Hartford Courant
MaryEllen Fillo
Fans have heard his distinctive percussion in Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion." But Joey Kramer, the band's drummer, will be in the spotlight for a different kind of reason this week in Connecticut. He will be signing his new book, "Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top" (Harper Collins, 233 pages, $26.95), a memoir that traces his life from an abused child to a member of "America's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band," his drug and alcohol abuse, depression, breakdown and recovery. Calling the journey to emotional and physical health a long but satisfying one, Kramer, 59, "Spilled the Beans" with Java on what turned him into a writer and the comfort he found telling it all.
Q: Did anyone, teachers, clergy, friends, other family members, realize how you were being abused as a child?
A: I never told anyone because while the abuse was in progress, I wasn't really conscious that it was abuse. I just thought that was the way it was between my father and me. I think back then there were a lot of kids like me who were getting physically abused by parents who thought it was the way to discipline them. There was a confusion between abuse and love, and later I forgave my father because I think it was all he knew. He was trying to do the best he could.
Q: Passages throughout the book are boldfaced. Why?
A: They were the statements I was making that were particularly important to me. I wanted people to get my point.
Q: What made you decide to write the book?
A: I decided about five years ago to write and it took me four years to write it. The reason I did was that I realized I could incorporate a rock 'n' roll memoir, which is something I had wanted to do, with my own story. I didn't think I was interesting enough on my own but realized people don't have to be a rock 'n' roll star to crash and burn. Now that I have been sober a while, I wanted to let people know there is a way to do it and not give up hope.
Q: What's your take on Steven Tyler quitting, or not quitting, Aerosmith.
A: I'm not really making any statements about it because everything is getting misconstrued and comments are being taken out of context.
Q: What was your biggest epiphany during all of your ups and downs?
A: Probably that I had the internal fortitude to get through what I did, from my breakdown, from all of the stuff I got from my dad. As bad as things were with him, I think that I got some really solid inner strength from him. The ability to get through.
Q: The book is pretty graphic, and you don't mince any words when it comes to your personal or professional life. Are you embarrassed by any of it?
A: No. If I were I would not be putting it in a book. I was very honest in the book and I worked very hard on it.
Q: Did you ever come to a truce with your parents?
A: I cleaned the slate with my dad before he passed away. He knew he had done something wrong. My mother, she doesn't like to remember him that way. I just let her be the way she is.
Q: How do your fellow band members feel about the book, and what you have written about them all?
A: They have read it and are OK with it.
Q: What did you learn from it all?
A: I am what I am today because of all of it. I don't know if I would have changed anything. I am very happy now. I got divorced and am remarried to the most wonderful woman in the world. I never imagined I would write a book and it turns out I did and am happy with it. A lot of people who have no idea who Aerosmith is have reached out to me. It's a pleasant surprise to be able to help people. There may well be a second book. I had no idea I would like writing so much.
•Kramer will discuss the book Saturday in The Cabaret Theatre at Mohegan Sun at 2 p.m. and sign books in The Shops at Mohegan
Click HERE for more information about Hit Hard.
