That cliché of rock stars partying so hard that they wake up in their own vomit? It’s a cliché because it’s true. Just ask Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer. He’ll tell you — and much, much more — in HIT HARD: A STORY OF HITTING ROCK BOTTOM AT THE TOP.
HIT HARD isn’t your typical celebrity autobiography, because it’s not a sniping, vicious tell-all. Instead, it’s an honest, unflinching look at the horror of living a life addicted to drugs.
Okay, a lot of drugs.
Kramer’s story starts like so many rockers: rebelling against his loving suburban parents. His actions got him sent to a private school … where the headmaster’s nephew promptly introduced him to drugs. Like the time he initially smacked a drum with a stick, it was love at first taste.
Naturally, his appetite for narcotics widened as access became a non-issue once Aerosmith hit it big. He and his bandmates consumed so many that Kramer says the group was the biggest single market for drugs in New England. As one chapter puts it, they were “drug addicts dabbling in music,” as opposed to the other way around.
While the ravages of drugs comprise most of HIT HARD’s story, there are asides on other dynamics of being in one of the world’s biggest bands, such as a love/hate relationship with Steven Tyler (which Kramer said mirrored that of his father) and that touring with KISS led to knives being pulled among their roadies.
The book is prodigiously illustrated with photos throughout, à la Howard Stern’s PRIVATE PARTS. Like that bestseller, this one’s not what one would call eloquent, but certainly written in way that is entertaining — more of a one-on-one conversation that’s compelling, rather than a fluid piece of prose.
Kramer deserves praise for being so brave and open about his misdeeds, and his continuing struggle to distance himself from those transgressions. Ironically, HIT HARD might play best not with Aerosmith fans, but with those going through similar situations … minus the platinum albums and millions of dollars, of course. —Rod Lott
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