Aerosmith on '60 Minutes'

Did you watch 60 Minutes last night and see the special Aerosmith feature? I was excited for the feature all week... and ended up cringing during the entire segment. The relationship between the band members seems brutal right now. Who knows if this is accurate or a result of selective editing, but it was pretty upsetting for a lifelong fan like me.

Journalist Lara Logan got to travel with the band during their recent South American tour. The segment showed live show performance video in addition to the traditional interview content. Most of the piece focused on lead singer Steven Tyler and his relationship with the rest of the band.

"He wouldn't be on that show if he wasn't in the band, being part of Aerosmith," guitarist Joe Perry said when asked about Steven Tyler's position as a judge on 'American Idol.'

Things sort of went downhill - Tyler was in a contentious mood. Of the other band members, he said "I think my perfectionism and my busting everyone's chops is what got this band to where it is today." When talking about the rest of the band he even said, "They ride my coattail... They don't like me."

You can read the entire interview transcript on the 60 Minutes website. Here's some special backstage content that was not aired on television.

Comments

[fletch]

a few months ago, steven reported on howard stern that he was given a bona fide offer from Jimmy Page last year (and other times) to join Led Zeppelin and tour with them (minus robert Plant, of course). He reported that he would make as much, if not more, money to do join zeppelin, but turned it down each time becasue his first love and passion is aerosmith and he wants to keep this train rolling. He even reportedly negotiated into his Idol contracts to include wording that the Idol gig would not interfere with aerosmith touring and other obligations. Bottom line is that Steven doesn't "have" to do aerosmith, but he "wants" to. It's his passion, even though he does come across as a bit cocky.

[Jimbo]

great segment..wasn't long enuff though..Tyler and Perry looked good,,the other three looked rough..Joey Kramer looking the most stupid with that rediculous eye makeup

[GNR]

WTF is up with his toes ? :)

[D. Robinson]

Allyson, I agree, the 60 Minutes piece was a grim observation. Gene Simmons once said in an NPR interview that he was not interested in being a rock & roll band, but instead set out to create a rock & roll 'brand'. After 40 years, that is where Aerosmith is today. They are no longer musicians as 'artist'. They are in the business of being Aerosmith. What we saw on 60 Minutes was the contentious nature of a very select group of individuals maintaining a working relationship over the span of four decades.

[Christopher Long]

I enjoyed this segment and I believe that it was likely EXTREMELY accurate.

Q: How can you tell when rock band dudes are lying?
A: When they're talking about how much they love each other and love their fans.

Typically, when the backstage curtain is pulled back, a dark world is revealed -- one driven buy greed, egos and even some bad stuff.

PRIME EXAMPLES:
Steven vs. Joe
Gene and Paul vs. Ace and Peter
Metallica vs. each other
Bret vs. his entire band
Eddie vs. Dave
Eddie vs. Sammy
Eddie vs. Michael
Axl vs. rational people
Etc. Etc. Etc.

I'm reminded of the quote from the 1993 film, "Carlito's Way" --"There ain't no friends in this shit business."

[Christopher Long]

Bravo, D. Robinson! A spot-on observation.

[Christian]

Axl vs. rational people. Gold.

[Metalboy!]

Great comments, all!

I found the interview to be very well done, revealing and truthful. That's why "60 Minutes" was for decades the number one show on television and still the top rated news show.

First class all the way, this piece is a prime example of why they call CBS "The Tiffany Network".

p.s. Did you notice those ultra-tight close-up shots of their faces when Logan asked the tough questions? Take a lesson, Eddie Chump. People will still come back on your show if ya lose all the soft ball questions and really put it to your guests the way Logan did with The Toxic Twins.

[Gallogs]

Talk about two camps! Steven vs the rest of the band. I could feel the animosity. They really don't like each other.

[Gary]

It's sad to watch 60+ year old "adults" act like fucking 8 year olds in a sandbox. These guys will always be my favorite band,but they've been doing nothing but a cash grab since about 1990....

[scott whitt]

Are you really trying to compare That Metal Show with 60 Minutes? Really?
I would not be surprised if someone popped Steven for saying they rode his coattails. Maybe since they have been around each other for so long, they ignored it. There is nothing sadder/scarier than seeing a senior citizen trying to look a third of their age and then doing songs about sex.

[Metalboy!]

What I am comparing, Scott, is tough questioning, also known as REAL journalism (i.e. 60 Minutes) vs. "Softball" journalism (i.e. Chumpy Wumpy).

[fletch]

howard said yesterday that he understands Steve's assessment thst was broadcasted on 60 minutes.