by John Johnson

( Close Enemies with Tom Hamilton, this Friday, January 23 at 8:00 PM at the Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, Tickets are available now at www.LargoArts.com )

Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton has spent five decades letting his bass lines do a lot of the talking for him, so this interview kind of meets him on familiar ground. As his new band, Close Enemies, prepare to take the stage Friday in Largo, Hamilton is navigating the aftershocks of cancer treatment that have made speaking more challenging, but not dimmed his spirit, humor, or passion for music. Instead of a traditional back-and-forth interview, Hamilton agreed to answer ten thoughtful questions. As much as I would have loved to have been able to chat with him, I am still extremely grateful for his time, his measured reflections on the road behind him, the music that still drives him forward, and the gratitude he seemingly carries into every performance.

Originally I was supposed to provide 8 questions, but I pushed it to ten. Twenty would have been nice, for the obvious reason to make the title to this write up more familiar. Right? Twenty questions with Tom sounds better. And now, in hindsight, I REALLY wished I had pushed it to eleven questions. Because, this interview with Tom Hamilton “Goes to 11” would have been a nice nod to Rob Reiner. But alas, ten it was, and again, I am so appreciative and can’t wait to see his new band this Friday.

QUESTION 1: Started off by going back in time, to 1973 when it all began. I wondered if there was one piece of advice he’d give young Tom before Aerosmith’s debut album dropped. “One piece? That’s all I get after all these years? Oh well, I’m not trying to be cute, but I wish I would have taken a lot more pictures. Especially in the early days. Every once in a while a photo pops up that I’ve never seen before but very rarely is it one from the very beginning.” That would have been nice to have had more photos of the craziness. But, I often find myself extremely thankful that there weren’t camera’s during my younger years, so Tom is more brave than I.

QUESTION 2: Aerosmith has survived trends, breakups, reunions, and reinventions—what’s the one moment you’re proudest of that fans might not know about? “I guess it would have to be any of the many moments of hard work that went into taking all these songs in their rough beginnings and polishing them into what went on those records. Another thing I’m proud of is even when we went through some of our most bitter arguments we always came back together and moved forward. We were driven by what we wanted to hear coming out of the speakers.” Indeed, they say that friction makes for good art, and the early contentious tunes Aerosmith created were, in my opinion, some of their best.

QUESTION 3: Focused on the collaborative: You’ve shared stages and studios with everyone from Run-DMC to Metallica and more. Do you have a favorite collaboration? “There was a period when we spent time with Jimmy Page, culminating in a show we did at the Marquee Club in London. When the band first got together we didn’t have any of our own songs so we covered songs by our favorite bands. We did Immigrant Song by Zeppelin. We worked our asses off to be able to get that one good. Race ahead twenty five years and there we were onstage playing that song with Jimmy Page.” I myself had forgotten that they covered this song so I had to go back and revisit. There’s a clip from the Marquee from 1990 that is totally worth the hunt.

QUESTION 4: After decades on the road, what still gives you that rush when you walk onstage? “That’s a self answering question. The moment we go on is always a rush. No matter how much confidence we had built up, that brief second is when you never know for sure what’s going to happen. You just want it to be great so bad.” And wanting it must have paid off as they have often been called AMERICA’S best rock band of all time.

QUESTION NUMERO 5: Half way point, and one that might surprise some if they weren’t aware that Tom wrote one of their biggest hits, and still all over rock radio to this day. Which is why I asked, having written “Sweet Emotion” — do you ever hear it in public and say “oh damn” or “ugh, again? “Ironically, I don’t hear it in public that often. During the World Series last year the TV people used it a lot when going to a commercial. Friends came up to me regularly and mentioned it but I never got a chance to hear it. Definitely got a kick out of that. We’ve been playing that one in Close Enemies and it feels really good seeing the audience response up close. It’s nice seeing that song make people feel good.”

