We now humbly ask you, “What is Aerosmith without Steven Tyler ”? A question many of us never thought we’d ever have to ask is now being forced upon us as the 36-year-old rock band prepares to disband over artistic differences. Strain between the band members has been apparent since the group’s US summer tour with ZZ Top came to an abrupt end when Tyler fell off the stage and broke his shoulder in Sturgis, S.D.

This appeared to have come to fruition on Friday (Nov. 7th), when guitarist Joe Perry announced the departure of Tyler in an interview the Las Vegas Sun.

“Steven quit as far as I can tell,” Perry said. “I don’t know any more than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don’t know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don’t know.”

“He has had no contact with me or the other band members,” Perry added.

Of course, all this follows a series of back and forth between the former? bandmates. In recent weeks, guitarist Joe Perry has further complicated matters with offensive Tweets, causing Tyler to completely pull out of a South American tour planned for later this year. Also, did we mention that Tyler had been completely avoiding his fellow bandmates until their last three scheduled performances? Phew, that’s enough tension to force a cured drug addict back to hitting the sauce!

In attempts to relieve some tension, Tyler suggested last weekend, during Aerosmith’s performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, that he was considering moving ahead with a solo career. Tyler was later caught saying in an interview with Classic Rock Magazine, “I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but it’s definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself – Brand Tyler.”

It’s still surprising that the band’s internal affairs should ruin “The Bad Boys of Boston” entirely, especially when they haven’t shown us anything indicative of concern either on stage or out in public. However, since Tyler’s statement, the remaining band members have considered reconvening in the near future to calculate their next plan of action, sans Tyler. Their verdict can only mean one of two things: Aerosmith will be forced to announce a long hiatus or the band will decide to move forward with a new lead singer.

When asked, guitarist Brad Whitford disclosed, “I’m not sure how good that would look, it would largely depend on who we could get and who would want to do it. That’s big shoes to fill. Nobody could replace Steven or imitate him — he’s one of a kind. But if somebody was willing to do it and the chemistry was right, why not?”

Sheesh, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, folks.