Perry Tweets Aerosmith Saga

The Aerosmith rumor mill started going into overdrive late last week when lead singer Steven Tyler told Classic Rock Magazine that his immediate future plans did not involve the band he’s fronted since 1970.

“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,” the singer said.

When the Las Vegas Sun asked Perry about Tyler’s comments, the guitar slinger admitted it looked as if Tyler had exited the band.

“Steven quit as far as I can tell,” Perry told the Sun. “I don’t know any more than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don’t know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don’t know.”

However, Perry also said he hadn’t spoken with Tyler, and that the singer has a habit of not returning phone calls.

So far Perry hasn’t said whether he’s been in contact with Tyler, but he did use his Twitter account to give fans the inside news on the latest Aerosmith crisis.

“Aerosmith is definitely NOT breaking up,” Perry tweeted. “One of the members is doing his own thing and said so in the press. That’s all I know.”

“In the meantime Aerosmith is positively looking for a new singer to work with,” Perry said in another tweet. “You just can’t take 40 years of experience and throw it in the bin!”

And just to make sure fans knew the band wasn’t breaking up, Perry restated the state of Aerosmith.

“Aerosmith is not splitting up,” Perry tweeted. “Promise that’s the last you’ll hear from me on the subject till we gear up again.”

But all tweets aside, can Aerosmith survive without Tyler? Sure, some bands have replaced lead singers with hardly a drop in record sales. Genesis replacing Peter Gabriel with Phil Collins comes to mind, as does the epic soap opera that is Van Halen.  The band started out with David Lee Roth at the mic, moved on to Sammy Hagar and then enlisted Gary Cherone after Eddie and Sammy had a dustup. During the past few years Van Halen has toured with Hagar as well as Roth, so the band knows something about the lead singer / band dynamic.

So, what do you think? Is Tyler finished with Aerosmith? And if Tyler is officially out of the band, who should replace him? Just post your thoughts in the comment thread below.

Click here for the Classic Rock Magazine article.

Click here for the Las Vegas Sun article.

Click here for Joe Perry’s Twitter page.