Aerosmith’s drum tech had only 6 hours of preparation before performing
By tsell on June 16, 2020
The Montgomery, Texas drum tech got the chance of a lifetime
By Trent Sell
Co-founder and Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer was sidelined with an injury last year, during the band’s Vegas residency. Aerosmith’s drum tech, John Douglas, filled in for the band’s drummer with a measly 6 hours of preparation.
“Time can sometimes be your enemy”
During the Spring of 2019, the band was playing their “Dueces Are Wild” Vegas residency when Joey Krammer got injured. The accident was deemed a minor shoulder injury. The next logical person to fill in was their drum tech, John Douglas.
The opportunity to perform with Aerosmith was surely unique, but the pressures of getting prepared is a different story. With only six-hours to rehearse, John had little time to prepare for what would be his first performance with the band on their Vegas residency.
Looking back on it now, the short time to prepare may have worked to his benefit. He explained to the Houston Chronicle, “Time can sometimes be your enemy. Having a lot of time can make you obsess about something like this. So having little time is an upside.”
Since then, the drummer has subbed in for Krammer during multiple shows, even playing with the band at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
“So that’s me,” Douglas said. “This drum tech guy from Montgomery, Texas, who played the Grammys with Aerosmith. Obviously I didn’t grow up wanting to be a drum tech. I wanted to be a drummer. So I was honored to fill some famous shoes in an iconic band.”
The drama surrounded by the attempted return of Krammer this past winter became national news. He wanted to be back in time for the MusiCares Person of the Year and Grammy Award honors, but the band didn’t think he was ready. Douglas would perform both of those shows as well.
Despite having been a drum tech for years, this wasn’t the first time Douglas had to fill in for a drummer. While drum teching for ZZ Top, he ended up playing with the band during Frank Beard’s emergency appendectomy surgery in 2002.
