Aerosmith Sideman Buck Johnson Talks Joe Perry Project Tour and More
Buck Johnson is an accomplished musician, originally from Alabama, and has been singing since he was a wee tyke and playing keyboards & guitar. He has worked both in the studio and played with many bands over the years. He became a touring member of Aerosmith in 2014. He has also played with those famous Hollywood Vampires, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry, and Alice Cooper. Buck has been very busy on tour this year with Ringo’s All-Stars, and he is currently in rehearsals with Sarasota resident guitar rocker Joe Perry and his Project, who are kicking off their tour in Tampa at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Wednesday, August 13th. Buck took time on the eve of rehearsals to talk to the Suncoast Post about his vast musical experiences.
SP: Buck, let’s start with the hit song you co-wrote that was recorded in 2005, by Carlos Santana with Steven Tyler on vocals. It is one of my all-time fav songs.
BJ: Well, there’s a whole story to it. The genesis of it was with my good friend and former bandmate Damon Johnson, who now plays guitar for Lynyrd Skynyrd. He and I were touring with John Waite in 2001, and we did a summer with Journey & Peter Frampton. We were talking about writing together, so toward the end of the tour, we said Let’s get in a hotel room and get something started and we messed around with different ideas, including that song, which wasn’t fully developed, and I had to head back to L.A., where I was living. I circled back to that song when I was recording a solo record with producer Jamie Houston, so I called Damon and asked if I could finish the song with Jamie. We finished the song on his porch in Venice Beach. It was about a family member he knew who took their life due to childhood abuse. We knew it was a powerful song, and we shopped it around to no avail, and then Jamie had a connection and gave it to Arista’s Clive Davis, who gave it to Carlos Santana to play for his new album. It blew me away because I never imagined it would be a Carlos Santana song and Steven Tyler doing the vocals, who I didn’t know yet. I did my version on my solo album I recorded last fall, called “Tongue & Groove.” Check out Buck’s stuff HERE.
SP: What is your status within the band?
BJ: I am a touring member; the five guys of Steven, Joe, Tom, Brad, and Joey are the original members. They were around long before I came around, and I know other sidemen who came in the past who were integral members of the band for touring. I am very grateful for this, and the fact that I come from the south (Alabama), the music was blues-influenced, and Aerosmith is certainly blues-influenced. It’s my kind of rock & roll, and I get to sing with one of the greatest singers in rock. I have much respect for these guys and their history of over 50 years.
SP: How did you make it into Aero?
BJ: Well, this business is all about relationships, and how you treat people can go a long way. I knew Marty Fredrickson, who had written “Jaded” with Steven and worked with the band on “Nine Lives”, one of their go-to guys for songwriting and production work. Marty is also part of Steven’s solo band “Loving Mary.” He has worked with everybody. I was living in Nashville, and the band was in Istanbul at the time, and needed someone, they contacted Marty, and he recommended me. It took me 2 days to get from being in Alabama where I was visiting family, to Istanbul, to learn the Aero catalog on no sleep and then rehearse with Steven on “Cryin” which has high notes, we sang it and he said, “Where have you been?” and I said, “Waiting for a moment like this to happen”. It was a special moment.
SP: Did Steven know at the time that you wrote “Just Feel Better?”
BJ: No, I wanted him to hear me for my work with him. I have been singing all my life, and I have learned to sing with others and harmonize. Matching phrasing in harmonies is special, and he recognized that in me, I guess. He loves the Everly Brothers’ harmonies. I jammed with the band on a few songs, and they all smiled at me, and I thought I might have gotten the gig. Aerosmith is a brand, a moving circus on tour with over 100 crew members and it’s flooded with people meeting all the time, it can be too much at times, it is big business. It is amazing how long they have been doing it, and most bands don’t last very long.
SP: Is this the first time you have worked in the Joe Perry Project”
BJ: Thanks to Joe, he has taken such good care of me; he has put me in three bands that will not conflict (haha) with Aerosmith, The Hollywood Vampires, and the Joe Perry Project. He brought me into the JPP just when he was finishing the “Sweetzerland Manifesto” album he was doing in 2018 with Robin Zander, David Johansen, and Chris Robinson on guest vocals. We did some shows in 2018 with different musicians, and then came a tour in 2023 with Gary Cherone of “Extreme” on vocals. This tour is going to be a different incarnation with Aero’s Brad Whitford on guitar and Chris Robinson on vocals and Stone Temple Pilots, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz.
SP: I went to the first show of the Peace Out Tour in Philly. Something told me to go to that first show.
