Skip to content
News

Steven Tyler to Bandmates: I AM Aerosmith

The drama continues to unfold in camp Aerosmith.

Less than two months after singer Steven Tyler entered rehab for painkiller addiction, the singer and his managers have issued a statement threatening legal action if the band’s remaining members continue with their plan to recruit a new singer in his place.

Tyler’s attorney Skip Miller addressed Aerosmith manager Howard Kaufman in the letter, in which he declares that Tyler is Aerosmith: “Can you imagine the manager of the Rolling Stones calling for the replacement of Mick Jagger? Steven is Aerosmith, along with the others. He’s the guy the public knows. He’s the singer.” [Via Billboard]

The letter also demands that Aerosmith’s management team, “Immediately cease and desist from engaging in acts and conduct to the harm and detriment of your own client, Aerosmith, and our client who is one of its members.”

Miller also accuses Kaufman of “playing band members off against one another instead of seeking to solidify their relationships and unify them for the overall good of the band.” The Jan. 27 letter also demands a meeting of Aerosmith’s “shareholders” on Feb. 9 to address the band’s future plans, including a new album and tour in 2011 to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary.

Punctuating his and Tyler’s objective clearly, Miller stated that “Steven Tyler does not want lawsuits… The direction we want is Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler, touring in Europe, touring Latin America, releasing a new album.”

The problem is Tyler and the rest of Aerosmith are on two completely different wavelengths.

In the new letter, Miller claims that Tyler has been writing songs for a new Aerosmith album and will be ready to perform later in the year. But guitarist Joe Perry recently said that Tyler is still working through rehab and needs to “have leg surgery and foot surgery and it’s basically going to take him out of the picture for about a year, year and a half.”

Either way, Tyler is certainly rehearsing for a return of some sort. The 61-year-old singer recently strayed from his California treatment facility to serenade patrons at a local pub’s karaoke night, and later sang a pair of Aerosmith songs a cappella at a Home Depot.

So, SPIN readers, what do you make of the whole Aerosmith battle? Tell us in the comment section below!