1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: Arrowsmith are insane. Their mere presence incited riots and violence 3 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: among fans. They mixed target practice with black tar heroin. 4 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: They trained roadies how to feed them cocaine on stage. 5 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: Frontman Stephen Tyler claims he spent six million dollars on 6 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,919 Speaker 1: coke alone. They lived on the edge and nearly teetered 7 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: over it more times than anyone can count. And at 8 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: their peak, Arrowsmith was sex, drugs, and rock and roll 9 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: in the flesh and wrapped up in spangly scarves and jumpsuits. 10 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: Then they swapped some of the sex for more drugs, 11 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: and at their lowest they traded their rock royalty status 12 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: for a few more pills and thrills, and nearly lost 13 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: their crown in the process. But their inevitable comeback in 14 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,919 Speaker 1: decades long career transformed Boston into a renowned rock city 15 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: in a way that none of their predecessors could. Because 16 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: Arrowsmith made I can't believe I'm going to say this 17 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 1: great music. There are a few bands out there that 18 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: I have as much of a love hate relationship with 19 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: as Arrowsmith. 20 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 2: But I digress. 21 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: Great music, Okay, but unlike that loop at the top 22 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: of the show that wasn't great music. That was a 23 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: preset loop from my melotron called sinniped Diddy MK two. 24 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: And I played you that loop because I can't afford 25 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: the rights to No More Tears, Enough Is Enough by 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: another Bostonian, Donna Summer, and also Barbara Streisand and why 27 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: would I play you that specific slice of Breakup Disco Cheese? 28 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 2: Could I afford it? 29 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 30 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: December sixth, nineteen seventy nine. Then that was the day 31 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: that Stephen Tyler, in the middle of a seizure, had 32 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: to be dragged off stage again on this episode, Riots 33 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: and Violence, Target Practice in black Tar, heroin spangly scarves 34 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: and jumpsuits and Arrowsmith. I'm Jake Brennan, and this this Disgraceland. 35 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: You could tell from the audience it was a seizure. 36 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: Stephen Tyler spasmed on stage, jerky movements like an insect 37 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: stuck on its back, one leg doing the jitterbug, his 38 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: other limbs limp as a rag doll. Moments ago he 39 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: was peacocky, shaking his hips, ribcage popping out through his 40 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: skin tight jumpsuit. He was a blur of limbs of 41 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: feral animal, but somehow still smooth enough to steal your 42 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: girl and her best friend. Arrowsmith had barely started their 43 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: sold out show in Portland, Maine, on December sixth, nineteen 44 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: seventy nine. The Stephen was halfway through screeching their new tune, 45 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: Refirheaded Woman, when he went from Energizer bunny too dead 46 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: meat about to be dead meat anyway if no one 47 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: did anything fast enough, Arrowsmith guitarist Brad Whitford knelt over 48 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: Stephen's body as he played on. Not that it mattered 49 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: if the band stopped. No one knew this fucking song anyway. 50 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,839 Speaker 1: The lead guitar player didn't flinch. He kept his back 51 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: turned to the twitching pile of hair and bones on 52 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: the ground, ice cold. This wasn't Joe Perry, Joe was 53 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: gone fired. Depending on which band member you asked, this 54 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: was Joe's replacement, Jimmy Crespo. Sometimes the kids could get 55 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: into his wrists, but more often than. 56 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 2: Not they heckled the hell out of him. 57 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: Across the country, they used the same refrain, Hey. 58 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 2: Where's Joe fucking Perry? 59 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: Actually, where the hell was Arrowsmith. This cluster fuck in 60 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: front of sixty seven hundred fans couldn't be the same 61 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 1: band that gave them rocks just a few years ago. 62 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: This band was all blow and no joe. Except for tonight. 63 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: Stephen's cokestash ran dry before showtime. He relied on the 64 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: blow to keep him upright after his ritual of chugging 65 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: two double Beefeeder martinis, the booze and the coke it 66 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: practically canceled each other out, but there was nothing soaking 67 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: up the gin in his stomach. Tonight, the quadruple dose 68 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: of Beefeaters sank him after only a few songs. Nobody 69 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: needed to know that. Right now, Stephen shook sick as 70 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: a dog on the floor and kept up the charade. 