Ever since Steven Tyler took a break from Aerosmith to be on American Idol, there have been rumors—scurrilous rumors!—that his new hobby of being easily impressed had caused internal friction within the band. Of course, many of these rumors have originated with band members themselves, with Joe Perry lashing out at Tyler for neglecting to tell him that he’d be taking a break to dispense homespun platitudes and Whoopi Goldberg-glances over his reading glasses, and even Tyler himself recently saying that he couldn’t get so much as a text message from Perry, even though the band was supposed to be working on new material in his downtime.
But despite such gossip that is nevertheless built on firsthand quotes, longtime Aerosmith collaborator Marti Fredriksen wants everyone to know that, no way, the band is fine, and it’s currently “having fun, laughing and working” during the first few days of writing and recording for a new album. Specifically, the statement is meant to counteract certain “inaccuracies”—not necessarily those from Perry and Tyler, but rather outsider speculation like a recent New York Post article that quoted Walk This Way author Stephen Davis as saying that the band is “unable to work” because of Tyler’s Idol commitments. Tyler’s attorney even issued an official response saying the Post article is a “story containing several false and misleading statements which was obviously not fact-checked, including comments made by someone who worked on the band's autobiography over 10 years ago."
Indeed, had the Post fact-checked, they would have instead learned that Aerosmith is totally able to work; it’s just that they’re doing it without Joe Perry, because he’s busy with “an unspecified commitment.” And it would be great if everyone could stop their cynical fascination with Joe Perry’s mysterious unexplained absence from recording sessions, based solely on negative statements he and Tyler have both made about his involvement, and the fact that Tyler himself says the last time they spoke was "a long time ago, on tour." I mean, it's not like Joe Perry's involvement is important to Aerosmith, right?