Steven Tyler Talks Moving To Nashville, Finally Releasing Country Album

Steven Tyler sat down for an interview recently and talked a little about his feelings regarding the release of his new solo album, We’re All Somebody From Somewhere. The Aerosmith frontman says that despite the feeling that people have been waiting for him to fail with the solo project, he wanted to do something different from the band he’s been with for over 40 years.

“I’ve heard nothing but ‘You’re doing a solo project, Steven. No one’s ever made it. No great lead singer have ever had a great solo record.’ I’ve heard some very wise people in my life telling me that. All I wanted to do is a song project. I just wanted to do something different than Aerosmith,” Tyler told the Washington Post.

The release of a solo album–particularly one that forgoes what Aerosmith have come to know Tyler for in favor of a country flavor–doesn’t mean that Steven has completely forgotten where he came from, however. Upcoming shows will feature a good mix of the old and the new, and hardcore Aerosmith fans shouldn’t discount the new; T-Bone Burnett produced a few tracks off the album, and he’s got a pretty good track record. Besides, there are some reworked versions of old classics, like a twangy edition of “Janie’s Got A Gun” that fans of the band may well love.

Tyler says he insisted on working from his demos because he was already attached to the vocals, but he knew Burnett would take good care of his babies.

“I said to him, first of all, I’m going to use the demos because I love the vocals. I love the non-fixed notes hanging over sounding like Carter Family vocals where they all sat around a microphone. So I said, ‘T Bone, if we do this, can we please work off the demos.’ He said, ‘I wouldn’t do it any other way. I love them.’ He is that kind of guy. He loves the original grooves and what you are trying to say,” Tyler said.

Steven Tyler says that he can’t take credit for the entire album because a lot of it fell on the shoulders of the “magical” town of Nashville.

“I believe y’all are gonna listen to this stuff and you’re gonna agree with me that it fell from a star. I had nothing to do with this s**t, it’s just Nashville. There’s something so magical about this town and me writing with all these people,” Tyler told Rolling Stone.

Tyler loved the city so much, he went all in and bought a house there. For him, life is about being passionate, and when a place is so inspiring, it’s hard to get it out of one’s head. The bonus? Pretty girls and good weather.

“I think about how I do things, and lots of times I will just jump in blindly with both feet. And when I say blindly, I say that about the risk factor. I will jump in with a passionate idea…. I was going down to Nashville to do a couple of CMA shows and do some stuff with Brad Paisley and Christmas shows and kind of fell in love with the town and found a house. I thought, if I move here, three things. There’s only three months of winter, all the girls sleep with their boots on and there’s no state income tax. So why not live there?”

Though Aerosmith have had their ups and downs over the years–Tyler’s bandmates were reportedly not happy with him when he released a memoir that told a lot of secrets–fans have nothing to worry about, at least for the time being. Tyler is simply feeling his oats.

[Photo by Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images]