71 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: Anything to get the gig canceled, and anything to get 72 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: high again, LSD, heroine, speed kuway ludes. Every day with 73 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: Arrowsmith was a day with a buffet of drugs in 74 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: your face, even in the early years when they were 75 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: a pack of young punks performing as city teenagers at 76 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,359 Speaker 1: high school dances. If you wanted to make it in 77 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: Boston in the early nineteen seventies, you needed all the 78 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: help you could get. Boston was not. 79 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 2: A rock city. 80 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,919 Speaker 1: It was the opposite of a rock city, so opposite 81 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: that the genre was literally banned across town during its 82 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: formative years. Blame that on Chuck Berry and Alan Freed. Instead, 83 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: nearby Cambridge blossomed does a folk haven lousy with barefoot 84 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: people in their mellow acoustic guitars, and Arrowsmith was none 85 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: of that. They weren't subtle, and they weren't soft. They 86 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: dressed with shredded rags and tattered scraps. 87 00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 2: Of hippie garbon. It made it all look gritty. 88 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: They stopped around, screeched, and made sexual innuendos out of 89 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:07,359 Speaker 1: anything that could be measured in inches. Arrowsmith had the 90 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: songs and the swagger. Some said they were a poor 91 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: man's rolling stones. For what it's worth, Stephen Tyler and 92 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: Mick Jagger kind of had the same big lip mug. 93 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: Another said they were jacking the New York dollshtick. And 94 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: what I said about mc jagger is also true about 95 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: Stephen Tyler and David Johansson. But Arrowsmith was all Boston. 96 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: They crammed into an apartment together on combat practiced in 97 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: the belly of a bu basement, worked on new material 98 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: in the Bruins locker room at the Garden. They played 99 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,559 Speaker 1: in New York City sometimes, sure, and that's where Clive 100 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: Davis discovered them in nineteen seventy one. But when Columbia 101 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: Records had them sign along the Dotted Line, Arrowsmith didn't 102 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: bail on Boston. They doubled down and recorded their debut 103 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: album on their home turf at Intermedia Studios on Newbury Street. 104 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: Arrowsmith was Boston or Boston demanded the right tree to 105 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: keep their train a rolling towards stardom. Ludes, hash coke joints, 106 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: rolled like massive Jamaican spliffs. All this remained within reach 107 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: even when the band was barely scraping by. Reach into 108 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: the freezer and grab some crystal mess to stick up 109 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: your nose. Find some LSD to shoot, Yes, shoot shooting LSD. 110 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 2: Need some pot Have a brownie? 111 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: Well, unless a dog eats them all and is so 112 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: comatose you have to carry him outside so that he 113 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: can take a piss bomber. Even when Stephen laid down 114 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: the sweepy melotron notes that's right melotron on Dream, on 115 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: one of the band's most endearing songs, he snorted lines 116 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: of Crystal thhc as he played Aerosmith had drugs for 117 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: every occasion. 118 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 2: You could count on it. The cops certainly did. 119 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: Stephen Tyler didn't have time to think, not that he 120 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: thought much before he acted, anyways. 121 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 2: He hissed in Brad's direction. 122 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: The entire band was lined up in a New Jersey 123 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: police station, handcuffed to a bar in the hallway. Two 124 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: state troopers found a few joints and pot seeds in 125 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: their van on the New Jersey Turnpike. What the cops 126 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: didn't find was two ounces of weed in Brad's pocket, 127 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: some roaches in a film canister, and Steven's hash coffin 128 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: full of nematoh and the final bag of weed, which 129 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: just so happened to be down Stephen's pants at the 130 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: moment the cops would be back, and they definitely were 131 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: going to frisk him again. Stephen could hold his own 132 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: he'd shove weirder things down his pants before, that's for sure. 133 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: But those two ounces and Brad's jeans were a dead giveaway. 134 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: They had to make the pot disappear pronto. Stephen had 135 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: already managed to free one hand from his cuffs, and 136 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: all he needed now was a distraction. Cops were suddenly 137 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 1: sprinting down the hallway. They grabbed shotguns as they shouted 138 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: over each other something about a black panther riot in Newark. 139 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: Officers poured out of the station and droves perfect timing. 