Tyler's lawyer fights replacement plans

Guitarist Joe Perry recently said he and his fellow band members are talking to singers about standing in for Tyler while he undergoes treatment for an addiction to painkillers and has surgery for performance-related injuries.

But Billboard.com said Tyler's attorney, Skip Miller, sent Aerosmith manager Howard Kaufman a letter last week, requesting he "immediately cease and desist from engaging in acts and conduct to the harm and detriment of your own client, Aerosmith, and our client who is one of its members."

Miller added in his letter: "Contrary to all common sense, you are seeking to bring about the replacement of Steven Tyler. Aerosmith without Steven Tyler is like the Rolling Stones without Mick Jagger, or U2 without Bono. While this management strategy may get the band on the road a few months sooner, it ultimately could destroy Aerosmith."

The lawyer also told Billboard.com he has scheduled a meeting Feb. 9 for interested parties to discuss the band's future.

"Steven Tyler does not want lawsuits," Miller said. "We do not want to go in that direction. The direction we want is Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler, touring in Europe, touring Latin America, releasing a new album ... This is the direction it's all intended to go. It's just amazing to me current management would be taking any other position."

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