Steven Tyler to Bandmates: I AM Aerosmith
News
Joe Perry and Steven Tyler in June '08 / Photo by Jackie Roman
The drama continues to unfold in camp Aerosmith.
Less than two months after singer Steven Tyler entered rehab for painkiller addiction, the singer and his managers have issued a statement threatening legal action if the band's remaining members continue with their plan to recruit a new singer in his place.
Tyler's attorney Skip Miller addressed Aerosmith manager Howard Kaufman in the letter, in which he declares that Tyler is Aerosmith: "Can you imagine the manager of the Rolling Stones calling for the replacement of Mick Jagger? Steven is Aerosmith, along with the others. He's the guy the public knows. He's the singer." [Via Billboard]
The letter also demands that Aerosmith's management team, "Immediately cease and desist from engaging in acts and conduct to the harm and detriment of your own client, Aerosmith, and our client who is one of its members."
Miller also accuses Kaufman of "playing band members off against one another instead of seeking to solidify their relationships and unify them for the overall good of the band." The Jan. 27 letter also demands a meeting of Aerosmith's "shareholders" on Feb. 9 to address the band's future plans, including a new album and tour in 2011 to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.
Punctuating his and Tyler's objective clearly, Miller stated that "Steven Tyler does not want lawsuits… The direction we want is Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler, touring in Europe, touring Latin America, releasing a new album."
The problem is Tyler and the rest of Aerosmith are on two completely different wavelengths.
In the new letter, Miller claims that Tyler has been writing songs for a new Aerosmith album and will be ready to perform later in the year. But guitarist Joe Perry recently said that Tyler is still working through rehab and needs to "have leg surgery and foot surgery and it's basically going to take him out of the picture for about a year, year and a half."
Either way, Tyler is certainly rehearsing for a return of some sort. The 61-year-old singer recently strayed from his California treatment facility to serenade patrons at a local pub's karaoke night, and later sang a pair of Aerosmith songs a cappella at a Home Depot.
So, SPIN readers, what do you make of the whole Aerosmith battle? Tell us in the comment section below!
130 Comments
Click here to comment- Posted By Jessica B.
04.01.10 9:39 PM
FIRST OFF......STEVEN TYLER NEEDS TO GET AT LEAST 1 YEARS CLEAN....I KNOW HE HAD A FEW YEARS CLEAN BEFORE......MAYBE ONCE HE HAS A LITTLE TIME UNDER HIS BELT HE AND THE REST OF THE GUYS CAN SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT TO DO NEXT. I'VE GROWN UP LISTENING TO AREOSMITH. THIS WHOLE THING IS SO DAMN CHILDISH!!! ITS BEEN A LOT OF DRUG USING AND DRINKING ON EVERYONE'S PART.
I'M A RECOVERING ADDICT MYSELF...SO FROM WHERE I'M SITTING AT..IS THIS.
THE REST OF THE BAND IS ALSO RECOVERING ADDICTS AND NEED TO BE THERE FOR STEVEN TYLER!!! ANOTHER ADDICT HELPING ANOTHER ADDICT IS WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN! KEEP THE MEDIA AND COURTS OUT OF THE SITUATION AND COME TOGETHER AS A BAND. PUT THE EGO'S ASIDE AND BE THE BAND THAT STARTED YEARS AGO!!!MY PRAYERS ARE WITH THE BAD AND STEVEN TYLER!!!
