AEROSMITH's JOEY KRAMER To Celebrate His Birthday Hosting Wounded Soliders

AEROSMITH drummer Joey Kramer will celebrate his June 21 birthday with 20 wounded warriors he has invited to be his personal guests at the band’s show that night at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The marines and sailors — who all served in Iraq or Afghanistan — are from the National Naval Medical Center and are currently receiving treatment/therapy for their injuries. Some are single leg amputees; others have suffered blast injuries (shrapnel wounds),burns, and traumatic brain injuries.

"I can't think of a better gift to receive on my birthday than to have the privilege of sharing a night of our music with these brave and heroic warriors who have been wounded in the service of our country," Kramer says.

For more information about the organization, visit www.usometro.org to learn about the programs and services offered. Beyond seeing AEROSMITH, the soldiers will be on hand for the first show of the tour featuring special guests ZZ TOP. The North American trek wraps September 16 in Detroit, Michigan.

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry told Reuters that he expects bandmate and guitarist Brad Whitford to rejoin the group on its just-launched summer tour in early July. It was announced earlier this month that Whitford would sit out at least part of the tour while recovering from surgery. Perry revealed that Whitford had an operation to relieve internal bleeding caused when he hit his head getting out of his Ferrari just a few days before the trek began. Perry explained, "It built up pressure and gave him this whoopin' headache. He's not prone to getting migraines, so knew something was wrong. He went right in, they did what they had to do, and now he's getting better."

The 57-year-old Whitford is slated to return to the road on July 7, when the band plays Raleigh, North Carolina. His replacement has been Bobby Schneck, who has also logged time with GREEN DAY and WEEZER.

Whitford is the latest AEROSMITH member to be plagued with medical problems in the past few years. Bassist Tom Hamilton beat throat cancer a few years back, while Perry had a knee replaced and singer Steven Tyler had foot surgery and a bout with pneumonia in the past 12 months.

In other news, Perry also hinted that the group may change up its current set list, which features the classic 1975 album "Toys In The Attic" almost in its entirety, and start playing its 1976 masterpiece "Rocks" later in the tour.

Perry did not say whether the band would switch between albums as the tour progresses, and even speculated on reviving its underrated 1979 effort, "Night In The Ruts", at some point as well.