Posts by Day: Sunday, April 20, 2008
Posted 4/20/2008 @ 2:12:00 PM by aerosmithrock.com
Sometimes, working with friends just doesn’t work out – just ask Steven Tyler and former Aerosmith band mate Ray Tabano. Tabano and Tyler were friends from the time they were infants, and they even formed a gang within their hometown of Yonkers, New York, but when it came to Aerosmith and a musician’s life, Tabano just proved to be too strange for even Tyler to handle. The truth is that Tabano just didn’t have the skill to play with Aerosmith on a regular basis, though Tyler and Tabano got into other scrapes as well. Since a band is only as good as its colorful history, the story of Tyler and Tabano must be told. Tyler met Tabano when Tabano was sitting in a tree that was part of Tyler’s territory while the two were both in rival gangs during their youth. Tyler told Tabano to get out of his tree, only to hear Tabano state: “I’m Ray-zan the Ape-man!” Needless to say, Tyler was impressed with Tabano’s sheer chutzpah, and the two were fast friends. Eventually Tyler and Tabano formed their own band called the Strangeurs, and they gained some notoriety as a cover band. When Aerosmith began to form Tabano remained the guitarist for the band, though he was replaced soon after the band formed. There are mixed reports as to what happened to “Crazy Ray,” though Aerosmith band members just state that he was far too wild to be a part of Aerosmith (too wild to be in a rock band? Imagine!). Tabano split from the band mere months after Aerosmith was formed, and he was replaced by current guitarist Brad Whitford. |
 |