Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton and Trace Foster unveil new band Close Enemies

Trace Foster and Tom Hamilton

(June 2025)

RRI:

Tell us about your new band Close Enemies and who was responsible for putting this fantastic lineup together?

Tom Hamilton:

Ironically, they pretty much recruited me!  Trace Foster (guitarist), was my bass tech and had also worked for Joe Perry (Aerosmith guitarist) years ago. He’s known as being one of the best techs in the business and soon to be known for his playing and song writing as well.  Peter Stroud, our other guitar player has been playing with Sheryl Crowe for 25 years and is a consummate musician and writer.  I think he’s looking forward to people hearing him as an awesome rock guitarist.  Tony Brock, our drummer had a band called the Babys which put out at least a couple of rock hits.  He went on to play for Rod Stewart for 12 years and has incredible power and taste.  Chasen Hampton, was the last to join and is an incredible singer who really interprets the songs the way we heard them. Also, our writing partner is Gary Stier and he is a more than talented wordsmith and songwriter.  When I joined, these guys had been writing for a while so the bulk of the songs were there when I arrived.  I brought in a song and collaborated on another.  I have a few others that we’ll hopefully try out in the future.  It’s been a pleasure to add to this material with my point of view on bass and everybody has made me feel welcome to throw my two cents in here and there in other ways.

Trace Foster Guitar:

(Adding to Tom's reply) Yeah, the band was my idea from the start. After my band Letters from Jett, struggled for a couple years I decided that I was too old to drive around in a van with nothing to show for it and decided I needed to up my game and my band members. I know a lot of people in the music business and decided I was going to go after guys who I liked and respected just see what happened. Our first Drummer was Actually Cheap Trick Drummer Daxx Nielsen. I wanted Daxx from the get go. He is such a great drummer. The problem we had with Daxx was he has no spare time. We really needed someone who had more time to dedicate to this project.

I started writing with Chicagoan Gary Stier. Gary and I have been in bands together since the early 80's way back to Atlanta, GA. Once we had a couple really good Ideas i approached guitarist Peter Stroud who said yes right away. He is one of my favorite guitarist ever so its such a thrill to play side by side with that guy.

After Peter we asked Robert Kearns from Sheryl Crow's band to play Bass. Robert had also played with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Cry of Love and he said yes. We started writing immediately. Daxx and Robert had ended up leaving the band because of time restraints and family. So, there I was in Vegas touring with Aerosmith (as Tom's bass tech) and thought you know what, the best bassist I know is right over there! Go ask him! (laughs) As a side note, I had actually been playing with the guys in Aerosmith for Years. I had played Joe Perry's parts in Rehearsals when he didn't want to soundcheck and when Brad Whitford Got Covid,  I played his parts for a week of Rehearsals. I also played with Joe in 2010 on his solo tour so Tom knew I could play. Tom asked me to send him some songs and that he'd think about it.  So, I sent him three songs and he called me right away and said "I'm in, these songs are great!"

We knew that we needed a drummer next so Peter Suggested we talk to Tony Brock. I said "THE TONY BROCK of The Babys?" Yep. Tony is one of the best rock drummers ever in my book. That man's feel and pocket are amazing. We then found Chasen, our singer, in Boston. Basic tracks were recorded in Atlanta, Ga, and the drums were recut at Peter Frampton's studio here in Nashville. The album is done and now were ready to make some serious noise. Oh, and the funny thing is for our 8 show run were doing it all in a Van.  Go figure!

Close Enemies

RRI:

Tom, what were your thoughts when you realized Aerosmith was done touring? Was it always in the back of your mind that you would continue to write music and perform live with another band post Aerosmith?

Tom:

Well, when I found out that our tour was being cancelled and that Aerosmith was retiring from touring, I was sad but not shocked.  After all,  the tour was always meant to be our last one which is why we called it ”Peace Out”. I never even considered the idea that I would stop being involved in writing and recording. I had no idea what form my musical future would take, I just knew it would be there.

RRI:

Trace, having toured extensively as Joe Perry's guitar tech and as Tom's bass guitar tech (among many others) what would you say are the biggest challenges that you've faced and what's the most valuable lesson you've learned while working with all of these great musicians?

Trace:

The biggest challenges are being able to adapt and make sure everything is consistent night after night. When I am guitar teching, I need to make sure these guys have the sound they need to do their job. I'm sure you know this Todd but you don't set an amp at one setting and expect that sound to work the next night. There are so many variables in play. I need to be able to adjust accordingly and consistently night after night and sometimes during a show!

