AEROSMITH Bassist TOM HAMILTON's New Band CLOSE ENEMIES Announces Record Deal, Debut Single

AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton's new band CLOSE ENEMIES has signed with TLG|ROCK for management and label services.

CLOSE ENEMIES debut single, "Sound Of A Train", will be released on January 17 and will be distributed through Virgin Music Group.

Joining the 72-year-old Hamilton in the new group his bass tech Trace Foster, who plays guitar in CLOSE ENEMIES alongside Peter Stroud, who has been playing with Sheryl Crow for 25 years. CLOSE ENEMIES' drummer is Tony Brock, who had a band called THE BABYS and then played with Rod Stewart for 12 years. Fronting CLOSE ENEMIES is Chasen Hampton, a performer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with a strong background in the country music scene. CLOSE ENEMIES is also working with "a great lyricist" named Gary Stier.

Unlike CLOSE ENEMIES' name suggests, these five guys are close friends, each with an illustrious musical career.

Hamilton comments: "We're really excited to be working with TLG/Virgin on the release of the CLOSE ENEMIES record! They're genuinely as excited about putting it out as we are! Can't wait to see what happens!"

Brock adds: "TLG/Virgin are the perfect match for CLOSE ENEMIES as we are both SUPERGROUPS! Can't wait to see the results!!"

Foster says: "After spending a year on the writing and recording of this record, we were not going to sign with just anyone to put it out. Once we spoke with Dennis Sanders and his team at TLG/Virgin, we knew we had an ally with the same vision."

Hampton states: "Honored to join forces with history! TLG/Virgin/Universal Music Group are all proven visionaries and a perfect fit for this band of brothers. We are excited to get this music heard and be a part of this new family."

Stroud says: "We could not ask for a better partner with Denny and The Label Group. His experience across all fronts of the industry is a perfect fit for CLOSE ENEMIES. And I always prefer flying Virgin! It's an honor to be playing with these musical brothers and now working with the ultimate team."

Denny Sanders, CEO of TLG|ROCK, says: "My good friend Andy Gallagher of the band OVERHAUL sent me the music. I absolutely loved it, then to find out who's in the band, well that was just icing on the cake. We are all thrilled here at TLG to be working with CLOSE ENEMIES."

CLOSE ENEMIES tour dates:

Jan. 08 - Philadelphia, PA @ City Winery
Jan. 09 - New York, NY @ City Winery
Jan. 10 - Boston, MA @ City Winery
Jan. 14 - Manchester, NH @ The Rex Theatre
Jan. 23 - Pawling, NY @ Daryl's House
Jan. 25 - Nashville, TN @ City Winery
Jan. 28 - Chicago, IL @ City Winery
Jan. 29 - St. Louis, MO @ City Winery

CLOSE ENEMIES made its live debut on October 11 at Eastside Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. Video of the concert can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Tom said about CLOSE ENEMIES' debut gig: "I was a little bit nervous, you know. But that feeling, it energizes you. It doesn't hold you back. It makes you want to dive in deeper and deeper."

Regarding the upcoming shows, he said: "This is like going back to the beginning. You know, we don't have any previous albums. We're going to be riding around in vans, probably and flying commercial, just like when AEROSMITH started — and I'm looking forward to that. There's a certain camaraderie with that."

In an interview with AARP, Tom described Hampton as "a gifted singer who really made the songs come to life."

"When I joined, these guys had worked up a bunch of great songs, and I was able to contribute something I had," the bassist continued. "Hopefully, when the time comes, we'll work up some others I've had in my pocket for a while. All of these guys are great musicians, and it's an honor and a challenge to be part of it all. I'm looking forward to seeing how people like it. I think they'll be pleasantly amazed."

The members of AEROSMITH made the announcement that they were retiring from touring on August 2 — nearly one year after singer Steven Tyler fractured his larynx during a September 2023 show.

The "Peace Out" tour came to a halt after what turned out to be a final gig in Elmont, New York on September 9, 2023. That show came just three dates into the trek, which was supposed to last through February 2024. Tyler said in a statement at the time that the injury caused bleeding but that he hoped he and his AEROSMITH bandmates would be back on the road after postponing a few shows.

The rescheduled "Peace Out" tour was due to begin September 20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with special guests THE BLACK CROWES.

Photo credit: Eduardo Andrade