On August 7th, Boston's Faneuil Hall was filled with Boston rock alumni, as the star-studded red carpet grand opening of the new Hard Rock Cafe in historic Faneuil Hall became the new home to the legendary cafe. For 17 years, the Back Bay in Copley Square was the home for the Hard Rock, but that was all about to change, as a great new location, and star-studded Red Carpet extravaganza help orchestrate this all star event featuring some of the top Boston musicians who have made The Hub, one of the most popular music cities in the country. As fans lined all the way down the street to catch a glimpse of the stars at the new Hard Rock Cafe venue, the Hard Rock International celebrated the grand opening of its Boston cafe with an acoustic performance by Massachusetts own Aaron Lewis, front-man for the highly-acclaimed alternative-metal group STAIND. In addition to the acoustic performance, the V.I.P. grand opening celebration included a star-studded red carpet, featuring appearances by Joey Kramer of AEROSMITH, Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, IRON MAIDEN's Nicko McBrain, Scott Ian of ANTHRAX, Darryl “DMC” McDaniel’s of RUN DMC, legendary Boston Blues man JAMES MONTGOMERY, J. GEILS, Barry Boudreau from the band BOSTON and David Hull formerly of the JOE PERRY PROJECT/FARRENHEIT and who is now with J. Geils. David Hull also performed bass duties for Aerosmith last summer.

Boston-based writer Deb Rao had the opportunity to discuss the Boston music scene with Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer and how much it has evolved since Aerosmith's first major debut in Boston. The Hard Rock Cafe was filled with special memorabilia from Aerosmith, including a signed drum by Kramer hanging on the Hard Rock Wall. Rao's chat with Joey Kramer is as follows:

Rao: Joey, Aerosmith is one of the greatest bands to emerge out of the Boston music scene. How has the Boston music scene changed since the band's debut?

Kramer: "Everything has changed so much here. It is not the same. Boston still has a great club scene. The Boston music scene these days is more contained in the clubs than a national scene. The scene now reminds me a lot of when we first started, back in the day. The music is contained all in the clubs, which is good."

Rao: How has the music industry changed in the way bands promote themselves these days? Is it harder for local bands to break out into the national spotlight?

Kramer: "I think my space has a lot to do with promotion these. My space is kind of taking over.

Rao: Joey, What brings you to the Hard Rock tonight?

Kramer: "I have been in Hard Rocks all over the world. Boston is my home. There is a lot of Aerosmith memorabilia here. We all live here. That is what makes it so special."

More photos can be found here.

(Thanks Deb Rao)