Guitarist and co-songwriter of Aerosmith, Joe Perry, is in the know about everything that includes Steven Tyler, but more-so, Perry knows a thing or three about rehab and addiction. What he has recently unleashed about Steven Tyler’s current rehab stint is the best source for it to come from.
Joe Perry — once known, with Tyler, in their more debauched days, as half of the Toxic Twins was able to recently open up about Steven Tyler in his current state of rehabilitation and what made his addiction flare up once more.
In a recent WBUR interview, the following was asked: “Aerosmith was public about what went down with Steven Tyler. What was your reaction when you heard the news?”
Joe Perry: “Well, you know it was really about his getting surgery. His feet were a mess over the years because of his motorcycle accident [in 1981] and it just got worse and worse and worse… He just had to go in and get the surgery and he just didn’t leave enough time… He was ready to go and the doctor said, ‘You can’t go out’ and that was it.”
Joe then goes into speaking about what it was like to hear that a longtime friend in Tyler was once again relapsing and going to rehab.
Perry: “Yeah, well, it’s disappointment for a minute. It’s a huge bummer, but then it’s like this: Life throws s— at us all the time and you’ve got to either be angry and do damage to yourself with the stress of it or accept it for what it is. There’s that saying, “change the things you can and accept the things you can’t.” Boy, is that true. That’s one thing you can count on. In life, if you’ve learned one thing, it’s that nothing’s going to stay the same.”
Distraught, Perry would continue about accepting who Steven Tyler is rather than scold him for who he is.
Perry: “We learned a long time ago, especially after the band got back together… There comes a point where you realize nothing you do is going to change them and you have to accept them for who they are. I’m not [just] talking about Steven, I’m talking about everybody in the band. I’m sure people have said [negative things] about me a ton of times. He’s doing great (now). I talk to him almost every day. He’s looking forward to getting out there and I’m really happy we’re playing in New England to get started. It’s kind of the start of our 50th-anniversary rollout.”
