AEROSMITH To Perform On 'American Idol', Says STEVEN TYLER

Gary Graff of Billboard.com recently conducted an interview with AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Billboard.com: You don't seem to pull too many punches about your relationship with AEROSMITH in the book. There's love, but there's plenty of the animosity, too.

Tyler: It's one of the most dysfunctional bands on the planet, yet we've kept together. Why? That's the question why? and my book tells it. I wanted the world to know, yes, I fight with Joe Perry, but when we get together in a room we write songs that have greased generations. "Walk This Way", "Sweet Emotion", "Dream On", "Jaded"... there's magic there. And I hope the book pushes a few buttons in the band and jump-starts some maybe lying, dormant enthusiasm. The funny thing about the band is when we're on stage, we're different animals. We're right back to the same people we were when we were in the studio writing. It's like the five right keys that opened the lock of what-it-is-ness.

Billboard.com: Will AEROSMITH perform on "American Idol"?

Tyler: Oh yeah, we're playing the last show of the season. When I came on board, of course they were talking about, "Are you going to sing with the contestants?" I said I'll do a song, sure, but it was always my intention, always, to get AERSOMITH on the show. I mean, Joe's done it. I'm ready for it. I would love to play with AEROSMITH.

Billboard.com: What's the next step on the album you started working on earlier this year?

Tyler: Well, I sent Joe a bunch of songs and he sent me a bunch of licks. We've e-mailed back and forth with each other. All I need is a few good licks; that's the way "Walk This Way" was written, one of Joe Perry's licks, (sings) and I grabbed the ball and ran with it, and that's all it takes sometimes. We're getting together for my father's birthday he'll be 95 in May and I'm gonna have a band meeting at which time we're gonna settle a lot of the tumult that's been going on in the last year between lawyers and managers... As John Lennon said, time for a new broom to sweep things clean, dahling!

Sometimes other people try to keep us apart, so it's a little difficult. I'm with different management. They're with different management, they've got their lawyers. I've got my lawyers. When we get together in a room, magic happens. Things get settled. It's just hard right now, but who knows what this summer will bring. We're in the middle of an album cycle. We may go out and do some shows, and we're already booked for November-December, South America and Japan. So who knows, man.

Read the entire interview from Billboard.com.