Steven Tyler says Aerosmith is planning a farewell tour for 2017

NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- Steven Tyler has announced he and his rock band Aerosmith are planning a 2017 farewell concert tour.

"I love this band, I really do, and I want to squash every thought that anybody might have about this ... We're doing a farewell tour, but only because it's time. We've never done that," Rolling Stone magazine reported Tyler said on Tuesday's edition of The Howard Stern Show.

Surprised by the news, Stern asked Tyler to confirm that the 46-year-old band plans to stop touring.

"I think so, next year," he said.

Asked whether guitarist Joe Perry is aware of this development, Tyler replied, "Mmhmm."

However, the New York Daily News quoted Perry as saying the announcement was premature.

"I know that Steven [Tyler] said something or was quoted saying this could be 'the final tour,' but I don't think we've gotten that far yet," Perry said.

"At this point in our careers it might not be in our control," Perry went on. "To see a band that's been together as long as we are and truly have the same members -- it's not like there are three of us left, or two out of five. It's the real deal. It's five guys who have kept the Aerosmith name going for more than 40 years. I know we've talked about [a farewell tour], but nobody's been raising their hands saying 'yea' instead of 'nay.'"

Tyler has recently been pursuing a solo career in country music, while Perry has been performing with Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper as the Hollywood Vampires.