brand new interview with AccessAtlanta.com, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry spoke about his upcoming memoir, "Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith", which is coming out on October 7.

"I just got off the phone with our main guy at Simon & Schuster and there was literally a one-word change and he's heading downstairs to the printing room and they're going to start printing this week," Perry said. "We just need to get the artwork and pictures done.

"It's been an intense learning process, doing an album compared to doing a book.

"We're planning a press tour to be everywhere at once. We'll probably go out for a month.

"I'll probably read parts of the book and do a Q&A with the people there or even an interview. We're exploring different things.

"The Internet has opened so many different doors.

Asked if there was anything in the book that he was worried about the other guys in AEROSMITH reading, Perry said: "Not really. I really can't say, but from my point of view, I really don't think so. They probably think there is worse stuff in there than there is.

"When you don't know, there's probably a certain amount of concern, but I really think they'll be pleasantly surprised.

"The main thing was, I took the gloves off and just wanted to tell the truth from my point of view, that was the most important thing. I probably read 30 autobiographies, 20 by musicians. This is definitely different than your average sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. We went over that ad nauseum in the first book (2003's 'Walk This Way').

"There's a much deeper story here about my relationship with the other four guys, Steven [Tyler, vocals] in particular, and keeping a marriage together and raising kids who grew up on the road.

"Before my wife and I got married, we said we come first, and if we have kids, they're going to be with us, no matter what it takes. Even people who aren't AEROSMITH fans will find that interesting.

"I don't think you have to be an AEROSMITH fan to get some insight into human nature. It goes deeper than a lot of the books that I've read."

Perry worked on "Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith" with author David Ritz, who has written books with B.B. King, Jerry Wexler and Bettye LaVette.

Tyler's "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?" autobiography was issued in 2011, while the band's drummer, Joey Kramer, had his own tale, "Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top", published in 2009. AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton is also working on a book.

Perry said: "I've wanted to write one for a while. But Joey put his book out and I wanted to leave some room there and then Steven put his book out. I didn't want to make it seem like mine was an answer to his, so I waited a little longer."

Perry admitted to RollingStone.com that he read Tyler's book, calling it "definitely Steven's truth, no doubt about it." He added: "He's allowed to perceive things how he perceives things. He can write his book any way he wants. But I didn't agree with a lot of the things he said. I know he worked hard on it, but it's got a totally different tenor and energy than my book. Mine tends to be a little more traditional. It's an autobiography in the real classic sense. I just hope Steven accepts the things I say about how I felt and how I saw things happen. I don't put words in other people's mouths or talk about conversations that I wasn't there for."

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