Animal welfare & environmental protection

Joe and Billie Perry are well-known animal lovers and have helped fund the construction of a new animal shelter in their community. Twenty-three years ago, Joe and Billie were the first in the New England area to own a pair of the once endangered breed.In that time, the Friesian horse has gone from the endangered list to the rare breed list. There are now tens of thousands of horses in America alone. In addition, the Perrys also support the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose members conduct campaigns to protect marine species and the environment.

(Nicole - July 2023)

Let's let Joe Perry tell the story himself. On the talk show Conan, he told the following story:

“It was 1980, I just left Aerosmith. It was Christmas time and I needed some bread. That was the best guitar to sell. I could get rid of it pretty quick because they are very rare. Anyway, I sold it and really didn’t think much of it. Time went on…the band got back together again and we started to have some success again, and I thought maybe it would be a good idea — maybe I could find some of those old guitars that had gone the way of the wind. So, I started looking for this one. And I had all my guitar techs looking everywhere, and Brad Whitford said, ‘I know where your guitar is’ and he opens a guitar magazine and the centerfold has Slash’s guitar collection and right in the middle was that guitar.”

However, Slash rebuffed all attempts to buy the guitar back with the words "Oh man, please don't ask me that". When Joe had given up the Les Paul, Slash surprised him during a gig for his 50th birthday by giving him the guitar back.

(Susanne - Nov 2023)