OT-Steven Tyler admits rehab for pills
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:17 amAerosmith frontman Steven Tyler admitted to the Associated Press on Friday (June 27th) that he checked into a California rehab facility last month to fight off a dependency on pain and sleep medication. Tyler initially stated that he had gone into the facility to speed his recovery from foot surgery. But as he explained on Friday, "To have your feet done, to have your leg done, you have to be on narcotics. You have to be on sleep aids at night...I was off and running and I didn't like the me that was me." Tyler added, "This was a month ago, so I just put the brakes on and checked into detox and just pulled the plug on all of it."
Tyler first said in late May that he had checked into the rehab center to find a "safe environment" in which to recuperate from several foot surgeries and physical therapy. The procedures were meant to correct longstanding injuries resulting from his more than three decades of performing onstage.
The 60-year-old Tyler was a poster child for drug and alcohol abuse in the '70s, but got clean and sober more than 20 years ago as Aerosmith experienced a career renaissance.
Tyler made his latest remarks during a press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City on Friday, where the band offered a sneak preview of the new video game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.
According to Billboard.com, all five members of the group were on hand to answer questions, while fans got a chance to try the game out ahead of its release this week.
The game allows players to progress through the band's entire career, which spans nearly 40 years, playing a number of Aerosmith classics as well as songs by associated artists like Run DMC and Joan Jett.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is available on all three major game platforms, Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 and 3.
The game is the fourth in the phenomenally successful Guitar Hero series, but the first to be based around a specific act. Following the arrival of Guitar Hero: World Tour this fall, a new edition centered around Metallica is rumored to be on tap for early next year.