So, first this happened. And then rumors began to fly that Aerosmith would be replacing Steven Tyler. Then Steven Tyler showed up at a Joe Perry show and really stirred things up.

Now word comes that the group is, in fact, replacing lead singer Steven Tyler.

Joe Perry told Contact Music that Tyler, recently admitted to rehab, wants to come back to the band but has a series of operations scheduled that will prohibit him for the time being from performing with the group.

Auditions are set to start in February. Perry issued the following statement:

“We’re already getting the word out there. The word’s been out there for a while. We’ll start having some auditions, making some phone calls. Hopefully, we’ll have found a new singer by the summer, and Aerosmith will be able to go back out on the road.

From what I’ve heard, (Tyler) hasn’t left the band. As far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t left the band. He’s never said he was going to leave the band. It’s just that he wanted to go off and do some of his own things. He just never told anybody in the band about it. But his manager has told our manager that he wants to take some time off. And then lately he’s been saying he wants to come back.

But he has to have leg surgery and foot surgery and it’s basically going to take him out of the picture for about a year, year and a half. So, in the meantime, the rest of the band wants to play. We’re gonna find somebody to get in there and fill that spot. Just like when (bassist) Tom (Hamilton) was sick – we got David Hull to come in and play bass. When (guitarist) Brad (Whitford) was sick, we got somebody else to come in and play for him. That’s basically how I look at it; we need another singer to fill in.”

Joe Perry, let me break it down for you: Without Steven Tyler, there is no Aerosmith. It’s as simple as that. It’s like U2 replacing Bono; it just won’t work. Please, please, for the sake of any integrity the band has left, do not move forward with plans to replace the singer that made you famous.

Who here would go see Aerosmith live without Steven Tyler?