The melodrama between Aerosmith drummer, Joey Kramer, and the rest of the band came to a head this past week, with Kramer filing a lawsuit against the band, trying to force his way back in to avoid “irreparable harm.” Kramer says that he’s had to audition to rejoin the band on stage, but the band has rejected his current playing level as substandard.

The band countered yesterday with a lengthy statement in People Magazine, essentially saying they want Kramer with them at The Grammys and the upcoming MusiCares award ceremony, but not playing with them.

Aerosmith’s statement reads, in part: “Joey Kramer is our brother…However, he has not been emotionally and physically able to perform with the band, by his own admission, for the last 6 months.” (Kramer didn’t play with the band during its fall Las Vegas residency, due to an ankle injury.)

“…Joey has now waited until the last moment to accept our invitation (to play at Sunday’s Grammy Awards), when we unfortunately have no time for necessary rehearsals during Grammys week…we have invited him to be with us for both the Grammys and our MusiCares honor. We are bonded together by much more than our time on stage.”

It’s a tough situation when a band feels one of its own is not able to perform to his previous level of excellence. I joked on air that Aerosmith is being cruel, that Def Leppard made accomodations for the one-armed Rick Allen on drums. Led Zeppelin disbanded when its gonzo drummer, John Bonham, died.

Maybe Aerosmith is heading to a truce, like Cheap Trick came to with its drummer Bun E. Carlos, who no longer drums with them but is still involved in group decisions and gets a cut of the royalties.

Doc Watson