DRUMMER JOEY KRAMER LOSES LEGAL BATTLE TO PLAY WITH AEROSMITH AT THE GRAMMY AWARDS
The New York Daily News reports:
…The Superior Court judge in Plymouth County, Mass., decided [Aerosmith drummer joey] Kramer can’t force his best-selling band to let him perform with the group at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, even after he flew to Los Angeles and was turned away from a practice on Monday.
“Given that Kramer has not played with the band in six months and the dearth of available rehearsal time before the upcoming (Grammy) performances, Kramer has not shown a realistic alternative course of action sufficient to protect the band’s business interests,” Judge Mark Gildea ruled.
“It is hereby ordered that the plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief be denied,” he wrote.
Kramer, 69, sought court intervention in the battle with an emergency legal filing on Friday…
He initially filed papers because Kramer claims was he subjected to a brand new band policy he did not approve of, where he would have to audition to prove he was “able to play at an appropriate level” in order to regain his drummer role.
After agreeing to the band’s terms, Kramer’s hopeful return to the band was denied.
Both camps released statements, Aerosmith’s read, “We would be doing a disservice to Joey, to ourselves and to our fans to have him play without adequate time to prepare and rehearse. Compounding this, he chose to file a lawsuit on the Friday night of the holiday weekend preceding the Grammys with total disregard for what is our limited window to prepare to perform these important events.”
The statement continues, “Given his decisions he is unfortunately unable to perform, but of course 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.”
Kramer responded by writing,
Being prohibited from playing with a band that I have given 50 years of my life to supporting, is beyond devastating. This is not about money. I am being deprived of the opportunity to be recognized along with my peers, for our collective, lifetime contributions to the music industry. Neither the MusiCares’ Person of the Year Award nor the Grammys’ Lifetime Achievement honors can ever be repeated.”
He continues, “I hope our fans can understand that all I’m trying to do is get back to playing with the band that they love – and that’s Aerosmith with all five original members. The greatest magic and success of Aerosmith happens when all the band’s founding members are together in the house.”
Finally, Joey says, “To be removed from my rightful place on stage to celebrate our success – a success that acknowledges my own life’s work, is just plain wrong.”
To read more about Kramer’s case, please click here.
Joey : “Hey guys let me play in the band “
Steve and Joe :”Dream On”
Sad state of affairs
Joey : Hey guys, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, quit being “Crazy”, put me “Back In The Saddle”
Steve and Joe : Uh, “No More No More”, you should take a “Permanent Vacation”
Joey : You guys are “Amazing”, now I’m “Cryin'”
Watch the clips of Kramer’s tech playing , and watch the last shows of Kramer playing – Kramer is fine , maybe a bit unrehearsed but to force him out saying he can’t cut it when perry might be one of the sloppiest guitarists in the game is such a BS move – in my life or work I don’t surround myself with people who engage in this garbage and won’t support anyone who does this to another person- I’m done with Aerosmith –
Would Aerosmith perform without Steven Tyler? Or Joe Perry? No, of course not. After 50 years of giving his blood, sweat and tears to the band, do they really think Kramer would jeopardize the integrity of the band? If he says he can play, HE CAN PLAY! Excluding him from playing tells me there is something more going on here.
After playing together for 50 years, (for the most part) how much time do you really need to “rehearse?” Come on!
Well….these guys aren’t exactly above that. If I recall correctly, about 10 years ago, when the band “kicked out” Steven, they did ask Sammy Hagar and Lenny Kravitz if either would be interested in replacing him (they both smartly said, “F*** NO!”). There were also those few lean years when the band played with Jimmy Crespo.
Exactly, but nothing like THIS has ever happened before! I mean, security guards? Really? Treating Kramer like a common criminal? Ridiculous! No, we don’t know all the facts yet, but having security guards to prevent Kramer from entering the rehearsal studio or whatever (after they actually invited him) seems like a total overreaction for whatever reason.
This may actually all be a matter of logistics. If Aerosmith is playing at the Grammys, I am almost certain that they will do a retrospective medley. If that’s the case, it will require a lot of quick changes, music and camera cues, etc. It won’t be like playing one song all the way through. That sort of production would require a lot of rehearsal time – something Kramer hasn’t given himself…
…as for the band making him “audition” again to a click track, I can’t help but think there’s more to the story than either side are letting on….