140 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: Stephen urged Brad to slip in the bags of weed. 141 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,319 Speaker 1: Brad didn't have time to argue. He wriggled the bags 142 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: from his jean's pocket and into Stephen's free hand. Then 143 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: Stephen tossed each one through an open doorway and into 144 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: a dark room without thinking twice about it. The band 145 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: exhaled with relief until they were pulled into the fingerprint room, 146 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:26,679 Speaker 1: the same room where Stephen tossed the weed. Incredibly, both 147 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,719 Speaker 1: baggies landed right on an officer's desk. Arrowsmith put on 148 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: their poker faces one by one. The band walked right 149 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: by the bags, backed in casual looking elsewhere, and the 150 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: cop took their prints and didn't say a word. He 151 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: was either that blind or that incapable of connecting the 152 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: dots didn't matter. What mattered was that the band was 153 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: only booked on misdemeanor churches. They'd be speeding down the 154 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: turnpike again by evening, with just enough time to rush 155 00:09:55,520 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: down to Pennsylvania for a gig, Arrowsmith piled to the 156 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,559 Speaker 1: van and floored it until they pulled up to the show, 157 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: strapped their guitars on, stepped on stage in the naked time, 158 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: gazed into the audience and saw twelve people. This gig 159 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: wouldn't even cover the fucking gas money. But it wouldn't 160 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: be like this for long. Soon Aerosmith would be soaring 161 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: in front of big crowds and with some big names. 162 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 2: Shit. Soon Aerosmith would be soaring. 163 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: Above the big names, and money would be the least 164 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: of their problems. No way, we're going to fly this thing, 165 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: Aerosmith's head of flight operations examined the sad excuse of 166 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 1: a plane in front of him, a creaky old convey 167 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: a death trap with wings. Two pilots smoked and passed 168 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: a bottle of Jack Daniels back and forth in the cockpit. 169 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: The smell of stale nicotine clung to the cabin. Arrowsmith 170 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 1: needed to charter a private plane for touring. 171 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 2: But they didn't need it this badly. 172 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: The band's accountant snapped back at him, Yes, they were 173 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: going to fly this thing because it was going to 174 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: save them thirty grand on this leg alone. The head 175 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: of flight oppos stood his ground. He was an Air 176 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 1: Force pilot. He could smell more than smoke on this 177 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 1: convey He smelled gore tragedy. If you're flying them in 178 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: this airplane, I'm resigning effective immediately. Arrowsmith passed on the plane. 179 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: Leonard Skinnered did not. Later that year, the same plane 180 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: went down in Mississippi and took the members of Leonard 181 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 1: Skinnered with it. Cheaping out was costly in the end, 182 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 1: and by the mid nineteen seventies, Arrowsmith wasn't sheeping out 183 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 1: on anything. There's drug money, then there's designer drug money, 184 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,560 Speaker 1: then there's people hired just to serve you drugs money. 185 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 1: For years, Aerosmith just had regular old drug money, enough 186 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,079 Speaker 1: to keep their fridge stocked with chunks of meth and 187 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: their noses full of blow. Life's simple pleasures for a 188 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,959 Speaker 1: little rock and roll band from Boston. Then they made 189 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: an album called Toys in the Attic and everything changed. 190 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: Toys in the Attic wasn't Aerosmith's first album, but it 191 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,559 Speaker 1: was the first album to give them an international lift off. 192 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: Songs like Walk This Way had fans sprinting to record 193 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: stores and snapping out concert tickets. The real money started 194 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: pouring in, and better money meant better drugs. Better drugs 195 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: made your heartbeat harder and your teeth gnash harder, and 196 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: they made you rock harder. And by nineteen seventy six, 197 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: Arrowsmith danced to a whole new beat. 198 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 2: It's the year Aerosmith. 199 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: Recorded Rocks Can of whoop Ass that straddle the line 200 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: between hard rock and heavy metal. The sound was what 201 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: other people call cutting edge tough. As one of the 202 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: five glistening diamonds on the album's cover, the album peaked 203 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: at number three on the Billboard two hundred and They're 204 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: unprecedented high on the charts funded unprecedented highs for the band, 205 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: the kind of highs you never wanted to come down from, 206 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: the kind you do anything to hold onto for a 207 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 1: few more minutes, especially when you're shuffling between states and 208 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:29,959 Speaker 1: stages on tour. 209 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 2: And that's what the roadies were for. 210 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 1: Members of Arrowsmith's crew were trained in keeping the band 211 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: as high as possible for as long as possible. These 212 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: guys were full surface, highly skilled, always in motion. Steven's 213 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,199 Speaker 1: microphone stand must remain wrapped in his scarves at all times, 214 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: you know, the ones that looked like they were ripped 215 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: off a hippie's back after a weekend in Woodstock. And 216 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 1: that's not just style, that's a fashion stash. Each scarf 217 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: is laced with the little pockets full of tune alls 218 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: and quayludes to pop during the show. Remove the scarves 219 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: past some NUDI photos of groupies to the amps. Put 220 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: a bottle of jack on the drum riser. Keep that 221 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty proof white rum nearby for Steven 222 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: as well, even though he'll probably hand it off to 223 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: the kids in the firm row. Those little fuckers have 224 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: never swallowed rock and fuel like that before, and they'll 225 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:17,960 Speaker 1: be puking all over each other in no time. 226 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 2: But that's not your problem. 