But just because this was their van at one point in their lives, doesn’t mean they have a connection to it. We shared photographs and they knew the van right away. Once they made contact with the band, they were very interested and excited. That’s the cool thing about this whole thing. I’m always thinking okay, “Now that we own it, what’s going to be the back end of it?”Īs far as connecting with the band, that was obviously a pipe dream, because I didn’t know they would care about it so much. That would’ve been ridiculous to do something like that to it. I know on the show they cut it to where it looks immediate, but he had to think about it a little bit, and as soon as he said yes, I said to myself, “This will be a long road as far as preservation.” Immediately, I was not thinking about restoring this van. So honestly, I thought that’s where the story would end for us. So I thought, “Okay, this will be something we can’t buy.” But for us, sometimes on the show it’s not about buying and acquiring, it’s about telling the story. But when Ray (Tabano, original Aerosmith member) came and pushed the story forward, I was like, “Okay this is the real deal, so how do we wrap our arms around this thing and buy it?” When he told the property owner it was the real deal, he was very excited about it too. It was interesting to me, but I thought it must’ve belonged to a super fan or something because of the logo on the side. There were parts (of the van) you could poke your finger through. When we saw it, it was really rough, man. You hear about something and you’re already painting a picture in your mind. I always imagine what something is going to be like before I even get there it’s part of what I’ve done for the last 30 years. So when I heard that could be it, I was like, “Why would something like that exist in that condition and be sitting on a property for that long?” Those are the questions I ask myself right away. I was skeptical because a lot of that stuff is just stories handed down from generation to generation and a lot is local folklore. So when you got the tip on the van, did you believe it? Were you excited? Other fans are in the montage, too - Mark Wahlberg did one. Yeah, it’s you talking about how much they kick ass.
I didn’t know that! (Laughs) They must have got that (clip) from the network. I saw your talking head testimonial about Aerosmith in the montage at the top of their Deuces Are Wild Las Vegas residency, but I had no idea there was this much crossover with the band on your show. On a “hot as shit” Tennessee afternoon, Mike Wolfe spoke with Billboard about the experience of finding the rusted-out vehicle, preserving it without sanitizing it and how Aerosmith reacted when an old touring van rolled back into their lives. Taking a break from their Deuces Are Wild Las Vegas residency, the Bad Boys From Boston proved they’re actually pretty good dudes when it comes to honoring their legacy, showing some serious joy and vulnerability while sitting in a van that once served as their motel on wheels. Aerosmith's 1970s Tour Van Gets Restored on 'American Pickers'