Aerosmith Is Now Rolling on Its Own : Pop: The group’s dramatic comeback may have earned the rockers a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They begin a series of Southland concerts with Skid Row tonight.

Aerosmith must understand how Mike Tyson feels.

The once hugely popular band was on its back and counted out a few years ago, torn apart by declining record sales and excessive alcohol and drug use.

While Tyson now searches for the inner strength to regain the heavyweight boxing crown, the cheering when Aerosmith took the stage this week at the Tucson Convention Center Arena underscored the fact that the band has already made one of the most dramatic comebacks ever in rock.

Not only has the hard-rock group reclaimed its place on the pop charts, but the group--which begins a series of Southern California concerts tonight at the San Diego Sports Arena--may also have earned a place for itself in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Yes, Aerosmith now has r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

That wasn’t always the case.

Though the East Coast quintet came up with such rock standards as “Walk This Way” and “Dream On” in the mid-’70s, Aerosmith was largely dismissed by critics and even many of its fans as a sort of junior-grade Rolling Stones.

You didn’t even have to listen to the music to start making the comparison. One look at lean lead singer Steven Tyler’s puffy lips and twisting, Jagger-esque mannerisms on stage and guitarist Joe Perry’s Keith Richards-inspired rock renegade stance was enough.

If the band had disappeared after its decline in the early ‘80s, its image as a second-line Stones would have probably stuck. But Aerosmith rebounded in 1987 with an album, “Permanent Vacation,” and a series of dynamic concerts that caused fans and critics to take a second look.

After all this time, it was easier to see the merit in the earlier Aerosmith songs, and the band--which had declared itself “clean and sober”--seemed to assert more individuality on record and on stage.

The growth continued in last year’s “Pump” album, which mixed more teasing double-entendre (“Love in an Elevator”) with a trace of social comment (“Janie’s Got a Gun,” a song about child abuse).

Rather than talk about how Aerosmith sometimes resembles the Stones, critics and fans are now more likely to talk about how the group’s flash and sexy rhythms have influenced a new generation of glam-rock bands, including Guns N’ Roses.

Backstage at the concert here Tuesday night, Tyler, one of rock’s most colorful and disarming conversationalists, nodded when the old Aerosmith image was mentioned.

“I used to hate it when writers said we were trying to be like the Stones,” he said, with an exaggerated frown. “I used to rant about how ignorant and superficial the writers were--about how stupid it was to keep saying I was trying to be Mick and Joe was trying to be Keith.”

Tyler paused to let the frown sink in. Satisfied that his guest was expecting more tirade, he shot back with a disarming smile.

“But you know what? They were right. Deep inside we did want to be Mick and Keith. I used to always pretend I was him back in school. And it didn’t stop once I got into a band. The Stones were my heroes. We used them as a diving board to dive into the pool of rock ‘n’ roll.

“I got goose pimples when I finally met Mick. When I talk to Keith, I still break down like the kids do when they come to me and ask for an autograph. So, yes, I hated the fact that the writers didn’t give us any credit for our own music. But, on the other hand, I knew they had us nailed.”

Tyler still reminds you of Jagger as he struts across the stage in a white jump suit, a long scarf dangling from the microphone. But the main similarity these days is the two singers’ high energy level. There’s a reason. Like Jagger, Tyler is into physical fitness.

The numbers that most rock bands are concerned with are the ones at the bottom of sales printouts. But Tyler and the rest of Aerosmith are just as likely to cite some other figures these days--in Tyler’s case “365 times 3.”

That’s the way Tyler counts his three years away from alcohol and drugs.

“Sometimes I hate talking about getting off the drugs and stuff because writers tend to write about that now rather than the music.

“At the same time, I’m proud of what we’ve done and I feel I have an obligation to pass on our experience in hopes that it’ll help someone else get their life together.”

Aerosmith--who’ll follow the San Diego appearance with concerts Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at the Forum in Inglewood--isn’t afraid of strong opening acts. The group toured last year with red-hot Guns N’ Roses and this year they’ve got sizzling Skid Row along.

One reason for the strong pairings, Tyler said, is it helps ticket sales. But the hot young bands also help keep Aerosmith on its toes. The temptation with a weak opening act might be for the headliners to take the show for granted. But the band can’t afford to let down when they know they are following a group on stage that could probably headline some arenas on its own.

Skid Row’s lead singer Sebastian Bach is hard-rock’s latest sex symbol and bad boy. He was arrested last December on a variety of assault and battery charges after he leaped into the crowd during a concert in Springfield, Mass., after being struck by a bottle hurtled from the audience.

On stage here, he stayed clear of trouble, even urging members of the audience not to take the words of one song--about fighting authority--too literally or they might end up in trouble themselves.

Aside from Bach’s charisma, Skid Row hasn’t found the individuality and personality at this early stage, but it still achieved a considerable energy level in the arena.

In fact, Aerosmith--working on a set designed to resemble a city rooftop, complete with hotel backdrop--had problems during the early moments of its nearly two-hour show extending the openers’ energy the way a headliner normally does in a concert.

But this is a confident outfit and the show gradually picked up momentum as the group worked its way through a song list that stressed ‘80s material. By the end of the show, the audience was ecstatic.

Perhaps because success is sweeter the second time around for Aerosmith, the band has an especially engaging presence. Without sacrificing energy or bite, the musicians--much like the Stones these days--seem free to enjoy themselves rather than have to put up a hard or unnecessarily aggressive front.

One reason for Tyler’s easygoing manner is that he is secure about Aerosmith. Part of the motivation, in fact, for his getting off the drugs was to keep the band together and to prove its place in rock history.

“There are a lot of reasons you get into rock ‘n’ roll,” he said backstage. “But at some point, you realize it’s the music that means the most to you and I’m glad that we’ve had a second chance.

“Without the recovery, we’d have been lost in the shuffle. They’d have looked at one song--’Dream On’--and that would have been Aerosmith’s legacy. Now, I think that’s changed.”