AEROSMITH Drummer Joey Kramer - "There Were A Lot Of Kids Like Me Who Were Getting Physically Abused By Parents Who Thought It Was The Way To Discipline Them"
November 13, 2009, 14 years ago
MaryEllen Fillo from Courant.com spoke with AEROSMITH drummer Joey Kramer recently about a number of topics including his new book, Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top. A few excerpts from the chat follow:
Courant.com: Did anyone, teachers, clergy, friends, other family members, realize how you were being abused as a child?
Kramer: "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."
Courant.com: Passages throughout the book are boldfaced. Why?
Kramer: "They were the statements I was making that were particularly important to me. I wanted people to get my point."
Courant.com: What made you decide to write the book?
Kramer: "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."
Courant.com: What's your take on Steven Tyler quitting, or not quitting, Aerosmith.
Kramer: "I'm not really making any statements about it because everything is getting misconstrued and comments are being taken out of context."
Read the entire interview here.