Rock this way

The biggest challenge involved in being a part of Aerosmith is making decisions, according to guitarist Brad Whitford.

"This band has been around for a while," Whitford said during a telephone interview from Phoenix. "So when we get ready for a tour, we have to choose songs for the set, and we've got a lot of songs. There are also the business decisions we have to make that are in the band's best interest. And, ironically, those kinds of decisions are the type that we wanted to avoid. That's why we decided to be in a band in the first place."

Still, there was one decision the band made that seemed to be in its own — and its fans — best interest: touring with Kiss.

"The idea had been brewing for a while," said Whitford, who cited the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton as his early musical influences. "The promoters wanted to make it happen and approached us a year ago with the idea.

"I don't think we would have thought about this type of tour on our own, and it made us stop and think about what we're doing in this business. We felt it was a good idea and decided to go for it."

Packaged tours aren't new, especially in the classic-rock community. Among acts that have toured together are Journey and Peter Frampton, Styx and Kansas, Styx and REO Speedwagon; Styx, Journey and REO Speedwagon; Eddie Money and REO Speedwagon; and Pat Benatar and Steve Miller.

But bands like Aerosmith and Kiss? That's a little different. Both still do the big numbers in today's market. And both are more popular internationally than Styx, REO and Journey.

With the way things are in the music business these days, however, Whitford said he and his bandmates found the suggestion quite appealing. "It's a good idea for the money. The tickets cost a bit more, but then again, you're seeing two bands. And both band always try to give our fans their money's worth.

"With the whole music download scene these days, we have been losing money. It's a problem when our royalty payments have dropped considerably due to the free downloads. So we had to find different ways to to do our job."

The drawback for a double-bill tour is the stage time. "Usually, Kiss and Aerosmith are on the stage for 2 1/2 to 3 hours alone," Whitford said. "But on a tour like this, we each have 75 minutes. And that leads to another decision — what songs do we not play."

While the set list is pretty much intact when the tour begins, Whitford said there is always room for changes. "At least on the Aerosmith side, we have a skeleton of a list that we make sure we do, and then we might change one or two songs during the tour. But for the most part, we do have to follow a pattern because of the stage show."