Seems like you are always on the way to the airport…
Yes. I mean I have done three tours since last year. Melissa's, John Fogerty and Joe Cocker. I went straight in to Joe Cocker's tour with no rehearsals. That's insane. I had been preparing with live tapes, getting prepared for that and of course with me, on days off, I am booking more sessions. It's a result of my own desire, but I am always taking red eyes and stuff to get places. It's crazy. I worked with a new artist as well called Trick Pony in Nashville. They're wacky. Three people from three different bands and the girl is a little spitfire. She's great. Her name is Heidi. The bass player is completely out of his mind in a good way. He plays a steel upright bass with headlights. (laughs) They are about to break hopefully. One song I worked on their new album is with Johnny Cash singing on the song. I'd worked with Johnny before on the last Highway Men record. I've also recorded with Willie Nelson as of late. I've worked with him before. He's great. I did a Saturday Night Live show with him and Paul Simon.

And you worked in the studio with Melissa on SKIN.
No, I didn't. (laughs) Just joking.

Can you tell the fans a bit about your work with Melissa on her new album?
I am just totally in love with Melissa's music and her as a person. So, I was very excited to be a part of working on the new record because I just relate so much to her vibe as a person. Therefore, it translates that way into rock n' roll. We both have the same sort of passion. We seem to agree without talking about it and about the intensity of how much we enjoy rock n' roll. You know we seem to match real well. I always think that you must match your singer and drummer together. If you have an intense singer you can't have a wimpy drummer and if you have a wimpy singer you can't have an intense drummer. You have to match those two energies together. I would say that she and I match very well together.

You've mentioned to M.E.I.N. in the past that you love working with her on so many levels. Since the past albums you have worked on, how do you think your collaboration has matured?
This album has been a whole different approach to making a record. On Your Little Secret we would record a song and work them up from scratch. Melissa would have a song and we would record it with the band and arrange them from the bottom up. For SKIN, her songs were already recorded and most of the parts were already done. She had gone into the studio with David (Cole), as you know, who co-produced, engineered and programmed. So, therefore I was treated more like an overdub. So, Melissa called me up when I was in San Francisco at one point. That's where M.E.I.N. headquarters is located isn't it?

Yes. M.E.I.N.'s home office is here in the beautiful City By The Bay…
You have some great football teams! I am a football fanatic. I route for the Colts. This is another area that Melissa and I are very tight on… football. We are both football fanatics. We both love football and we share that extra passion in common. She is a Kansas City Chief girl and I am a Colts guy. But back to the album, Melissa called me up when I was in San Francisco. She doesn't call that often, but when she does it's always a cool thing. She called me up and said, "Well, Kenny how ya doin'?" It is always so exciting to talk to her and she made reference to the record that she was working on. She said they were some of the best songs that she thought she'd put together in a while and that perhaps this was the best record that she had ever made. But she said it needed a little of Kenny Aronoff. She said that they had been programming all of the drum programs with loops and sequences and she said, "I keep telling David to do this fill like Kenny would do it." And David would say, "Cool, all right" and he would do it fine and finally he said, "You know what? Why don't we just get Kenny in here to do it." (laughs) So, I was totally thrilled! I didn't plan on being on the record because the last we had talked she was going to do this solo thing, which I thought was so cool. She asked me if I had any time off and I said, "Yes I do!" It was only a couple of weeks notice and I had a tour ending with Joe Cocker. I asked how many days she needed and we agreed that we could get my drum parts completed in two days. So, I moved my session with Trick Pony and was able to go into the studio with Melissa.

What's the difference for you coming in and playing on songs that are already laid down?
Oh, it's completely different. All the songs were pretty much done. They decided to add real bass and real drums to add that quality. See, when you program everything, it's cool. You have a lot more of an opportunity to change things and adjust things and correct things. This is just one method. The cool thing about having live players is that they will react at every millisecond and they will totally be reacting to what they are hearing. The only difference is that the music that is programmed is not reacting to me. It's not that one way is right or wrong, they are just two different approaches to building the same house. In this day and age, a lot of people are using Protools, which is basically a tape recorder with an unlimited ability to edit anything you record and it all goes through a hard drive. There is no tape. You can leave tape out of it if you wish. So, once you go to a hard drive on a computer, you can edit anything. You can move anything. Depending on the music, a nice combination is to have some live elements recorded as well. Melissa played real guitar, real keyboards and sang obviously. Sometimes when you add drum programs they get a little bit redundant. They can sound a little bit stiff, or a little bit machine-like. So, when you bring in a real drummer, you get more of an organic rock n' roll feel and a little bit more of a humanistic kind of feel added to the programs.

You take what sounds linear and free it up?
Yes. It's like decorating a cake. You are adding a whole different approach. Because of my different personality in drumming, I add a different flavor to the soup per se. Also, they didn't get rid of everything they programmed. They kept the loops and the programs. I juxtaposed my playing with their programs and that was the big difference. I was reacting to what was already there, as opposed to the other way around. For instance, they had one drum loop and then they would have me play to it then add other stuff after me. This way I was the last ingredient. The drumbeats provide a very steady beat, whereas with me I tend to change it up and react to her lyrics, the intensity of her voice, her guitar playing…The cool thing was that I was stimulated by all the things that were already recorded as opposed to a lot of times I have to be the one to supply that. It's a different order of events and it gives you a different result. But the bottom line is that Melissa's songs are great.

