Steven Tyler On Joe Perry’s Disappearance After Collapse: ‘I Want Joe To Live’

Last Sunday, Joe Perry collapsed while on stage during a Hollywood Vampires performance in Brooklyn, New York. The fall was scary enough for fans and for friends, but one of Perry’s oldest friends, fellow Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler, says his inability to contact Joe since the incident has him that much more worried. Tyler says his phone calls to Perry have gone unanswered, and he expresses a deep sadness at not being able to reach out to his long-time best friend.

Meanwhile, the train will keep rolling for the rest of the Hollywood Vampires as the band continues its first tour.

Aerosmith Frontman Steven Tyler Opens Up About His Love And Concern For Joe Perry

Tyler points out in an interview shared by People that Joe Perry is said to be recuperating and will rejoin the Hollywood Vampires tour in due time. The statement, posted on the band’s website, does little to reassure Steven, however, and much of that wariness is due to the fact that Tyler can’t seem to contact the Aerosmith guitarist. While Aerosmith is set to launch a new South American tour in September and the hopes are that Perry will be able to participate in the concerts, Steven says his primary concern is for his friend’s life.

“I don’t give a s*** about the band. I want Joe to live,” Tyler said. “I’m really concerned and worried right now that I’m not getting any news. I’m a little bummed out, and that scares me. I don’t know whether it’s heat prostration or whether he’s been working himself too hard or getting off on wrong things passionately. I don’t know what it is, but I know that nobody’s talking to me. I can only tell you that Joe’s my brother and I love him so much.”

While rumors circulated that Joe had suffered cardiac arrest while on stage, the Hollywood Vampires publicists are denying this version of events, saying only that Perry suffered from exhaustion and is taking a break to recuperate. Tyler says that may be entirely possible. The Aerosmith frontman says Perry has always been the one to push the band to do more concerts and get in as much stage time as possible. Steven adds that Joe Perry’s collapse may just be the first of many if Hollywood Vampires don’t allow for a more laid-back tour schedule.

“I know how to maintain my career, my health, and Joe’s passionate. I don’t think he knows how to,” said Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. “I think he’s out there and someone’s overbooking him. They’re doing like eight or nine shows in a row, or five in a row. I think they’re all a little burnt. I think they may need to look at that. Not young anymore, y’know?”

Hollywood Vampires Declare That The Show Must Go On

While their website states that Joe Perry will be returning to the line-up at a later date, the Chicago Tribune reports that Hollywood Vampires will continue touring without Perry for the time being. The band, which is also fronted by Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper, will resume touring with their next show at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio, on Tuesday.

A publicist for the Hollywood Vampires acknowledged that Perry had been admitted to a local hospital after collapsing on stage at a Brooklyn concert, but the spokesperson added that the 65-year-old Aerosmith guitarist is recuperating and a full recovery is expected. Joe Perry has yet to make an appearance or a public statement since the incident.

It seems Perry is taking a break from all of the pressures in his life to recuperate more quickly and more fully, leaving fans, as well as close friends like Steven Tyler, to wait until the guitarist is ready to return to the public eye.

[Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images]