BJ: I have friends who went to the third show in Pittsburgh. We did over a month of pre-production rehearsal, and everything was fine. Everyone was excited about it and having the Black Crowes opening was exciting for everyone. No one, including Steven, ever expected what was to happen.
SP: You did a great job at the Ringo show in Clearwater on the lead vocals of the Freddie King song, “Goin’ Down.”
BJ: It was a lot of fun; I played the Jeff Beck version. Ringo was happy with it. I sang at the two shows that Colin Hay of “Men At Work” had to cancel because he was sick, and we had to come up with something quick that everyone could play. Colin is an amazing singer, and you know both Warren Hamm and I got sick toward the end of the tour. It took a lot for Colin not to do it, but he was not at 100%.
SP: How did you end up in Ringo’s All-Star Band?
BJ: Once again, it’s about relationships. The tour manager for Ringo has worked as a road manager for Aerosmith for many years. Those guys are like MacGyvers and can do just about anything to keep the tour going. The tour manager recommended me because Edgar Winter was sick, can you do the show? I came in last minute, had to fly to San Jose and meet everyone on the plane, no time for sound check. First time, I had to go by the seat of my pants, trust my instincts, and serve the song. I can’t be Edgar Winter, how could I be?? I am more of a Hammond 3 Gregg Rolie type player. I am a singer who has been singing since I was a little kid. I was lucky enough to be called in. They checked me out before they sent for me.
SP: Was it intimidating working with Ringo?
BJ: Of course, it’s nothing that he said or did; he doesn’t just say peace and love, and he lives it. He is a Beatle, so you have to turn off the fan boy in your head and be a professional. Trust yourself and have fun; this may be the only time you get to do this. After the first song, Ringo smiled at me, Steve Lukather smiled at me, and so I thought, okay, maybe it will work. I’ve done thousands of shows, and nerves are there, but you can’t let them take over. Music is about listening when you are a pro and playing what is needed.
SP: Are you doing any lead vocals with Joe on this tour?
BJ: No, that is not the plan. It’s not that Joe wouldn’t trust me to do that; he loved the clip he saw of me singing on Ringo’s show. We have The Black Crowes, Chris Robinson, and I would rather hear Chris Robinson! (laughing) than myself. But I do get to sing WITH Chris Robinson just as I get to sing with Steven. I am a harmony singer and I love to sing harmony. Chris won’t sing like Steven, but he will bring his own style. You can print this: “Chris Robinson is one of the greatest lead singers in rock and roll.” I have been lucky enough to sing with Steven and now Chris.
SP: What about a final Aerosmith show? Is that going to happen?
BJ: Who knows? There’s no secret information being hidden about it. I will say this: they were talking about it the moment it happened that Steven lost his voice. Steven didn’t want to go out that way, and doing that kind of trauma to your voice is going to take time to heal, and at his age, his singing still sounds the way he has always sung, even after all these years. Most people half his age can’t do it.
SP: He sounded great at the Ozzy tribute concert!
BJ: He did, but he can do that at any special event or a one-off show; however, touring is another animal, and he wouldn’t want fans to be disappointed. Who knows, a one-off might be in the cards.
SP: When did Steven ever find out that you co-wrote “Just Feel Better?” I need to know the end of that story! LOL
BJ: I just didn’t feel it was the time to bring it up after just meeting him. And on that first tour with Aerosmith, I rode with the crew and not with the band since I came in last minute, so I didn’t see him as often and mostly only on show days when a lot is going on. So about a month went by before it got around the camp, after I had mentioned it to someone on the bus. When I got to the venue the next day, I was asked to see Steven in his dressing room to go over vocals on a new song they wanted to put in the set. When I got to his room, one of his assistants, who had heard about “Just Feel Better”, said to Steven. “Buck’s got a big secret”. Steven then immediately asked him what is it. So when I told him that I co-wrote “Just Feel Better” and the story of that write behind it, he said “Play it!”. So I picked up the acoustic in the room and sat down, and began to play and sing it. Steven closed his eyes, smile,d and began to sing it with me. It was a beautiful and memorable moment I’ll never forget!
BJ: I am excited about this tour with Joe! This Tampa show is not to be missed! The toughest thing right now is narrowing down the setlist; there are so many possibilities. Of course, there will be a few surprises, some deep cuts thrown in, a few covers, maybe a Stone Temple Pilots song or Black Crowes tune. All of it is on the table right now. We can’t wait to see what happens! See you at the Hard Rock!
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