Choice Excerpts From Steven Tyler’s Cover Story
Tyler is in a manic, mystical state of awe and gratitude these days, practically vibrating with sweet emotion – hence the unflagging positivity he exudes in his new gig as an American Idol judge. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be a sorcerer at the age of 80 and be able to throw fire," he says, pacing the hilltop, "but, man, walking around all day, the only times I looked at the clock, it was 11:11, 2:22, 3:33 – not the myriad of 60 other minutes…Something's going on with that – too many magic moments. Maybe life is random, but I doubt it."
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• Steven Tyler, the Savior of 'American Idol'
• Steven Tyler Tells All: The Real Story Behind His Aerosmith Battles and 'American Idol' Triumph
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What Would Dylan Do?
"All I did, and I thank the Lord above, I took a risk," says Tyler, describing his choice to become an Idol judge. "I think if you were to really peek under the hood of what got Aerosmith back again for our second life in the Eighties, you'll find out that it's exactly this, it's the willingness to take a risk. I heard someone say, 'Would Bob Dylan do this?' and I said, 'No.' I felt instant shame. But he's not comfortable around fucking people. I could have been laughed out of town, it might have not worked: 'He sucks, he was on Idol and we saw who he really was, he's an idiot.' Could have been."
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Simon Says …
Tyler saw enough of the DVDs Idol producers sent him to develop some mixed feelings about Simon Cowell. "He was being a wiseass, you know, and putting people down for things where it's, like, forgive him, he knows not what he does. I heard him say, 'I don't like country & western music,' and I'm like, 'Come on.' But I wasn't sure if Simon had touched something in the hearts of people – or if compassion could be the new black."
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• Video: Steven Tyler Reminisces at Rolling Stone Cover Shoot
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Career Advice
He's awestruck at the level of talent among the Idol finalists: "You know what? Out of the 20 kids you saw tonight, if you could just sprinkle 10 years of smoking pot, getting fucked up, getting laid, getting fucked, and 10 years of just life – which one of those people wouldn't be a star?"
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• Photos: Four Decades of Aerosmith Live and Unleashed
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Freedom
"Did I take [the Idol] job to show [Aerosmith]? Fuck, yeah. Not to show them, but that I can't be held hostage anymore. I will be my own hostage. The band can't throw me out."
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The Good Fight
Early most mornings, Tyler hikes to a peak to spar with a trainer. When he hits the top, he puts on boxing gloves and tries to hit as hard as he possibly can. “I’ve been knocked down too many times by the world,” Tyler says. “So it just feels good spiritually. I’m still standing, got back on my feet. I’m learning to fight back a little.”
Related:
• Video: Steven Tyler Reminisces at Rolling Stone Cover Shoot
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Hot and Cold
"If you're sober for 20 years, you lose the rewards of first getting sober," he says. "First getting sober is when you're on fire. It's a rebirth, totally. So in life, what is yes without no? What is winter without summer? If you don't know winters with close to frostbite and then summers of 100 degrees, I'm sorry, then you ain't lived, and that's me – I'm just sayin'!"
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Om
"Do you meditate at all?" he asks. "If you concentrate on your breathing only, your mind can go off, and before you know it, you'll float up to the ceiling and out through the door."
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• Talk This Way: Rolling Stone's 1994 Interview With Aerosmith's Steven Tyler
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No Apologies
Perhaps because of the sheer number of times he's whipped through the redemptive arc of addiction and recovery, Tyler sometimes has trouble maintaining the tone of contrition that usually accompanies tales of debauchery. "The funny thing is that it doesn't matter, really," he says. "I was using, so what? So what, I don't give a fuck. I may use next week. I doubt it, because I'm really steeped in my program, and there's a Monday-night meeting I go to here. I'm really proud, man, as Anthony Kiedis says, to ride the sobriety train. A lot of us are sober and really fucking damn proud of it. And I don't mind. It saved my life. It saved my life."
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Ladylike
"My feelings, man, I'm beyond touchy-feely – that's why I say I'm 60 percent woman."
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Sexual Concerns
"I'll tell you something, when I was in those 'sexual concerns' classes, and I'm next to a woman that had third-degree burns from vibrators and chairs and putting things in her vagina and guys that were in front of schoolyards, I'm in the wrong place! I want to be between three women, not chained to a fucking urinal at the Ramrod Room."
Related:
• Steven Tyler Tells All: The Real Story Behind His Aerosmith Battles and 'American Idol' Triumph
• Photos: Four Decades of Aerosmith Live and Unleashed