227 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: You get enough shit to deal with backstage. 228 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 2: This is just the calm. 229 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: Before the storm. The storm is already here though, tearing 230 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: up the rooms. If said backstage, it just hasn't blown 231 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: your specific way just yet. In the background, someone's gonna 232 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: yell Arrowsmith's new catchphrase, and that is tied for a 233 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: production meeting, and that's just code for time to do 234 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: some more blow. And boy, howdy is there blow? Sometimes 235 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: it's kept in a room with a cop standing guard outside. 236 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: Keep fucking believe that a cop guarding a bunch of blow. 237 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: Sometimes there's a fat fucking amount of it next to 238 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: the deli platters. But whatever, take a breather rest, you're 239 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: gonna need it. It's gonna be a long night. 240 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 2: But fuck these divas. 241 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: You steal a few slices of deli meat to wipe 242 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: your ass with and sneak them back into the spread, 243 00:14:57,840 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: and the band is none the wiser, and they're gagged 244 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: up of the brains, too gack to even get laid. 245 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: And that's good news for you, because the ladies are 246 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: lining up around the block who want to get backstage. 247 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: Sharing some love is the one way to get a 248 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: tour lamb in it. You know, they can share their 249 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 1: love with you. The guy who has the access, the 250 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 1: guy who has the access to the rock stars. Anyone 251 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 1: in line who thinks they're above this sort of exchange 252 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: can talk to the tour manager. But that's going to 253 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: set them back an entire stash of coke. First it 254 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: was a gram, then an eight ball. Now it's an 255 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: ounce and not a gram less and the band has 256 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: no idea about this particular price of admission, and that 257 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: mound and catering is supplied by desperate fans and sold 258 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: to the band at full price. 259 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 2: Did you follow all that? I barely followed all that. 260 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: Whatever doesn't matter, as long as you're not bored in 261 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: comatose shit is Steven Tyler comatos the promoter's handling that now, 262 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: he says, Steven's awake, sort of. He'll need a ride 263 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: onto the stage on your back. At least he's lighter 264 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: than any amp you had to push around, So you 265 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: sit them down at the center of the stage, prop 266 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: them up, guide him to that trusty set of scarves. 267 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 1: The lights go up, show time, well not so fast, roady, 268 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: work isn't over yet. You're Joe Perry's right hand man 269 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: on standby with a cup of blow and a straw, 270 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 1: and when the lights dim between songs, that's your cue. 271 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: Rush over to him, guide the straw right up to 272 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 1: his nostril and let him take a few toots, and 273 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 1: then remove the straw and rush back into your corner 274 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: quick the motherfucker before the lights come up. Steven's doing 275 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: the same on his own. He's got his own quote 276 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: unquote medicine cabinet at the front of the stage, hidden 277 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: inside a drumhead, and that's where he keeps his Dixie cups, 278 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: one full of jack and one full of coke, not 279 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: actual coke, not Coca cola cocaine. He tosses a towel 280 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: over his head to disguise himself as he slurps in snorts. 281 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: Not that he's fooling anyone. They don't call Steven and 282 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: Joe the Toxic Twins for nothing. They'll take any drug 283 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 1: you put in front of them anytime, sometimes at the 284 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: exact same time. And that's all right, because the show's 285 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: running smoothly so far. Steven is happy with the sound, 286 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 1: which means Steven hasn't touched a monitor at a security guard. 287 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: No one's hurling any bottles and trash on stage, and 288 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: that's good. 289 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 2: Good. 290 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: Now, you just set your flashlight down on this hand 291 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: for a moment, and shit, he just knocks some fat 292 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: lines onto the floor, as you not noticed those were there. 