THE UPBEAT WARRIOR
By, Nick Arnold
If you happened to catch the pre-inaugural concert for Barack Obama on television, you saw the many stars who gathered to perform for the momentous occasion, coming and going as they performed their songs and speeches on-stage. One man, however, was anchored just below the lip of the stage, in the makeshift orchestra pit, keeping it all flowing: counting off the intros, playing accurately and passionately with a seemingly endless parade of performers. Many viewers probably recognized the smiling man with the shaved head and the rock star sunglasses, perched behind the drum kit, bobbing his head from side to side. Some probably mistook him for David Letterman’s band leader, Paul Shaffer. Others probably knew the face, but could not put a name to it. True fans of rock music placed the face immediately: Kenny Aronoff. He is one of the most renowned percussion players in the industry, a drummer’s drummer, in constant demand as a session player and as a member of countless touring bands.
That freezing day in January at the Lincoln Memorial, Mr. Aronoff was in many ways the real man running the show: keeping the beat and counting off specific timings for between-song set changes. You couldn't miss his face on the TV screen. He was on camera almost as many times as Barack Obama and his family. Pretty exciting stuff, even for a veteran rocker. I recently had the good fortune to be invited to delve into the mind of this man who lives for music and loves his job. I found out that he’s not only always on the beat, but constantly upbeat, as well:
Nick Arnold: I only have an electronic drum kit and I constantly try to get my parents to let me have a real kit. I can’t be in a band without real drums! So far, they’ve refused. They think the neighbors would flip out at the noise. How did you talk your parents into getting you drums? Didn’t they or the neighbors complain about the noise? Where did you find room for your drums?
Kenny Aronoff: If you are in a band I personally think real drums are the way to go. If noise is a factor, electronic drums will make noise also, because you will have to amplify them. Nothing sounds and feels like a real drum kit. Electronic drums are just trying to imitate real drums, but they are great for the noise factor.
I grew up in western Massachusetts, and we had a building on the property we called “the playhouse.” When it was warm I had my drums in the playhouse. I grew up in the country so I could play twenty-four hours a day. My brother and I always had rock bands and we rehearsed in this playhouse. During the winter I set my drums up in the living room, which was far away from the family room. I had to practice before everyone went to bed at night, but they were cool enough to let me do that. I even had band rehearsals in that room. That was wicked loud and everyone just dealt with it. (Smiles) I was very fortunate.
In doing research for this interview, I read that you actually studied classical music and were thinking of playing in orchestras. I never would’ve guessed!
Yes, I did five years of very intense classical training: one year at University of Massachusetts, four years at Indiana University (top three classical schools in the U.S.). I studied one summer at the Aspen Music School and one summer at Tanglewood, where the Boston Symphony Orchestra plays in the summer. I always studied privately on top of that. The summer after my senior year in high school, I was practicing mallets, timpani, snare drum and drum set nine hours a day, seven days a week. I played five nights a week in a jazz trio. I loved it!
What drummers inspired and influenced you most growing up?
The rock drummer who influenced me the most was Mitch Mitchell from the Jimi Hendrix band, because he was a jazz drummer playing rock. That's what I was! I grew up listening to a lot of jazz and playing jazz because that’s what my parents were listening to. Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Joe Morrello, Connie Kay, Louie Belson, Philly Joe Jones, etc., etc.
Did your parents support your desire to be a professional musician or did they want you to be doctor or a lawyer – to go into a more “secure” line of work?
My parents totally supported me and I am very grateful for that. Of course they were concerned, but I showed so much desire and determination, combined with a passion to do it. I started doing music for fun, and in my junior year in high school it escalated.
Did you ever consider any other career besides drums or music?
No. I never considered any other career. I am a warrior, workaholic, addicted to being a musician and drummer. This is what makes me happy and I enjoy my life. I am very fortunate to be able to support myself and the important people in my life by playing drums.. Wow! It makes me smile and get excited just to think I am still doing that. I have flown on private jets, been around the world, recorded on some very successful hit records, played for three Presidents, etc., etc., and I still will set my own drum kit up at a sleazy bar to play Led Zeppelin tunes every Friday night, which I do at the Cat Club on Sunset [in Hollywood]. I love it!
What did your parents say when you first started to have success as a drummer?
My parents were very excited.. They were starting to get concerned when I was living in Bloomington, Indiana, playing bars and living in a house with a bunch of wild rock musicians. (Laughs) But when I got into the John Cougar Mellencamp band and they saw me on TV, they were excited. They always supported me, regardless.
How did you first meet John Mellencamp?
I was about to leave Bloomington, Indiana and move to New York City. I was 27 and I was starting to feel like I was not part of the music scene. I was about to leave and someone told me that Johnny Cougar (that was his stage name then) had fired his drummer. I called the guitar player up, and three or four weeks later I got to audition.