- Posted By AerosmithLoverTillTheEnd
02.18.10 4:25 PM
Steven is one of the main key elements to Aerosmith! Why the hell would you replace him after 40 years! All i'm sayin is... ANYONE can play a guitar such as Joe Perry... but NO ONE CAN SING LIKE STEVEN!!!! If steven was to make his own band....i'd listen to his... not sum faggot trying to sound like steven..... i think its bull **** that they can't just wait for steven.... i mean damn, they can practice and act like a real band for a year/year and a half.... damn come on guys!!!! If aerosmith gets a new singer... **** on that, they'll be done, i mean they have fans of 40 years, you can't just make that kind of change... so screw you guys, steven makes aerosmith special... He writes your damn songs... real good way to show gratitude
- Posted By Aerosmith fan 4 life
02.15.10 5:41 AM
aerosmith has been my fave band since i was a child and i know almost all of their songs but i say that if the band cant wait patiently and work with tyler on the album then tour when hes feeling better then i say their career is over because not too many people will but tickets if they go out on the road without steven as the frontman
- Posted By j3s2b3w
02.11.10 2:45 AM
Steven Tyler is Aerosmith, gurlfriend is right.
The singer is always the only member that matters.
- Posted By michaelkmadsen
02.06.10 10:42 PM
pills are ****ing hard to quit and if Tyler can do it after surgery, then the band's future will be alot brighter. Life is short though, so if these guys are really committed to writing or playing music they should put all the **** aside before its too late. Not everyone (Rolling stones aside) can keep it up forever.
- Posted By SpaciTraci
02.04.10 10:11 AM
Steven Tyler *ISN'T* Aerosmith. He is a large part of the band because he is the singer and main focal point. But everyone - and I mean everyone - is replaceable. It is extremely egomaniacal to believe that he IS Aerosmith, which may be one of the problems the band is having with him.
Without Steven Tyler, Aerosmith would simply be different. Would current Aerosmith fans accept a new singer? Some would. Would they develop new fans with a new singer? Probably. Would the band have more stability? I get the impression it would. Maybe it's time for a shake-up and to do something different. Musicians are creative people who have many ideas. Music is a fluid medium, so it makes sense to want to perform with a variety of musicians, doing different things. From things I've read, it sounds like the bottom line is that Joe wants to play more and, for whatever reason, Steven is unavailable. We'll see what happens.
- Posted By Anonymous
02.04.10 5:43 AM
steven IS aerosmith
who got the band tight when the first started, who worked joey kramer to death and bitched about joe and brads guitars always being out of tune at shows, who got the band styling n rocking onstage, who is credited on 98% of all the aerosmith song catalogue as the writer, who is always the one to talk in interviews, who is the one onstage making all the music come to life and singing like no other, who is one of rock music's biggest icons of all time, etcetc the answer to these and many more questions is STEVEN TYLER
- Posted By Moe Fugger
02.04.10 4:52 AM
sounds like a buncha crap....
aerosmith was great in the 70's & so on....
I wouldnt pay to see em again now anyway....theyre just too old & have lost that spirit they had together as a true rock & roll band....Im sure the drugs & partying were one of the elements of their younger days that they just cant ever live again....that , my friends , was the real mojo of the band...regardless of how pathetic their drug addicted lives were , it was an element that made them as well.....Id like to see anyone come up with that kind of music without drugs & sex.....you gotta live it to play it....those days are long gone for that group...theyre just plain too old now...reminds me of journey...another pathetic story...
really , who the hell wants to pay to go see some cover singer play with the original band their covering?
Its retarded................................
its like pink floyd without waters & kiss without ace frehley & peter criss...do we need to go on with more?
the only bands I can think of that truly made something with a different singer than who they had originally is deep purple , black sabbath , van halen & ac/dc...maybe theres a few others..cant think of any..
the funny thing is if tyler did disband form the group because of this matter & formed his own group playing aerosmith songs he wrote while aerosmith continued their quest with some other dude trying to sound like tyler , who do you think people would want to hear singing those live sets more?
hell , I can play an aerosmith song on a guitar just like you hear it & theres thousands of others that can do just the same...yet , theres only 1 dude that ever made aerosmith sound like no others can duplicate exactly & thats the front man..end of story...so , (joe , joey , brad & tom) good luck with all that............
