Joe Perry recently had a chat with Classic Rock about Aerosmith’s rivalry with KISS.
“We see these guys, and they’re wearing black leather jackets and all this make-up, and we’re all looking at each other going, ‘Jeez, we spent all this time learning how to play, and these guys are doing all this theatrical stuff. Is this where this is going?’” the guitarist said of his first impression of KISS. “They knocked the audience out, and we had to follow them. It was pretty funny.”
When both bands performed in Detroit, Perry recalled, “There was a real sense of competition at that show cos they were really hitting their stride then.”
The two bands shared the stage back in 1974 when KISS opened for Aerosmith. In 2003, Aerosmith also co-headlined with KISS on the Rocksimus Maximus Tour while getting ready to release their blues album.
“[Laughing] Oh, I don’t know, man. KISS took performance art to the next level. I remember seeing them for the first time, and I was just f*cking blown away,” Perry previously recalled seeing KISS perform live for the first time. “Those guys were the best. We were fretting about not making a mistake, and they didn’t give a sh*t; they just put it out there.”
He added the following about KISS and Aerosmith, “Those guys were killing it. I saw their show and thought: ‘What the f*ck do we have to do?’ I love KISS. KISS and Aerosmith, we’re two different entities.”
This wasn’t the first time Perry had discussed the differences between his own band and KISS. “It’s two different animals. [KISS] went the theatrical way and used rock ‘n’ roll kind of as their soundtrack. For Aerosmith, the music is our show. It’s apples and oranges,” he told on The Cowhead Show in 2012.
In May 2023, Aerosmith announced their Peace Out farewell tour. However, after Steven Tyler injured his vocal cords during a show, the tour was delayed to 2024. In August 2024, the band canceled the tour and retired from touring due to Tyler’s injury.