Kenny Aronoff is called “legendary”. He’s been voted as top studio drummer, touring drummer, rock drummer, and all-around drummer, numerou times by readers of an assortment of drummers magazines, and was recently included as one of the "10 Greatest Session Drummers of All Time" in Drum Magazine. He’s known for nearly two decades as drummer for John Mellencamp, but who else hasn’t he played with? He’s one of the hardest-working, most-sought-after drummers in the business today, with an incredible non-stop, 24/7 schedule. He’s also a real nice, down-to-earth guy, and a great story teller.
On April 10, 2005, Kenny Aronoff was inGLYNES: Thank you so much for agreeing to be my first interview for DrumRock!
KENNY ARONOFF: Cool. Let’s start at the top of your list, and see how many questions we can get through before I have to go.
G: You first started out playing in local rock bands, you went on to study and play classical, jazz and fusion. What brought you back to rock-n-roll?
KA: Well, that’s true, I started out as a rock drummer, as a little kid, you know, listening to the Beatles and the Stones and whatever was on the radio, and then I started to get into classical percussion only because some kid that was getting better at drumset told me he was studying with a percussionist from the Boston symphony orchestra, so I pursued that and it just elevated into 5 years of college and 2 or 3 years in high school studying classical percussion intensely. I always played drums, I never did leave rock-n-roll, however, I got into jazz and fusion and more what would be considered academic, that’s more technical types of music because that was where my head was at. But I always had the rock spirit in me. I didn’t know that, but even when I played tympani, even when I played Sebelius’ Second Symphony with Leonard Bernstein and I played the tympani, and my approach was always pretty aggressive, like rock-n-roll. And I always had the rock-n-roll spirit. And I think ultimately, just like anybody in life, eventually you’ll gravitate back to what really you. For greater or for worse (laughs) … You know, you are what you are.
When I graduated college, I was offered a job to play tympani in Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Israeli, and then in Quito, Ecuador, and I’d started studying drumset really for the first time at 23, and then I got into a band and then I realized, oh-oh, drumset, really, this is more fun. Now that I think about I, and this is the first time I’ve thought about it, I think I needed to get away from classical music for awhile, and when I did, and getting away from the heavy, intensive academia … those schools were intense, it was like 12-18 hour days, 7 days a week, and I enjoyed it so much I think I might’ve decided you know, I want to do this for awhile. And I went to Indiana and I was playing in a fusion-rock type band, and then I was 27 and I was going to move to New York, went in and auditioned, for this Johnny Cougar guy, and that’s what brought me really back to rock-n-roll, and that’s when I went, ‘this is not everything, but this is really what I like doing a lot.’ Finally, one week I played with like Hank Jr … in the early 90’s, I recorded with Hank, Jr., Cinderella, and the Buddy Rich Big Band, all within a week. And that’s when someone said, well, if you had to make a decision, which you’d prefer, you know, which one do you like the most. I was like, no I like it all, but I guess if I had to pick one, it would be Marshal Stacks Cinderella, the rock thing. That’s kinda where my energy is mostly. It’s obvious that that’s where I belong.G: Well, going along with choices, another question was, you do studio work, and you go on tour, what is your favorite thing to do? Personally, what do you like to do the best?
KA: I like both. That’s still one of those tough questions, ‘cause I like both. Studio work leads me to playing live. A lot of these, like Melissa Ethridge, if I hadn’t been in the studio with her, I wouldn’t have been offered the gig to go live. Same with Bob Segar. Same with Joe Cocker, same with John Fogerty. The studio thing leads me to live stuff. I love the studio thing, and I love the live thing. But, you’re saying if I had to make a decision?
G: Well, if you had a conflicting schedule, you could either do a studio gig, or a live gig?
KA: I lose studio work because of live work, and I lose live work because of studio work. Ultimately, when I’m playing in the studio, I’m trying to make it sound live. When I’m live, I’m trying to make it good enough so it could be on a record. But, live is really where it’s at. That’s where you get the most interaction and most excitement. Yeah.
G: Which one of those allows you to be more creative?
G: Looking back on your career, what epiphanies or critical learning experiences, what you might call “ah-ha” moments, can you point to that helped define who you are as a drummer today?
Another one was, well, when I went to study with George
Gabor from Indiana University, I mean I studied with him in Aspen, at the Aspen
Music Festival, which is an orchestral camp, and I was so blown away by his
intelligence and his philosophies, and his wisdom, not just on the instruments …
tympani, mallets, snare drum, percussion … but just in life, that I just went,
‘I gotta stay with this guy.’ So, I moved to
Vic Firth, studying with Vic Firth. Heavy. He’s very … straight lines, man. The distance between two points is just one straight line, and that’s what Vic’s all about.
A pivotal point also was, you know, all my recitals in the classical world, but the one where I won a concerto competition and played a marimba solo, I’d spent a year on that piece of music, more, and played with full orchestra and that was a heavy moment. Playing with the Buddy Rich Big Band, heavy moment.I guess those … after awhile they start to blend into each other. There are so many of them. Those are the ones that jump out.
G: If you’ve had one, what stands out in your mind as an absolute low point of your career, and how did you deal with it?
