THE JIMMY CRESPO PROJECT, featuring former AEROSMITH guitarist Jimmy Crespo, will be performing with STEEL PANTHER in Las Vegas, NV at Ovation (inside Green Valley Ranch) this Saturday, November 6th. Doors open at 8:00pm and is admission is free. venue information can be found here.

The Jimmy Crespo Project features Jimmy Crespo, Chris Van Dahl (ex-LA GUNS), Kyle Kyle (BANG TANGO) and Michael Ellis (SIN CITY SINNERS).

According to an update, The Jimmy Crespo Project release a CD of original material "that promises to pick up where classic Aerosmith left off." Check out the band's official Facebook page here or go to JimmyCrespo.com.

BW&BK;'s Mitch Lafon recently caught up with Crespo. Check out the interview below:

BraveWords.com: Tell me about your new Jimmy Crespo Project.

Jimmy Crespo: “I’ve been wanting, for a long time, to do the material from ‘Rock In A Hard Place’ because it was never done live except for a minute with Aerosmith. I’ve always felt bad about that because there’s some good stuff…”

BraveWords.com: One of my all-time favorite Aerosmith songs, ‘Lightning Strikes’, comes from that album.

JC: “It’s a ripping song; it’s a cool song. It’s a great live song. There are a lot of songs on that record that are over-looked, but that go over really well live when done properly. I’m not suggesting that the band didn’t do it properly, but their hearts weren’t into it back in ’82-’83 when we were touring that record. As the tour went on the ‘Rock In A Hard Place’ songs started losing their wings in the set. Over the years, I just felt that I wanted to go out there and play my songs. Yes, Steven wrote the lyrics, but it’s my music. I don’t know why thirty years later I decided to do it, but we’re out here doing it. Our set is mostly the ‘Rock In A Hard Place’ stuff with a couple of the classic Aerosmith songs that people want to hear and we’ll be adding stuff from the other guys’ band such as Bang Tango and Skid Row. Also, Chris and I have been writing over the last few months and, yes, we will be doing originals. We’ve (Chris and I) even talked about putting a record together. I’d love to involve the whole band, but it’s a question of whether or not they have the time to do it. I do know for sure that Chris and I will be doing that. So, one way or another a new record will be put out.”

BraveWords.com: That’s great news. With the music industry as it is today – are you, at all, scared about how to get a new album to the public?

JC: “I’m not concerned about getting into the mainstream. I’m sick of that whole corporate world. It’s too much of a cat chasing its tail kind of thing. I’d rather just put together great music and, as we play live shows, develop a fan base and sell it to the people that are interested.”

BraveWords.com: The guys that you are working with are all “hard rock” guys. Will this be a hard rocking album or are you doing some kind of instrumental jazz-fusion thing?

JC: (laughs) “No, no I can’t do that (jazz fusion) thing. I don’t like it. It’s going to be a super hard rock album. There’s nothing out there right now. Every time I go to listen to rock these days, it let’s me down. There’s nothing with the heart and soul… it’s just all trendy stuff.”

BraveWords.com: Your last tour was between ’95 and ’97 with Rod Stewart. Where have you been for the last thirteen years?

JC: “I had to take care of some things at home. Things happened to us and I had to take care of it…”

BraveWords.com: Fair enough…

JC: “Unfortunately, these things take time, but I’m now back up and running and I’m very excited. I’m not trying to make a million dollars. I’m not looking for people to say ‘he’s great’. None of that… I just want to make great music. I just want to go out and play to everyone that wants to hear.”

BraveWords.com: How involved where you on Aerosmith’s Nights In The Ruts album?

JC: “Steven called up after the audition and asked if I’d like to come down and play the solo on 'Three Mile Smile'. So, of course I said yes, and basically that was my involvement with that record. I would have loved to play more or be involved more, but that was it for me on that album.”

BraveWords.com: Will you play songs from that album as well on tour?

JC: “Oh, yeah. Absolutely, I’d love to play the couple of songs I did the videos for… 'Chiquita' and 'No Surprise'. Those are great killer songs and we didn’t even play them on the tour with Aerosmith.”

BraveWords.com: Do you keep in touch with (former Aerosmith guitarist) Rick Dufay?

JC: “No, but I have run into him.”

BraveWords.com: Is this Jimmy Crespo Project only going to play in Las Vegas or will you be putting together a national tour?

JC: “This is not for Vegas. We’re a touring rock band. We’re going out there because it’s music we believe in and there’s an excitement that pulls you through all the crappy stuff of being on the road. The music, for me, pulls me through and there’s a belief in the project.”

BraveWords.com: How do you compare touring with Aerosmith to touring with Rod Stewart?

JC: “It was very different. Even though I was sort of a hired gun with Aerosmith nonetheless I was featured. I was playing the guitar in a guitar band, but with Rod Stewart – it was a back-up thing. He has very little guitar.”

BraveWords.com: And you weren’t very visible at all with Rod. In fact, I’d say most fans, to this day, don’t even know you played with Rod.

