Image courtesy of Aerosmith Facebook (official)

By Andrew Daly
andrew@vinylwriter

“Thank you for your understanding and for your support for Steven during this time. If you purchased your tickets via Ticketmaster, you will be refunded and will receive an email shortly with details, otherwise please contact your point of purchase for information on refunds.”

This was with this headline that Aerosmith fans and the rest of the rock world were sadly greeted with today, as they were informed that voracious frontman, Steven Tyler, has once again entered rehab, setting forth a sad chain of events ending in the fifty-two-years strong band cutting short its impending Las Vegas residency before it ever even had a chance to launch.

Tyler, who along with guitarist Joe Perry once made up half of the infamously anointed “toxic twins,” is no stranger to battling addiction. In the late 70s, things got so dire for Tyler and his bandmate’s substance abuse troubles that their addictions all but halted the band, sending the once lionized band careening to a disastrous standstill at its initial peak.

In his memoir Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? Tyler commented that he had “probably spent upwards of six million dollars on hard drugs,” after which he then went on to say:

“And cocaine! Doctors said it was not addictive. . .it was habituating. They didn’t know at the time that the drug would eventually take a sharp turn after a certain day. Blow, once the life of the party, became the stuff of fear and loathing, the source of devious and secretive behavior, and the mother of all lies. ‘What, me? No, I don’t have any!’ ‘Sorry, ran out, bummer, man!’ ‘Nope. Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom.’ And that’s where the rock ‘n’ roll bathroom came from. That’s when people started keeping stuff in two pockets – you had your courtesy bindle you’d share, your sock. And thus sin and doubt entered our happy world. I found certain drugs I loved and didn’t stop to the point of hurting my children, hurting my life, hurting my family, and hurting my band. There was a point where I didn’t have a band and I didn’t care.”

The news is certainly sad to hear as the proverbial “Demon of Screamin’” reportedly took four attempts to finally get sober back in the 1980s, after which Aerosmith once again ascended to heights previously unknown even to the gloriously successful 70s incarnation of the band.

In 2019, Tyler commented on his long-running sobriety and the success that followed for Aerosmith by saying:

“I got a band that’s still together, the guys are still alive, everyone’s healthy. We play better than we did fifty years ago. I mean, there was a certain rawness when we played clubs and we were all fucked up. Sure, I get it. But the band is still together and still sought-after. People still want us for a million-plus dollars a night. And that’s what’s at risk if I use again. And my kids. My cats. My dogs. My beautiful fucking house in Maui. My girlfriend. Everything is at risk. All the magic that you thought worked when you were high comes out when you get sober. You realize it was always there, and your fear goes away.”

As of this writing, Tyler himself has not yet publically commented, and it stands to reason the frontman will lay silent and dormant for the foreseeable future. As for Aerosmith, the word from their camp is while their summer residency in Las Vegas is no more, they expect to see fans this coming September. Only time will tell if that proves true, as it all hinges on their long-standing, and once recovered mouthpiece regaining his composure once again.

You can read Aerosmith’s official statement regarding the matter below:

Image courtesy of Aerosmith Twitter (official)

For more rock and metal-related news, visit www.vwmusicrocks.com for all the latest and greatest.

Leave a comment

Trending