of how they evolve. Sony has done this well over the years, making a splash with the Walkman and then moving on to the Disc- man and now plasma-screen television sets. Aerosmith has used new technology, physical fitness, cutting-edge fashion trends, and new sounds to court new generations of fans, making the Aerosmith saga a cross-branding story thats part epic drama and part business plan.     What It Takes   Unlikely as it might seem, Sunapee, New Hampshire, was fertile breeding ground for musical talent in the 1960s and early 1970s. Families from nearby cities would descend upon the town to spend the summer away from the hustle and bustle of regular life. Among them were Steven Tallarico and his family. Stevens ambition and knack for making an impression began early, before you could classify his musical muses as a true career. A chroni- cally skinny kid with large lips that begged for banter from other kids, Steven went against the grain from day one. When students in school     wore baggy pants, his were tailored and pegged. He befriended the kids others made fun of, grew his hair long, was hated by teachers, and joined a "club" (the 1950s version of a gang) to stop others from beat- ing him up. This club would go on to become his first band and first set of real friends. By the age of 12, the kid who mostly kept to himself became pas- sionate about listening to, learning, and performing music. He came by his love for music honestly-his father was a classical pianist, and he would go on to play the drums for his fathers band, Vic Tallaricos Orchestra, a few years later. Stevens attuned musical ear, work ethic, and obsession with perfection made him the likely leader and soul of any group with which he would play, attributes that should not go unnoticed by entrepreneurs hoping to be CEOs of industry-changing businesses. Tyler would invest much time and energy in developing many music skills that would make him a real asset to any band. His first group, the Strangeurs, a clean-cut, Beatles-like band, played gigs from proms to birthday parties, giving Tyler experience as a drummer; but his showmanship made stepping out from behind the drums inevitable. "The truth was I had to get out front," admits Tyler in Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith (Avon, 1999). "I was after total immortality. I couldnt sleep nights, thinking about how famous I could be. I was terrified I would die before I made my mark on the world."