Do you think recording with Protools expanded what Melissa was able to express?
I would imagine that it did because she did not have a full band around her and she was really able to focus on the songs themselves. Like she does when she is writing on her acoustic guitar. She could really focus and it really got down to the nuts and bolts of each song. However, those drum loops influenced her to a certain degree also. You hear a drumbeat and it gives you a feeling and that feeling could then inspire her to write one way versus another. Everything influences everything ultimately, one way versus the other.

When you first heard the new songs, what did you think?
My reaction was kind of like the offensive line for the Oakland Raiders. It's all about football! That's my final comment! (laughs) Melissa's fans will appreciate that. I am their token man. Her fans are awesome! There is a lot of love out there!

Yes indeed Kenny! You are the token M.E.I.N.'er! When did you first hear the new songs?
They played me two songs. "Lover Please," the rocker with a triplet, 12-8 feel. Classic Melissa! I really loved the song… Smokin', phenomenal song! Great lyrics, great feel. After hearing it once, I felt like I knew the song and was like, "Wow!" I thought it was great. That's a big thing too because a lot of times you have to hear a song a couple times to really get into it. Right from the get go, I was blown away and I thought the song was great. She sang the hell out of the chorus! "I Want To Be In Love" is killer too. Both songs just knocked me out. Ironically, when I came back in for my second session with Melissa that was the melody I had in my head. It stuck in my head. "Lover Please," the more aggressive song, is more my style and grabbed me right away, but I love both songs. Lyrically the songs are very, very strong.

This album represents a very personal journey for Melissa. What can you say about the emotional element behind these new songs?
With all that has been going on in her life, this is the beauty of being an artist. You have a place to shelve your emotions and your experiences. Because she is talented and has the ability to do that, it is a great way for her to go through life… Having these big life experiences and releasing her feelings through song, in her art form. She did a smart thing ~ she went through a life experience, whether she meant to or not, and then she approached doing the record differently. Everyone goes through things and people who don't have Melissa's particular outlet can relate to what she is going through. They identify. It's cool. It is really positive and helpful and she had plenty to write about. She had a lot of passion and desire to do this record and that shines through. The lyrics to this album are so strong and pointed. She was very clear about what she was writing about, not that she hasn't been before, but this material comes off very strong. The album is very genuine and is the real thing.

What's your favorite aspect of the new songs?
The passion and the lyrics… and the fact that I got to play on the album.

You collaborated once again with Mark Browne, Melissa's bass player. Can you tell us how you worked on these songs together?
We are really tight. We have a great rapport. We know each other's styles really well. He's a great listener. I will play a certain beat and he listens to my foot pattern. It's mutual. We listen to each other. If the other person is doing something that is really cool you work with that. It's a lot like dancing. When you dance, one person kind of jumps in at the right time. You are doing your thing, but then you become aware of what the other person is doing and you adjust to make it more of a partnership. That's why I dance alone. It's hard to dance with your clothes off with someone next to you ~ eyeballs all popping out, broken noses happening. I'm getting excited! (laughs)

Melissa worked very closely with David Cole. From your perspective, what was their collaboration like?
David is very special. He is a special human being. He is a really cool dude. I don't know if I can describe him correctly even. He is an amazing person. He was the perfect person for Melissa to work with. He has a great sense of humor, is a hard worker, and is very observant, courteous and kind. He can really make you laugh. He is strong and sensitive. He's really cool.

It seemed like he really provided a safe harbor for Melissa while she recorded this album.
Yes. Melissa needs to have things comfortable. No one wants to walk into the studio and be uncomfortable. The fact that Dave made it very comfortable for her and let Melissa open up and let all that stuff come out, means we all benefited from that environment that he created. He provided an ideal recording situation. Dave is good at that. That is what a good producer is. You have to make the environment correct so the artist can do their best work and David was great at doing just that.

How do you think this record reflects Melissa's growth as an artist?
The thing that made this record different was that she did the record on her own. She did go through a big personal year. She has gone through a lot of personal growth, so these two things are huge elements that will effect what you do. I mean if everything was the exact same way that it was two years ago, she might not have had as much to say, or have been in the mood to say anything. Here she had a lot to say because of the kind of changes that have occurred in her life. With her doing the record on her own, the whole experience results in her growing as a person and an artist. She has always expressed herself really well. She's doing things differently and she is moving in new directions, which is all about growth.

What is your favorite aspect of working with Melissa?
Her passion, honesty and the fact that she likes football ~ those are the big things. (laughs)

Do you have a special message you would like to relay to MLE's fans?
I miss them! They are some of the greatest, most passionate fans I have ever played in front of. Really passionate and I love playing for her fans and I can't wait until I play in front of them again.

Learn more about the amazing Kenny Aronoff and all of his latest activities! Visit his Web site at www.kennyaronoff.com.