JC: “Actually, Rod didn’t even know I played with him (laughs). He pulled me in one day and said ‘my wife’s girlfriend told me you played with Aerosmith’. This was a year after joining his band, so I said “I’m surprised you didn’t know that.’ He added, ‘those guys are bad. They are some very bad boys so come on tell me some stories.’”

BraveWords.com: How was it to be part of Aerosmith? You came in replacing Joe Perry (that many fans consider a guitar God).

JC: “My original feeling when I went to this audition was ‘this is probably something I shouldn’t be doing’. I remember as a kid that whenever somebody changed members especially a key member; it was a bummer. I knew I was stepping in to a no-win situation. I was apprehensive, but then I thought ‘what are you nuts?’ This kind of opportunity doesn’t happen often. I was doing really well as a studio musician at that time. I was making a lot of money and had nobody to answer to, but bottom line is this was an opportunity to join a major band and those opportunities don’t come along very often.”

BraveWords.com: But it changed your life…

JC: “Little did I know it would be that dramatic. I get to work with Steven Tyler, maybe get to make a couple of albums… You can’t replace a key member. I loved what Joe did. I wasn’t in fear or afraid, but could I make the bond necessary to continue it. Can I make the bond with Steven to make it happen? I knew it was an interim thing because it was only a matter of time (before they got Joe back). I knew it and I would always tell Steven that. He wanted to go forward and make the new Aerosmith. I don’t know what Joe and his thing was… I never got into it.”

BraveWords.com: When Aerosmith decided to bring Joe back – how was it handled?

JC: “What happened was a two part thing – from late ’83 to 84 there was no touring. There was nothing. CBS wouldn’t give them any more money. There was no money coming from anywhere. There was nothing for the band. So, there was no money for me. I could try to get together with Steven and write another record… and I tried that for the longest period but he just wasn’t into it. His heart wasn’t into it and they had been talking with David Krebs (their manager) about getting the band back together. So David called me up one day and said ‘the original band is getting back together’.”

BraveWords.com: Where you sad, relieved?

JC: “It was a combination of different feelings. I was sad because there was failure all over it and I didn’t really want to leave with failure. I would have loved to have a shot at doing more than one record. It was a big fat bummer. I could have made three records, at least, but Steven just wasn’t doing it… wasn’t capable or whatever. At the same time, the situation drove me broke. I didn’t have the backup that these guys had. I didn’t have the publishing. I didn’t have the glory years that these guys had…‘Rocks’, ‘Toys In The Attic’ and all the successful tours. I was down and out, had to rebuild and when I went to pick up my checks from the management company… Aerosmith had changed companies; there was breach of contract… The whole thing was a mess. I was left out in the cold on the whole thing. I was sad, bummed, depressed about it, but for different reasons not because ‘oh, I’m out of Aerosmith’… Just leaving something with failure was not a good place for me and then trying to rebuild with that failure with you is not really easy.”

BraveWords.com: What did you do in the years after leaving Aerosmith?

JC: “Not much. I joined a band called ADAM BOMB. They were on Geffen and I did that for about a year. Then I went to do Billy Squier. He had an album called Here & Now and I did a video ('Don’t Say You Love Me') with him for that.”

BraveWords.com: Do you have any regrets about the Rock In A Hard Place album?

JC: “Not me personally. Though I would have liked that the drugs were not a factor. I think that would have helped and have taken it to a more serious level. Later, they got their shit together for Done With Mirrors and unless that attitude is taken you just can’t pull it off.”

BraveWords.com: Are there any leftovers songs that you recorded with Aerosmith that haven’t been released?

JC: “Not complete songs, but there are a couple of full music pieces.”

BraveWords.com: What do you think of the late ‘80s, ‘90s, etc Aerosmith? They’ve become a pop band. This is not the Aerosmith that you grew up with or that I grew up with…

JC: “It certainly is not, but I can’t criticize success especially having lived through major failure. I do think they definitely went pop, but I think it’s a smart move because the bluesy-based rock was not working anymore (in the mid-80s), so they did they right thing but doing songs like ‘Ragdoll’ and all those tunes. They got the right producers…”

BraveWords.com: But they took it way to far when they started doing songs like ‘Pink’ and ‘Jaded’.

JC: “Yeah, but I’m not going to criticize them, but I will tell you that I miss albums like Toys In The Attic and Rocks.”

BraveWords.com: What do you think of Steven joining American Idol?

JC: “I think it’s a perfect medium for him at this point. He’s definitely an entertaining character and will bring life to that show. I have no idea what it’ll do for Aerosmith though.”

BraveWords.com: Will you be recording any of the live shows to sell?

JC: “Oh, absolutely. We’re talking about everything – doing videos, live CDs, DVDs… everything.”

BraveWords.com: Fantastic and as a fan – I’m glad that you’re back.

JC: “Thank you so much Mitch. I really appreciate that – you have no idea. I spent the first ten years (after leaving Aerosmith) in some sort of grief. I never left anything with such a bad taste in my mouth. It was too much.”

For more visit The Official Jimmy Crespo band Facebook Page here or Jimmycrespo.com.