293 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 2: So after all that, you're fired. 294 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: Life on the road with Arrowsmith was so toxic that 295 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: the band developed two rules. One except nothing but blowjobs 296 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: ten days before the tour ends, So you don't take 297 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: any diseases home to your girls. And Steven had already 298 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: contracted the clap twice by nineteen seventy six, and once 299 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: shared a nice family of crabs with Joe Perry. And 300 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: nobody wanted to see or hear about any more of that. 301 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 1: And the second rule was just for the crew. They 302 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: called it the twenty four hour rule. If you hadn't 303 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 1: seen a member of the band in twenty four hours, 304 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: you found their hotel room and broke down the door, 305 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 1: not to get their ass up to perform, but to 306 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: make sure they weren't dead. And if you could point 307 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,199 Speaker 1: to an item on tour, there are usually drugs inside. 308 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: Like I said before, Steven scarves Joe's customs suits arriving 309 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 1: with pockets full of blow and them fake fan mail, 310 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: put together solely to create the illusion that fans were 311 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:56,440 Speaker 1: setting the massive quantities of drugs. That trick was particularly 312 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 1: helpful at Customs, but the truth was that Arrowsmith's fan 313 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: could be just as dangerous as the drugs. October nineteen 314 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 1: seventy seven, Philadelphia, a bomb soared toward the stage from 315 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: the sea at Enim Jackets. Someone in an Arrowsmith's. 316 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 2: Blue Army just declared war. 317 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: The Mighty erupted as the band climbed the stairs to 318 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 1: the stage for an encore, and the cherry bomb snapped 319 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: like a shotgun. 320 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,679 Speaker 2: Blast, smoke, then chaos. 321 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 1: Stephen Tyler staggered around in circles, one hand over his eye, 322 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,840 Speaker 1: screaming that he couldn't see. Turns out the bomb singed 323 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 1: his cornea blood was spurting from Joe's hand, spilling. 324 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 2: From an open artery. 325 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: The band packed up without ever starting the encore A 326 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,159 Speaker 1: get a police escort to the nearest hospital. The m 327 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: eighty was a demented welcome to receive from Philadelphia a 328 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 1: twisted taste of Arrowsmith's medicine. Fans didn't need to share 329 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,679 Speaker 1: stories about the band's bad behavior. They could see it 330 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: right in front of them. Those towels and scarves weren't 331 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: fooling anyone. If the bad boys of Boston could break 332 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 1: the land on plain view, then their fans could misbehave 333 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:06,400 Speaker 1: just as hard. When Arrowsmith performed at Boston College, fans 334 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,680 Speaker 1: who couldn't get tickets started a riot and broke into 335 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,959 Speaker 1: the venue using railroad pins. When dozens of fans were 336 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: arrested for drinking and smoking in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Arosmith 337 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 1: announced to the crowd that they'd pay for their bail, 338 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,760 Speaker 1: but it was Arrowsmith's crew who really paid for the 339 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: band's bad behavior. Their roadies were dropping like flies by 340 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: the late nineteen seventies, one dead from cirrhosis, another. 341 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 2: Took his own life well. 342 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: One of the most trusted crew members left the band 343 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 1: because he loved Joe Perry so much that he didn't 344 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: want to be the person who found Joe dead. And 345 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: if he stuck around, he was sure that that very 346 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: thing would happen. Arrowsmith was sex, drugs and rock and 347 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: roll in the flesh, emphasis though on the drugs, and 348 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 1: that man Arrowsmith was a fucking hazard. They needed to 349 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:55,120 Speaker 1: reform rehab without the actual rehab. Arrowsmith needed to get 350 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: away before they went away forever. 351 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,119 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this. We're were were? 352 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 1: They called it the Senecal three hundred barren rooms, one chapel, 353 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: countless cobwebbed fireplaces, Shadows of nuns and habits scurried across 354 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,919 Speaker 1: the pealing walls. The massive former convent branched into wings 355 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: on a ninety eight acre plot of rolling planes. 356 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 2: In New York. 357 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: Not a soul for miles just you and the Holy Spirit. 358 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 1: Back in the day, women came to the Senecal to 359 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 1: escape from worldly temptation and to look within. They tuned 360 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: out all the noise and tuned into the Senecal's divine silence. 