During a conversation with Ultimate Guitar's Steven Rosen, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry discussed songwriting for Hollywood Vampires - his project with Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp - and commented on whether he felt any pressure given his success with Aerosmith. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

UG: Because the Hollywood Vampires was such a high-profile band, did you ever think, 'I really want to show everybody what I can do away from Aerosmith'?

Perry: "No, basically any time I go to the studio I bring my A-game but I also go in with a clean slate, you know what I mean? I don’t think back and go, 'Well, this has gotta be whatever.' It never comes from that place even going from Aerosmith record to Aerosmith record. I’ve never been there so that was all kinda left at the door too."

UG: You didn’t feel any pressure because of the huge success you’d had with Aerosmith?

Perry: "It was like, 'That was then and those are the songs we’ve done for 50 years and this is something new.' I had just finished working for six or eight months on my last solo record (Sweetzerland Manifesto). In fact, I only did one or two shows to promote it when I finished it because about a week later we were working on the Vampires record. So I was pretty much well-ensconced in the studio and in that frame of mind. You’re always putting the best you can do."

UG: Certainly, you’ve always done that.

Perry: "I think what you’re asking is did Aerosmith influence me and make me want to push it. No, I don’t think so. I think this band can stand up in front of any band and it’s a great rock band. It’s an absolutely great rock band and the bottom line is any record we make will reflect that. It was fun to do and that’s the main thing."

Read Part 2 of the Ultimate Guitar interview here.

p>Hollywood Vampires released their new album, Rise, on June 21 via earMUSIC. Order your copy here.

Rise, the band’s second album, is some of the purest, unapologetic and most enjoyable rock and roll of the year, made by masters of the craft and true fans of the form.

Unlike their 2015 debut record, the new album Rise consists mainly of original material, written by the band. There are however, in the spirit of the Vampires’ original mission, three covers of songs originally written and recorded by some fellow rockers who died far too young: an intimate and intense version of David Bowie’s “Heroes”, again beautifully performed on record by Johnny Depp; the late Jim Carroll Band’s “People Who Died,” and Johnny Thunder’s “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory,” sung by Joe Perry.

Tracklisting:

“I Want My Now”
“Good People Are Hard To Find”
“Who’s Laughing Now”
“How The Glass Fell”
“The Boogieman Surprise”
“Welcome To Bushwackers” (feat. Jeff Beck and John Waters)
“The Wrong Bandage”
“You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory”
“Git From Round Me”
“Heroes”
“A Pitiful Beauty”
“New Threat”
“Mr. Spider”
“We Gotta Rise”
“People Who Died”
“Congratulations”

Album preview:

“Heroes” video:

“The Boogieman Surprise” live video:

“Who’s Laughing Now”:

Unboxing video: