AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry has shot down as “completely untrue” recent reports that the band was considering bringing in a guest vocalist while Steven Tyler is busy with his solo country career.
The rumors of a new singer for AEROSMITH were revived earlier this week when guitarist Brad Whitford told Metal Rules about the possibility of a guest frontman: “Absolutely, we have considered it — but whether it will happen, I don’t know. I think it would be great.” Asked who he thought would be a good fit, he said, “A lot of people, everybody from Myles Kennedy [ALTER BRIDGE] to Axl [Rose, GUNS N’ ROSES]. [Laughs] We had a bunch of people a while ago like Sammy Hagar. It would be a lot of fun.”
Earlier today, Perry released the following statement in response to the latest reports: “Any rumor out there about us looking for another singer is completely untrue. All five of us were just on the phone together talking about how excited we are to go to South America and Mexico City.”
AEROSMITH’s tour of South America and Mexico will run from September 29 to October 27.
Classic Rock magazine reported a few years ago that Perry had approached Paul Rodgers, Chris Cornell and Billy Idol about singing with the band, while representatives for Sammy Hagar denied that he had been offered the gig.
The rest of AEROSMITH fell out with Tyler in 2009 after a canceled tour and Tyler’s stated intention to work for two years on a solo project. Tyler subsequently entered rehab for an addiction to painkillers.
Both sides maintained that Tyler never officially left AEROSMITH, and his management and attorneys threatened legal action if the band went forward with finding a new singer for touring purposes.
Asked by Metal Rules if all the turmoil with AEROSMITH ever gets old, Whitford said: “There is still a lot of turmoil and it can be frustrating. It should be easy. The whole thing started because of the music. If the focus was right there, everything would be fine, but we don’t. [Laughs] Let the drivers drive and let the music happen, [and] everything will fall into place. We get caught up into a lot of silly stuff.”
Source: Blabbermouth
