AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton says that he doesn’t know what the future holds for him and his bandmates after they announced that they were officially retiring from touring due to Steven Tyler‘s vocal injury.
The legendary Massachusetts rockers made the announcement on August 2 — nearly one year after the now-76-year-old singer fractured his larynx during a September 2023 show.
Charlie Kendall’s Metalshop reached out to Hamilton for reaction and insight to AEROSMITH‘s retirement. As he is dealing with larynx cancer recovery, Tom responded in a rare e-mail interview.
Regarding why the band decided to retire from touring, Tom said: “First let me start by clearing up some information on Steven’s injury. We were playing the third show of our ‘Peace Out’ tour last September. During the third song of the set Steven had a fall that resulted in a fracture to his larynx. Somehow he finished the show. Don’t ask me how. It’s a testament to his strength and desire to give the people what they came for. It wasn’t a case of him blowing his throat out by doing something wrong. He has been healing well and working his ass off to get ready to go back out on the road but it just wasn’t possible. We don’t know what the future holds but it won’t include touring.”
Asked how much of the decision to retire from touring was made by the management as opposed to the bandmembers themselves, Tom said: “The decision was made by the team which includes the band and our dedicated management.”
Hamilton went on to say that AEROSMITH‘s “magnificent crew and everyone who works for the band were informed” of the band’s decision “within a day or two.”
Tom also shot down the possibility of AEROSMITH carrying on with another singer, as there had been talk about doing a decade and a half ago when AEROSMITH fell out with Tyler after a canceled tour and Steven‘s stated intention to work for two years on a solo project. Tyler subsequently entered rehab for an addiction to painkillers.
“There’s been no talk at all about going on the road with another singer,” Hamilton stated. “I can’t imagine it.”
Asked what he will do now that AEROSMITH will no longer tour, Tom said: “I’m sure all of us have music in our future and it will manifest itself in ways that we haven’t planned yet. I’ve been playing in a band with some good friends. We have a bunch of really good songs and we hope to be putting them out soon and hopefully doing some gigs.”
In AEROSMITH‘s original retirement announcement, the band wrote: “As you know, Steven‘s voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible.
“We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision – as a band of brothers – to retire from the touring stage,” the statement continued. “We are grateful beyond words for everyone who was pumped to get on the road with us one last time.”
The band also thanked its fans for their constant support.
“Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades,” the statement read. “Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock ‘n’ roll history.”
“It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives,” the statement continued.
The “Peace Out” tour came to a halt after what turned out to be a final gig in Elmont, New York on September 9, 2023. That show came just three dates into the trek, which was supposed to last through February 2024. Tyler said in a statement at the time that the injury caused bleeding but that he hoped he and his AEROSMITH bandmates would be back on the road after postponing a few shows.
The rescheduled “Peace Out” tour was due to begin September 20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with special guests THE BLACK CROWES.
Tickets for remaining dates of the “Peace Out” tour will be refunded through Ticketmaster. If fans purchased tickets through a third-party reseller like StubHub or SeatGeek, refunds will be available through that point of purchase.
AEROSMITH hasn’t made a studio album since “Music From Another Dimension!”, which came out in 2012.
Tyler released a solo LP in 2016.