Between 1987 and 1992 I wrote a dozen songs with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.  I learned a lot, I had a ton of fun, and I came away with enormous respect for Aerosmith's talent, integrity, their brotherhood as a band, and their commitment to music as a positive force. Aerosmith are unique as individuals and they're unique as a group. In all of Rock-n-Roll there are few bands that can match their energy and innovation ... on-stage or in the studio.

My first encounter with Aerosmith was in March 1987 when I was brought onto the "Permanent Vacation" project by my friend Bruce Fairbairn.  A few months earlier Bruce had been hired by Geffen Records guru John Kalodner and given the task of producing Aerosmith's "come-back" album.

Bruce, in turn, enlisted a handful of trusted people he'd worked with over the years: songwriter Desmond Child, audio engineer Bob Rock, assistant engineer Mike Fraser, and me.

The following quotes are from the book "Walk This Way - The Autobiography of Aerosmith" by Stephen Davis:

John Kalodner: In January 1987 I went to the band's rehearsal hall in Somerville in the dead of stinking Boston winter during a horrible blizzard. They play me what they've been rehearsing. Tyler had part of "Dude" but it wasn't together. I returned two weeks later in another stinking blizzard and they'd made basically no progress. The songs were just a collection of rehearsal riffs, not really happening. I listened as politely as I could, made some notes, and thought, "I gotta get somebody to fix these songs". I didn't know how they'd react to what I had to say next: "Look, here's what an A&R person does. I need to bring in some people to help you write songs".

Steven Tyler: I told him if he knew someone I could write lyrics with and have as much fun as when I'm writing with Joe Perry, then please bring 'em in.

John Kalodner: In April they moved to Vancouver and started to work with Jim Vallance. From then through June they came up with most of the tracks.

For additional information on Aerosmith's "Permanent Vacation" album, click on the individual song titles above.