Aerosmith on Steven Tyler: "He Doesn't Act Like a Sober Person"

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Last week, Steven Tyler surprised Joe Perry at a New York solo gig and announced onstage he wasn't quitting Aerosmith. In new interviews with Rolling Stone, members of the group say that they not only still plan on hiring a new singer — but they are concerned that Tyler may have returned to some of his bad habits. "He doesn't act like a sober person," says Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford. "I'm not hanging with the guy, but his history of drug abuse is well documented. And like many other people in this same position, the prospects aren't good. For most people, full blown recovery is a tough thing to pull off."

Aerosmith Live: four decades of rockin' the joint.

Drummer Joey Kramer also has concerns, though he wasn't as explicit as Whitford. "I hope that Steven takes the time to put the focus on Steven and get healthy and take care of himself," he says. When asked what exactly he means by "get healthy" Kramer said, "The truth of that is something that only Steven can answer and I'm not really at liberty to discuss it, you'd have to speak with him or his management." A rep for Tyler said he is too busy working on his forthcoming memoir to comment on the allegations.

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Meanwhile, the group says they have no plans to wait two years to reform, which Tyler has asked them to do while he works on a solo album and his book. "We have a fortieth anniversary coming up and we all would like to celebrate that with our fans," Kramer says. "There's people that we've been kicking around [to sing]. Famous singers. If that's part of what it takes for us to move forward then you know, that's what it's gonna be." Check out the next issue of Rolling Stone, on stands November 25th, for a detailed account of Aerosmith's implosion.

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• Aerosmith's Kramer Speaks Out About Aerosmith Singer Search
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• Aerosmith's Tyler Airlifted to Hospital After Falling From Stage

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Song Stories

“The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie”

The Joy Formidable | 2011

The opener off the Welsh group’s The Big Roar album was an epic one, but the band was worried that track had polarized fans. “The first song is eight minutes long,” Rhydian Dafydd, the Joy Formidable bassist, said. “If you did that in the Seventies people would be, ‘Whatever.’ You do it now, people think, ‘Holy s---!’ Some people think it’s the f---ing greatest track on the entire album, and some people think it’s f---ing boring. It’s that element of needing to challenge people.” The band concluded through the song’s lyrics that love was the “everchanging spectrum of a lie.”

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