Aerosmith Respond to Drummer Joey Kramer Lawsuit + Statement
We're just a few weeks shy of the 2020 Grammys, and lucky for rock fans, we're getting to see a live performance from the legendary Aerosmith. Unfortunately, things are a little rough in the band's camp right now, as drummer Joey Kramer is taking legal action against his bandmates for not allowing him to return to the kit for the event.
Aerosmith have responded to the news of Kramer's lawsuit in a statement to People.
Joey Kramer is our brother; his wellbeing is of paramount importance to us. However he has not been emotionally and physically able to perform with the band, by his own admission, for the last 6 months. We have missed him and have encouraged him to rejoin us to play many times but apparently he has not felt ready to do so.
Joey has now waited until the last moment to accept our invitation, when we unfortunately have no time for necessary rehearsals during Grammys week. We would be doing a disservice to him, to ourselves and to our fans to have him play without adequate time to prepare and rehearse. Compounding this, he chose to file a lawsuit on the Friday night of the holiday weekend preceding the Grammys with total disregard for what is our limited window to prepare to perform these important events. Given his decisions he is unfortunately unable to perform but of course we have invited him to be with us for both the Grammys and our MusiCares honor. We are bonded together by much more than our time on stage.
The drummer, who's been in the iconic rock group for 50 years, had to take a break from playing temporarily last year due to minor injuries. He claimed that once he was able to return to the band, he was asked to audition to play the role again.
A source close to the band confirmed to People that Kramer often failed to show up for scheduled rehearsals, and when he did, they did not find his test performances up to par with his typical playing in the past. “They all got on the phone with him after they heard the demo and talked it through with him,” the source explained. “They voted as a band, which they do with every decision, and it was four to one.”
However, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton still hope Kramer will join them for the MusiCares benefit gala, where the band are being named as the Person of the Year for their charity efforts, and the Grammys. “They just don’t want to risk a performance because he hasn’t been with them in six months," the source concluded.
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