AEROSMITH Bassist TOM HAMILTON's New Band CLOSE ENEMIES To Release Debut Single In January

AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton's new band CLOSE ENEMIES has announced the following shows for January 2025:

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.

Joining the 72-year-old musician 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.

In a new 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."

The first CLOSE ENEMIES single will be released in January via TLG/Virgin Music Group.

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.