KA: Low point, oh … well, a humiliating point was when I was at the Aspen Music Festival and I’d had very little orchestral experience, but I got into the Aspen Music School because my audition tape was good, but I was way below the other people who’d in high school been playing in bands, and studying, and I didn’t play in bands in high school. I played in rock bands and I was a jock, so I wasn’t even good at working with a conductor. This is only after one year of college. So, I’m in this orchestra, and I have to play crash cymbals on some really blazing Tchaikovsky piece, and I’m lost, I’m lost and I don’t come in. Conductor stops … because the whole orchestra stops at a moment and the cymbals crash and they continue, sort of a solo. He stops and say, ‘Let’s try it again, cymbal player.’ And we do it again, and I mess up again. He stops and now he says, he’s yelling at me, and then he makes me count my part in front of the entire orchestra, and all the violinists, everyone’s turned around looking at me, laughing, and then I didn’t even come in and play. He said, ‘You’re supposed to play,’ I said, ‘I thought you wanted me to count.’ I was humiliated. Humiliating. That’s one of my … not really a low point, but an embarrassing moment. I felt like a piece of shit, I was so humiliated.
Another time also was playing an opera. At
G: A real learning experience. I can relate that to what you talk about, preparing ahead of time and doing the part in your mind before you do it, so that doesn’t happen.
KA: Absolutely. Yeah.G: What are a couple of favorite memories of your career?
KA: Well, there are so many, it’s hard to remember. I don’t know. I mean great moments … playing in front of the President three times, once with Bon Jovi, twice with John Fogerty. That was exciting. I mean, I’m playing for the President at the Ford Theater, which is a very intimate place, and meeting him, you don’t think much of it, you know ….
G: And which President?
G: And he’s a musician himself, as well.
KA: Yeah. And he’s a pretty hip dude. So, that one stands out. Once again, there are so many great experiences, but that one stands out, because I didn’t do that that many times. Any one of my experiences would be considered the highlight of most people’s careers, and I have so many of them, so often, it’s like, you know … playing a marimba concerto with full orchestra, you know, 60-piece orchestra, in an opera hall, where you’re the soloist, just blazing with this big huge orchestra behind you.
Playing for Leonard Bernstein, Sebelius’ Second Symphony, such a beautiful piece of music that I had to pinch my fingers, my own hand, so I wouldn’t like start crying while I’m performing. It was so beautiful.
G: And what was Leonard Bernstein like? He was my idol from the time I first started styding classical music at the age of 9. He always seemed to me like he just lived the music when he was conducting, he just got so into the music.KA: He was a beautiful person. He was so passionate about his music, and such a great teacher. He very easily could’ve been a musical snob, but he wasn’t. He was humble, and brilliant. And as far as conducting, he was so in tune with feelings, that’s what made him unique. There are other conductors who are geniuses, and I mean geniuses, to read a score in all those multiple clefs and be able to hear every note, and they’re technically brilliant, and they don’t know how to communicate with people and they don’t know how to tell people … they’re something very academic. Leonard wasn’t that way at all.
G: Who were your earliest influences?
KA: As drummers? A lot of them were jazz drummers. Elvin Jones, Buddy Rich, Joe Morello, Art Blakey … then in the rock world, Mitch Mitchell from Hendrix became a big influence for me, because he was a jazz drummer playing rock and I could relate to that. Those were my early influences.
G: Who influences you now?
KA: Everybody influences me now (laughs). Everybody is good. It seems like everybody … there are so many great drummers.G: What are some of the differences in drumming between Kenny Aronoff in the 70’s & 80’s, and today?
KA: Oh, I’m just better. I’ve just refined. The thing that’s the same is the passion, and the power, but I’ve just refined it, just gotten better at it. I’m much cleaner, much tighter, just have more experience and more knowledge. I’ve actually got more technique, things that come from time.
G: How do you keep that spark of enthusiasm going? What keeps you excited about drumming?
KA: Man, I didn’t make this fuckin’ car, I’m just drivin' it! (laughs) I can’t take credit for any of that stuff. I was just born with the love and desire and passion, and music, drumming just happens to be a way that that just comes flying out of me. So, I’m addicted to that feeling, so I just keep doing it.
KA: (Laughs) Well, the thing about being on the road, you know, things are always going wrong. To enjoy being on the road, you have to be adaptable and be able to adjust and be flexible. That’s the only thing I can say. There’s a lot things that aren’t glamorous about being on the road, you know. It can be really tough. You know, every night like if you’re playing and you don’t carry your own monitor guy and your own PA, you’re stuck with what they have, and things are just never, ever perfect. You have a few good moments when things are perfect. It’s being flexible.
G: You have an intensive work schedule
and you bounce between live shows and studio work at a pace that would knock
most of out. Can you tell us what kind of preparation you’re able to do with
such short time frames, and what are some of the adjustments you have to make,
both in technique and in mindset, going from one gig to the next.
Okay, we’d better stop here … I’ve got to get to the airport.
G: Kenny, thank you so much for taking the time for this. It’s been a real treat to sit down and talk with you, especially after getting to see you up-close, playing with the BoDeans last night.KA: (laughs) Thanks. It’s been great. We’ll figure out another time to finish the rest of the questions.
Again, a big thank you to him for being my first interview, and giving us an insight into some of his background and thoughts on his career.
More good stuff to come. Stay tuned for Part 2!
(photo courtesy glynes taken at Woodstick 2005)