Joe Perry was on hand at the midtown Manhattan Game Stop in New York to act as a celebrity judge for the new video game, Guitar Hero III. The Aerosmith axeman judged the finals of the local competition and then signed pictures and Guitar Hero guitars for the fans – only the pictures were free, however.
Perry talked about how he got involved with Guitar Hero.
"Well, I've been watching my boys, my sons, play this for the last four years so naturally being a guitar player, I've really kept my eye on how the game works. I ask some questions on how they play it, which I do with a lot of them. I watch them play a lot of different games, Halo -- all of them. This one being...usually I'm hearing bomb blasts and machine gun fire, but to actually hear some of my favorite classic rock come out of the speakers it's really got my interest, and so I've been watching this for a while. It's great to be asked to be involved in it."
Perry also described the challenges between the game and the real thing.
"Well, I think there's a point on a very basic level when the music and the action of playing the game are really close where it's like pretty much the music follows the game. I've talked to a lot of guitar players that have played this, and there isn't a guitar player I know -- except for the really young ones who are also gamers -- but all the older guys, they maybe get to the first basic level and then it splits off. Then a lot of your game playing skills come in, because you have to play the game as if you're playing one of those other kinds of games."
At a party later that night at the New York City Club Annex he performed with his sons who are in a band called TAB. Perry played the whole set with the band, which includes his sons Tony and Adrian. We'll have more about that band and what's ahead for Aerosmith later in the week.
