HIT HARD

Joey Kramer, the drummer in one of the most popular rock bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Aerosmith, has undoubtedly lived the rock-and-roll life. And like many who've charted these mythically self-destructive waters, he's been to the brink and back. This memoir puts it all in perspective from the point of view of the shy teenager whose love-hate relationship with his father instilled in him so much self-doubt that even years of stardom, and years of addiction, did little to overcome it. Holter Graham reads this like an insider, giving Kramer's bittersweet words a hard-boiled quality that underscores the message of his cautionary tale: Fame ain't all it's cracked up to be. J.S.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2009]