Steven Tyler Interview - Classic Rock Magazine
May, 2005
Singer, songwriter, reformed junkie, motormouth, Liv's dad... Aerosmith's Steven Tyler is all and more. And with his band taking a break, we can now add actor and fashion guru to that.
"You got to stay ahead. Just when you think you have it down, the rules change. You know what can happen? You become successful and turn over your power to managers and record companies and you stop taking risks," so says Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Sort of.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, the above quotation is attributed to Steven Tyler in Elmore Leonard's novel Be Cool. And to confuse things further, the real Steven Tyler plays Steven Tyler in the new Hollywood adaptation of the book. Be Cool is the sequel to 1995's smash hit movie Get Shorty, and stars John Travolta (reprising his role of Chili Palmer), Danny De Vito and Uma Thurman.
Who's the coolest person you know?
I'd say Joe Perry, because he bails me out. I'd look over at night and see him there and I'd think: "My God, I can't believe I'm in this band!" It's about somebody that's got that je ne sais quai - where you don't know what it is, but you respect it so much, because you wish you had that cool without putting it on.
How do you know Elmore Leonard, the author of Be Cool?
Elmore came to a bunch of shows and he was doing research. I spoke to him a lot, and he was asking me questions about the real deep inner workings of stuff. One particular night Pamela Anderson was backstage and so was Eminem. Elmore was backstage and he asked: "What's it like? You're going on stage in two minutes and all these people are here..." He's just asking all the right questions. I knew something was going on, and I befriended him and I started telling him a whole lot of deep, dark things, and he goes: "We have to write this in the book and you have to be in the book, when the movie comes out you have to be in the movie". And I'm laughing. Then I read the book and it was like: "My god". And he really went for it.
What was it like working with John Travolta and Uma Thurman?
It was beautiful. I've met John once before. And, as with all good actors, it's like meeting an alien with all this intelligence., You're not talking to it, but it's talking to you.
Would you like to act again?
I would. I had a great experience with F. Gary Gray [Be Cool director]. Yeah, I have the calling, I got the want, and I'd love to try it.
Would you like to work with your daughter Liv [Tyler, actress]?
Yeah, someday. We'll see what happens. I don't know if she would, but I know she wants to sing on one of my records, so I'll hold it against her [laughs].
Are you going to let her sing on one of your albums?
Sure, yeah. Any next one. She was gonna sing on this last one, but she kept going back and forth for voice-overs for The Lord Of The Rings thing.
Is she a good singer?
Yeah, she sings alright. Who's good? It's all about attitude, right?
What's more difficult, doing movies or music?
I don't live in the movie world, but my music world is certainly like the movie world, in the way that we'll write a song then have to do a video of it and make sense of it. And somehow because videos were the thing in the day, I had to put a face on a song instead of letting it be what it is, and letting you find out what it was. Because it's better-whatever Dream On is to you, it's different to you... As soon as you do a video, it kinda puts a face on it. .. I'm not sure where I'm at with all of it.
Is Be Cool realistic? Does it include situations that you've encountered?
Sure it is. Oh yeah, I've encountered it. Yep. I'd fought it all along, every bit of it - the corporate this and that. And, of course, I was in with the drugs and the money in the old days. Put that aside and you're talking about the deep, dark persons kept away from the rock-star singer by management. But I've seen my share. I mean, I prefer to write the songs and keep away from that side. Not that I don't see it, but there's not much you can do about it.
How did Aerosmith fit in with the times?
We just wrote songs. We didn't see whate' going on with the corporate side.
The director wanted you to play the real Tyler, not the stage Steven Tyler, right?
I don't remember. My last name is Tallarico, Steven Tallarico. People that know me say: "I wish they knew you as the real guy you are, Steven Tyler. And I said: "What do you mean?" Because I become this persona of this rock-star guy, Not who I am to my kids.
What's the biggest difference between the stage persona and the real Steven Tyler?
One side can be larger-than-life, you know. At home I feed the chickens and let the dogs out every morning. I take my son to school. It's great.
What keeps you motivated?
The thought that if you just mind to it you can make it happen to have that pride to just keep going for it no matter what.
You recently became a grandfather.
Amazing. When you have a baby its one thing, when your daughter [Liv] has a baby, you know, it's life on life's terms.
Have you changed any nappies?
Not yet. The other night I brought my daughter, Chelsea, to meet the new baby. I put the baby on her chest and the baby threw up on her. You know when you have your kids, and you're there for them now? Well, I wasn't there in the beginning. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever experienced: the baby threw up on Chelsea, and she changed the diaper, and it was just one of those family moments. For me, being on the road so much, I don't get a lot of that. It was real deep and beautiful and real.
Is being a grandfather scary?
Scary? I'm 56 and it's all just starting.
Are you worried about getting old?
As long as I got a hit single next time with Joe Perry... No, it's all beautiful. You know my face hasn't fallen off yet, so I'm alright.
