FORMER AEROSMITH LABEL REP SAYS JEALOUSY BEHIND 'AMERICAN IDOL' FEUD

Former Geffen Records executive John Kalodner, who guided the band's '80s comeback and supervised some of their biggest albums, told the New York Post that guitarist Joe Perry was "completely wrong" when he said recently that frontman Steven Tyler would not have pursued being an American Idol judge during the band's early years. Kalodner said that Tyler always "sought Hollywood recognition, and now he can get that," adding, "Joe is completely wrong. It's jealousy. He's ultra pissed off."
Perry told the Calgary Herald on September 7th, "(American Idol) is one step above Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . . . I'll tell you one thing, when we put this band together, this is not something that (Steven Tyler) would do."
Kalodner said about Tyler joining the program, "I don't know what will happen because Steven gets his energy from singing in front of 20,000 people. Sitting in a TV studio with scripted sound bites? I'm not sure he'd be able to even use his own great quips. I'll be able to tell you in the first show or two if he'll be his superstar self."
As for Perry's veiled threat that Aerosmith could continue touring with a different singer while Tyler is doing American Idol, Kalodner said, "If (Tyler) makes a giant success as a TV personality he won't want to go back on the road. And there is no Aerosmith without Steven Tyler. Period."