With Steven Tyler preoccupied with his “Brand Tyler” project, the other members of Aerosmith are reportedly looking for a new singer to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a band. Lenny Kravitz was rumored to be the frontrunner, but the “American Woman” singer has confirmed on his Twitter page that, since Tyler is a family friend, he wouldn’t accept the offer.

Kravitz had been linked to the role amid ongoing speculation about Tyler’s future with the group.

However, in a message on his Twitter page, Kravitz said his friendship with Tyler prevented him from ever taking the singer’s place.

“As much as I am flattered that Aerosmith’s camp would consider me to front the band, Steven Tyler is a family friend, and no voice could ever take the place of his,” he wrote.

“I hope the band stays together. They are classic.”
Tyler’s position has been in doubt ever since the frontman broke his shoulder after falling off stage in August, prompting the cancellation of Aerosmith’s US tour.

Aerosmith is in a serious bind. They won’t recruit a singer nobody’s hear of because album and concert sales would suffer. Also, they won’t record or tour with a slew of famous singers because that’s admitting they need Tyler. What to do?

Sorry to burst your bubble Aerosmith fans, but I guess things aren’t all peaches and cream with the aging band. Although Steven Tyler won’t be quitting Aerosmith, he does want to take two years off from touring and recording.

Despite Tyler’s onstage insistence that he isn’t quitting the band, Perry says Aerosmith is still considering touring and recording with a new singer. “He wants to take two years off from the band,” Perry says. “The rest of the band wants to keep on working. We have so many different options to fill up that time. Anything is possible at this point. Basically, any communication that we’ve had over the last couple of months has been through managers, so that’s been pretty strange.”

Perry adds, “I never won any money trying to second-guess what goes on in Steven’s mind. I guess this is just Aerosmith business as usual.”

A friend of mine wrote a great piece on Aerosmith’s album Rocks. Apparently, the band used to have a spark. Still, I think that spark lies in the songwriting and prowess of the musicianship, not Tyler’s vocals.

My advice: Ditch the singer. Just have fun, boys.

Two days ago, Steven Tyler threatened to leave the only band that could tolerate his antics and instead form “Brand Tyler,” a nondescript project. Last night, Tyler surprised the crowd during a Joe Perry Project show in NYC and announced that he’s not quitting Aerosmith. Yeah, nobody would care about “Brand Tyler.”

The video is below.

The guy is a big goon. Joe Perry, however, seems level-headed enough. After all, Perry wanted to make another record in the vein of their bluesy sound from the 70s. Steven Tyler, however, wanted to write simple pop songs similar to “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”

I could care less about Aerosmith, but I understand this is big news.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry said today that singer Steven Tyler quit the band following a recent concert in Abu Dhabi.

Bassist Tom Hamilton told the Boston Herald’s Inside Track that there is dissension among the “Bad Boys From Boston,” but that he hopes things can be worked out. He dismissed a report that guitarist Brad Whitford discussed the possiblity of Aerosmith finding a new frontman.

However, Perry told the Las Vegas Sun today that he believes Tyler is history.

“Steven quit as far as I can tell,” Perry said from his Boston home. “I don’t know anymore than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don’t know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don’t know.”

The band will continue whether or not Tyler comes back. Either way, Joe Perry still has his own solo project, which is probably more interesting than anything Aerosmith will put together in the future.