Is Aerosmith ‘09 Tour Becoming Van Halen ‘08 Tour?

Having just begun their much-anticipated summer tour with ZZ Top, Boston rockers Aerosmith have postponed two shows due to an “artist injury.” The show at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center was called off Wednesday night and the group issued a statement yesterday announcing that Sunday’s show in Virginia Beach has been postponed as well.

One cannot help but think of similar events a little over a year ago when Van Halen abruptly started postponing shows and eventually began offering similar explanations regarding the health of one of the band members.

Virginia-area fans seem to be having a run of bad luck where big classic rock acts are concerned since the Charlottesville show was the first one that was postponed by Van Halen last year and Virginia Beach was the second show to be axed by Aerosmith this time.

Photo Credit: Chris Gampat

Although the explanation provided by Aerosmith for the postponements is a bit vague and no doubt has fans wondering what’s ailing who, at least they announced a reason in pretty short order, unlike Van Halen, who were suspiciously mum about why they were suddenly calling off shows. That led to speculation that included rumors of a barroom brawl, as well as a lot of talk about the state of Eddie Van Halen’s sobriety.

Eventually, Van Halen released information that revealed it was indeed Eddie Van Halen’s health that was behind the tour’s abrupt halt, but insiders (including Eddie Van Halen’s ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli) were adamant in their statements that claimed his problems had nothing to do with drug or alcohol abuse. As far as I know, the details of his medical problems at that time were never made public.

As we all know, Van Halen did indeed return to the road and finish up what turned out to be a very successful tour – something we can probably expect from Aerosmith once the medical issues are resolved.

It’s understandable that fans would be upset about cancellations after spending their time and money, and in some cases, even showing up at the event only to discover that it had been postponed. I suppose this is the kind of thing that fans may have to anticipate when the acts they are going to see are comprised of people that have been performing since Nixon was President – and maybe even longer than that!

Even though Aerosmith has publicly announced that the postponements are due to an injury, there are rumors circulating that suggest poor ticket sales may be the real culprit. The reason for the speculation about poor ticket sales? According to AntiMusic, high ticket prices for Aerosmith’s home-town show in Boston kept fans away and resulted in about 3,000 empty seats in the 10,000-seat venue.

That turn of events reportedly led Live Nation to send reps out onto the lawn and start offering inside seating to fans for an additional $20. With tickets for the good seats demanding a cool $233 a pop at that show, I can easily understand why there might be a noticeable number of them empty when the Bad Boys From Boston were about to take to the stage.

I admit I’m not a huge Aerosmith fan, but when I ask myself if I would be willing to part with $233 to see one of my favorite classic rock acts, I’m still coming up with the same answer. No way.

Even if money was no object, I think I would still ‘object’ to those prices (the English language is sometimes an amusing plaything). Asking for that kind of money to see these guys – especially in this economy – is just crazy, and frankly, comes across as a bit arrogant.

While money is likely not a problem for anyone within the ranks of Aerosmith, that’s certainly not the case for the vast majority of their fans. Maybe the time they have on their hands during this break in their tour would be best spent thinking a little more about their fans and less about that next new Harley or vacation home.

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Tags: Aerosmith, Cincinnati, Postponed, tour, Virginia Beach

Aerosmith’s Whitford Takes ‘Head Banging’ To A New Level

While the nature of Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford’s medical issues have been a bit of a mystery lately, we are now getting word that his problem resulted from a blow to the head, taking the slang term “head banger” to a new level.

Not to make light of what could have been a serious condition for the veteran rocker, but I can relate. I’m pretty notorious for being a klutz myself, and have hit my head on more things than I care to think about.

The good news is that Whitford had the good sense to seek medical treatment when he found himself suffering from symptoms of a serious head injury and is expected to make a full recovery. The band has set a tentative date of July 7th for Whitford to join the current tour and resume his rightful place in the Aerosmith lineup.

As the story goes, Whitford was exiting his Ferrari about a week before the tour was scheduled to being and somehow impacted his head on the machine in the process. Unknown to him at the time, it caused a bleed in his head which later manifested itself as a severe headache and prompted him to seek treatment.

Surgery was performed to relieve the pressure that had been building from the internal bleed and Whitford is now recovering.

I suppose this is something for those of us prone to knocking our noggin on various solid objects to be wary of. Warning signs like the severe headache Whitford experienced may be in indication of a serious head injury.

The July 7th target date for Whitford’s return is the date on which the group is scheduled to perform in Raleigh, NC. I suspect he will be warmly welcomed by the assembled fans upon his return.

Tags: Aerosmith, Brad Whitford, Ferrari, Head, Injury, July 7, Surgery

In Sickness And In Health, Aerosmith Rocks On

Four decades, give or take a year or so, is a long time rockin’. With that in mind, I suppose that the health problems the various members of Aerosmith have been dealing with lately should not be unexpected. These guys, after all, are all in their late 50’s or early 60’s, and the rock and roll lifestyle does tend to take its toll through the years.

Recently, bass player Tom Hamilton talked the Sun Chronicle about his battle with throat cancer and how he has come to the conclusion that the experience has actually improved him as a musician and resulted in a sort of wake up call for the 57-year-old rocker.

Having to sit out a 2007 tour due to his illness Hamilton reflected on that time. “What I had to go through was the band going out on tour without me. And so I had a taste of that, the negative feelings of that,” he said. “So it was a terrible thought, but I had to learn that there were some things that could be worse than not having the band.”