361 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: If you focused hard enough, you might just hear a 362 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: higher voice being whispered to you, instructing you on how 363 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: to turn your life around. And all you had to 364 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,679 Speaker 1: do was commit to change. All you had to do 365 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: was pull the trigger. Joe Perry rested as Thompson's sub 366 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,919 Speaker 1: machine gun down in his lap. He squinted until the 367 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: target at the other end of the attic came into focus. 368 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: No bull's eyes, too bad, He consoled himself with a 369 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: swig of a double black Russian aka breakfast, Well, probably breakfast. 370 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,879 Speaker 1: It was hard to know for sure. Time didn't exist 371 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: at the Senecal, only long moments, stretches of time defined 372 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: by whatever chemicals you stuffed your body with. Hours of 373 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: drunken stupors afternoons and beds strung out on black tar 374 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: heroin days without sleep. Outside of the cenacle, time was 375 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 1: still very real. Arrowsmith had six weeks at the old 376 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 1: Convent to record. 377 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:40,440 Speaker 2: A new album. 378 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: In the eyes of Columbia Records. The Senacle would be 379 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:47,399 Speaker 1: like rehab without actually sending the band to rehab, a 380 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: place where the bad boys of Boston would be isolated 381 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:54,479 Speaker 1: from the fast life. Rocks already proved how catastrophic drugs 382 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: were for the band's creativity. The album sounds flawless, almost 383 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: two flaws, and that's because the band was so fucked 384 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: up that they couldn't get through a clean take of 385 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 1: any song. Each track had to be recorded thirty even 386 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: forty times, cut up, and sew them back together using 387 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,919 Speaker 1: the best takes. Columbia thought nothing could be more inefficient. 388 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: Columbia thought wrong. The snicle didn't isolate Aarosmith from drugs, 389 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,400 Speaker 1: It isolated them from each other. Joe's constant target practice 390 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: with his toys in the attic shattered the silence more 391 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: than the actual music did. The band practically wrote in 392 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: recorded music and shifts. Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton, and 393 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: drummer Joey Kramer pulled most of the weight. Regular deliveries 394 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,080 Speaker 1: of black tar heroin were making Joe Perry will He 395 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: slurred during sessions, his nose running, sometimes puking. Some days 396 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,640 Speaker 1: he showed up so incoherent that the band turned him away. 397 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 1: He'd crawled back to his room and used the dismissal 398 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: as an excuse to not re emerge for days. Then 399 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: Stephen emerged to write some lyrics, or attempt to write 400 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: some of theirs, if he could manage to find the 401 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:02,240 Speaker 1: right room and. 402 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 2: Keep his body upright. 403 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:06,400 Speaker 1: Gobbling down his daily regiment of two and all's left 404 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: him seeing triple, if that's even possible. Three pens, three 405 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: pieces of paper, three versions of each bandmate, nagging him 406 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,359 Speaker 1: to write down something clever. It was so dizzying he 407 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 1: kept one hand over his eye to c straight, and 408 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: as the band drifted apart, other characters cycled through the 409 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 1: senecal Joe Perry's buddy, the former New York Dolls front 410 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: man David Johansson, brought dope. Hired chefs, handled the catering 411 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:37,879 Speaker 1: and dosed the food. Dealers made regular drop offs. Steven's 412 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 1: guy Raymond brought copcaine straight from New York City. He 413 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: was the kind of dealer who sampled too much of 414 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: his own wares. The squealing was coming from Stephen's room. 415 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:54,639 Speaker 1: It sounded pained inhuman, and Stephen's ears perked up as 416 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: he snickered to himself. Everyone in the band had meal 417 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 1: time rituals. Joe drank his breakfast with a gun in 418 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,360 Speaker 1: his hand. Stephen finished his dinner with two lines of cocaine, 419 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: which he laid on his nightstand in advance. One day, 420 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: he caught that guy Raymond with his nose pressed to 421 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: the night stand, sucking up a line like a hoover. 422 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: Who did he think he was? This wasn't milk and 423 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 1: cookies left out for Santa Claus, so Stephen left out 424 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:21,679 Speaker 1: something special for Raymond. 425 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 2: The next time he came around. 426 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,480 Speaker 1: Raymond yelped like a wounded animal. He stumbled down the stairs, 427 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,439 Speaker 1: clutching his nose, and those nostrils were used to inhaling 428 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: the finest blow money could buy. But tonight's powder dessert 429 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,680 Speaker 1: wasn't blow. It was decades old plaster that Stephen scraped 430 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: off the ceiling. Raymond learned the hard way that Arrowsmith 431 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 1: didn't share. They didn't share a vision either, and they 432 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,680 Speaker 1: didn't share a sound. Really, as their new album made 433 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: crystal clear, they didn't even share a sleep schedule, and 434 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,120 Speaker 1: they certainly didn't share their drugs. 