AEROSMITH’S DRUMMER SUES TO REJOIN BAND FOR GRAMMY HONORS
BOSTON» Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Mark Gildea on Wednesday denied drummer Joey Kramer’s request to order Aerosmith to let him participate in an award celebration in Los Angeles on Friday as well as Sunday’s Grammy Awards show.
“Given that Kramer has not played with the band in six months and the dearth of available rehearsal time before the upcoming performances, Kramer has not shown a realistic alternative course of action sufficient to protect the band’s business interests,” the judge’s decision reads in part.
Kramer said he’s “extremely disappointed” but respects Gildea’s decision.
“I knew filing a lawsuit was a bit of an uphill battle,” he said. “I can hold my head high knowing that I did the right thing — to fight for my right to celebrate the band’s success that I have dedicated the better part of my life to helping build.”
The 69-year-old Magnolia, Texas, resident had argued the band, which he helped found in Boston 50 years ago, is in breach of contract because it required him to reaudition for his job after an ankle injury last year caused him to miss a portion of the band’s residency at a Las Vegas casino.
Kramer said in his lawsuit that the band required him to earn his job back by performing a series of solo rehearsals to prove he could play “at an appropriate level.”
He argued the “artificial, madeup and undefined” requirement was “insulting and upsetting” because that no other member of the band has been asked to do it before. Singer Steven Tyler, guitarists Joe Perry and Bradley Whitford and bassist Tom Hamilton all have been sidelined recently with injuries or illnesses and weren’t asked to re-audition for their jobs, Kramer noted in his suit.
“This is not about money,” he said in a statement before Wednesday’s hearing in Plymouth, Mass. “I am being deprived of the opportunity to be recognized along with my peers, for our collective, lifetime contributions to the music industry.”
The band had said previously that it invited Kramer to join it for the Grammy events.