Aerosmith Has Power to Stay Current

Aerosmith, once the ‘70s rock band considered most likely to vaporize, keeps finding new ways to extend its musical life and its lock on the public’s affection. The Boston-based quartet is as hot as ever as it prepares to start its latest U.S. tour on Tuesday in Holmdel, N.J., with a Los Angeles stop expected in early November.

It’s one of the rare veteran rock acts that not only has held on to much of its old audience, but also has continually attracted new fans, partly because of its appeal with succeeding generations of musicians.

The latest newcomers to pledge their allegiance to Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and company include rapper Eminem and pop-punk bad girl Pink.

Eminem sampled Aerosmith’s hit “Dream On” in “Sing for the Moment” on his new album, “The Eminem Show.” He made his pitch to use Aerosmith’s anthem directly to the band backstage after a concert he attended. The same song has turned up on Bay Area rock band Train’s set list lately.

The band has also racked up points with teenage fans for Tyler’s duet with Pink on the bluesy “Misery” on her latest album, “Missundaztood.” Tyler wrote the song for Aerosmith but the band never recorded it. He also turned up to sing it with her in May when her tour stopped in Boston. They paired up again during Pink’s set at Wango Tango in June at the Rose Bowl, where she also sang Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun.”

On the flip side of the pop-culture spectrum, Aerosmith also has a big fan in Hilary Duff, the 14-year-old star of Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire.” Duff persuaded Tyler to appear on the show with two of his children in a December episode in which the rocker will play Santa.”They’ve somehow managed to stay in the media spotlight, whether it’s soundtrack tie-ins or whatever; they’ve really done a remarkable job,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert industry tracking publication Pollstar. “They’re also one of the few acts that can get their new records played on the air, and in today’s radio environment, that isn’t easy for an act that’s been around as long as they have.”

Bongiovanni noted that the band’s 2001 tour grossed $49.3 million, making it the seventh-highest grossing tour of the year, and that Aerosmith was one of only five acts that sold more than 1 million tickets in North America during the year, putting it in a club with U2, the Dave Matthews Band, ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.