Nov 112009
As part of RTH’s ongoing series of “CHOOSE SIDES!” posts, in which you, the reader, are required to stop dickin’ around and just choose sides in an ongoing Rock argument, disagreement, or feud, please consider the following. Then, pick the Aerosmith member you believe to be less deluded: Steven Tyler or Joe Perry. Yes, it’s your turn to… CHOOSE SIDES!
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry confirmed rumors that singer Steven Tyler has left the band. Tyler, who suffered a broken shoulder at an August concert in Sturgis, SD, said recently that he planned to “work on the brand of myself.” Said Perry, “We’ll probably find somebody else and then we’ll be able to move Aerosmith up a notch.”
Based only on the quotations, Tyler is less deluded and getting ready to do some commercials.
I’ve been actually listening to them lately, and have upgraded them considerably, but I’m still ignoring everything after Rocks. I’m siding with Joey Kramer. Who’ll take care of him now? No one ever thinks about what’s best for the drummer.
Liv Tyler.
What’s with two out of the first three answers being COP OUTS, Hrrundi? What kind of thread are you running here?
At first, not knowing Perry’s side of this saga, I thought this was an unfair battle. I mean Steven’s obviously gone off the deep end again, but Aerosmith without Steven Tyler?!?! No way! Pro songwriters and all, the band has always been fueled by the subpar Jaggerisms and gussied up Wolfisms of Mr. Tallarico (or whatever his real name is). Aerosmith w/o Tyler is the Joe Perry Project. Ain’t gonna happen. Someone needs to hold an intervention on the band’s collective behalf – or simply put them all out of their misery and encourage them to move onto new pursuits.
BTW, who’s the black bassist in the background on that shot, some Oliver?
Oh my god! I had no idea! There’s even a new Perry Project release out! Coincidence? What a tool!
I’ve been lurking for a few months now. You are too funny! YOu totally nailed it, Mr. Moderator. Who IS that bass player?
2000Man says:
I’ve been actually listening to them lately, and have upgraded them considerably, but I’m still ignoring everything after Rocks.
I’m very happy to hear that, man! I’m always telling people about the great rock and roll of the first 4 and a half Aerosmith albums. People tell me to fuck off, sing a few bars of Dude Looks Like a Lady, then “school” me about how they are just another Stones ripoff.
Duh.
That being said, they really should hang it the fuck up. They haven’t made a good album in 33 years. They are clearly incapable of making music that doesn’t sound like it was created by a large committee.
We won’t be that lucky. We the rock consuming public will be exposed to further degradation of the “brand”
I predict that in 10 years time, Axl will have joined the band, fired everyone, and will control the entire franchise.
I’m basically on Joe’s side. I think a world without Steven Tyler would be a better place, though I’m not 100% sure Aerosmith is a better band without him.
Steve is less deluded, but he’s still gonna be insufferable. Joe is fishing around for Gary Cherone’s number.
Shawnkilroy touches on a good point, though: are there any bands with *no* original members?
Thank you, 2000man, for finally showing us townsfolk the light! Kramer gets my nod as well. He’ll probably end up with Mickey Thomas in a reformed outfit called The Elvin Spence Enterprise.
To answer eh’s question about bands with “no” original members — there has to be a version of Jefferson “something” out there with no Balin, Anderson, Kantner, or Kaukonen. Right?
I’m not sure about bands out there now, but I have a copy of Squeeze by the Velvet Underground and there were no original members on that album. It really doesn’t suffer from the original members’ absence either. In fact, I like it better than Loaded.
(Just kidding. It’s the aural equivalent of the tangible end result of a night of eating Taco Bell and drinking Natty Bo).
Doesn’t Squeeze include Sterling Morrison? I can’t remember now. Sammy, I believe, did a fine piece on that album some time ago.
I’d bet a number ouf R&B groups from the ’50s and ’60s involve no original members. They often are reinvigorated by their manager a la Menudo. The Temptations, for instance, may tour with no original members these days.
I’ll take Joe. He always seemed pretty cool and Steven always seemed really annoying.
Also, I think a Tyler-less Aerosmith has a better chance of survival than a solo Steven (although neither seems likely).
By the way, aside from the Look of the band, (especially Tyler and Perry) and the fact that they did Walkin’ the Dog on their first album, why do they get all of the Stones comparisons? I don’t hear any musical similarities. Is it really that superficial or am I missing something obvious?
Don’t insult my main man Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr, like that!
Sterling was not in the Squeeze band. It was Doug Yule and three other guys when they toured, but according to wikipedia, it was mostly Doug Yule and Ian Paice from Deep Purple with a few session players on the album itself.
Joe.
Coupla points:
1. This thread is begging for a spin-off, evaluating the relative merits of Jagger-isms versus Tyler-isms. I for one believe it’s time for all the grey-hairs (like me) to thoroughly re-evaluate Jagger-isms and perhaps concede that — while Tyler-isms might be more *annoying* — Jagger’s on-stage isms really are/were pretty stupid, and perhaps even inferior to Tyler’s isms. We’ve got some keen analytical minds out there; let’s put them to work!