435 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 2: Not anymore. 436 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: Arrowsmith adopted to get your own policy, especially Joe. When 437 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: Stephen stash ran low, he used to be able to 438 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,360 Speaker 1: count on Joe to spot it, but ever since Joe 439 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,160 Speaker 1: got hitched to that Alyssa jarre chick, he only shared 440 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: his stash with her, and Stephen took the rejection personally. 441 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: All of Aerosmith were supposedly brothers, but he and Joe 442 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:20,879 Speaker 1: were the toxic twins, and weren't twins supposed to share 443 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,520 Speaker 1: everything right down to their DNA. Alicia didn't care if 444 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 1: they were joined at the hip spouse is Trump's siblings. 445 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:32,119 Speaker 1: She happily hogged Joe's drugs and his attention. Melissa's sway 446 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,240 Speaker 1: over Joe was strong enough to inspire Steven's barb lyrics 447 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,119 Speaker 1: in sweet emotion. Alyssa wore things nobody else did, like 448 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: cocaine as eyeliner, which wasteful much. She talked about things 449 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 1: nobody cared about, but still somehow found ways to regularly 450 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 1: insult members of the band and sneak in off color remarks, 451 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: I mean, what kind of nasty stuff do you have 452 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 1: to say to a fender man his crew? To Stephen Tyler, 453 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 1: he think two people with big miles would get along, 454 00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:01,320 Speaker 1: but I digress, the selfishness and the didn't start with Alyssa, 455 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: but she certainly. 456 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 2: Helped it spread. 457 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,200 Speaker 1: When Draw the Line hit the shelves in late nineteen 458 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: seventy seven, fans understood where the band drew the line 459 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: in between themselves. Lines between me and you and mine 460 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: and yours, no tauching, no CROSSI, and get the fuck 461 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 1: away from my line. The record sold one point five 462 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 1: million copies in the first six weeks, but never cracked 463 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 1: the top ten of the Billboard. Two hundred people assumed 464 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:27,439 Speaker 1: Draw the Line would be Rocks two point zero, but 465 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:32,639 Speaker 1: it wasn't. Colombia didn't care. One point five million record 466 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 1: sales was a mighty number, regardless of what the music 467 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: sounded like. The band entered the studio a normal studio 468 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 1: to start work on the next record in nineteen seventy nine, 469 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 1: and when they left, they left without Joe Perry. His 470 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,520 Speaker 1: departure didn't come down to drugs. It didn't come down 471 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,879 Speaker 1: to the sound or to record sales either. Instead, Arrowsmith 472 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: ruptured over spilt milk for real. The band avoided death 473 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:00,879 Speaker 1: once when they rejected that see sack of a plane 474 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,639 Speaker 1: that took down Leonard Skinner, that didn't mean they wouldn't 475 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:08,479 Speaker 1: crash and burn. All the same tension fueled Arrowsmith at 476 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventy nine World Series of Rock. Tension over drugs, 477 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: tension between Stephen and Joe, tension between Alyssa and literally 478 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:20,920 Speaker 1: everyone else. It hung in the air backstage at Cleveland 479 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: Stadium like a foul odor. Then Tom's wife made a 480 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:28,160 Speaker 1: comment that Alyssa didn't like. Alyssa kept her mouth shut 481 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: for once. She threw a glass of milk on Tom's 482 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: wife instead. The tension lifted, the spark was lit, an 483 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:41,399 Speaker 1: Arrowsmith imploded instantly. Steven shouted at Joe to control his woman. 484 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 1: Stephen claims he fired Joe then and there, and he 485 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: swore never to share the stage with his toxic twin again, 486 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: even if it meant worse music, even if it meant 487 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 1: fewer people at shows and more hecklers, even if that 488 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: meant that in just a few months, Stephen would be 489 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: splayed out on a stage faking a siezure, half dead inside, 490 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: just like his band. Stephen Tyler didn't care if he 491 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:33,199 Speaker 1: lived or died. Panic thoughts rushed through his mind, but 492 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: he didn't say a word. 493 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 2: He couldn't. 494 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 1: Stephen Tyler had finally shut his trap because his mouth 495 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: had the barrel of a pistol inside of it. Another 496 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 1: night on the street, shuffling down Eighth Avenue in New 497 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: York City, walking like a ship faced man on stilts, 498 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,400 Speaker 1: Stephen asked the wrong guy if he was selling dope tonight. 