TYLER HANDLES ROCK 'N' ROLL DISTRESS CALLS

Helps musicians trying to dry out

'17 years sober', he knows drugs' pull

Steven Tyler has just finished an Aerosmith show at Madison Square Garden
when his cell phone rings. It's about 3 a.m.

"Steven, (so and so) is in trouble again; can you give him a call?" Buddy
Arnold asks. Tyler smiles and says, "Sure thing.''

Tyler is convinced that Arnold ? founder of the Musicians' Assistance
Program, also known as MAP, which treats drug and alcohol abuse ? never
sleeps. "Buddy is on call 24 hours a day," he says.

Tyler calls the newcomer. "Hi, it's Steven Tyler." The newcomer freaks out
in disbelief. Tyler assures him that it is indeed him, and then he goes to
work.

"Yeah, dude, someone said you were thinking about getting high. Tell me
about it. Because I think about it all day long, and I've got 17 years
sober."

The two talk a bit more and, ultimately, the newcomer decides not to get
high that night.

"I love and cherish getting those phone calls in the middle of the night,"
Tyler says. "In the old days, (the calls were), `Hey Steven, Joe died.' ''

Tyler is part of a MAP network of sober musicians who stand ready to help
others get through rough patches in rehab and recovery.

Although Tyler got sober before MAP's existence, he says it helps keep him
that way.

"People like us need a place to go to as soon as we start using again,"
Tyler says. "Remember, euphoric recall is your best friend and your worst
enemy. It reminds you of how it was at one time with your girlfriend,
drinking a bottle of wine or something. But people like us that put
fantastic things into songs can't afford to play with these fantastic drugs
any more.''

Tyler epitomized the hard-living rock 'n' roll lifestyle into the 1980s, and
he says it almost killed him. He abandoned his family and broke up the band
for a time. It took him three tries at various rehabs to get completely
clean.

"We were musicians first and we dabbled in drugs, and then we become drug
addicts dabbling in music," Tyler says. "We would feed our heads with drugs
instead of with experience, (but) there's only three things you can get out
of the drug scenario: jail, death or insanity.''