Pardon me if I seem a little groggy. I'm nursing a figurative hangover from ingesting a barrage of breathless blogging about what the future of Aerosmith may or may not be in the wake of some recent comments from lead vocalist Steven Tyler. Even some otherwise credible news organizations have joined in the binge.
Surprisingly little of what is being reported about the latest episode in the rock soap opera starring Steven Tyler and his estranged band mates (his "brothers" as guitarist Joe Perry likes to call them) is based on anything other than conjecture about unverified assumptions.
Let's take, for example, how Perry is being identified as the source of the revelation that Tyler has quit the band. What Perry actually said was that all he knows is what he's read online, which is where he says he and his "brothers" learned of Tyler's wish (far from being an actual plan of action, and one he has expressed several times in the past) as conveyed in a recent interview: "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."
Significantly, the source of that quote, Classic Rock magazine, has responded to the ensuing flapdoodle by pointing out that "he in no way indicated that he was leaving the band, and just stated that he wanted to spend some time out to record a solo album and promote his forthcoming autobiography."Let's pause to interject a couple more actual facts. This is the same Joe Perry who stormed off in 1979, leaving Aerosmith and vowing never to return. He returned. Aerosmith owes their record label one more studio album under their current contract. Do you really think the label would accept an album without Tyler as fulfillment of that requirement?
And then there are those who would have us believe that Aerosmith couldn't possibly go on without Tyler. Really? If you think that's true, I would refer you to the histories of Queen, Yes, AC/DC, Van Halen and Journey, all of whom have managed to soldier on with lead vocalists other than those with whom they started. (I would also refer you to a cogent piece by my About.com colleague and fellow rock scribe, Tim Grierson on this subject.)
Am I saying that Tyler is not leaving Aerosmith? Absolutely not. What I'm saying is that none of us, including Tyler (see the "I don't know what I'm doing yet" quote above) and other members of Aerosmith really know what's going on. All we really know is that Tyler isn't returning phone calls, and that's nothing new.
(UPDATE: Tyler is not leaving Aerosmith)Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images
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