Jerk Alert: Tyler Leaves Aerosmith?

Good riddance to a band long past its shelf-life, we say, or at least we hope.

By Fred Mills

Oh dear. This is what happens when the BLURT newsdesk gives all the interns the weekend off while the editorial staff goes off on its annual Iron Man retreat in Wyoming - the normally on-the-tip BLURT misses the biggest news story of the, uh, week.

That's right: as 193 other media outlets are apparently reporting, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has quit the band, or so says guitarist Joe Perry.

Speaking to the Las Vegas Sun on Friday, Perry indicated that Tyler's last show with the band would be the recent one a week ago Sunday in Abu Dhabi: "Steven quit as far as I can tell. I don't know anymore 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... He has had no contact with me or the other band members.

"Frankly, the last few months I've been wanting not to rock the boat. I don't want him canceling any more gigs. We really wanted to do these last four. We just kind of didn't want to call him out or anything and get him anymore pissed off, for whatever reason. So we just let things lie. So we did the gigs and, like I said, I got off the plane and saw this online. That's how I know about it."

You can read the entire interview here, along with speculation over whether the band will look for a new singer. Apparently bassist Tom Hamilton told the Boston Herald that it was not an option and that he was hoping the admittedly strained relationships in the band could be patched up, but according to Perry, "You just can't disregard 40 years of four guys who play together as well as they do. We're just trying to - at least I am - trying to figure out what direction the band should take... I really don't know what path it's going to take at this point, but we'll probably find somebody else that will sing in those spots where we need a singer and then we'll be able to move the Aerosmith up a notch, move the vibe up a notch."

Well, whatever. Doesn't sound like ANYBODY in this collection of monkeys is on the same page. Aside from the fact that Aerosmith hasn't been artistically relevant in a decade or more (is it just us, or is the Aerosmith - Guitar Hero game also dull as nails?), this all sounds like a bunch of posturing.

Cue up the arrival of lawyers: One thing you can always count on in the entertainment biz: when at-odds musical partners start hashing their beefs out in the media, it's nothing more than a glitter ‘n' gloss version of passive-aggressive behavior. Aerosmith ain't called the "bad boys" for nothing, either. So watch for more of this tit-for-tat as the story unfolds, followed by the inevitable solo project, followed by the inevitable reconciliation, followed by the inevitable mega-cash world tour.

Or maybe Tyler's just taking some time off to get those 8 facelifts he's been planning so he can do another swimsuit photo shoot....