Okay, so you might have heard a whisper here or there that Steve Tyler was now in rehab for a major addiction to painkillers. He announced it back in December, but he also announced that he was going to be actively writing and recording along with Aerosmith as soon as he could get things squared away. As it turns out, though, the guitarist, Joe Perry, has just let loose a major bombshell. The rest of the band is looking to replace Tyler.

Now, your brain probably just went “What? Aerosmith without Steve Tyler? Is that even possible?” But, the boys of the band have started to put the word out that not only is it possible, they’re going to be holding actual auditions soon to find the new front runner of Aerosmith. They haven’t stated whether or not this is going to be a permanent switch, but let’s just say that if Tyler doesn’t get clean quick, he might find himself kicked out of the band.

Part of the problem isn’t just that Tyler’s in rehab, though, it’s also because he’s got surgery on top of it, and there’s just no telling if he’ll be out in time for the 2011 40th anniversary of the group coming up. There’s a few people that they’ve spoken to, and the band, not surprisingly, sees having a new singer the same as getting a guitarist for when someone’s sick. Unlike many other bands, where the singer sees himself as the front liner and without him, the band would never make it, it looks like Aerosmith is not following that formula. There’s no official word on when the auditions will be, but it looks like whoever steps in is going to have some massive, massive shoes to fill and some fans to majorly impress. I do not envy the singer.