Guitar Hero-Aerosmith
A couple of years back, I was on a flight with Howard Kaufman and he told me he didn’t care if Aerosmith EVER put out another album. The money was on the ROAD!
And the albums Aerosmith released subsequently, even their return to their blues roots, "Honkin’ On Bobo", didn’t sell for shit. Because the driver of those albums was done. We could say the band was too old for MTV, but MTV was airing essentially no videos, and the old crossover game, from video to radio, was done. But was the BAND done? Were people over AEROSMITH?
That’s the curious situation we’re in now. The classic acts might overcharge on the road, might tour too often, might even play the same damn hits, but they’re all anybody wants to see, in quantity, on a regular basis. Could it be that everybody in America has agreed their music is GOOD?
I’m not the biggest fan of Geffen Aerosmith, but those first four records…I’ll listen to them anytime. Not only "Sweet Emotion" into "No More No More" on "Toys In The Attic", but "Lord Of The Thighs" and "Season Of Wither" off "Get Your Wings". That’s my favorite Aerosmith record, the second. Shit, "Same Old Song and Dance" might get the airplay, but have you listened to "Spaced" and "Woman Of The World"?
"Well, she’s a woman of the world
And god she knows it!"
This is a band firing on all cylinders, it’s not only Tyler, not just Joe Perry, they’re a cohesive unit, every element, along with the groove, paints a picture of Saturday night, getting high, trying to manage a woman out of your league. And how do you get up the gumption? By listening to music! And you go to the show, not only to be inspired but to feel good and interact with the opposite sex! Married fifty year olds still go for the same reason.
It’s different from the Stones. Aerosmith has fewer airs, they don’t keep their distance. They’re closer to us. And we want to be closer to them.
And this is going to motivate a ton of people to buy the new version of "Guitar Hero" that features only THEM!
Oh, we know that "Guitar Hero" has got nothing to do with playing an instrument. But the reason it and its competitor "Rock Band" are so successful is because of the MUSIC! This is air guitar on steroids!
This is a natural fit. So how come it didn’t come from Nettwerk? Isn’t Terry McBride the big thinker here? How come oldsters Azoff and Kaufman are the ones with all the innovation? Wal-Mart and now videogames.
I can’t say I’ve been caught up in the Guitar Hero mania. I loved that "South Park" episode where the champ ended up playing HEROIN HERO (South Park, then click to Season Eleven then scroll down on the right to the second to last episode, "Guitar Queer-O"), but I didn’t think I was going to get hooked myself. Then, for Valentine’s Day, Felice bought us a PlayStation. She said she did it so we could play "Guitar Hero"…have people over the house and play TOGETHER!
You want to laugh at the people on "American Idol". You might want to dance to the rhythm-driven records on the radio, but you don’t respect them, don’t believe in the acts. Seems you can only believe in the rock and rollers, the classic rock and rollers.
How come the rest of the industry can’t follow Aerosmith’s lead? Embrace new technology instead of trying to repel it? No one would license originals to "Guitar Hero" at first, now everybody’s clamoring. That’s the deal, taking chances.
At $50 a pop, this is BETTER than selling CDs. With greater satisfaction on behalf of the buyer. Aerosmith should sneak in a couple of new tracks. Who knows, they might even cross over to radio!
You might already know this story. But today it’s less about grazing every site than being hipped by your posse. I only read "USA Today" on the road. I only know about this story, only clicked through, because someone e-mailed me about it. You can put out all the press releases you want, but your success depends on word of mouth, via trusted sources.
Meanwhile, should we exchange the PlayStation 3 for a Wii? I’m thinking so…
