Aerosmith keeps going despite health problems

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Aerosmith keeps going despite health problems

Web Posted: 11/16/2006 11:41 AM CST

GlesenerSpecial to the Express-News

The lines in their faces keep getting clearer, but the members of Aerosmith still check the mirror. In a year that brought news of illness, divorce and the sudden deaths of friends, the shake-a-leg rockers with spunk to spare have been forced to reflect on mortality. "We realize that every gig could be the last," says 56-year-old guitarist Joe . "We are definitely closer to the end than the beginning, so we just count our blessings and keep going. We've put ourselves through so much over the years between the car wrecks and all the drugs. We've survived everything. It really makes you appreciate every day in a way you can't imagine."

Treading familiar turf between a rock and a hard place, Aerosmith's most recent struggles pit bassist Tom Hamilton against throat cancer while singer Tyler copes with a three-year battle against hepatitis-C and the recent throat surgery to repair his larynx and salvage one of rock's signature voices.

While Tyler is back in the saddle, Hamilton is questionable tonight when America's quintessential bad-boy rockers come together at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater for a set of classic rock staples and MTV mainstays. Hull, a holdover from 's solo projects, will likely sub for Hamilton alongside guitarist Brad Whitford and drummer Kramer as Aerosmith promotes its latest album, the greatest-hits package "Devil's Got a New Disguise."

"What happened with Tom is beyond comprehension," says. "It really knocks you back and makes you appreciate what you have. It's not like somebody left the band or (the health issues) are something under our control. If it was a drug relapse, it would be something of our own doing. We've had so many trials and this is just another one."

Breaking out of Boston in the early 1970s, Aerosmith was initially dismissed as Rolling Stones rip-offs due to Tyler's pouty mouth, 's dangling cigarette and a burned-out blues-based boogie that swaggered like Jagger and riffed like s.

Chipping away at the Stones comparisons, Aerosmith became one of the biggest concert attractions of the '70s when the albums "Toys in the Attic" and "Rocks" produced the hits "Dream On," "Walk This Way," "Sweet Emotion" and "Back in the Saddle."

The chemistry was more than creative, however, and Tyler and soon became known as the Toxic Twins due to indulgence and abuse. Grateful Dead singer Jerry reportedly called Aerosmith "the druggiest bunch of guys I've ever seen."

"I'd say it was pretty appropriate," says of the Toxic tag.

By the early 1980s, Aerosmith's drugging drew a line between band members. and Whitford went solo with little fanfare while Aerosmith sputtered along with replacement guitarists. Semi-sober by the mid-1980s, the band reunited and landed an unlikely comeback hit with a rap-rock remake of "Walk This Way" featuring rhyme masters Run-D.M.C.

Aerosmith spent the next decade collecting Grammy Awards and far surpassing its previous success when the albums "Permanent Vacation," "Pump" and "Get a Grip" sold millions. In 1998, Aerosmith nailed its first-ever No.1 smash with the single "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing."

Victory minus vices leaves free to indulge other pursuits, such as marketing his exclusive brand of Rock Your World hot sauces and exercising an itchy trigger finger.

"I can always find a shooting range somewhere," he says. "We started touring by bus about five years ago and it gave my family a lot more freedom to do things. One day we might go to a museum, another day we might go paragliding in the desert. Some times we just lay in bed all day."

Who says there's no rest for the wicked?

San Express-News publish date Nov. 17, 2006

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