Aerosmith's Venezuela gig hobbled by bad knee

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rock veterans Aerosmith have canceled what would have been their first concert in Venezuela after guitarist Joe Perry was forced to undergo emergency knee surgery, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Reuters – (L-R) Aerosmith's Joey Kramer, Steven Tyler,
Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, and Tom Hamilton attend a press …

The band was scheduled to headline the Solid Fest at Estadio Olimpico in Caracas on February 1.

But Perry, 58, developed "unforeseen complications" with the replacement knee that he received last March, according to the statement. He attended the American Music Awards last November sporting a cane.

"Playing Venezuela was my idea of a perfect way to start the New Year," singer Steven Tyler was quoted as saying in the statement. "But having heard Joe had to revisit the hospital this month, the band are truly disappointed we can't be in Caracas, and we hope to see everyone there soon."

Tyler has also been laid low by health problems. The singer, who has long battled substance abuse, checked into rehab last May saying he wanted "a safe environment" to recover from a series of painful foot surgeries. In 2006, bassist Tom Hamilton underwent a seven-week course of radiation treatment for throat cancer.

Aerosmith, a hard-partying band that rose to fame in the early 1970s as America's answer to the Rolling Stones, have been making plans to record their first album of new material since 2001's "Just Push Play." The spokeswoman declined to say how the plans would be affected by Perry's surgery.

Metallica and Guns N' Roses Tour?

AntiMusic reports: While there are quotes from members of Metallica in articles floating around music sites today where they seem enthusiastic about doing a coheadlining tour with Guns N' Roses, the quotes are not sourced, which is typical of unreliable UK tabloids. There is a good reason they didn't provide the source of the quotes because they were taken out of context and misquoted; which again, is typical of the UK tabloid press. The actual quotes came from a press conference on Fuse about Metallica being inducted into the Crock and Lull Hall of Lame (a.k.a. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

Here is an example of how the UK music tabs are spinning the story: "drummer Lars Ulrich admits he would jump at the chance to tour alongside Axl Rose's legendary group. He says, 'We're road dogs. We love to tour. So we'd never say no. We've learned never to say no to anything, and all four of us love Chinese Democracy.'"

The actual exchange went like this (full video below): A reporter asks "on the topic of drama and near tragedy, would you guys ever consider touring with Guns N' Roses again now that they're back out?"

(Laughter from Metallica) Lars is seen shaking his head and mouthing the word "no" but then becomes diplomatic and says, "Like James was saying earlier, we're rode dogs we love to tour, so if that opportunity ever came in the right situation… of course."

James adds, "We've learned never to say never, cause you don't know what hurtle, or what great thing is gonna be handed to you."