Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer admits the band’s health is a concern as they consider whether to tour again – and whether it’ll be their final trek.
Frontman Steven Tyler stated in June that they’d hit the road in 2017 and it would definitely be a farewell project. But guitarist Joe Perry later insisted that no final decision had been made. Kramer backed that position up earlier this month, adding that Tyler “has a habit of projecting on things that haven’t been completed yet.”
The discussion continues after Perry collapsed while on tour with the Hollywood Vampires in July, and although he’s on the mend, Tyler suggested he’d tried to hard to keep to a schedule that was beyond him.
Asked about ending the band’s live career, Kramer, 66, tells Rolling Stone: “Aerosmith is all our first loves – but I don’t know many other people who’ve consistently done the same job for 45 years.
“As we’re getting older we’ve been kicking the idea, but a final decision hasn’t been made.
“We’re not 25-year-olds any more. We can’t play as many shows as we used to. Steven can’t sing two nights in a row, or three to four nights a week. It’s physically impossible.
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“So it becomes a question of going out less than we used to – or not doing it all.”
The drummer experienced his own health alert in 2014, when he had to undergo heart surgery after collapsing on tour. “It surprised the shit out of me when it happened,” he recalls.
“I exercise every day. I’m conscientious about my health. I thought it was heartburn or indigestion.”
But he reports that Perry is “playing better than ever, in my opinion.”
Bassist Tom Hamilton has fought cancer twice, first in 2006 and again in 2011, and in 2013 was forced to bow out of a tour as a result of other health issues.
Aerosmith play a festival in California later this month before touring South America, with a minimum of two days off between shows.
Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer not threatened by Steven Tyler's solo work
Aerosmith tour dates 2016
Sep 17: Del Mar Kaaboo Festival, CA
Sep 29: Bogota Parque Simon Bolivar Bogota, Colombia
Oct 02: Santiago Movistar Arena, Chile
Oct 05: Cordoba Estado De Corodba, Argentina
Oct 08: Buenos Aires Estadio Unico La Plata, Argentina
Oct 11: Alegre Anfiteatro Beira Rio Porto Alegre, Brazil
Oct 15: Sao Paulo Anfiteatro Beira Rio Porto, Brazil
Oct 18: Santa Cruz De La Sierra Estadio Ramon Tahuichi Aguilera, Bolivia
Oct 21: Recife Classic Hall, Brazil
Oct 24: Lima Estadio Nacional, Peru
Oct 27: Arena Ciudad De Mexico City, Mexico
