I have in my possession a harmonica signed by Steven Tyler, and the recent post on his harmonica playing compels me to tell the story.
It's a little bit complicated, but some of you who have been on the list for
ten years or so might remember that I was once the Tree, the mascot not of
Stanford University but of its controversial marching band. There are a lot
of perks to the position, like traveling all over the country to watch NCAA
athletic events, but the best part comes at the end of one's tenure, when
it's time to choose a replacement. The only requirements are that each
candidate fill out a written application, undergo an interview, and bribe
the outgoing Tree.
One candidate showed up in my dorm room during the tryout process with a
freshman in tow. It turns out that this freshman, a friend of his, happened
to be the son of Joe Perry, guitarist for Aerosmith. We chatted for a little
while, and finally they present me with a Hohner Blues Harp in the box. I
open it, and it's signed by Steven Tyler in a big fat sharpie marker on one
side. On the other, it reads "Dear Evan, 'Dream On'" with "Dream" crossed
out and "ROCK" written over it.
So I'm pretty impressed, and I think this is a pretty cool bribe. I thank
the candidate and his friend, but I realize that they're stalling. One asks
if I have a telephone they can use. Sure, I say, and he disappears into the
hall to make a phone call.
A few minutes later, my dorm phone rings, and I answer it.
"Hello?"
"WHAT'S UP THIS IS STEVEN TYLER!!!!"
In the background, "uh, and this is joe perry."
Typically, I'd think it was a joke, but Steven Tyler impressions can only be
so good. It was pretty funny, because even having a totally casual
conversation on the phone, he sounds *exactly* the same as he does when
he's, say, singing "Walk this Way." Maximum volume, voice always kind of
cracking, half-screaming. Perry, on the other hand, said maybe five words
during the entire conversation.
ST: HEY MAN WE HEARD YOU'RE A HARMONICA PLAYER, WANTED TO GIVE YOU THAT HARP, YOU KNOW WHAT I DID WITH THAT ONE???
Me: Uh, no.
ST: (I've removed his oral history of the particular harmonica, as it isn't
appropriate for a family list such as this one. Suffice it to say that it
came in the form of a limerick, involved Monica Lewinsky, and convinced me
that I would use the harp only as a show piece.) AND THEN I PLAYED IT JUST
LIKE THIS (blows a few bars of some pretty good blues harp into the phone.)
Me: Well, hey, man, that's great. Thanks!
We chatted for about 20 minutes, and I have to say, they were pretty cool guys. I'm not the biggest Aerosmith fan in the world, but I do like their stuff. We chatted about Boston (I'm from there as well), which stones' second guitarist we liked best (both of us are mick taylor guys), and one particularly entertaining exchange about commercial viability vs. artistic integrity.
Me: So, what are you guys up to these days? You in the studio?
ST: YEAH WE'RE PUTTING SOME S*** TOGETHER RIGHT NOW, MAN, WE JUST CUT A TRACK JUST NOW! YOU KNOW, THESE DAYS THOUGH, EVERYONE NOW WANTS US TO DO A SONG FOR A MOVIE, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT ONE WE JUST DID...
Me: Oh, yeah, right, uh, Don't Want To Miss a Thing, right?
ST: YEAH, I MEAN... THAT WAS A PRETTY GOOD SONG, RIGHT???
Me: Uh, sure, man. Sure, it was pretty good. (Kind of weird to get asked by
Steven Tyler, in full Steven Tyler voice, for some sort of validation about
his last hit single).
ST: YEAH, YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA DO ALL THESE TIE-INS THESE DAYS, I MEAN, THE
TEENYBOPPERS COME TO THE SHOWS AND YOU GOTTA PLAY THAT STUFF, BUT YOU KNOW
WE'D RATHER COME OUT AND PLAY TRAIN KEEPS A ROLLING FOR TWENTY MINUTES, BUT
HEY, YOU HAVE TO BALANCE NEW STUFF AND OLD STUFF.
Anyway, that was my interaction with Steven Tyler. Had a great time, and no,
I've never played the harp. My only regret is that I forgot to ask him for
Liv's phone #...
Cheers from Chitown,
Ev
_______________________________________________ Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l