KENNY ARONOFF'S EARLY BRADY 8X14 JARRAH PLY SNARE
Alarm bells went off inside me. The bald dude from Boston - famous from those John Cougar Mellencanp videos Kenny Aronoff was one of my favorite rock drummers: simple but every note he played counted, he made 4/4 his special lady friend. "Jack and Diane" - that's Kenny. Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory - that's Kenny Aronoff too! You know that awesome song with kate from B52's and the living Stooges legend, Iggy Pop? You guessed it - that is Kenny as well. I must say that the song that made me absolutely fucking love Kenny Aronoff and is beautiful Mr. Clean like head was "Pink Houses" a song which for me simply sums up America.
And now I am staring at what appears to be Kenny Aronoff's snare drum from the John Cougar Mellencamp "Whenever We Wanted" era. According to the seller, JCM was looking for a different sound and KA chose this monstrous wood snare. An 8x14 wood snare is nothing to sneeze at! But this was a Brady! A boutique drum company with a world class reputation - producers and sound engineers loved Craviotto, Noble and Cooly, Canopus and Brady. By buying this handmade snare drum I would be buying a world class one of a kind instrument by a world class company of one crazy Ozzie guy in the Outback and fucking Kenny Aronoff used it on a John Cougar Mellencamp album. I was waling in the clouds - heroin doesn't even come close to the high. Every cell in my body was smoking euphoria of greatness - a few messages to the buyer and then the decision was final. This baby was gonna be mine. I could barely sleep that night as I anticipated the red carpet arrival of my beloved. I wept as I fell asleep - tears of fucking joy. Kenny Aronoff might as well have com packed inside the snare drum.
I brought this snare drum all the way to Bangkok with me. I used checked baggage - I am not sure why I would take such risks with something I loved so much (aside from the fact it would have cost $500 to ship it to Bangkok via DHL) but somehow I knew that the Gods of Rock N Roll were looking out for me and that the spirit of KA was dying for some time in the Land of Smiles.
You can find me, the Brady snare and the ghost of Kenny Aronoff haunting Fatty's Bar & DIner now and again... maybe even tonight.
I am open to selling this snare but it wouldn't be cheap. Below is a fairly retarded video of me playing her with my Bosphorus cymbals and the Fatty's Gretsch kit.
Did Kenny Aronoff really use it? How the hell should I know, but it's a good story isn't it?