Since then, Hamilton’s band mates have had to deal with medical problems of their own. While working on their new album, the group was forced to put a halt to the work when frontman Steven Tyler got sick with pneumonia and guitarist Joe Perry had to undergo knee surgery.

Tyler has also endured both throat and foot surgery in recent years.

With their summer “Guitar Hero” tour just getting underway with ZZ Top, the veteran group has been dealt yet another blow which takes guitarist Brad Whitford out of the lineup while he recovers from surgery. The exact nature of Whitford’s surgery has not been revealed, but he is expected to recover in time to join the tour before it concludes. In the meanwhile, Bobby Schneck will be standing in for Whitford.

As contrary as it may first appear, Hamilton does look back on his experience with cancer in a positive light. “But you know, sometimes you have to think like some day is coming. I think going through that cancer experience, it kind of grabbed me by the head and made me look at a lot of stuff and just sort of in general, you think of things you always wanted to do some day,” he said.

“Well some day is here. So I got a lot of that, which I think is a positive thing because it really focused me. And I’ve come a long way musically since that happened. It was almost a gift of the whole process that I’m probably a better player, writer, recorder now than I would have been if I hadn’t gone through that.”

For now, work on the new album is going to have to wait until the tour is over. Hamilton does reveal that fans can look forward to an album with a sound that is more like the raw, hard-rocking Honkin on Bobo as opposed to the more highly-engineered approach that was applied during the production of an album like Just Push Play.

The current tour comes to an end during September, and the group is expected to convene in the studio to finish up work on the new album. As long as they remain in good health, that is.

To read the entire interview with Tom Hamilton, visit the Sun Chronicle.

Tags: Aerosmith, Album, Brad Whitford, Health, Surgery, Tom Hamilton, tour

A Few Minutes With Aerosmith

Steven Tyler is anxious to hit the road. According to recent comments he made to Entertainment Tonight, the Aerosmith frontman says that the group just “doesn’t get out and rock enough.” And that’s something that is about to change, as the group prepares for a North American tour that kicks off in mid-June and closes during mid-September.

What can fan expect from Aerosmith on tour this summer? Drummer Joey Kramer says, “I think they can expect probably the best Aerosmith show that they’ve seen yet.” Both Tyler and Kramer sound enthusiastic about the tour and they certainly sound like a couple of guys that are planning to keep rocking as long as their bodies allow them to.

Kramer also adds a little insight into how the group has managed to keep rocking together for some four decades. He reveals the secret as “being lucky enough to love what you do,” and goes on to talk about how the entire group simply loves being on stage performing for a live audience.

When the subject of British singing sensation Susan Boyle was brought up, both Tyler and Kramer didn’t have anything negative to say, and suggested that she stay true to herself and reject the idea of a makeover.

ET also spent some time visiting with guitarist Joe Perry inside his home studio, where the group recorded Just Push Play and Honkin’ on Bobo, and is apparently working on their forthcoming new album. Perry guides the camera crew through a brief tour of the studio, an area of his home where he admits that he spends the majority of his time.

Perry also shows off a couple of custom guitars, one that he was shown holding on the inside cover of the Bootleg Album and another that was fashioned after a 1894 Winchester rifle that sported some distinctly Native American customizations, and is described by Perry as a “fabulous sounding guitar.”

Perry echoes much of what Tyler and Kramer say regarding life on the road, and even evokes memories of their early days playing Boston-area venues like Revere Beach. After four decades, questions the group gets about getting tired of playing the same songs over and over are answered easily by Perry.

“It’s not about us playing it. It’s about the audience hearing it,” he says.

To see the video feature in its entirety, head on over to ET Online.

Tags: Aerosmith, Entertainment Tonight, ET, interview, Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Steven Tyler, TV

Joe Perry The Shoe Salesman

The frustration has apparently gotten to Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. Admitting that he feels like “a f—ing shoe salesman” in a recent interview, he says he is tired of making excuses for the delays the group has encountered trying to finish up their new album.

First it was knee surgery that sidelined Perry and then frontman Steven Tyler came down with pneumonia. I guess that kind of thing is to be expected when you’re rocking into your late fifties and early sixties. But the bad boys from Boston have no plans to let these bumps in the road keep them out of the studio or off of the stage.

Perry reports that he knee is doing well and that he has been doing his “bends and dips and bulls— to get it flexible  for the stage.”

It’s not clear when the new Aerosmith album will actually be finished, although Perry was able to finish up work on a solo album he has been recording, which he describes  as “hands and feet better than the last one,” adding that, “I think the last one was really good.” He expects it to be released in early fall.

Perry also confirms some rumors that have been going around regarding Aerosmith’s plans to perform the material from an entire album during their summer tour with ZZ Top. It’s a unique and interesting idea, and I think Perry is right when he talks about the “vibe” that goes along with  hearing an album from beginning to end. I like it.

Among other tidbits from the interview are Perry’s admission that he’s lousy at playing “Guitar Hero” once the material starts getting complicated. He’s quite happy to leave gaming to the gamers.

He’s also planning to expand his food business beyond his hot sauce by introducing a line of macaroni and cheese, which will be called “Rock ‘N’ Roni.” It will be available in four flavors and be made from all-natural ingredients. Joe Perry is obviously a guy that doesn’t like standing still for too long.

Read the entire interview at Entertainment Weekly.

Tags: Aerosmith, Album, interview, Joe Perry, Rock N Roni, Solo, tour