Rush lead guitarist

S teven Tyler enters the hotel room and strips down to his black cracker – a sort of G-string. It’s three in the morning – four hours after Aerosmith wrapped up a show before 37,000 fans at Toronto’s Skydome – and the band’s hyperactive lead singer is back at the Four Seasons Hotel ready to do a little more performing. After contorting himself on the room’s double bed for a few minutes, he finally achieves his desired position: bound and gagged with an attractive female friend of the band’s riding him bareback. Someone turns on a video camera to record the moment for posterity. Tyler’s famous big lips – which rival Mick Jagger ‘s or even Carly Simon ‘s – break into a wide Cheshire-cat grin. Then suddenly his expression turns more serious, and he begins a series of muffled orgasmic squeals. This is, in all likelihood, not the first time that the forty-two-year-old Tyler has found himself in this sort of situation. In fact, to hear Tyler and the other members of Aerosmith … [Read more...] about Aerosmith’s Amazing Road Back

F or a moment, Steven Tyler almost runs out of words. He’s standing too close to the edge of a Laurel Canyon cliff, exulting in the panorama of Los Angeles at his feet, the city’s sprawl giving way to white-capped mountains on the horizon. Off to his left, past green hills, a gang of clouds has singled out the HOLLYWOOD sign for a blast of rain. A sharp wind ruffles Tyler’s hair as he takes it all in. A deep breath of cool air, then he resumes the monologue that’s been running since he learned to speak – or, as he puts it, since he was “vaccinated with a phonograph needle.” “It’s all magical,” Tyler says in his excited rasp, pointing out the storm. “Hollywood is crying, because the Oscars are happening tomorrow night – it’s sad to see the year go, but it’s also crying tears of joy, because it’s all going to start all over again.” Tyler means this stuff, all of it, and he can make you buy into it too. He’s in a manic, mystical state of awe and gratitude these days, practically … [Read more...] about The Emancipation of Steven Tyler

Under the flashing red and blue lights of The Late Late Show with James Corden stage, indie-rock band Bloc Party brought the heat with a performance of their popping alt-rock single “Traps.” “There you go-go /Looking like a snack /Cute like Bambi /But you’re headed to a trap,” frontman Kele Okereke warns in the record’s buzzing chorus. Led by Okereke, Bloc Party rounds itself out with lead guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist Justin Harris, and drummer Louise Bartle, the latter two members making up the band’s latest additions. “Traps” served as the lead single to the band’s long-awaited comeback album Alpha Games, released this year as their first full-length offering since 2016. It is the standout statement piece on Alpha Games . When the song was released, Okereke shared: “From the moment we wrote ‘Traps,’ we knew it had to be the first thing people heard from this album. Playing it in soundchecks on our last tour before it was finished and hearing how it sounded in … [Read more...] about Bloc Party Pulls Out Alt-Rock Hit ‘Traps’ For ‘Corden’ Performance

PMRC to the contrary, heavy metal is not an inherently noxious influence on young children. At its best, heavy metal acts as a genuine voice for a community that hasn’t yet developed its own. But Aerosmith ’s unawaited reunion LP, Done with Mirrors , is the work of burned-out lugheads whose lack of musical imagination rivals their repugnant lyrics. A competent rehash of “Let the Music Do the Talking,” the title track of guitarist Joe Perry ’s 1980 solo LP, opens the album with the concise hard rock that made the original incarnation of Aerosmith an entertaining if derivative diversion. Unfortunately, seven more songs follow it, most of them advertisements for vicious sexism. “My Fist Your Face” describes the band’s idea of domestic bliss, and “The Reason a Dog” refers to the singer’s latest conquest. Perry’s once fiery guitar leads are now rote and lazy, and Steven Tyler ’s arena shouts make Ace Frehley sound subtle. Aerosmith may be back in the saddle, but they picked the … [Read more...] about Done With Mirrors

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed filmmaker R.J. Cutler and his production company This Machine , fresh off the announcement of Cutler’s upcoming documentary on Elton John. “The agency will work with the award-winning filmmaker – who has made some of the most significant documentaries and television series of the past quarter century – in all areas,” according to Cutler’s PR reps. Deadline broke the news last week that Disney Original Documentary and Disney+ won the rights to the Elton John feature, to be co-directed by Cutler and John’s life partner David Furnish, in a deal pegged at around $30 million. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road : The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend will include concert performances spanning 50 years, as well as the recording artist’s journals and contemporary footage of his family (John and Furnish are parents to two boys—Zachary, age 8, and Elijah, 6). Over the course of a 30-year career, Cutler has become one of … [Read more...] about Award-Winning Filmmaker R.J. Cutler Signs With WME As He Embarks On Elton John Doc