Quick Takes: Aerosmith, Van Halen, Tom Petty, Metallica, Nils Lofgren

Steven Tyler's lawyers are requesting the judge presiding over the trial for allegedly abusing a minor back in the 1970's "strike out the plaintiff's claim of 'intentional infliction of emotional distress.'" According to the filing, Tyler's remarks about his relationship with plaintiff Julia Misley were described in his memoir Does The Noise In My Head Bother You? and the official Aerosmith biography Walk This Way are protected by Tyler's first amendment rights.
Tyler's attorneys are claiming that the plaintiff should not be allowed to use his own writing against him, citing, "The conduct complained of arises out of statements made in Tyler’s published memoirs. Such conduct implicates Tyler’s right to free speech." According to the brief, the content in the memoirs falls under the protection of "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and is barred by the First Amendment."
- Julia Misley's lawsuit accuses the Tyler of "sexual assault, coercion of an abortion and involuntary infamy in the 1970s when (the plaintiff) was a minor and he was in his mid-20's." Misley, formerly known as Julia Holcomb, filed the suit on December 27th under the California Child Victims Act, "which allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil cases." The three-year "lookback" window for the cases ended this past December 31st. (Classic Rock)
Extreme guitarist, Nuno Bettencourt, said that Eddie Van Halen was eying a Van Halen tour with Michael Anthony just prior to his death. Bettencourt told SiriusXM’s Hair Nation that while he was recording the solo to the song "Rise" from Extreme's latest album, Six, frontman Gary Cherone and Van Halen popped over to his house.
Bettencourt recalled Van Halen telling him: "'Hey, just between us, I wanna let you know, Van Halen’s coming back and we gonna go out the way we came with Michael. We’re planning a run, and we’re gonna go out the way we came in like a farewell tour, but like, do it old school.'" And I’m like, "'Amazing. Overdue, way overdue.'" He was even saying, like, 'Y'know Wolf (Van Halen), he’s the one who’s like, he’s reaching out to Michael.'" (MetalWani)
Today (May 4th) the University of Florida School of Music in the late-Tom Petty's hometown of Gainesville will be recognizing Petty with an Honorary Doctorate, a distinction that he dreamed of receiving in his lifetime. Brother Bruce Petty said in a statement: "I don’t think anyone in our family, including him, thought that he would be linked with the University of Florida this way. It’s such a powerful thing, it was his life-long dream, and I know he would just be over-the-top, crazy happy about it." (Press release)
During a chat with Metallica's fanzine So What!, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke about the harsh realities he and his bandmates faced coming up over the years: "Because of the industry, because of the music, because of popularity, status, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, not all of us made it to this point. Some people got f***ing devoured and spat out. Some people just got devoured and never came back."
- He went on to say, "I got extremely affected by it. Other people in the band got extremely affected by it. I feel like I'm a f***ing survivor, and I think that every one of us in this band is a survivor because, man, it's a screwed-up industry." (Metallica.com)
Coming on July 21st in Nils Lofgren's latest solo set, titled, Mountains. Among the high-profile guest players on the album are the late-David Crosby, Neil Young, Ringo Starr, Cindy Mizelle, Ron Carter, and Howard Gospel Choir.
- According to the announcement: "Starting on July 21st Nils will launch his Rockality video series with each episode available to purchase from nilslofgren.com. These 30-40 minute videos (feature) non-rehearsed, folksy deliveries of fascinating, colorful and entertaining stories that conclude with Nils singing a song or stretching out on his guitar." (Press Release)