If you’ve been keeping up with rock headlines, it’s no secret that one of America’s favorite bands has been going through some very public, yet internal problems. Troubles centering on singer Steven Tyler have been brewing ever since an Aerosmith gig at the Legendary Buffalo Chip Amphitheater resulted in a very legendary stage fall. Although Tyler has since recovered, the fall was nonetheless a breaking point for the band or a turning point in its history at the very least.
Over the past few days, speculation has intensified as reports from Joe Perry about the future of the band have been countered by the statements of Steven Tyler. The easiest way to get caught up might just be to go chronological with the latest developements.
October 27 – Steven Tyler schedules a New Hamphire solo performance in January.
November 1 - A frustrated Joe Perry reveals: “Steven really wants to go off and do some other projects,” adding that the band needs to release a new album in order to stay viable.
November 3 – Steven Tyler confirms his solo ambitions. “I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but it’s definitely going to be something Steven Tyler – working on the brand of myself – brand Tyler.”
November 7 – “Steven Tyler has quit as far as I can tell” was the quote of the day from Joe Perry. Perry elaborated and opened up on the possibility of a replacement: “As far as replacing Steve, it’s not just about that, it’s also four guys that play extremely well together, and I’m not going to see that go to waste. I really don’t know what path it’s going to take at this point, but we’ll probably find somebody else that will sing in those spots where we need a singer and then we’ll be able to move Aerosmith up a notch, move the vibe up a notch.” Perry also added that Tyler does not return his phone calls.
November 9 - In yet another radio interview, Joe Perry revealed that the band did not communicate with Tyler during their trio of shows overseas: “He was off in his own dressing room, he stayed in different hotels from the band, traveled on different planes. We never saw him until we walked on stage on any of those shows.” Perry also stated that Tyler hung up on him during a phone conversation in Hawaii while discussing a possible tour in South America. On Twitter, Perry stated that Aerosmith was not breaking up, but confirmed that the band was looking for a new singer to work with.
November 10 – The twists continued as Steven Tyler surprised Joe Perry by joining him on stage during a solo performance in New York City. He told the crowd that he was not leaving Aerosmith, adding: “there is absolutely no validity to rumor that Aerosmith is breaking up.”
November 11 – Perry spoke with Rolling Stone, and stated that he had no idea about Tyler’s plans to appear with him on stage the previous night. However, he negated Tyler’s on-stage statements by saying that the singer wants to take two years off from the band. Later when talking to Billboard, Perry added that Tyler’s appearance on stage did not change anything in his mind about the band’s status. His most recent statement was the following: I’m not exactly sure what yet, but the band’s too good to let it sit around. We’re not going to wait for Steven.”
We’re quite sure that there’s more to come, so follow us on Twitter for all the latest in Aerosmith news and all the rest.
Wow, I hadn’t heard the last two. Thanks for keeping us up to date Matt. Pretty wild to think we might have seen the last show of a fully functional and cohesive Aerosmith.
Wild indeed! That was one memorable show.