- Posted By Paul
02.03.10 10:52 AM
It's a very bad idea to try to replace Tyler after almost 40 years. I could understand it if this was like after The Rockin A Hard Place album and Steven was drugged out and hopeless! But Aerosmith had all their success with Tyler as lead singer and it's too late for any of this! Bands replacing singers have had VERY mixed and marginal results. Van Halen was lucky indeed to find success with Sammy. Bad Company was terrible with Brian Howe! They got lucky though and had ONE hit album. Their appeal didnt last long! Deep Purple did okay for a while with Coverdale but in the end Ian Gillan was still the one to stay and bring their comeback! Journey was terrible with Steve Augeri, very much a tribute band. Arnel Pineda is better but still not Steve Perry! The new material was not good though! Aerosmith will never come that close to finding a singer to sound like Tyler. Foreigners new lead singer has made them a tribute band, an ultimate example of what Aerosmith would be with a new guy! Boston is a joke with these new guys replacing Brad Delp! Todd Rundgren was a MAD mix with The New Cars (already defunct)! Someone already mentioned The Doors, big joke! ONE exception though, Benoît David new lead singer of Yes is DEAD ON for Jon Anderson! It's amazing really, he was so good Yes took him on temporarily and now have signed him on permanently even though Jon Anderson is well enough to return on tour! It was a ****ty thing to do to Anderson, but the guy is amazing. One in a million though. Good luck Aerosmith trying to be that successful! You heard a few years ago Led Zeppelin will try to find a Plant replacement and tour again. Jimmy Page hasnt found anyone yet and must have came to his senses!
- Posted By Anonymous
02.03.10 4:51 AM
How ludicrous. They need to wait for the front man. If they don't, it's going to be a ridiculous farce, and nobody will take them seriously ever again.
I imagine they would have just as much success as the three remaining Doors did after Jim Morrison was gone. They tried to find a singer to replace him, too? Remember?? No, of course you don't. That's because the Doors with Jim were great, and the Doors without Jim were crap.
Hey, maybe the Beatles should have found a replacement for John Lennon when he got ono'ed away from them. And when is Meg White going to find a replacement for Jack White, so The White Stripes can start touring again?
Yeah, it's like that.
Oh, and they owe Steven Tyler a huge, wet, groveling apology, too. And fire the idiot manager that was instigating this trouble with the band.
(And no, I'm not a big Aerosmith fan. It's not technically required for common sense to prevail.)
- Posted By Anonymous
02.02.10 7:00 PM
The band would never be the same without Steve Tyler!And the band members should be ashamed of putting him through this comtempt....
They should go back and remember the things they are guilty of during their many tours of being on the road " Sex DRUGS and BOOZE"
So I will now say this to the Band " DON'T THROW STONES" While you were there and did the same.They need to be there for Steve instead of thinking of the root of all evil " MONEY!!!!"
- Posted By Mik The Candlestick
02.02.10 1:24 PM
Aerosmith without Steven Tyler...hmmmm....that's getting into Journey without Steve Perry and annoying guy they got to replace them...or INXS without Michael Huchense (spelling)....signature sounds...you don't replace the singer on a band that's an institution...then it becomes Carnival Cruise Line novelty band (can anyone say Lynrd Skynrd) that completely ruins the legacy.
If Aerosmith try to replace Steven Tyler...please remove them from any print in Spin or any other music mag for all I'm concerned...and I'm not even an Aerosmith fan.
- Posted By Anonymous
02.02.10 10:17 AM
It's not uncommon for bands to take a hiatus & that's what Aerosmith will be doing while Steven Tyler is in rehab. They all took a break in the 80s/early 90s to go through rehab, why can't they break again. I know any true Aerosmith fan will wait for a new album - we know it will be well worth it.
As for the people commenting negatively on the band/Steven Tyler: if you don't like Aerosmith, why bother commenting at all?
- Posted By Julia Gibbs
02.02.10 5:18 AM
So do Aerosmith write their own hits, do your research.
