Be a Guitar Rock Star like Aerosmith's Joe Perry

Are you an Aerosmith fan? Do you watch Steven Tyler and Joe Perry rocking out in music videos and concerts and wish you could rip a guitar the way Joe Perry does? Its hard to imagine, but the very man you admire, Joe Perry, was once in your shoes. He grew up listening to oldies like "Tutti Frutti" and "Rock Around the Clock" as a young kid. In his teens, Perry was a huge fan of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. How did Joe Perry go from your average aspiring guitarist to a rock star with a 30 year career in music? Three big life decisions set Perry on the path to success.

1. Practice. Joe started to learn and master guitar at an early age and dedicated himself to learning and practicing the guitar. He identified other musicians who would influence his style such as The Yardbirds and John Mayall. It is said that many of the fundamentals of the blues licks and riffs that turned out to be so popular in Aerosmith's music were inspired by Perry's appreciation of Mayall.

2. Perseverance. After Perry developed his skills to the point that he was able to start jamming with other musicians, he worked with several different bands. Some of his early efforts included Just Us, Plastic Glass, and Flash. None of these bands were particularly successful, but Joe didn't let that stop him from pursuing his musical career. He was involved with another group called The Jam Band when he met Tom Hamilton, who later became the bass player for Aerosmith. Perry was playing with The Jam Band in 1969 when he met Steven Tyler, who was playing with another group at The Barn in Sunapee, New Hampshire. After so many failed attempts at forming a band Perry could have given up. But he struck up a friendship with Steven Tyler and together they decided to form Aerosmith.

Later, perseverance played a big role in Perry's life as rampant drug use among the members of Aerosmith caused a huge rift. Perry had a falling out with Tyler and broke off from Aerosmith to pursue a solo career with a band called The Joe Perry Project. Perry continued to use drugs and faced all sorts of financial hardships, including bankruptcy. Finally, through the persuasive efforts of his agent, Perry reconciled with Tyler and Aerosmith was reunited. The band continued to make music, but did not really take off until both Tyler and Perry entered rehabilitation for their drug use. Both of them were able to come out of rehab and stay clean. Persevering through various failed groups and the demons of drug use eventually made Joe Perry into the rock icon that he is today.

3. Partnership. Joe Perry and Steven Tyler met fatefully at an event in 1969 when they both arrived with different bands. They came together to form Aerosmith and enjoyed some success in the 1970s. However, they were known as the "toxic twins" because of their crazy drug use during their early days in Aerosmith. Eventually, the drugs drove them apart and they were on very bad terms for a few years while Joe Perry did his own thing. In 1984 Aerosmith reunited as Tyler and Perry worked out some of their differences. At the beginning of Aerosmith's rebirth, drug use was still a problem. Finally, both Perry and Tyler entered rehabilitation together and came out to remain clean together. By the end of the 1980s, Aerosmith was considered one of the biggest bands of the decade with a triple platinum album.