Aerosmith has survived drugs, departures, divorces and discord since the rock ‘n’ roll bad boys formed 40 years ago. But guitarist Joe Perry does not know if the band will overcome its latest troubles, and is forging ahead with his own ambitious touring and recording plans.
Aerosmith has been on a wobbly footing for the past few years, beset by various medical ailments that have prevented it from recording its first album of new material since 2001. Things came to a head two months ago when the band canceled a stop-start U.S. tour after singer Steven Tyler fell off the stage and broke his shoulder.
Tyler, who spent time in rehab last year, has not spoken to his bandmates since that night, instead entrusting his newly-hired managers to send out occasional emails, Perry told Reuters in a recent interview.
“I’m an eternal optimist,” Perry said. “We’ve been though some pretty thin times and some pretty thick times, and there have been periods when Steven and I – for no reason other than just to get some space – have not talked to each other for months. Then we get back together and things mesh.”
Presumably some words will be exchanged later this month when Aerosmith regroups for two shows in Hawaii, the result of a lawsuit filed by fans upset when the band scrapped a planned appearance there two years ago.
But perhaps more worryingly, Tyler and Perry – the primary songwriters in Aerosmith – have not composed a song together in 10 years, Perry said.
“I’m down in my studio every day, writing, and for some reason he wants to write with people like (outside songwriter) Mark Hudson and whatever,” he said. “I can’t explain it.”
Instead, songs that Perry had hoped would end up on the next Aerosmith album – if only Tyler had added vocals – can now be found on Perry’s fifth solo album “Have Guitar Will Travel,” which was released on Tuesday.
Thanks for the article at Reuters.com.
