I GUESS AREOSMITH IS NOT BREAKING UP

Rumors of Aerosmith’s impending demise came to a quick and sudden halt last night when Steven Tyler made a surprise appearance at the Joe Perry Project’s concert at New York’s Fillmore at Irving Plaza to announce to the fans that he was not quitting Aerosmith despite previous reports. “I just want New York to know, I am not leaving Aerosmith,” Tyler said to a relieved crowd. “Joe Perry, you are a man of many colors. But I, motherfucker, am the rainbow!” After Tyler’s revelation, the Joe Perry Project launched into “Walk This Way” with Tyler on lead vocals.

Tyler’s announcement comes just days after Perry and other Aerosmith members said they would recruit a new lead singer. The band turmoil began when Tyler told a reporter he was going to work on “Brand Tyler” following a November 1st concert in Abu Dhabi. While fans worried this meant the end of Aerosmith, Perry insisted that the group would not break up despite Tyler leaving the group. “Aerosmith is positively looking for a new singer to work with. You just can’t take 40 years of experience and throw it in the bin,” Perry tweeted just two days ago, RS reported. Any auditions for a new singer, however, were probably called off after Tyler’s surprise appearance last night.

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As Rolling Stone previously reported, at the heart of Aerosmith’s internal strife is a disagreement over what direction the band should pursue. Perry wants to record a new album in the style of the band’s bluesy, Seventies albums while Tyler prefers to stock an album with hit songs written outside the band like “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Perry also publicly expressed disappointment with Tyler after Aerosmith was forced to cancel their summer tour after Tyler suffered injuries from a stage fall in early August.

Two days ago in a radio interview, Perry talked about the band’s supposed split with Tyler. “As long as we’re still kicking, it’s not over,” he said. “We’ll probably get bored and come back.” Whether Tyler is still going to use the next few months to work on “Brand Tyler” remains to be seen, but at least Aerosmith fans know now that this is not the last they’ve seen of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band.