Aerosmith May Launch Farewell Tour Next Year
Aerosmith are thinking about a farewell tour in 2017. At least that's what singer Steven Tyler told Rolling Stone in a new interview as his longtime-coming debut solo album nears completion.
"I'm doing 30 shows from May until August," Tyler said. "And then in 2017 we go out with Aerosmith. We're probably doing a farewell tour. Look, there's two bands that still have the original members, us and the Stones*. I'm grateful for that. Whether we do a farewell tour or go into the studio and do another record, I'm just excited about it." (* Editor's note: Tyler's forgetting about ZZ Top, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman and probably more.)
Aerosmith are now on break. They toured last summer but haven't made a new record since 2012's Music From Another Dimension! During their time away, band members -- particularly Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry -- have taken swipes at each other. While the pair has a history of personal turbulence, the latest round of fighting seems mostly centered on Tyler's budding solo career and the country-music path he's taking. ("He's got a f---ing rhinestone cowboy hat going, 'Yippee ki yay.' I don't know what else to say about that," Perry said.)
At first, Tyler shot back by calling his longtime bandmate jealous, but he told Rolling Stone all is relatively good now. "I've read what Joe has said," he says. "But then I really, really, couldn't be here doing what I'm doing now if if wasn't for Joe Perry. It's a strange catch-22, but if you slow down enough you get to see it. It's a obvious as balls on a tall dog. I wouldn't be anywhere without those guys, so I'm as grateful as I can be."
Tyler's comments regarding a farewell tour aren't the first to surface from Aerosmith. A few months ago, guitarist Brad Whitford told Eddie Trunk on his podcast that the band was considering going out on the road one final time. "I guess it's just because of our age," he pointed out. "You know, something's gonna happen. It's just inevitable that somebody's not gonna be able to do it anymore. So it would be very nice to take a nice long bow and say thank you and ... put it to bed kind of gracefully."
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