JOE PERRY: STEVEN TYLER Hung Up On Me

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry was interviewed this morning (Monday, November 9) by Chuck Nowlin of Boston's WZLX 100.7 radio station. The chat can now be streamed using the audio player below. A few excerpts from the conversation follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether Steven Tyler has left AEROSMITH:

Perry: "I don't know. There hasn't been any communication with his managers. He hasn't talked to anybody in the band. So [the report on Classic Rock magazine's web site is] the only thing I've seen or heard.

"Right after the [Abu Dhabi] show [on November 1], I jumped in the car and went to the airport and flew to London for the Classic Rock Awards show. And so we got back a couple of days later than everybody else and when we plugged in and got online and saw [the Classic Rock article], it was kinda... 'OK, well, I guess that's what he's doing.' I knew we were gonna be taking some time off, but I guess he just announced what he was gonna be doing during the time off."

On whether there was any talk with Steven at all during the recent shows in Hawaii and Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates:

Perry: "No. He was off in his own dressing room, he stayed in different hotels from the band, travelled on different planes. We never saw him until we walked on stage on any of those shows."

On Steven telling Classic Rock magazine that he wants to concentrate on "Brand Tyler:"

Perry: "I guess. That's what [the article] says. That's what he's gonna do. I guess. Maybe we'll get a telegram from him; I don't know.

"Like I've been saying since the tour got cancelled, we're gonna be on hiatus. He was like that during the [ill-fated AEROSMITH] tour [with ZZ TOP], too. I mean, he was pretty much travelling on his own, with his own group of people. So there really wasn't much talk about what was going on. And after he fell off the stage the second time [in Sturgis], I don't think he was physically up to finishing the tour — even if he hadn't broken his shoulder. I knew we were gonna be off for a while, so that was it. And I guess he's announced what he's gonna do online.

"I've been pretty verbal about what I'm doing [referring to his recently released solo album. — Ed.]. I've told the [other] guys [in AEROSMITH], I've played them the record — at least gave them the record. I know Brad's [Whitford; guitar] listened to it, I don't know if the other guys have. But I never let it get in the way of [AEROSMITH]. But... that's life."

On whether any of the new AEROSMITH album has been recorded and whether Steven completed any vocals for the new songs before the recent tour:

Perry: "No. The only thing we have is a bunch of stuff that's been left over from past records. Some of those [songs] we were gonna put on the [next] album, but he didn't do any singing at all for this record. I can't really understand that. We had some pretty good stuff laid out, and working with [producer] Brendan O'Brien, I thought it was gonna be a slam dunk, but for some reason, he just wasn't interested."

On having AEROSMITH end this way after being together so long:

Perry: "Well, I don't really think... As long as we're still kicking, it's not over. We'll probably get bored and come back. I don't what everybody's gonna be doing. We've talked about getting someone else to sing in the band, we've talked about just doing... I don't know... whatever."

On whether they have anybody in mind as a replacement for Tyler:

Perry: "Not really. And the thing is, it can't be AEROSMITH with... at least not the AEROSMITH that we know. For it to be valid and have something real about it, it would have to be somebody that would bring something to the party. It would be the four guys that have been playing forever, and using that weapon with somebody that's got [something] to bring in. But I don't know yet. We've really just kind of got knocked back on our heels, and everybody is just kind of settling back and figuring out what's going on."

On whether he or any of the other guys has reached out to Steven:

Perry: "I did call him when we were in Hawaii, because we had some gigs that were offered to us to do in South America — like, three gigs that we were gonna do in December. And I called him up and asked him if he would consider doing them, and he hung up on me about halfway through the conversation, so I kind of got the hint that he pretty much wants to be alone and wants to do his own thing."

Tyler told Classic Rock magazine following the Middle East concert that he intended to work on "Brand Tyler" instead of a new AEROSMITH record for the foreseeable future, saying, "I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself — Brand Tyler."

Perry told the Las Vegas Sun that he believed Tyler had been planning to leave for a while, saying, "Obviously he hasn't been giving 100 percent to this thing for a long time . . . To disregard his brothers to the point where we have to find out about it on the Internet — it's like, 'See you later, Bud.' I still care for him as a person, or at least the person I used to know. But things change."