Steve Tyler Blasts Back - I Wasn't Drunk!

Aerosmith's Steve Tyler has fired back at reports that claim he was drunk during the band's Sturgis, ND concert performance in which he injured his shoulder. The 61 year old's injuries resulted in the band cancelling the balance of their injury plagued tour with ZZ Top. Despite contrary reports, the Walk This Way singer maintains he was sober at the time on the accident.

"The easiest thing in the world is to say, 'He's drunk or stoned.' But what are you gonna do?" Tyler told Rolling Stone magazine in his first interview since the Aug 6 accident.

Last week, an anonymous band source posted a report at BostonHerald.com claiming that Tyler had been intoxicated when he fell from the stage.

But the Aeromsith singer maintains the accusations are all rubbish and joked, "Truth be known, I jumped off the stage on purpose. "Figured we hadn't gotten any new press in so long... (I was) as sober as you can be."

The Love in an Elevator hitmaker tells Rolling Stone that he has viewed the YouTube footage of his fall - and it triggered painful memories.

"There was a torrential downpour and the guys said, 'Look, it's still slippery.' I watched myself on YouTube, and it could have been my knee buckling or any ankle. The last thing I remember before I hit the ground was people grabbing for me, but they couldn't reach me because of the barricade."

"At any other Aerosmith show, I probably would've been caught and thrown back onto the stage - naked and without jewellery. I stood up and couldn't raise my arm and knew I'd broken something."

The tour was cancelled on the advice of the singer's doctors who recommend Tyler take extended time off to thoroughly heal.

Tyler says he's recovering slowly but surely from the injury, "I've got my arm in a sling...I'm on all the drugs I'm not supposed to be on. But I'm dealing with the pain pretty good."

The Aerosmith frontman berated himself for forcing the band to cancel the tour, saying, "I had to ruin it all by falling and I'm sorry. I've said that to the fans and my band and everybody else. I f**ked up. I get in the zone when I'm onstage. I don't really have to explain anything. I love what I do. The world knows what I do. And I only hope they forgive me for having to cancel such a f**king awesome tour."

Aerosmith has thanked the fans for sticking by them, and hope that, "we can get the Aerosmith machine up and running again as soon as possible."

R L Rheubottom