Joey Kramer - Hit Hard
08.25.2009 Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer writes Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top
Joey Kramer
is obviously the drummer for Aerosmith.
The read is enjoyable and tells formative stories of Joey’s talent not only as a drummer, but as a vulnerable man. Joey sees through to the other side of his differences and repeatedly values the “band of brothers” that came to be Aerosmith, and those garage bands that formed before the time-defying rock band.
It is most enjoyable when Joey’s own voice stands on its own merit and quirkiness. I know Joey Kramer’s voice well and love that he uses it with the posession and confidence he deserves. He tells a good story and for the beginning and middle and almost the end of the book we are buoyed by them.
Joey had the gift of movement inside of his body at birth and he discovered it early, as most gifted individuals do. The curse of the gift, if I got it right, was feeling misunderstood by those closest to him, and feeling terribly alone even when surrounded by tens of thousands of people. Starting with his family, most notably his father Mickey (to whom the book is dedicted in memorium along with Torri), there were gaps closed only by moving the music out of him, drugs, and finally the courage to be stripped of all his defenses to the raw bones of depression. It was then that a few noticed and helped him.
No longer addicted to drugs or booze, divorced and rediscovering love on different terms, Joey’s book is a happy ending to some dark days.
The book’s ending starts to explain some important things that I wish had been described in Joey’s rhythmic story style.
Nikki Sixx
The one other glaring misfortune does not beloing to Joey but rather the publishers thought someone named Nikki Sixx was worthy of an introduction and cover testimony. First off all his (yes it is a he) gushing, poorly written promises about the book are totally off base. Secondly, from the looks of a Google search, the man cannot even keep his sites clean enough to visit. You would think being in the public light might have inspired some housecleaning. Joey deserved a far better representative!