QUESTION 6: Is there one backstage ritual or superstition you still have before a show? “I have a bunch of those that I’m never aware of when they happen. There’s a lot of fist bumping going on as we walk to the stage but there’s a handshake thing that happens between me and one of our road management people that’s a little too dirty to talk about here.” See. I say to myself. If only this were an in person, or on the phone interview, I could have pressed him a bit more to divulge the R-rated grip he shares with one of the crew. I guess we’ll have to assume it’s quite interesting to say the least.

This Friday he and his new mates will be rocking the Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, so Question 7 had me asking…You’ve played some legendary venues, which one still gives you chills the second you walk in? “London Calling. We’ve only done it a couple of times, but it’s just such an honor to be chosen to headline that event. England is right at the heart of where my favorite, most inspiring, music came from.”

Budding musicians may find QUESTION 8 interesting as I asked, What’s the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you that stuck? And who might the be? “Early on I wanted to know more theory. I wanted to know more about what was what on the fretboard. I took a lesson from a famous bass player and asked him something like ‘Where is G?’ He said well, it’s all G. I was baffled. I didn’t know what the hell he meant. It took me some time to realize what he meant and that I already knew it without knowing its name. You asked me earlier what advice I would give myself when I was starting out. I would have taken lessons when I was a kid.” Sage advice indeed. I’ve often heard from musician friends that music theory is the “best” and “worst” aspect about playing an instrument. You may need to grab the ear of a player friend of your own to have them explain.

I wrap up my “interview” with the last two questions centered around his new group Close Enemies, by asking QUESTION 9…how Close Enemies came together, and what made you compile this group of guys? “Well the fact is, Close Enemies isn’t a band that I assembled. Trace, Peter and Gary Stier had been writing songs together and started looking for people to make a band with. They found our drummer, Tony and then they needed a bass player. Trace had been my bass tech when the Peace Out Tour had to be canceled, so he asked me if I wanted to think about joining up with them. I was ready to do something so I flew down to Atlanta and listened to what they had been working on and got a look at what they were like to hang with and signed up. All we needed then was a singer. We tried some people and then a friend of mine told us about Chasen. When we heard he had a history with the Mickey Mouse Club I chuckled but at the same time realized you don’t get chosen to do that unless you have serious talent and once you go through their system you are seriously trained. We took a listen to what he could do and knew that we had our singer. People call it my band and put my name on the marquee but it’s not mine, it’s ours. If my name gets us attention I guess that’s a good thing.” An extremely informative, and very humble, answer. Unfortunately in this business, and many others, it can sometimes come down to who you know or play with that determines who discovers you. So I’d imagine that the guys in the band with him are thankful to have Hamilton’s name attached. They can melt their faces once they get in the door, regardless of how they found said door.

QUESTION 10 was one I really wish I could have asked in person because I would have liked to see his expression or hopefully the pause before answering. Are Close Enemies a creative reset for you, or are there things you’ve wanted to say musically for years that simply didn’t fit under the Aerosmith banner? “I think there might be more creative openings with these guys but we’ll see. A lot of what I come up with is a little off the beaten path but I think I’ll get a chance to air out some of the things I’ve collected over the years.”

Well Mr. Hamilton, I look forward to Friday’s show and whatever that path in front of you, beaten of otherwise, has you airing for mass consumption. I would have liked to wish him well and continued good health in person, but am indebted for the time he allotted in answering these 10 questions. See you Friday Tom and know that, with Aerosmith or Close Enemies, your bass has always done the talking.

Stay tuned for an upcoming review of the Friday show as Tampa’s own Kamenar will be opening up for Close Enemies. The dynamic twin duo were added to the lineup for the Largo show after recently playing with Tom and the boys at The Whisky a Go Go in LA a few weeks back. This should be one rocking good time so grab some tix before it sells out. Tickets are available now at www.LargoArts.com.

Now, Go Out and See, Hear, and Feel Live Music