David Browne of Rolling Stone reports:
To the sound of a collective "whew" from fans, Aerosmith are – to quote one of their vintage song titles – back in the saddle. Just over two weeks ago, Steven Tyler announced he was leaving his judge post at American Idol, and the band's three-years-in-the-making album, Music from Another Dimension!, will finally be released in the fall. But, Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry may be the most relieved of all – for different reasons.
Tyler admits that Aerosmith's troubles (his often nasty public spat with the other band members starting in 2009) were the principal reason he signed up with the show in 2010. "It was something to do while the storm blew by, to be honest," he says, calling the show "not my cup of tea." Regarding his two-season stint, for which he was reportedly paid $10 million a season, he now says, "I loved it and hated it. It was a great job, I sat next to J. Lo and I made a ton of money. It was a moment in life and it became larger than life."
The downside, he says, was the workload and his supposed role as the new Simon Cowell. "It was just hard work: seven-hour days and then I went and did the [Aerosmith] album for eight hours after that," Tyler says.
Perry also seems relieved that his longtime bandmate is no longer on Idol. "There was certainly the fame and notoriety that went with it," Perry says, "But you can't figure out what a band is about reading about it in the gossip column."
Aerosmith's forthcoming release, Music from Another Dimension!, includes appearances from singers Carrie Underwood and Julian Lennon and actor Johnny Depp.
Perry says he was initially skeptical about Carrie Underwood dueting with Tyler on Beautiful, which Tyler describes as "a country-western crossover ballad." But Perry was won over, "Their voices matched up really well. It doesn't sound forced. It was just right."
To the sound of a collective "whew" from fans, Aerosmith are – to quote one of their vintage song titles – back in the saddle. Just over two weeks ago, Steven Tyler announced he was leaving his judge post at American Idol, and the band's three-years-in-the-making album, Music from Another Dimension!, will finally be released in the fall. But, Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry may be the most relieved of all – for different reasons.
Tyler admits that Aerosmith's troubles (his often nasty public spat with the other band members starting in 2009) were the principal reason he signed up with the show in 2010. "It was something to do while the storm blew by, to be honest," he says, calling the show "not my cup of tea." Regarding his two-season stint, for which he was reportedly paid $10 million a season, he now says, "I loved it and hated it. It was a great job, I sat next to J. Lo and I made a ton of money. It was a moment in life and it became larger than life."
The downside, he says, was the workload and his supposed role as the new Simon Cowell. "It was just hard work: seven-hour days and then I went and did the [Aerosmith] album for eight hours after that," Tyler says.
Perry also seems relieved that his longtime bandmate is no longer on Idol. "There was certainly the fame and notoriety that went with it," Perry says, "But you can't figure out what a band is about reading about it in the gossip column."
Aerosmith's forthcoming release, Music from Another Dimension!, includes appearances from singers Carrie Underwood and Julian Lennon and actor Johnny Depp.
Perry says he was initially skeptical about Carrie Underwood dueting with Tyler on Beautiful, which Tyler describes as "a country-western crossover ballad." But Perry was won over, "Their voices matched up really well. It doesn't sound forced. It was just right."
While in Los Angeles working on Idol, Tyler met Julian Lennon in his hotel, and Lennon wound up contributing harmony vocals to Love Three Times a Day, which Tyler not surprisingly describes as "Beatlesque." "He's such a sweet fucking guy," Tyler says. "And he's John's first son with that voice and sense of humor – gimme a break!"
Johnny Depp also added backup vocals to Perry's politically conscious rocker Freedom Fighter, but the song may end up an outtake or on a later deluxe edition of the album, according to Perry.
Read more at Rolling Stone.
Read more at Rolling Stone.
Aerosmith's Music from Another Dimension! is due for release in November.