499 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 1: The crook's finger trembled over the trigger. Give me your money, 500 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: and give me the fucking rings to Stephen considered this 501 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: for a moment. Giving up his money meant no heroin tonight, 502 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: and no heroin tonight meant he'd be stuck in a 503 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,320 Speaker 1: cycle of anxiety for hours on end. Anxiety is so 504 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 1: bad it felt like dying. 505 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 2: He might as well take the bullet at ys Ray. 506 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 1: Nah. 507 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 2: Fuck that. 508 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 1: Stephen silently slid the rings off his fingers and tossed 509 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: his wallet on the ground. It's not like he had 510 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: much that people could steal these days, anyway. Steven had 511 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 1: a strict new allowance twenty dollars a day. He was 512 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: supposed to limit his drug intake. Stephen hacked that real fast. 513 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:35,280 Speaker 1: He requested extra cash from his team every day and 514 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: said it was a tip for the limo driver. Stephen 515 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: then gave his driver fifty bucks and pocketed the rest 516 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty dollars three times as much. It's 517 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: no wonder that the chauffeur was Stephen's last luxury. His 518 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 1: Porsche already went up his nose, and so did his 519 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 1: private plane in his house. Twenty million dollars earned fast 520 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: and spent just as fast. Supposedly, six million dollars of 521 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: that sum was just for cocaine. Stephen devised other workarounds 522 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: to fund his worsening dependency. Aerosmith's new album built cocaine 523 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 1: into the budget, disguised as funds for twenty four track 524 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: reels of tape. Aerosmith poured one point five million dollars 525 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: into their first album without all of its original members, 526 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,560 Speaker 1: and it didn't pay them back. Aerosmith's nineteen eighty two record, 527 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 1: Rock in a Hard Place, was born out of desperation. 528 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: No singles, no love from that new craze MTV and 529 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: no Joe Perry, and the Blue Army dwindled. When they 530 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:38,040 Speaker 1: couldn't sell out stadiums, Aerosmith downgraded to club shows, and 531 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,840 Speaker 1: then they couldn't even sell those out. Toys in the 532 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 1: attic and rocks gathered dust like relics buried under the 533 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 1: face melting force of stadium filling bands at the time, 534 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 1: like Iron Maiden in Judas Priest. There was a changing 535 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,440 Speaker 1: of the guard in rock and Arrowsmith was getting phased out. 536 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: They needed something major to amp up their presence in 537 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties. A reunion, no better, a reinvention. Stephen 538 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,440 Speaker 1: Tyler wanted to know how the fuck Joe Perry could 539 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: be working with Alice Cooper. 540 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,920 Speaker 2: You need to be here, he screamed into the phone. 541 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: It was true, Joe already agreed to write new music 542 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: with Alice. His own band, the Joe Perry Project, was 543 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 1: doing just as well as Arrowsmith, which is to say 544 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 1: it wasn't doing well at all. His nineteen eighty three 545 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,560 Speaker 1: album Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker couldn't even sell 546 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: fifty thousand copies. 547 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 2: It was time to admit that both. 548 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 1: Bands were back at square one, But they weren't gonners, 549 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: not just yet. The rubble of their former empire was 550 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,720 Speaker 1: still lying around, and they just needed to cut the 551 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 1: shit and clean it up. Steven took his Crooked Walk 552 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 1: to rehab for the first time in the mid eighties, 553 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: and Joe Perry hopped back in the Saddle with Arrowsmith 554 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 1: around the same time Joe was in and drugs were out. 555 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:57,719 Speaker 2: But it's never that simple. 556 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: Drugs would have to be kicked out of arrow Smith 557 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 1: over and over again before the sobriety would stick. 558 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 2: But when it did stick. 559 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:10,719 Speaker 1: Supposedly, it stuck to the charts with records like Permanent 560 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 1: Vacation Home of huge hits. 561 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 2: Like rag Doll and Dude Looks Like a Lady. 562 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: And then Pump Get a Grip nine lives with massive 563 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 1: singles like Jamie's Got a Gun which I actually love, 564 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 1: crying crazy and I could go on and on, but 565 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: I won't. But all of that almost didn't exist, all 566 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 1: because of egos, stubbornness, selfishness, cheesy rock star behavior, and 567 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,800 Speaker 1: because some so called bad boys from Boston lived a 568 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:42,080 Speaker 1: little too close to the edge. I'm Jake Brennan and 569 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:59,640 Speaker 1: this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created by yours truly, and 570 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 1: it's pretty dust in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for 571 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 1: this episode can be found on the show notes page 572 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: at disgracelampod dot com. 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