Joey Kramer says that he will attend tonight's (Friday, January 24) MusiCares benefit honoring AEROSMITH. The AEROSMITH drummer was out last night (Thursday, January 23) at a pre-Grammy Awards party in West Hollywood where a TMZ cameraman asked him if planned to rejoin the band after the Grammys on Sunday. He responded: "I'll be there tomorrow night to spread the love. 'Cause that's what it's about." AEROSMITH will be honored as the 2020 MusiCares Person Of The Year at tonight's 30th-anniversary MusiCares benefit gala, which will see the band perform live. Russell Brand will be the event's host. The MusiCares gala is taking place two days after a Massachusetts judge ruled against Kramer in his bid to perform with AEROSMITH at the two Grammy-related events this weekend. After Kramer injured his shoulder last year, his drum tech filled in for a few gigs during AEROSMITH's residency in Las Vegas. Kramer did, however, perform with the rest of AEROSMITH in July at the Twin Cities Summer Jam in Shakopee. When Kramer arrived at a rehearsal studio in Los Angeles earlier this week to play with his AEROSMITH bandmates, he was met with two apologetic security guards, who informed him that the other four members of the group hired them to keep him from entering the venue. In a statement, Kramer said he was "extremely disappointed" with the judge's ruling. "I knew filing a lawsuit was a bit of an uphill battle," the drummer said. "I can hold my head high knowing that I did the right thing — to fight for my right to celebrate the band’s success that I have dedicated the better part of my life to helping build." On Tuesday, the other four members of AEROSMITH — Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford — issued a statement that said in part: "Joey Kramer is our brother; his well-being is of paramount importance to us. However, he has not been emotionally and physically able to perform with the band, by his own admission, for the last 6 months. We have missed him and have encouraged him to rejoin us to play many times but apparently he has not felt ready to do so…. We are bonded together by much more than our time on stage." In his 16-page complaint filed in Massachusetts state court, Kramer said the disability he suffered last year was minor, and insisted he was ready to return to the group's "lucrative" Las Vegas residency at the MGM Resorts a few months later, as well as its slate of "50th anniversary activities." Kramer also claimed he was required to audition for his drumming job to prove he could play at "an appropriate level." "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," Kramer said.
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