“Mom, I want to be in the Beatles, call them up!”
Kenny Aronoff was 11 years old watching the Ed Sullivan show, mesmerized by “the coolest thing I’d ever seen.”
It was the Fab Four in their immortal American television debut.
“I was a hyper kid so I identified with Ringo. I was passionate, so ‘no’ was not an option. I wangled my first few drums. I couldn’t even afford a whole set, but I started playing Beatles covers right away. And I was off!”
Fifty years, 60 Grammy-nominated recordings and over 300 million records sold worldwide later, Aronoff lived “a dream come true,” playing onstage with Paul and Ringo on a CBS tribute to that very same historic Beatles show.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“At first, it was just because drumming made me feel good. It made my cortisol, my adrenaline, my oxytocin all skyrocket. So what would I rather do? Play the drums and feel good, or sit in my room and read a book? I was drawn to stimulation. It's the way I'm wired.”
As a late teen, Aronoff found his first teachers, but it was a rocky start. “I definitely didn’t have the most talent. I was a bottom feeder, blew my auditions at the University of Indiana three years in a row! But I’m like a running back. All I see is the end zone. My attitude was, I may not be as great as I want to be, but I’m willing to spend the rest of my life trying to be as great as I can be. And my teachers noticed that. I would outwork everyone.”
Aronoff tells the whole arc of his American dream story in his new book, Sex, Drums, Rock ‘n’ Roll! The Hardest Hitting Man in Show Business.
Watch Kenny Aronoff at METAL
“The big change for me was my drum sound which in the eighties was the loudest on the radio. I was playing with John Mellencamp and our psychology was to blow every song off the radio that came before and came after us.”
Forty years ago, listening to music was pretty much about people in their cars, driving to and from work.
“So we had to make things sound amazing through little car stereo speakers. The simpler and more primitive, the better. Like the opening of Paint it Black by the Stones. It was so powerful because it was just a simple Boom! Boom! Boom, Boom! You wanted to take over the entire speaker. Mellencamp’s intuition was right. It worked, man, it worked. We dwarfed the competition.”
THE SECRET(S) TO HIS SUCCESS
These days, Aronoff still travels the world holding down the beat for superstars, but in between, he also addresses large audiences about his work ethic and why he’s made it so far, for so long.
Indiana Colts owner Jim Irsay sent this jet to pick up Kenny Aronoff last year to transport him to Indianapolis to perform at Farm Aid.
Both in his book and from the speaking stage, he outlines 7 principles that he says can apply to anyone’s desire to succeed.
#1: Self-Discipline
“It all starts here – the power to discipline your feelings and desires with the intention of improving yourself. As a drummer, I need to practice every day in order to be great. I wake up and I do my thirty minute functional practice routine on a pad, both hands and both feet. It focuses on exactly what will make me sound great today. After a show, back at my hotel, I do that routine again. If I do it three times a day, it helps me play five percent better. That five percent makes a huge difference.”
#2: Hard Work Fueled by Passion and Education
“The more passion you have for what you do, the better you will perform, and the better you will serve your team. When I was eighteen years old, I started practicing eight hours a day, seven days a week. Today, I never take a day off. I’m willing to work eighteen hours a day, every day. If you’re lazy or entitled, you’ll get smoked by people who have self-discipline and are willing to work hard.”
#3: Creating a Plan That You Execute
“Set a goal. Create the perfect plan to reach it. Take steps daily toward your goal. Simple. Strive and learn. Fail and learn. Educate yourself about the business, ask questions, take lessons, talk to anybody who’s successful. Eyes on the prize, 24/7.”
#4: Team Communication Skills
“In a rock band, it takes the sum of all the instruments to make a unique sound. We have to get along, communicate and work as a team to become successful. Individuals don’t win Super Bowls, teams do.”
#5: RPS (Repetition Is the Preparation for Success)
“Action or thought. It’s the same. Do your reps. I practice my functional practice routine every day. Every business requires skills that demand repetition. There are no shortcuts.”
#6: A Healthy Life Is a Wealthy Life
“I’m six decades in on the drums. I need to be super healthy to do a three-hour soundcheck, then a two-and-a-half-hour show five nights a week. To stay successful in any field, you must be mentally, emotionally and physically healthy.
“My rules are lift weights; do cardio; yoga stretch; eat a smart, organic natural-food diet with lots of berries; supplement generously; drink water – at least half my body weight in ounces daily; get my 8 hours of sleep, and if I can, catch a 20-minute nap before I play; meditate to reduce stress.”
#7: Stay flexible in both mind and body because both life and business change fast. It’s the only way to stay relevant.
WHAT ABOUT THE JOY?
“Success?,” Aronoff asks rhetorically. “It starts with the fact that I love what I do. I love, love, love what I do, and because I love what I do, I'm willing to work longer and harder than anybody. Love fuels my hard work, self-discipline, and perseverance. You call me up all the time, and I'm in my studio at 1:30 in the morning.”
John Mellencamp, center, points his American Music Award at guitarist Larry Crane after collecting an American Music Award in 1983. Drummer Kenny Aronoff, author of 2016 book "Sex, Drums, Rock 'n' Roll," is seen at right. Bass player Toby Myers is second from left, and guitarist Mike Wanchic is to the left of Aronoff.
And he doesn’t keep all that love and joy caged up on the stage.
“I reach out to the last row of any venue to let them know, ‘Hey, I see you! You guys are just as important to me as the people in the front row. I point to people back there, and my dynamics are visible. I bring people in. It’s a natural thing for me. It's not some act, and there's a difference. People are feeling creatures, and they can tell the difference when they see something real. I'm not just twirling sticks and trying to be cool. I'm genuinely trying to reach out to them.”
Watching Aronoff play, whether in his home studio or in front of 50,000 screaming fans, you can’t miss his focus and joy shining through.
“I'm usually smiling when I'm performing. I'm smiling because music makes me feel good, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I mean, I figured that out at 11 years old. Drumming makes me happy. And you know what? There’s a ripple effect of my love and joy when I’m banging the drums. It affects everybody around me, which, by the way, makes me feel even better! I'm pleasing people and that energy goes back and forth between us. It's an incredible thing and that’s what keeps me younger than anything.”
And indeed, at 71, what Aronoff calls “my fourth quarter,” he’s still that “hyper kid,” bristling with vitality and enthusiasm.
Written by Adam Gilad
Trending Now
Portals to Discovery: 5 Must-Read Books for the Insatiably Curious: Our world brims with uncharted stories and hidden gems, just waiting to be uncovered. Having ventured into ancient tombs and decoded enigmatic manuscripts myself, I've found that some of life's greatest explorations take place within the humble pages of a book. I'm thrilled to share five extraordinary reads that whisk you away on journeys spanning time, mythology, self-discovery, and history. These aren't just books - they're gateways into understanding the human spirit and our world. (Ken Rutkowski)
These are the Bird Flu Questions that Influenza and Animal Scientists Desperately Want Answered: Ten weeks subsequent to government researchers uncovering that H5N1 avian influenza was affecting dairy cattle in the United States, numerous unknowns persist regarding the occurrences on impacted farms. Reluctance is widespread among farmers to grant access for scientific evaluation, leading to insufficient insight into the outbreak dynamics. (Statnews)
Testing DNA in the Air May Make Food Cheaper: Scientists conducting DNA sampling in the air to track the transmission of severe diseases have indicated that their research could contribute to reducing food prices. The Earlham Institute based in Norwich has stated that its air sampling device is capable of identifying bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms - known to jeopardize plant, animal, and human health - with enhanced speed and precision compared to alternative methods. (BBC)
