Violinist Anna Phoebe has written to Classic Rock, defending Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. Anna played with Tyler when the singer guested with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Come inside to find out what she says…

“Loved the Joe Perry article (issue 142) and loved his CD (Have Guitar Will Travel). Just wanted to write a few words in defence of Steven T. In 2008,  he  guested with a band I play in – Trans-Siberian Orchestra. These were two of the best days of my career so far! What an absolute legend!

“The week before he was to guest with us, we were shitting ourselves with excitement and nerves, not quite knowing what to expect, or if he would actually show up. But from the moment he came on stage for the first soundcheck, right up to the end of the fourth show he sang with us, he was an UTTER gentleman. Absolute 150% of pure charisma, charm and just pure rock star status. I can still feel the tingles down my spine during the moment of the show where our producer came on stage to introduce him to 15,000 fans with no idea who was about to came on stage.

“When Steven walked on, with the mic stand held over his head, with the scarves trailing down, the whole arena exploded – I can’t even begin to explain the rush of adrenalin! Bloody incredible! We performed Sweet Emotion and Dream On… Steven nailed it each time.

“Backstage, Steven went out of his way to be polite and courteous to everyone – from all of us in the band, to everyone in the crew, to the catering staff and security. He sat in catering with us making jokes, he chatted to everyone without any pretension. And the people he had with him (his girlfriend, his keyboardist and a couple of other guys) – they were all lovely. No bullshit.

“Obviously judging a character on four shows in two days isn’t comparable to being in the same band with someone for a few decades, especially through the rough times. I just wanted to add my little sliver of experience to the huge puzzle that is Steven Tyler, and to let people know that he is capable of being an utter rock god in the best possible way. Hope he gets back on his feet in time for Download Festival – I’ll be down at the front on the Sunday night!”

Find out more about Anna Phoebe at www.annaphoebe.com

In case you’re interested (and we’re sure you are) Anna is known as the ‘Vixen Of The Violin’ and is pictured below.