Joe Perry is movin' out to a farm in Vermont By Steve Morse, Globe Staff

February 5, 2005

Joe Perry is movin' out to a farm in Vermont By Steve Morse, Globe Staff

| February 5, 2005 |


Aside from the Red Sox and Patriots, few people are more identified with
Boston than Joe Perry of Aerosmith. He has been the city's best-known
rock guitarist for years, even though he lives in the South Shore town
of Duxbury.

But that's about to change. Next week, Perry becomes a country gentleman
in Vermont. Yes, you heard it right. Vermont.
It's time to bust a move," says Perry, who has purchased the scenic
120-acre Sleepy Hollow Farm near White River Junction. "We've always
made Boston our home because of the band and the kids, but now that's
changing."

Aerosmith is on a break until September, at which time they'll likely
tour again and play a FleetCenter date. Perry will commute to join them.
He and his wife, Billie, who have raised four children, now only have
the youngest, 13-year-old Roman, at home, so they're ready for some new
digs.

"I can't do the suburbs anymore," says Billie, a Indiana native (and
descendant of Davy Crockett). "You get to a point in your life when you
need a change."

"I've always wanted to have a bigger chunk of land," says Perry. "And we
love horses. We have three horses and another on the way -- we bought
him in Holland and he's being shipped over. Billie and I have always
dreamed of having a farm. Every couple of years we'd look around and try
to find a place near Boston. Either we'd find something and we'd be too
tired to move, or we just couldn't find anything, so we'd put another
addition onto the house. But we finally found a place that has a good
chunk of undisturbed land."

Perry's Duxbury home, which includes a pool house and a guest house, is
not yet up for sale, but he expects to put it up in the next six months.
(He also owns homes in Sunapee, N.H., and Sarasota, Fla.)

He and his wife also considered moving to Montana, but Perry ultimately
felt that would be too far from Aerosmith. The White River Junction area
is only a couple of hours' drive from Boston -- and 20 minutes by plane,
he says. "When it comes to work, I'll still be down here in Boston," he
notes.

Of course, hanging with the Aerosmith crew isn't the only musical work
he's got scheduled. Perry, who just turned 54, will release a
self-titled solo album on May 3. He expects to put a band together to
play some live dates to support it -- though, he admits, "It may take 10
crowbars to get me out of Vermont."

These days, he's packing and getting psyched to head north. "The house
[in Vermont] is smaller than this one, but it's just a beautiful area
with a lot of forest," he says. "The main part of the house was built in
1790, and there are a few other buildings on the land." One is a former
schoolhouse. There's also a large barn where he will build a studio. His
basement studio in Duxbury is named the Boneyard (he made his new solo
album there and Aerosmith has used it), but he says he may call the
Vermont studio "The Sugar House."

As for musicians in Vermont, Perry says, "I don't really know any, but I
know I'll find them."


Bookmark and Share

Aero Merch

Hosted by Chamberland Technologies
Privacy Policy