different places. Then a bunch of guys called me up from Indiana and said,“ Hey, we’ re starting a band. Somebody’ s investing a bunch of money. We’ re gonna get a truck, a PA, lights, live in a band house.” I thought, that’ s cool, a band house. The business model was that you write songs, and then you get a record deal. They give you money, you make the record, you go out and sell the product. Maybe you get on the radio, and then you repeat and repeat and repeat, and then suddenly you become The Rolling Stones. Well, that didn’ t happen. Three years after going to Bloomington, I go,“ I’ m 27 years old. I’ ve got to move to either New York, Nashville, or LA where the music business is.” A week before I was supposed to go, I have lunch with a singer-songwriter. She says,“ Hey, man, what are you doing?” I said,“ Well, I’ m gonna go to New York.” She says,“ Oh, man, you’ re gonna crush it.” Then she says,“ You know that guy in Bloomington? He’ s got a record deal, he’ s on this new network called MTV, and he’ s on the radio. Well, he just got off tour opening for Kiss, and he just fired his drummer.”
ANASTASIA: I guess your plans changed and you didn’ t go to New York? KENNY: I went running out of the restaurant and to a pay phone. I happen to have the guitar player’ s numbers. I called him up and said,“ Hey, Mike, Kenny Aronoff here. I hear you might need a drummer. I want to audition.” He says,“ Call me back in a couple of weeks. We’ re trying to figure some stuff out.” I go from the telephone booth to the record store, Karma Records. I bought [ Mellencamp’ s ] most recent record, went home, wrote every drum beat out and memorized the record. The audition was great. Two songs, 15 minutes. The boss goes upstairs after the audition, and I’ m packing up, going,“ Oh man, this is so cool. I gotta get this gig.” Mike comes down ten minutes later, smiles at me, shakes my hand, and goes,“ Welcome to hell.” Five weeks later, we’ re making a record at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood. Two days later, I get fired.
ANASTASIA: Fired? What happened? KENNY: I had no experience making records that get on the radio and become hit singles. The producer could tell I was green, and it didn’ t matter if I worked with Leonard Bernstein or if I won a concerto competition. My experience of serving the team, serving the song, was zero. The producer, Steve Cropper, needed to get that record done in eight weeks because he was going on tour with the Blues Brothers. I’ m devastated. We have
a band meeting, and the boss goes,“ Kenny, you’ re not playing on the record. I’ ll pay for the rest of the week, and then you go home.” The words that came out of my mouth were life changing.“ No freaking way am I going home. I ain’ t going back to Bloomington.” I was in a fight or fight mode, not a fight or flight mode.“ I’ m this close, and you’ re not taking it away from me. I’ d rather go to Mars than go back home and tell everybody I didn’ t cut it.” He said,“ You’ re fired.” And I said,“ No, I’ m not.” I was fumbling, but I told him that I was gonna go in the studio and watch those other drummers play my drum parts on your record, and I’ ll learn from them, and I’ ll get better, because I’ m your drummer. I told him that he didn’ t need to pay me, and I’ d sleep on the couch. He said,“ Perfect.”
ANASTASIA: I imagine you had nothing to lose. KENNY: I go to the studio every day. I’ m embarrassed. I feel like a loser, but I take a pad and pencil, I start writing things down, I talk to the drummers, and I realize, wow, okay, this is about serving the song, serving the band. I have to be a great drummer for him. I have to learn how to play drums for his music. So I go home and I revamp my whole approach to drumming. I started listening to
Above, Kenny Aronoff was the drummer for John Mellencamp for 17 years, shaping the sound of Heartland Rock on several hits.( 1982, courtesy of Kenny Aronoff) Aronoff has upwards of 300 million records sold featuring his work and over 1,300 certified Gold, Platinum, or Diamond awards by the RIAA.( Robert Downs)
“ I was in a fight or fight mode, not a fight or flight mode.”