STEVEN TYLER: I'll Never Forget LED ZEPPELIN Audition As Long As I Live

When LED ZEPPELIN was considering touring without Robert Plant, they auditioned Steven Tyler for the vocalist position, but AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry has revealed that the tryout didn't go so well. According to Classic Rock magazine, Jimmy Page told Joe that the rehearsals were "shambolic" since Steven didn't really know ZEP's catalog. However, last year, 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.”

In the latest twist in the AEROSMITH/Steven Tyler saga, Perry says that Tyler has neither quit the band or been fired by AEROSMITH. Perry told Classic Rock magazine, "Steven hasn't quit the band, nor have we sacked him. We're taking the attitude that he's going on a vacation from AEROSMITH. While he's away working on other projects, the rest of us want to carry on playing live. So we will be bring another singer to make this happen."

He went on to say that any replacement would be hired for live dates until Tyler returns: "We're not daft enough to think we can replace Steven, and that's not our plan. But after 40 years of working together we just don't wanna stop. How long with Steven be away? He says it'll be two years, but I believe he'll be back a lot sooner. It may end up that we only do 10 shows with the new person!"

Perry says that he and the band realize that age is a tremendous factor in the professional decisions they make: "You realize you're not an immortal, and you don't have this 22-year-old feeling of 'this thing can go on forever,' and you know, 'I can do whatever I want, I can go for three nights without sleep and everything will be fine.' You start to realize that it's a very delicate thing, life is a delicate thing, and being able to perform at the top of your game is a delicate thing. And it's one of those changes, you know, that comes over. I'm still amazed that we can put on the kind of show that we put on. Every night could be our last."