2. People, the tell-tale Alembic headstock and shit-eating grin are dead giveaways. That Black Oliver on the bass is Stanley Clarke! I wonder if this is a shot of Tyler/Perry’s drug rehab side project, The New, New Barbarians… or was that the New Vandals? The New Troglodytes? I forget.
Ian Paice — now *there’s* a rock and roll Zelig for you.
You’ve convinced me…where’s that Zelig poll again?
It’s all a power play leading up the “reunion/farewell” tour next year. Mick and Keef, anyone? Tango and Cash?
I’m going with neither…
TB
Christian Death has no original members or did last time I heard of them playing in the 90s.
It’s too bad Mel Torme is gone, he could have stepped in and taken over Tyler’s scatting role without missing a beat.
I disagree that I copped out, if I was the one being accused. The thread asked me to choose which was “less deluded,” and I did. Who cares whether Joe is a more sympathetic guy? In the above quote, what he’s saying is simply untrue, a pipe dream about a band whose best days are long gone. Sure, play on, pal, but who f-ing cares? Tyler, however, is defining his future with absolute clarity, as annoying as that may be: time to start working on himself as a brand name, and forger about the rock and roll part, which is his past. You don’t like him, fine, but at least he knows what he’s doing and why: making some bucks by promoting his laurels and then sitting down on them.
Mwall, I don’t think you were being singled out for being a COP-OUT. Your answer was in fact direct and to-the-point. Not to mention forthright and bold. I appreciate you!
Correct, Mwall laid it on the line, as requested. I didn’t mean to be too harsh, just to get Townspeeps a little more on point.
cdm makes an excellent BULLSHIT ON the comparisons the band always gets to The Stones. I am guilty as charged. It’s funny, the cartoonish Jagger who developed through the latter part of the ’70s is more an exaggerated version of Tyler than the other way around. Now the “Glimmer Twin” dynamic projected by Tyler and Perry are obvious ties to the Stones and probably account for many of the comparisons, but I wonder if the band’s classic music is more in line with later-60s/early-’70s British blues-based bands like Led Zeppelin and even stuff like heavier Pretty Things and late-period Beatles, which would seem to come to the fore over time. Tyler may have more in common with Peter Wolf and a black woman, maybe Tina Turner, than he does Jagger – if we take the lips and the singer-guitarist dynamic duo aspect out of it.
Just some thoughts along the line of what cdm questioned and HVB prodded…
Yeah, Mod that Zeppelin comparison makes more sense to me. They both traffic in Riff Rock.
I’m not sure. What Aerosmith has in common with The Stones is that they swing, which Riff Rock generally does not.
That is soooooooo NOT Stanley Clarke in that pic!
Aerosmith is going to pull a Journey / Forigner / STYX /AIC / INXS and find a young singer who can sing the old stuff and then do a Wal Mart CD…and it will “sound” like the old stuff but not be near as good…. then they can be on Oprah to tell the story of the singer who got the “dream job”…and then tour, mostly outside the US where this kinda thing happens all the time
Tyler will do a very pop oriented solo CD with tons of guest stars (Santana, Clapton, Mary J Blige, Adam Levine) and will get a hit single or two and get a grammy nod but sell very few CDs…and he would (wisely) give up touring…
After this Tyler will (rightly) bash his old band mates for going on without him
According to Joe Perry, Aerosmith’s songwriting process consisted of Perry playing riffs for Tyler, who wrote lyrics to the ones he liked.
According to Joey Kramer’s autobiography, Tyler’s an incredible perfectionist/bully.
Note also that Perry has put out two solo records since the last Aerosmith disc.
All of which points to about two or three years of semi-annual, publicist-placed stories about the illustrious guest who drops by the studio during the Steven Tyler recording sessions, before anyone realizes that no actual album will come out.
As for the rest of them, my guess is no more Aerosmith. I conjecture that Perry will continue the Joe Perry Project, bringing on board whoever from Aerosmith wants to come on board – I’m guessing Kramer and maybe Brad Whitford.
Is there any point to this at all? I mean, didn’t they turn into a completely irrelevant band thirty years ago?
pudman13, what kind of question is THAT? 🙂
I think Steven Tyler should work on an album with Axl Rose called American Socialism and find a guy with a schtick like clown shoes that really shreds on a pointy, ugly, cheap guitar. Fifteen years from now we’ll all get a free can of Schlitz when it finally comes out, Tyler’s fans will claim it’s “better than anything Aerosmith ever did!” The week after it comes out, Perry will steal all Tyler’s thunder by playing guitar for some nobody on American Idol for 90’s night.
Three weeks later The Tyler-Rose Confunktion will be history.
Gotta chime in here. Sadly, I think Tyler is the less deluded character in this sad drama. Tyler quits the band, claiming he needs to work on his “brand.” Fair enough. He can do that, and probably move on to a successful career as a snack cracker spokesman (“They’re CRACKIN’LY DELISHUSSSSSS…” cackles Steven into the camera). Score one for mumbo lips.
