AEROSMITH's JOE PERRY: What's Important In STEVEN TYLER's Life Is Different From What's Important In My Life

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry admitted to CBS News' Anthony Mason that the antics of the band's lead singer, Steven Tyler, still sometimes get under his skin, as they did in 2009 when Perry discovered Tyler had flown to London to audition for LED ZEPPELIN when Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were considering touring without Robert Plant.

"I was like 'Why don't you tell me?'" he said. "I mean, it still surprises me when he does stuff like that."

Asked by Salon who Tyler is, Perry replied: "At this point, he’s a really talented singer and an incredible musician. And there's a part where we still get along quite well. We still go scuba diving together when we can. He's off doing his thing now. I think he loved being on 'American Idol' and loved the fame. It made me realize that what's important in his life is different from what's important in my life. And I have to accept that. The important thing is when we get up there on that stage for two hours, we're the same people we were when we were nineteen years old. That's a pretty amazing feeling."

"As far as the music goes, [Steven is] very much into pop and getting things meticulously perfect," Perry told HNGN. "I'm into just letting things rip. That's the dynamic."

According to Classic Rock magazine, Jimmy Page told Perry that ZEPPELIN's rehearsals with Tyler were "shambolic" since Steven didn't really know ZEP's catalog. However, in 2009, when Steven told VH1 Radio Networks' Dave Basner about his audition, he made it seem like he was very familiar with the band's songs.

"The kid in me was dying," Tyler told VH1 Radio Networks. "I got to sing every song from 'Black Dog' up and down and I'll never forget it as long as I live."

Nonetheless, Page felt "awkward" about the situation and said the guys in ZEP decided to pass on Steven. Tyler told VH1 Radio Networks about that decision, "I don't think a band like theirs needs a singer like me. They already had the best, they were the best, in fact, there is no genre for what LED ZEPPELIN is other than LED ZEPPELIN. I've already got AEROSMITH, I'm doing what I'm doing, Robert Plant's doing what he wants to do so I don't think there was really room for that."

Perry's memoir, "Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith", came out on October 7 via Simon & Schuster.

The guitarist worked on "Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith" with author David Ritz, who has written books with B.B. King, Jerry Wexler and Bettye LaVette.