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5 Questions with... Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton
On July 19, Aerosmith will be storming the NEXEN CNOOC Stage at Shell Place with their Blue Army Tour 2015. YMM was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Tom Hamilton about his upcoming visit to Fort McMurray with Aerosmith. Here’s what he had to say.
YMM: We are so excited that you’re coming to town, ready to rock Fort McMurray! Where’s the farthest north that you’ve travelled with Aerosmith?
TH: I think the farthest north we’ve ever played is probably Helsinki.
YMM: Take us behind the scenes on a typical concert night. Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
TH: I get this question a lot. We usually get to the venue around 6:00pm. After taking a look at the stage and tweaking my equipment (sometimes I tweak my equipment at the hotel), I get a bite to eat. It’s really important not to eat too late. I want to have at least two hours between eating and going onstage. There’s nothing worse than spending the whole show belching up what you ate for dinner. At some point it’s nice to head into my dressing room and shut the door. Then I set up my laptop and choose a piece of music to jam with. Generally it’s whatever I happen to be working on at the time. Sometimes I just pick out a loop I can play with. Once the blood starts flowing and the muscles are warmed up I start musically daydreaming. These are the moments that give you the bits and pieces that can be blown up into a song idea. It’s that moment when thinking stops and creativity begins.
Next on the agenda is meeting fans and saying hi to guests. All this has to stop when we’re within an hour of going on. Then I usually find I have to catch up on all the prep, like whatever I feel like wearing, which bass I want to use for which songs and getting my in-ear monitors put in. Right before I do that, I call home and say hi to my wife Terry and my kids if they happen to be home at the moment.
Now I’m dressed and the dressing room bass goes back on for more warming up. When I’m within ten minutes of the start of the show, I find myself pacing and adapting to the energy chemicals my body starts serving up. Pretty soon its out into the hall to join the parade of crew guys, friends, fellow band members and security dudes that leads to the stairs that lead to the that sacred ground we call the stage.
YMM: When thinking about the crowd you’ll be entertaining here in Fort McMurray, which one Aerosmith song would you say is a must-have on the evening’s set list?
TH: It’s virtually impossible to give a one-song answer. If I had to I guess it would be the one called Sweetemotiondreamonwalkthisway.
YMM: You’ve said your two favourite places in the world are home and Paris. What do you do to feel at home when you’re on the road?
TH: I can’t really do anything to make the road feel like home. I just have to accept that the road is home. A parallel home. Other than missing my family, I really enjoy the road. I’m pretty adaptable so I know enough not to sit around wishing I was home. There are definitely moments but in general I’m grateful to have the opportunity to go thousands of miles away and still meet and play for people who love the same music I do.
YMM: What would you say our readers can expect from your July 19th show?
TH: They can expect to see us devoting every ounce of our energies and abilities to the pursuit of inspiring the fans. (How’s that for salesmanship?)
