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January 20, 2010
Aerosmith To Continue Work Without Steven Tyler?
It’s always a pretty uncertain thing when someone enters rehab. Will they stay long enough to complete the program and emerge with the ability to maintain their sobriety or will they wash out after a few weeks and return to their old habits? Anyone who was watched Intervention, or who has had personal experience with rehab knows there are no guarantees.
Regardless of any progress Steven Tyler’s has achieved in rehab, it looks like the former “toxic twin” is going to be laid up for a while due to other medical problems. Word is that he is due to undergo surgery on his leg and foot, and will reportedly be unable to perform on stage for about a year.
The rest of Aerosmith, having vented some frustration in recent months over Tyler’s strange behavior, seem ready to move on and resume working with a replacement for Tyler until he is well enough to return. Recent reports suggest that the group is actively seeking a stand-in.
It sounds perfectly plausible. As guitar man Joe Perry points out: “Just like when Tom was sick – we got David Hull to come in and play bass. When Brad was sick, we got somebody else to come in and play for him. That’s basically how I look at it; we need another singer to fill in.”
In contrast to how things appear to be working out between Jon Anderson and his former band mates from Yes, Aerosmith has indeed utilized replacement musicians in the past, and then returned them to their posts when they were up to the job. That should give fans confidence that Tyler’s spot will be waiting for him when he is ready.
One can’t help be a bit concerned about a guy who has struggled with an addiction to pain-killers going under the knife yet again, but perhaps doctors can patch up the energetic frontman sufficiently to alleviate, or at least reduce his pain for the long term.
It’s hard to imagine Aerosmith without their iconic frontman in the line-up, but it appears that is indeed something we may be seeing before long. In the meanwhile, I expect Tyler’s family, friends and fans will be pulling for him, and look forward to seeing him fronting those “Bad Boys From Boston” as soon as possible.
October 20, 2009
Meat Head Impersonates Meat Loaf & Phil Collins Puts Down The Sticks
Meat Loaf Impersonator Arrested
Perhaps nobody but Eric Brown, 37, of Middletown, KY knows why he thought he could get away with pretending he 
was Meat Loaf, but the booking photos make it apparent that the man arrested after grabbing the steering wheel of a taxi he was a passenger in does not look like Meat Loaf.
Although the long hair and stocky build are qualities he has in common with the Meat Loaf of years gone by, anyone familiar with the Bat Out of Hell rocker and actor would know Mr. Brown was not who he claimed to be. For heaven’s sake, Meat Loaf guest hosted on House last season!
Check out the story at KYPost.com.
Phil Collins Unable To Play Drums
Best known, perhaps, for his years with prog rock group Genesis, Phil Collins is being forced to take a break from playing drums.
The multi-talented 58-year-old who resides in Switzerland these days, has told a German newspaper that recent surgery to repair a dislocated vertebra in his neck has left him with limited use of his fingers.
Collins reports that the only way he could currently play would be to “glue drumsticks to my hands.”
It appears that the condition is expected to be temporary.
Read more at the Star Tribune.
September 5, 2009
Kerry Livgren Suffers ‘Massive Stroke’
Kerry Livgren, one of the driving forces behind the classic rock group Kansas during its peak of popularity, has suffered a massive stroke on Tuesday and underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. Livgren had recently performed with Kansas at the Missouri State Fair.
Update: Although news reports at the time indicated that Livgren had performed at the Missouri State Fair, a reader has informed me that he had attended the fair, and Livgren did not perform there.
Livgren reportedly came through the surgery well and was listed in serious but stable condition thereafter.
Recent reports on his condition are encouraging, and the 59-year-old rocker is said to be showing very positive signs of recovery. Family members were not open about the details of Livgren’s conditions, but they stressed that there are very positive signs, adding that “…it’s going to take time, but it’s encouraging.”
There are reports that Livgren has already begun working with a speech therapist, which certainly sounds like he has made excellent progress and that his condition is no longer considered serious.
Personally, Kansas has been a favorite of mine since the 1970’s and were an early influence that fueled my appreciation for other progressive rock groups at the time such as Rush and Yes.
The reports of Livgren’s progress since he was first hospitalized are certainly encouraging, and it is likely that a large number of fans are praying for his recovery or at least keeping Kerry Livgren and his family in their thoughts.
June 16, 2009
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.
June 11, 2009
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.