I practiced six hours a day and memorized every note on the Johnny Cougar record. I was the first guy to audition out of fifty people and I won. After John heard me play with the band, he went upstairs in his house and called the guitar player to come up. Then the guitar player came down and shook my hand and said, ‘welcome to hell.’ Wow! I later found out what that was.
Speaking of that, anything you would like to say about working with a perfectionist like John Mellencamp?
John is very much an intense, hard worker and demands a lot from himself, and therefore, everyone... like a bad-ass football coach. It got real intense at times.
I was with John Mellencamp for seventeen years. I recorded and played live on all his records in that period. The year I left Mellencamp, I had already been on tour with Bob Seger for six and a half months, then I went on tour with Melissa Etheridge for three and a half months, and I also did twenty albums on my days off!
So clearly there was never a worry about your future once you left Mellencamp’s band!
On to the present... recently you have played the Kennedy Center Honors, where then-President George W. Bush was present, and then President Obama’s pre-inaugural concert. That’s pretty amazing! How was it to play for the incoming president at the Lincoln Memorial?
Dude! That was an intense and hard job being the drummer! Sixteen hour days, freezing cold... Work, work, work! Reading charts, rewriting, focusing hard and being able to give every artist what they needed. I had to be so spot on, counting off tunes, knowing who to count to, when to count and what the count of was. I ran the show. In TV, every second is valuable. It took a lot of focus in the cold, and a lot of focus to do my job with all the excitement and the meaning behind this event! I did get to meet the President. That was cool! (Big grin) The highlight for me was watching Obama give his speech with no teleprompter or notes! He is a bad-ass speaker. Wow!
As you’ve said, it was bitterly cold at that outdoor concert. How did that affect your playing? What does that kind of cold do to the drumheads and cymbals?
The cold made it really hard. I just had to do it. Like the Green Bay packers do in the play-offs in Green Bay! Focus, focus, focus! I had long underwear on and wore drum gloves. I had this tiny heater that could barely heat my fingernails! I was worried about the drum heads, but they obviously lasted!
You are one of the busiest session players in the business. Do you prefer working in the studio or touring on the road?
I like both, but I prefer to work in L.A. more now, with a mixture of studio and live playing. Then go out of town for big events. Live is great, but I love the studio, because that’s where you get to create the music.
You are just so passionate about playing music and it seems you’ll do anything to play as often as possible. You don’t appear to have an ego about whether a gig is with a major act or someone who is completely new to the music scene. What fuels your love and dedication to music?
That is correct! I am so in love with what I do and have so much passion for it. It's the way I enjoy my life every day. I didn't create me. I am me... and I don't understand why I am so passionate, but I am. I love it!
So tell me more about The Zep Set, this Zeppelin tribute act you’ve been playing with at clubs.
Besides playing the great Zeppelin tunes, we are really doing what Zeppelin did -- that is, improvising and jamming like them. The key is to listen to everyone 100% of the time. We play after midnight in this bar, the Cat Club. It’s great.
What’s next on your calendar?
I am finishing up a record with a Japanese artist, and then I play with Daryl Hall (of Hall & Oates) on Thursday with two of the remaining musicians from The Doors. Then I am doing some jingles (ads) for American Idol on Friday. I will also be recording with a young bad-ass female guitar player named Orianthi, from Australia. I fly to Zurich and then Detroit to play with Joe Cocker and then back to L.A. I will go out with Joe Cocker again for a three week tour, and then in May I am out with John Fogerty for three weeks in Canada. In between I do sessions and some drum clinics.
Do you EVER sleep? Seriously, do you ever have any down-time? Do you take vacations?
I don’t take vacations or have any down-time. For example, I don’t take two days off unless it works out that way. I will work every day on something or I won’t feel good. I need to accomplish something every day - it could be with music or working out or business. The bottom line is, I feel good when I accomplish something. Every day I am working toward a goal!
I know it’s dangerous to ask about favorites – as in, who was your favorite artist or band to play with --but can you comment on some of your best experiences as a musician? What about the worst? You don’t have to name names, but maybe just say why and how a gig can turn sour?
Working with John Fogerty and Jon Bon Jovi are my favorites because they are perfectionists, work hard, demand a lot, but are nice about it. They are the best at what they do and I like being around that level of musicianship. I won't talk about the bad experiences. I enjoy almost everyone I play with, but some stand out.
You were named the number one studio drummer AND the number one pop/rock drummer five years running by Modern Drummer Magazine. You have played with so many great artists, and been on thirty Grammy-winning albums. Other musicians revere you as a drummer’s drummer. Is there anything you have not accomplished in your career? Anything you still dream of doing?
I would love to experience playing with The Who or Eric Clapton, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, or McCartney... for starters!
And with that, the hardest working drummer in show business is off to his next recording session...
###
