Time flies when you’re having fun, even if that fun has lasted for 35 years.

“God, it seems like yesterday when we were still struggling to get gigs!” says Joe Perry, on the phone from between stops on Aerosmith’s massive winter tour with Lenny Kravitz.

Maybe it was the fact that Aerosmith is enjoying a huge renaissance right now, or maybe it was because it was Valentine’s Day, but Perry was downright gushy during our conversation, opening up about everything from the band’s breakup in the ’80s to the new live album (Rockin’ The Joint) to the uncertain future of the biggest rock band in American history.

“I’m just not ready to trade in my guitar for a set of skis yet,” he laughs. “I can get enough skiing in on the side at this point. But I don’t know if any of it equals what it feels like to get up onstage and have all the cylinders pumping.”

From arena tours to rumor wars, Perry talks about why life in Aerosmith is anything but the “same old song and dance.”

Fly Magazine: The last time we talked you were touring for the blues album [Honkin’ On Bobo], and now you’re out supporting a live album. It seems like you guys are just having fun right now trying some things that you’ve either never done before or haven’t done for 25 years.

Joe Perry: Well, because of that big single we had with “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” I think that overall we’ve gotten this rap that we kind of sold out or mellowed out or something. And any Aerosmith fan that’s been to one of our shows knows that that isn’t true. If you come to an Aerosmith show, it’s a rock band. We’re carrying on the tradition of the electric guitars and the singer and the drummer and the bass player kicking ass. We play a lot of different kinds of music, but our meat and potatoes is hard rock.

I think that aside from what it did for our own creative process – doing Honkin’ On Bobo was a great way to reconnect with our roots and what we are live – it also gave everybody a chance to see what we spend 90 percent of our time doing – rock. Then doing the live record, again, that drove the nail home.

FM: That’s interesting that it was a reaction against the perception of you guys going soft. Because when you listen to the live album, it even shocked me how hard it rocks, and I know the stuff!

JP: That’s good. We can play a lot of different kinds of music, but rock is where we live. Those other songs are offshoots. It was one of the most amazing times in our career when [“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”] went to number one. We never had a number one single before. But like I said, if you come to the show, you’re gonna hear that one, but you’re also gonna hear “Train Kept A Rollin’” and all the other stuff that makes us what we are.

FM: I was just reading in the new Rolling Stone about how classic rock is making this huge comeback.

JP: This tour has definitely been the biggest tour we’ve done in many years. The fans are just loving it and it’s just been great.

There’s just overall a whole new generation of kids who are really interested in seeing the roots of this music and listening to some of the bands that are actually responsible for bringing it to where it is now. That’s why they come out to see the Stones and U2 and Bon Jovi, the bands that started this stuff. The Stones with the Beatles were the quintessential rock stars, then we kind of were the next generation after that. We went from the Stones and Zeppelin and then we took over and took the thing another step in the ’70s. And we’re still here doing it, so it’s a chance for people to really see the real deal.

FM: The interesting thing with Aerosmith is that you’re also constantly making new music that keeps you relevant, which is something that you can’t say about some other bands in your caliber. What’s the trick for that?

JP: We just keep trying. We’re still excited about it. We certainly do live what you would call a rock and roll lifestyle, but we didn’t get into it for that. We got into it because we loved to make music together and we realized what a miracle it is to have that and have some success and have fans.

FM: Steven said that the next album might be a White Stripes kind of thing …

JP: I’m not sure. We’re all thinking of having it be as organic-sounding as possible, getting back to the “band in the room playing live” aspect. We have to have that in this next record. We have to meld that in with the party feel of when we were doing Honkin’ On Bobo. So that’s the mountain we’re gonna climb next. Because we still haven’t made our best record.

FM: That’s like the mentality of a new band …

JP: I think that’s what’s kept us going all this time. That, and the fact that we like fast cars, and they don’t come cheap! [laughs]

FM: You made some comments recently about Aerosmith being closer to the end than the beginning, and how the number of shows you have left to play is finite. As soon as you say anything like that, of course, people start getting concerned. Do fans have any reason to worry at this point?

JP: No, but if you start looking at our ages and just physically how much longer we’re going to be able to do the kind of shows we’re doing – we are definitely not 25 years old. When you’re that age you think it’s gonna go on forever. I’m pretty practical about it. I love doing this, but I know there’s gonna be a time when there’s gonna be a last show. We’re closer to that then we are to the beginning when we first started playing. I do think about the fact that we have a certain amount of shows left and how we’re gonna make the most of it. We only have so many left. I can’t tell you right now if that means this is the last tour. I mean, we have plans. We have kind of a rough three- to five-year plan, but never in my whole career has that played out the way that you plan it.

FM: I don’t think anyone would blame you if you wanted to hang up the guitar and enjoy some of those fast cars that you worked to buy …

JP: Yeah. But you know, doing what we do – it’s the dream. When we were all growing up, we had this idea that we wanted to have a band. I can speak for the other four guys – we all love doing this.

FM: Does it ever blow your mind when you’re up there that you’re still rocking with these same five guys 30-plus years later?

JP: Yeah, it does. It does. It’s really amazing.

When you have it as big as we did in the ’70s and you lose it all, you better believe those lessons sink in and sink in hard. You don’t forget ’em, and they’re just as strong today as they were then.

The band fell apart, and when the band got back together in the ’80s – that was it. When you have lost everything and then you get it back by some miracle of the grace of God or blind luck, you don’t ever take it for granted again. So no, we don’t ever forget that. That’s what keeps it going.