Ex-AEROSMITH Guitarist JIMMY CRESPO: I Worked Very Hard On 'Rock In The Hard Place' Album

Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of RockMusicStar.com recently conducted an interview with former AEROSMITH guitarist Jimmy Crespo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

RockMusicStar.com: You recently announced that you formed a new band, THE JIMMY CRESPO PROJECT. What led to you putting this band together?

Jimmy Crespo: Well, a few months ago I was inching to get back on the road and do something for real. And the question was what can we do that's for real. I've been involved in all kind of projects over the years. But, it came to mind, from my manager, Jason Green, and a few others, that AEROSMITH's "Rock in a Hard Place" record would be having its 30th anniversary in two years. I didn't even think of that, and a lot of people really enjoyed that record. So I thought, "Why don't I get a really smoking band together and go out and play some of the songs from that record?" Because AEROSMITH never covers it; they just won't do it. And in addition to that, perform some classic AEROSMITH songs as well as some covers and do them our way. So, I started putting the band together and I got Phil Varone of SKID ROW, SAIGON KICK on drums and Kyle Kyle of BANG TANGO on bass. I also got Chris Van Dahl, who is a superb singer and he's been doing the AEROMYTH thing, which is an AEROSMITH tribute band. Months ago we hooked up and talked about maybe doing something, but I didn't know if he wanted to step out of the AEROSMITH tribute band. But then he moved out to Las Vegas where I live, so it all of a sudden all came together. I then got Mike Ellis from the SIN CITY SINNERS on guitar; they are a very popular band here in Las Vegas. When we all got together for the first time, we put together a rough setlist and said, "Let's try it and see what happens." And it clicked, it really worked. So we have been rehearsing for our first gig which is October 8.

RockMusicStar.com: What was it like for you to revisit the "Rock in the Hard Place" record after all these years?

Jimmy Crespo: I worked very hard on that CD. I fought tooth and nail to get those songs out of Steven Tyler.

RockMusicStar.com: From what I read about that time period of the AEROSMITH, it seems like you were the only one in the band that was level-headed at that time.

Jimmy Crespo: It seemed that way. (Laughs) It was tough times. It was difficult, but we got through it. For years, I didn't even listen to that record because it brought back too many bad memories. Everything ended on a sour note. But a lot of healing goes on as years go by. And the fans have surprised me, coming out of the woodwork and telling me how much they love that record. Especially the fans that picked up on AEROSMITH in the early '80s, they were really affected by it. So after hearing this praise for all these years, I felt that I should go back on listen to the record again. And I rediscovered that there was some really good stuff on there. But those were some intense times when making that record.

RockMusicStar.com: I read that it cost over 1.5 million dollars to make the "Rock in the Hard Place" record and that was back in 1981-82. That's really a lot of money.

Jimmy Crespo: Well, it took two years to make that record. Steven Tyler was having issues, problems during that period. He was in and out of drug mayhem. He was getting in accidents. Who knows if that was just his way of getting out of doing things or whatever it was? But we couldn't get him locked down and he wouldn't let anyone in the band write any lyrics. It had to be all him during that time. Of course, later on he started accepting other people's songs. But when I was there, he was the "guy" in charge to decide what AEROSMITH would sound like. And everything revolved on "When can Steven do it?" “Can he do it today? No, he's in the hospital." I mean, it was all this. It was drama. So CBS Records kept picking up the tab. And then they would send us out on tour to help cover the expenses. But just here and there, but not a real tour that would bring in money. So that's how we broke the bank.

RockMusicStar.com: How were you informed when they decide to get Joe Perry back in the band?

Jimmy Crespo: Well, let me take it back a year prior to that moment. The last year that I was with them, I was giving the option of staying or leaving because there was no more money, no more touring, CBS wouldn't shell out a dime for the new record because Steven at the time was so non-productive. And because "Rock in a Hard Place" didn't sell the millions of records that they were use to AEROSMITH selling. After the $1.5 million they spent and didn't recoup, they just put a stop to all money. So there was no money coming in, no touring. So, I had a choice to stay and help get Steven to start writing again or whatever. I stayed for that period, but it became a moot point. He would just not do it. We would make attempts at getting him in the studio and listening to the stuff that I had written and that others had written, but he just wouldn't do it. After nine months of that nonsense, Steven and Joe started talking about getting the original band back together and get some interest back from CBS to support that. I was informed by their manager, David Krebs, that they were going to go with the original lineup. And I said that I think that that's a great idea. I was totally burnt at the time. I know that there was no way that I could make AEROSMITH happen. It wasn't in my power. It would have to be some other miraculous person or the original band. It made sense to me. Even though it really sucked for me, because I felt like I failed and I really don't like that. But, it was the right thing to do.

Read the entire interview from RockMusicStar.com.