Interview By: James Gari
Courtesy: Steven-Tyler.net
Singer, songwriter, reformed junkie, motormouth, Liv's dad... Aerosmith's Steven Tyler is all and more. And with his band taking a break, we can now add actor and fashion guru to that.
"You got to stay ahead. Just when you think you have it down, the rules change. You know what can happen? You become successful and turn over your power to managers and record companies and you stop taking risks," so says Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Sort of.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, the above quotation is attributed to Steven Tyler in Elmore Leonard's novel Be Cool. And to confuse things further, the real Steven Tyler plays Steven Tyler in the new Hollywood adaptation of the book. Be Cool is the sequel to 1995's smash hit movie Get Shorty, and stars John Travolta (reprising his role of Chili Palmer), Danny De Vito and Uma Thurman.
Who's the coolest person you know?
I'd say Joe Perry, because he bails me out. I'd look over at night and see him there and I'd think: "My God, I can't believe I'm in this band!" It's about somebody that's got that je ne sais quai - where you don't know what it is, but you respect it so much, because you wish you had that cool without putting it on.
How do you know Elmore Leonard, the author of Be Cool?
Elmore came to a bunch of shows and he was doing research. I spoke to him a lot, and he was asking me questions about the real deep inner workings of stuff. One particular night Pamela Anderson was backstage and so was Eminem. Elmore was backstage and he asked: "What's it like? You're going on stage in two minutes and all these people are here..." He's just asking all the right questions. I knew something was going on, and I befriended him and I started telling him a whole lot of deep, dark things, and he goes: "We have to write this in the book and you have to be in the book, when the movie comes out you have to be in the movie". And I'm laughing. Then I read the book and it was like: "My god". And he really went for it.
What was it like working with John Travolta and Uma Thurman?
It was beautiful. I've met John once before. And, as with all good actors, it's like meeting an alien with all this intelligence., You're not talking to it, but it's talking to you.
Would you like to act again?
I would. I had a great experience with F. Gary Gray [Be Cool director]. Yeah, I have the calling, I got the want, and I'd love to try it.
Would you like to work with your daughter Liv [Tyler, actress]?
Yeah, someday. We'll see what happens. I don't know if she would, but I know she wants to sing on one of my records, so I'll hold it against her [laughs].
Are you going to let her sing on one of your albums?
Sure, yeah. Any next one. She was gonna sing on this last one, but she kept going back and forth for voice-overs for The Lord Of The Rings thing.
Is she a good singer?
Yeah, she sings alright. Who's good? It's all about attitude, right?
What's more difficult, doing movies or music?
I don't live in the movie world, but my music world is certainly like the movie world, in the way that we'll write a song then have to do a video of it and make sense of it. And somehow because videos were the thing in the day, I had to put a face on a song instead of letting it be what it is, and letting you find out what it was. Because it's better-whatever Dream On is to you, it's different to you... As soon as you do a video, it kinda puts a face on it. .. I'm not sure where I'm at with all of it.
Is Be Cool realistic? Does it include situations that you've encountered?
Sure it is. Oh yeah, I've encountered it. Yep. I'd fought it all along, every bit of it - the corporate this and that. And, of course, I was in with the drugs and the money in the old days. Put that aside and you're talking about the deep, dark persons kept away from the rock-star singer by management. But I've seen my share. I mean, I prefer to write the songs and keep away from that side. Not that I don't see it, but there's not much you can do about it.
How did Aerosmith fit in with the times?
We just wrote songs. We didn't see whate' going on with the corporate side.
The director wanted you to play the real Tyler, not the stage Steven Tyler, right?
I don't remember. My last name is Tallarico, Steven Tallarico. People that know me say: "I wish they knew you as the real guy you are, Steven Tyler. And I said: "What do you mean?" Because I become this persona of this rock-star guy, Not who I am to my kids.
What's the biggest difference between the stage persona and the real Steven Tyler?
One side can be larger-than-life, you know. At home I feed the chickens and let the dogs out every morning. I take my son to school. It's great.
What keeps you motivated?
The thought that if you just mind to it you can make it happen to have that pride to just keep going for it no matter what.
You recently became a grandfather.
Amazing. When you have a baby its one thing, when your daughter [Liv] has a baby, you know, it's life on life's terms.
Have you changed any nappies?
Not yet. The other night I brought my daughter, Chelsea, to meet the new baby. I put the baby on her chest and the baby threw up on her. You know when you have your kids, and you're there for them now? Well, I wasn't there in the beginning. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever experienced: the baby threw up on Chelsea, and she changed the diaper, and it was just one of those family moments. For me, being on the road so much, I don't get a lot of that. It was real deep and beautiful and real.
Is being a grandfather scary?
Scary? I'm 56 and it's all just starting.
Are you worried about getting old?
As long as I got a hit single next time with Joe Perry... No, it's all beautiful. You know my face hasn't fallen off yet, so I'm alright.
Interview By: James Gari
Courtesy: Steven-Tyler.net
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