Aerosmith.Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Ahead of a milestone weekend forAerosmith, drummer Joey Kramer has filed a lawsuit claiming he’s being blocked from performing with his band at the Grammys.
Aerosmith is set to be honored at the2020 MusiCares Person of the Year tributeand perform at the Grammys on Sunday.
Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford, Steven Tyler, Joey Kramer and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.Kevin Mazur/WireImage
He adds in the suit that the stress stemming from the situation led to a November hospitalization that caused his audition to be delayed.
Though Kramer says he eventually did audition earlier this month, he was told he “did not have enough ‘energy'” in the demo recording he sent over and is now in a near “freeze-out” from Aerosmith.
A source close to the band confirms to PEOPLE that Kramer indeed had to “test” for Aerosmith’s performances this week, but says it was a result of the drummer failing to attend multiple planned rehearsals.
“They had been inviting him to come back for the last six months since he’s been away for whatever medical situation he’s been dealing with,” says the source. “He said ‘Yes, I’ll come and rehearse’ and kept not showing up. On the eve of the Grammys and MusiCares, he wanted to be back.”
According to the source, the band felt Kramer “wasn’t capable” of performing at a level their fans were used to after listening to his demo.
Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith.Chelsea Lauren/WireImage
“They all got on the phone with him after they heard the demo and talked it through with him,” says the source. “They voted as a band, which they do with every decision, and it was four to one.”
“They said ‘Please come to MusiCares and Grammys. We’ll take photos and celebrate. You’re our brother,'” says the source. “They just don’t want to risk a performance because he hasn’t been with them in six months.”
However, Kramer says in a statement that “being prohibited from playing with a band that I have given 50 years of my life to supporting, is beyond devastating.”
“The fact that I would be asked to audition for my own job, demonstrate that I can play at ‘an appropriate level’ … is both insulting and upsetting,” he continues. “I did everything they asked — jumped through hopes … In Aerosmith’s 50-year history, no other band member has ever been subjected to this scrutiny let alone be asked to audition for his own job!”
On Wednesday, a Massachusetts judge denied Kramer’s request to play with Aerosmith.
Allfive members of Aerosmith, including Kramer, spoke to PEOPLE recently for its new special edition,Aerosmith: In Their Own Words.
source: people.com
