By Brian Ives
Aerosmith are just about finished with their European tour, which has seen them playing in front of huge audiences in Russia, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Italy, among other countries.
But, unfortunately, they weren’t able to play all of their scheduled concerts.
The band had to cancel their May concert in Turkey after a mining disaster that killed over 300 people, and their upcoming July 2 show in Kiev has also been called off due to civil unrest.
Related: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry Record New Version of ‘Dream On’ for Bombing Victims Tribute
Kiev’s National Corporation of Entertainment released a statement confirming the cancellation, saying, “With much regret we have decided to cancel the Aerosmith show in Kiev on July 2nd. It is impossible to produce this show in Ukraine while there is civil war. We can’t ensure safety to the artists, crew and the audience. We can’t ensure safety of the equipment.”
Aerosmith’s Joe Perry called into Boston classic rock station WZLX‘s host Carter Alan, to discuss the tour. He said that, cancellation notwithstanding, he enjoyed being in Turkey, and noted that Istanbul is his favorite European city.
“It was a drag we couldn’t play because of the mining disaster, it was a national day of mourning,” Perry said. “But it was a really amazing experience.”
As for the Kiev show, Perry notes that, “It was the first time we’ve had to cancel because of politics.”
He also discussed Aerosmith’s upcoming U.S. tour with Slash, which kicks off July 10 at Jones Beach Theatre in New York, telling Alan, “I’ve seen his band and heard some of the tracks from his new record, they’re really rocking.”
Alan also asked about Perry’s upcoming memoir, Rocks: My Life in and Out of Aerosmith, due out in October, which he co-wrote with David Ritz (who co-wrote books with Buddy Guy, Smokey Robinson and Scott Weiland, among others). He said working on the book while doing Aerosmith albums and tours has been “a lot of work, I haven’t really had much time off at all in the last 2 or 3 years.”
Hear the entire interview at WZLX’s website.
