AEROSMITH's TOM HAMILTON Explains How He Beat Cancer Second Time Around

AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton was recently interviewed by Mistress Carrie of the Worcester/Boston, Massachusetts radio station WAAF. You can now watch the chat in five parts below.

Asked about AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler's upcoming solo album, which was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, Tom said: "The thing is, so much of the music business has moved to Nashville. You don't just have country producers there anymore; you have a lot of rock writers and rock producers that are moving to Nashville. So I don't really know if he's doing a country album over there — if it's gonna be a country-influenced rock album or what — but I'm dying to hear it."

Tom also gave an update on his health after battling cancer of the throat and tongue. He said: "I had [cancer] twice in my throat. And the first time, I had to go through chemo and radiation, which just burns the crap out of you. And years later, you start to feel effects from it that you never knew were gonna happen, especially when it's in that part of your body, where you eat and talk. I had it again, and I couldn't have radiation again, so I had surgery. There's a guy here in Boston that, actually, [pop singer] Adele mentioned when she got her Grammy who does really unusual surgeries with lasers and stuff like that. Steven [Tyler] went to him [as well]. The guy is unbelievable; [his name is] Steve Zeitels. So he was able to get the thing out of my throat without taking the rest of my throat with it. Which, the standard treatment was, like, frightening; it was awful. It would be life changing. [And this way] I still get to do everything I ever did."

Tom's replacement at the AEROSMITH shows that he missed while receiving cancer treatment was David Hull, who has stood in for Hamilton on previous AEROSMITH tours.

Tyler's new solo single, "Love Is Your Name", will be premiered on the season finale of "American Idol" on May 13.

AEROSMITH's latest effort, 2012's "Music From Another Dimension!", debuted at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 63,000 copies in its first week of release. The group's previous collection of new songs, 2001's "Just Push Play", entered the chart at No. 2 with sales of 240,000 copies.