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| Photo by Daigo Oliva |
In the "surprise guest's" interview, Aerosmith singer and "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler said he turned down an offer to do some songwriting with Led Zeppelin's guitarist.
Still, Tyler's interview ended with a comment, maybe made in jest, that he might be performing soon with Led Zeppelin.
The conversation first delved into the subject of Zep when Stern, surprised by his guest's appearance, suddenly asked if Tyler really did audition for Led Zeppelin, as reports stated in October 2008.
A one-off Led Zeppelin concert in December 2007 saw Page reunited with Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, along with Jason Bonham, son of original drummer John Bonham. The following year, while Plant was on tour with Alison Krauss, the others were gathered together with hopes of continuing playing music together.
However, with Plant unavailable, they considered forming, instead, a new band. Statements to the effect that Led Zeppelin would continue with any singer other than Plant were untrue.
The story at one time was that Tyler had auditioned for Led Zeppelin, implying Plant would be replaced. Tyler, through his words in today's interview, may have callously reinforced that notion.
Stern asked if Tyler auditioned for Led Zeppelin, and the singer didn't exactly say no.
Tyler mentioned by name the man who was Jimmy Page's manager, Peter Mensch. Tyler said Mench called him to say that Led Zeppelin had "just played live and that Robert wouldn't play with them again." So he was asked, "Want to come over and jam with the guys?" Tyler said it was natural to jump at the opportunity.
However, when he and Page met face to face and was asked to record an album with him, Tyler turned that down due to his allegiance with Aerosmith.
Previously, a source said it was Page who turned down Tyler after an audition Page deemed "shambolic."
(That is enough to make one wonder how Page would do as an "American Idol" judge. Unafraid to express harsh opinions with words such as "shambolic," Page could be the new Simon Cowell!)
Tyler's overall message on the state of Aerosmith's future was that he would drop "American Idol" if faced with a conflict between being a judge and being a lead singer.
Tyler said he thinks he could have several ongoing projects and they wouldn't jeopardize his position with his bandmates in Aerosmith. For instance, he offered, he could play some Led Zeppelin shows.
Yep, that's right, Tyler said of Led Zeppelin: "I may do some dates with them, just a couple of one-offs." But it wouldn't be a barrier: "That doesn't mean I'm joining Zeppelin."
Anyway, catch Jimmy Page's take on how it really went down in 2008 with Jones and Bonham. And how Jones says it went down.