Next up, Joe Perry. Sorry, Joe, but the notion that you could find a new Tyler and “move Aerosmith up a notch” is just silly. For better or for worse, Aerosmith is Tyler *and* Perry.
WINNER: Steven Tyler.
I have spoken.
HVB
What Tyler really needs to work on, from what I’ve been reading and hearing, is not his “brand” but his health. I honestly hope he gets it together. That whole band rehab thing was the best part of their rock legacy, if you ask this non-fan of Aerosmith.
The frontman of a rock band quit his band, giving as his reason that he wanted to “work on the brand of myself.” Think about that. The revolution is definitely over.
And Mod, we think alike. I’ve been meaning to ask, hasn’t Perry been dropping hints for some time that Tyler was no longer on the`wagon?
Yeah, from what I’ve read and heard (I have a friend who works with a woman who was Tyler’s personal nurse, or something like that, and broke the news to him before I’d read about it anywhere else) he’s really slipped. He also left his wife of 1000 years. Maybe he and Ron Wood can collaborate.
I used to feel bad for Joe Perry when I’d see footage of him standing on stage in front of the Sid & Marty Krofft puppets that made up the rest of the band, wearing his trench coat and wispy moustache, playing a respectable guitar solo with stone-faced determination while Tyler would lean over into him shouting something like “skee-leeba-dooba-sheeba-looba-dow-dow-doooow!” at him.
But then I started to resent Perry, because I figured if he would quit the band or fake his own death or something, they’d have to end Aerosmith, right? He was just as responsible.
Now, I don’t know. I guess I blame them both. If the bit above about Perry writing riffs for Tyler to scat over is true, maybe Perry’s true calling is to hire himself out to come up with quality guitar riffs for well-meaning hip hop artists like Jay-Z who don’t know any better and would otherwise turn to the dudes in Coldplay or Linkin Park or the Gallagher brothers.
Somebody like Kanye or Danger Mouse would probably love to have a little “Joe Perry” button they could press that would send Perry sliding into the studio to play something for them, and the end result would definitely be better a better track than whatever Aerosmith song it would have turned into in the last 20 years.
Aerosmith fans can rejoice…
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=441227>1=28102
TB
I bet Charlie Watts planted the story about Tyler quitting the band!
It’s sad, like hearing Grandmom and Pop-Pop want to get a divorce. Aerosmith with a new singer sounds like the discomfort a family feels when Pop-Pop wants to bring that younger lady he has been seeing to the house for Christmas dinner.
Guess they tried out the band w/o Perry from 1982’s ROCK & A HARD PLACE, maybe they can try it w/o Tyler. Can Jimmy Crespo sing?
If we take the Perry = music, Tyler = lyrics approach to Aerosmith, it does make me wonder: what’s the best Aerosmith lyric? I don’t really have an answer for this off the top of my head, but I’m sure there were a few good lines in their songs before Tyler fell from Poor Man’s Jagger to Poor Man’s Diamond Dave.
The ONLY Aerosmith lyric that ever comes to mind for me is that fast-paced thing about a rabbit dying, from “Walk This Way.” I believe it’s some reference to an old-time test for pregnancy, right? Man, I can be naive for a middle-aged guy with two kids!
I always got the feeling that the more Joe Perry influence the better. Much like Mick & Keith they take turns being the creative force (and also like Mick & Keith the one that is more strung out has less influence) The assumed Joe Perry led songs are the best ones IMO.
I would also say that since 1981 they have had only a handful of decent songs per record (with PUMP being their best post-addict record by far)
Backstroke lover always hidin’ ‘neath the covers
till I talked to your daddy, he say
he said “you ain’t seen nothin’ till you’re down on a muffin
then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways”
I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder
oh, the times I could reminisce
’cause the best things of lovin’ with her sister and her cousin
only started with a little kiss
like this!
seesaw swingin’ with the boys in the school
and your feet flyin’ up in the air
singin’ “hey diddle diddle”
with your kitty in the middle of the swing
like you didn’t care
so I took a big chance at the high school dance
with a missy who was ready to play
wasn’t me she was foolin’
’cause she knew what she was doin’
and I knowed love was here to stay
when she told me to
walk this way, walk this way
That’s alotta euphemism for one song! By the way, Mod, the rabbit done died in Sweet Emotion, which also included this immortal couplet:
Standin’ in front just a’shakin’ your ass/
Take you back stage you can drink from my glass.
What an honor THAT must have been.
I suppose he wrote that before the herpes diagnosis. I’m not saying I have factual evidence of this, but… c’mon!
Suddenly the split mixed signals about Aerosmith start making sense.
full article @
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20321355,00.html
Aerosmith Members Say Steven Tyler ‘Needs Help’
As Steven Tyler’s bandmates ponder the future now that he has decided to take a two-year break from Aerosmith, they are also expressing concerns about the singer’s well-being.
“I think that he needs help and that attention needs to be put to his health,” drummer Joey Kramer tells PEOPLE…
Recent reports in the Boston Herald and online suggest Tyler, who battled drug addiction in the ’70s and ’80s and checked into a rehab center last year to detox from painkillers, may be partying again.