 The most valuable lesson I've learned as a guitarist is to listen. Listen to what's going on around you and become part of it and most imprtantly, to leave space. Space is the key, Lots of guitar players think you need to fill up every bit of space in a song but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I've learned so much by working with the likes of Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones and AC/DC. When I was working with The Stones my ear mix was Ronnie Wood in my right ear and Keith Richards in my left. To hear those guys intertwine their guitar lines together was magical. They never said anything and I'm pretty sure they didn't talk about it. There were moments when Ronnie would stop and Keith would play this beautiful line and vice versa. It was different every night so it wasn't planned. When you get to that point you know your onto something.

RRI:

So when's the album coming out?

Tom:

We have an album recorded that’s being mixed and mastered now. We’re looking forward to releasing our first song on, I believe, the 17th of January.  It’s called The Sound of a Train. We recently signed with TLG/Rock /Virgin So we have the right people in place to make sure this music is heard. That was the hardest part. We will be releasing a song a month for a few months then we will release the whole record.

Pete Willis and Steve Clark (sporting an Aerosmith Night in the Ruts Tour shirt)

RRI:

Has there been any reaction from any of the other members of Aerosmith to what you're doing now musically or are they pretty much wrapped up doing their own thing right now?

Tom:

I have gotten some words of encouragement from most of the other guys.  I saw Brad in Nashville when Close Enemies played there and he came to the show to lent support.  I know he has a couple of things he’s thinking about.  I’m pretty sure Joe is going to play some shows at some point this next year.  Right now Steven is busy putting his yearly event together for his foundation Janie’s Fund which supports finding housing for those who are recovering from Sexual abuse.

RRI:

Trace, have you ever entertained the notion of putting a white streak in your hair ala' Joe Perry?

Trace:

No but I think that nature has the same thought you do!  (laughs)

RRI:

Are you guys covering any Aerosmith songs in your set and if so, who's picking the songs?

Tom:

Yeah, we are playing a couple of Aerosmith songs.  Right now it’s Sweet Emotion and Sick as a Dog.  Those were my first choices and the rest of the guys jumped right on.  We’re also playing a couple of hits of Tony’s from his days in The Babys.

RRI:

Tom, what was your first reaction to seeing your Caricature on the cover of Aerosmith's Draw the line album?

Tom:

I’m proud to say that using Al Hirschfeld to draw the cover was my idea.

I grew up with my parents listening to Broadway sound track albums and his art was almost always on the covers.  Even as a young kid I was intrigued by his unique style.

RRI:

Tom, when was the last time you spoke to Jimmy Crespo or Rick Dufay (former Aerosmith guitarists) ?

Tom:

I saw Rick when we were working on our last studio album “Music From Another Dimension”.  I have fond memories of when he was part of the band in the early eighties.  I haven’t seen Jimmy Crespo in a while.  He deserves a lot more recognition for his playing and writing on “Rock in a Hard Place”.  That album has some really cool guitar playing on it and it was all him.

RRI:

Who came up with the name Close Enemies and is there any significant meaning or did you think it just sounded cool?

Trace:

Peter Stroud's wife Lynn came up with the name. This is a true story; We spent a year trying to find a name. We are all spread out across the US so we would do weekly zoom calls to talk Business and about names and when we did find one we liked we would start researching it. We would goggle it and then see if tthat name was used on Spotify or apple music. Every name was taken. lol Lynn had mentioned Close Enemies to us and it just fit.  Of course the term comes from the Godfather Movie, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" But of course we were shocked to see it wasn't being used.

 RRI:

Tom and Trace tell us what's next for Close Enemies? Websites, Dates, new music, etc.

Tom:

Well, Like I said, we just signed to TLG/Virgin to distribute our Record. Our first single will be out on Jan. 17th.  Its been pushed back more than a few times because we are going to do this right. We were waiting for the right people to help us get this out. We worked really hard on this Record and we not just going to throw it away. Our first single is called Sound of a Train. Dennis Sanders over at TLG spoke with us about how he would push this record and he was so in line with our exact thoughts. He recently had a number one with a song called Crack Cocaine which was an Ozzy/Billie Morrison song. We thought if he can get a song to number one he's our guy.

Trace:

We have 8 dates lined up starting Jan. 8th in Philadelphia going through Jan. 29th  ending in St. Louis. You can see those dates and all things Close Enemies at closeenemiestheband.com

Or Close Enemies band on Facebook, Close Enemies official on Instagram and close enemies on Tik Tok! We will be playing the Chicago City Winery on Jan. 25th and would love some Rockford Love!