USA Today recently caught up with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, who weighed in on bandmate Steven Tyler's current dabbling in country music. Tyler, for those that may have missed it, is gearing up to release a full-on country music album later this year. The release is spearheaded by the new single "Red, White & You", found below.

Perry: "If I didn't know him when I heard the song I'd go, 'It's okay, next.' I'm not going to say anything else about that. Steven is in Nashville doing whatever he's doing. He's got a (bleeping) rhinestone cowboy hat going 'Yippee ki yay.' I don't know what else to say about that."

A new concert special featuring a solo performance by Tyler will air this month on select public television stations as part of the Front And Center series’ sixth season, reports KWBE.com. The program will feature footage of an intimate show Tyler played at Melrose Ballroom in New York City.

The Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer’s episode will air starting on February 29th; check your local listings for an exact time and date in your area. The show features Tyler performing a country-flavored set of tunes in honour of his upcoming debut solo album, which he’s been recording in Nashville. The program includes stripped-down renditions of Aerosmith’s classics like “Jaded”, “Janie’s Got A Gun” and “Sweet Emotion”, with Tyler accompanied by Loving Mary — a band featuring his longtime collaborator Marti Frederiksen — as well as Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt.

Read more at KWBE.com.

On the live front, Steven Tyler will perform at the Niagara Fallsview Casino on March 29th and March 31st. He will join new country collection Loving Mary at the Avalon Ballroom to perform new versions of Aerosmith classics like “Dream On” and “Janie’s Got A Gun”.

Tyler told ABC News Radio that he's hoping to release his first solo album by "February or so" of 2016, and is planning to support it with a tour before heading out on an Aerosmith trek later in the year. As for just how "country" the material on the upcoming album will be, Tyler explains that the project is still taking shape, so he isn't quite sure.

"I don't even know who I'm producing it with," he reports. "It's gonna be what it is. There's a couple of songs I've written and they're like rock, and I said, 'Oh, geez.' And I'm not gonna put a banjo on it just to make it country… I don't know what it's gonna be, but my heart leans [towards] the country feeling and the vibe."

"I think country music is the new rock 'n' roll," he maintains. "I mean, you can listen to the lyrics, you can really get into it, just as you could get into “Stairway To Heaven”.”  He adds, "Country's not just about porches, dogs and kicking my boots up. It's a whole lot more, but it's about being real. You know, the world's gone so far away from that. I hope it comes back."

The video for "Love Is Your Name", the first single from Tyler's forthcoming solo album can be seen below.