- Posted By Anonymous
02.02.10 4:36 AM
I SAY THIS,ALL OF THEM NEED TO GET OVER THEMSELVES!THEY'RE ALL MILLIONAIRES,THANKS TO THE FANS BUYING THEIR ALBUMS,GOING TO THEIR CONCERTS AND,BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE!EITHER WORK THIS PETTY CRAP OUT,BE THANK FULL FOR THE SUCCESS OR,WALK AWAY!....LOSE THE DRAMA AND ACT LIKE MEN! THINK ABOUT THE THOUSANDS OF US THAT WILL NEVER BE FORTUNATE TO HAVE THEIR KIND OF SUCCESS DOING WHAT THEY LOVE TO DO!!!!
- Posted By slider
02.02.10 3:37 AM
Aerosmith is to America one of our greatest rock bands. For them to go on without Steve is unnatural. He will be back soon. You people need to quit being so judgemental. Have you not known anyone with a drug or alcohol problem. I dont think his band members want to trash him and start over. And he is not over the hill. You young ones dont know much when it comes to age, your still just babes and you dont know rock music either. Some things get better with age. Think about it cry babies.
- Posted By Smoke House Slim
02.02.10 3:03 AM
Oh my little Stevie Tyler can't handle some pills...Please tell that to Keith Richards & stop whining like a little ****.
- Posted By Smoke House Slim
02.02.10 3:00 AM
To compare Aerosmith's Steven Tyler with Mick Jagger & the band itself with the Rolling Stones is absolutely ridiculous, as the Stones actually write their own hits.
- Posted By Anonymous
02.02.10 2:07 AM
Hey Brisbane......... I agree that many people are jealous of Tyler's Fame & Talent....hell, I'm at the very least envious. I also agree Drugs are "Hard" to Fight, but....(here it comes) You are telling all of these "FAT PEOPLE" to stop judging him and shut their "FAT" Mouths. Now who the **** is being Judgmental? By the way, I ain't Fat either, not that it would matter! OH, and without Tyler, NO AEROSMITH! without Perry, NO AEROSMITH!
without Hamilton, Kramer, whitford.......same
- Posted By wigglesss5150
02.02.10 1:45 AM
What nobody seems to get is that they are not "replacing" Steven Tyler. They wanna go tour and he's not ready to do that. Michael Sweet is the top forerunner in the latest poll and I,for one, would go see that any day of the week. As far as the Van Halen reference..... Comparing one year of Gary Cherone( I saw that tour, Im a true fan)with the other two is just plain stupid. They have always been good with Dave or Sammy, but last time I checked, Dave is back in the band... keep up buddy... Is Steven Tyler the most recognizable name in Aerosmith? Of course!! Does he make Aerosmith? No he does not!!! The better comparison would be Michael Anthony leaving Van Halen in favor of Eddie's 15 yr old son.
- Posted By Christine Sixx
02.02.10 1:42 AM
The band was on hiatus while Joey Kramer was dealing with his personal issues, again when Joe Perry had his surgery, and again while Tom Hamilton was recovering from throat cancer. I dont understand why the band has a problem waiting a year for Steven to recover. They waited for him before when he broke his leg & had to have knee surgery, so what's the problem now? I think Joe Perry needs to get his head out of his ass. Without Steven Tyler, the rest of the band won't survive. Kinda like the time Motley Crue replaced Vince Neil. I don't like him but the Crue wasn't the Crue without him. Same goes for Aerosmith!
05.12.10 9:44 PM
Hey Steven,
If you're so @&*@!# committed to Aerosmith, how come you're busy recording an album with Timbaland? Make up your mind!
“On March 26, 2010, it was reported that Steven Tyler, intrigued by the 2009 Chris Cornell record Scream, would be teaming up with Timbaland to record a rap album. Guest appearances by Reverend Run and Darryl Mac of Run-D.M.C., Kid Rock, and T-Pain are rumored to be featured on the new project.”