Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry has cancelled his fall tour after his recent hospitalization earlier this month. Refunds for the artist’s cancelled performance will be available via their point of purchase.
A press statement from Perry’s management read:
“Joe Perry –legendary guitarist, co-founding member, principal songwriter and co-producer of Aerosmith– has cancelled his fall headlining shows as he continues to take some time off following his recent hospital visit. While doctors have released Perry from care, with the dates set to begin November 30 and going through December 16, the Aerosmith guitarist will now take the rest of the year off. Perry again would like to apologize to the fans who were planning on coming to the shows and looks forward to seeing them again in 2019. Refunds are available at point of purchase.”
Perry was treated on November 11th after experiencing “shortness of breath,” after a guest performance with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. The two artist’s were performing a rendition of the classic Aerosmith hit “Walk This Way,” before the guitarist was seen by paramedics.
Marcee Rondan, Perry’s representative. stated that the artist was treated by paramedics who “gave the guitarist oxygen and tracheal tube to clear his airway before taking him to a hospital.” Despite this episode, it was reported that the artist was recovering well in New York City.
At 68, the artist has had his fair share of health scares while performing over the years. In 2016 the guitarist suffered cardiac arrest while performing with his supergroup Hollywood Vampire, which includes Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper.
According to news reports, Perry collapsed on stage , and continued to perform while sitting on a drum kit stool afterward. After a few moments, the artist left the stage and was escorted by the NYFD while Depp and Cooper closed out the show. Due to the band’s performance schedule, the incident was blamed on dehydration and exhaustion.
As Cooper explained:
“The lyrics to (“Raise the Dead’), the first song we played that night, go, “Cardiac, heart attack… they never feared the reaper,” and I look around the stage and he’s gone. He was lying behind an amp on his back, and I went, ‘Oh, my God.’ We didn’t know what happened until after the show… We were doing 25 to 30 songs with no break. You’re in fourth gear, and there’s no 24-hour resting period. I think it just caught up with him. He finally got up there onstage, dehydrated. And I think he was exhausted. He told me the night before he hadn’t eaten in two days.”
In addition to his work with Hollywood Vampire and his solo career, Perry is best known as a founding member and the lead guitarist of Aerosmith since their beginning in 1970. During the early 1980s, Perry did take a temporary break from the band to form the Joe Perry Project, that saw some success with its debut project entitled Let The Music Do The Talking. Perry would return to Aerosmith and remained its lead guitarist ever since.
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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