Joe Perry “Ready to Rock” After Motorcycle Crash
Aerosmith are only five days away from launching their new tour and guitarist Joe Perry wants fans to know he’ll be taking the stage alongside his bandmates despite being rear-ended on his motorcycle last week. “Just like the name of the tour, I am ‘Cocked, Locked and Ready to Rock,’ ” he said in a statement. As Rolling Stone reported, Perry was hospitalized after a woman driving a Chevy Malibu crashed into his Ducati Monster near his home in Massachusetts. Aerosmith start an 18-city tour — a trek that includes a homecoming show at Fenway Park that sold out in a mere 23 minutes — Friday night in Oakland.
Perry was discharged from Morton Hospital and Medical Center a few hours after the accident on Thursday, and is injury free. His motorcycle was less fortunate. “It was a close call; my bike is smashed but I am OK from head to toe,” he said.
Perry’s good health is no doubt a huge relief for Aerosmith, who suffered a number of mishaps during their 2009 tour. After losing guitarist Brad Whitford to a head injury and bassist Tom Hamilton to surgery, Aerosmith eventually had to cancel the rest of the tour after Steven Tyler fell off of the stage at a South Dakota show and broke his shoulder. “I want to thank all of the fans for their emails and support,” said Perry.
Speaking to Rolling Stone last month, Perry said the band is pumped for its big return to the U.S. “Steven is singing better than I’ve heard in a long time and the shows have just gotten better and better,” he said. “It feels like 1971 again. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs in the past, and we’re up-ing right now.” Aerosmith played a short South American and European tour to prepare for their U.S. gigs, and plans to head back to the studio in late 2010 or early 2011.