Mookie of Northeast Nebraska's KNEN-FM 94.7 (94 Rock) conducted an interview with AEROSMITH drummer Joey Kramer on Friday, July 24. You can now listen to the chat below.

Kramer's autobiography, "Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top", was released on June 30 through HarperCollins. In the book, Kramer, a founding member and drummer of AEROSMITH, courageously tells the world how he has wrestled with depression as part of the most successful rock band in American history.

In 1997, amidst AEROSMITH's sold-out world tour and No. 1 album release, Joey revealed in an interview his ongoing struggles with depression. The response from fans and people battling those same internal demons was overwhelming. Joey — who has been the drummer in aerosmith since it was founded in 1970 and the first member of the band to release his own book — now tells the complete story: the early days of the band, glamorous drug-addled events leading up to their eventual sobriety, battles within his family and among bandmates, and the explosive internal dynamics in AEROSMITH that continue to unleash a fury of endless creativity.

This is not just another rock and roll memoir. In addition to the never-before-told AEROSMITH war stories that abound in the book, "Hit Hard" unpacks the history of a rock star who was both fragile and tough, who after years of insane wildness became willing to accept help and finally kick a serious alcohol and drug addiction, only to find that the real terrors and hard work were still ahead. It's the story of an average kid from an average American suburb who went through physical and emotional trauma. It's about years of depression and the nervous breakdown at the height of the band's comeback success. Ultimately, it is about how Joey recognized his confusion between love and abuse, awakening to the kind of self-acceptance and compassion that makes healthy relationships possible in the "real world."

Joey Kramer has been rocking with AEROSMITH since the band began in 1970. Kramer and his partners have sold over 150 million albums, and today their multigenerational, global audience is bigger than ever. In addition to the Grammys and the twenty-one multi-platinum albums, AEROSMITH was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. The band has been the subject of several documentaries, including a film dedicated to Joey Kramer and his lasting influence called "It's About Time".