By Jennifer Roy / Tribune Staff Writer
Friday, November 12, 2004

WALTHAM — “Walk this way” and meet Joe Perry, the mellow lead guitarist of Aerosmith and the founder of a line of smokin’ hot sauce.

Perry, 54, launched his newest creation, Mango-Peach Tango, at Jake’s Dixie Roadhouse on Moody Street last night.

Wearing sunglasses and dressed head-to-toe in black, fans lucky enough to get into the bar/restaurant clamoured to catch a glimpse and take a picture of the soft-spoken musician.

“This is over the top, it’s crazy busy,” said Don Yovicsin, the owner of Jake’s.

He said he met the rocker about a year ago when he catered a function Perry attended. Yovicsin said Perry enjoyed the food so much he asked him to cater a party at his Duxbury home for the release of Aerosmith’s latest album, “Honkin on Bobo.”

The job fell through, however, when the album’s release was delayed.

“He promised me an appearance,” said Yovicsin, who hosted a launch party for Perry’s first sauce — Joe Perry’s Rock Your World Boneyard Brew — in 2002. Perry did not attend.

But he was in the city last night, complete with leather pants and an entourage.

“I’m half Portuguese and half Italian, hot food is in my blood,” said Perry, who doesn’t go on tour without a stash of hot sauce. “I’m always looking for new and exciting tastes. I’ve been a fan of hot, spicy food for as long as I can remember.”

Paula Mixon said that’s about as long as she has been an Aerosmith fan. The 41-year-old Providence, R.I., resident did not have a reservation at Jake’s last night, but got in the door when bouncers got a look at her black Mini Cooper.

The car is a tribute to the band — and front man Steven Tyler — complete with an Aerosmith logo on its hood and pictures of Tyler on the roof and back window.

Mixon, who waited patiently in the bar for an autograph and snapshot of Perry, said she has never met members of the band but has attended at least 20 shows.

“Everybody loves him,” she said of Perry. “He’s such a great performer. He’s amazing. You can tell he loves what he does.”

Last night, Perry traded his guitar for a bottle of hot sauce.

He said Mango-Peach Tango is a fruit-based sauce with a “Caribbean feel.”

“The peach adds a little bit of tang to it,” he said.

The sauce is made by Dedham-based Ashley Food Co. Inc. Perry and company president/owner David Ashley developed the sauce line about six years ago.

“We had a lot of similar tastes and ideas about where it would go. There are no preservatives and we used the freshest ingredients,” said Perry.

“(Ashley) knows how to market a sauce.”

Perry’s sauce is sold online at www.joeperrysrockyourworld.com, Newbury Comics, some Stop & Shop supermarkets in New England and at select specialty stores and boutiques. It typically sells for about $8 a bottle.

Perry said it is also sold at the Hard Rock Cafe and the restaurant’s chefs are using it in some dishes.

Last night, chefs at Jake’s tried their hand at creating dishes with the hot sauce. Among items on the a la carte menu: pan seared & Mango-Peach Tango glazed scallops, Mango-Peach Tango chicken and cheese flautas and Mango-Peach Tango pork loin.

Perry said stores and restaurants will soon have a third item to add to their shelves — a spicy jam-like sauce that is still being developed.