Aerosmith Drummer Details A Rock N’ Roll Life In New Memoir

Even though Aerosmith is on the road with ZZ Top right now, rocking out and playing all the old gems, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer is also talking about his new book, “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top,” an intimate look at his life inside the world of rock stardom.

The new book, which arrived in stores Tuesday (June 30), follows Kramer’s substance abuse problems, his relationship with his father, depression and a co-dependent battle with Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler.

Watch a clip of Joey Kramer talking about his book below.

Here’s a snippet of the introduction from “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top.” No doubt the book is a very personal account of a musician’s life that is equal parts rock n’ roll pleasure and personal pain.

“I’d played my drums in front of eighty thousand screaming fans and passed out in my own puke. I’d toured in private jets, rode in limos, and had just about any girl, at any time, for any thing. I also lived in rat-infested, shithole apartments, got caught in a burning car where I sustained third-degree burns all over my body, racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, and watched my father die a slow, agonizing death. But I had never felt anything like this depression that brought me to Steps. . . . This time, there was only me and my pain, and I didn’t see any way out.”

Kramer tells Billboard.com that his book was written with writers William Patrick and Keith Garde to not only entertain, but to truly help people who may be dealing with the same problems he had to deal with. “My desire to help people plays a strong part in my character,” he says.

“Because I’ve been allowed to do what I’ve done via Aerosmith, I’d like to be able to carry it on as I get older, on another level. Whatever that may be is really unbeknownst to me – maybe some sort of a lecture series or circuit or whatever – but I know that it will come.”

Speaking with the Boston Globe about the relationship with his father, Kramer said:

“I didn’t comprehend it when I was a kid, but the way he disciplined me, which was abusive, was my fuel. I wasn’t [drumming] to please him, but the big thing he related to was the almighty dollar, so when I started making some of those, he paid attention.’

The book features a foreword by Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx.

Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton also spoke with Billboard about Kramer’s autobiography.

It’s a really hard hitting book…but there’s also a lot of neat references to people that we knew when the band started and things that happen that I forgot about. So it has some real entertainment value, too.”

The Aerosmith/ZZ Top double-bill rocks on until September. Aerosmith is also working on a new album.