Aerosmith's Brad Whitford benched from Guitar Hero tour

For Whitford (left), not the same old song and dance

Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford will be missing the opening string of dates of the band's Guitar Hero tour while he recovers from recent surgery.

The nature of Whitford's medical condition and surgery have not been specified. However, in true show-must-go-on tradition, Aerosmith will hit the road with guitarist Bobby Schneck, who has performed with Green Day, Weezer and Slash as a temporary replacement.

Undoubtedly, Schneck has been listening to nothing but Toys In The Attic and Rocks on his iPod, as in a recent interview MusicRadar, guitarist Joe Perry indicated that the band would be playing both albums in their entirety.

The news of Whitford's absence from the summer tour with ZZ Top is but the latest in a series of health-related problems to plague Aerosmith: Progress on the group's new record was put on ice after Joe Perry required knee surgery last year. In addition, singer Steven Tyler has undergone both throat and foot surgery, then came down with pneumonia.

Additional setbacks notwithstanding, the tour will begin this Wednesday, 10 June, at the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater in St. Louis, Missouri.

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.