Aaron A. Brooks, also known as, Aaron Kinsley-Brooks (born January 24, 1964,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California) is an American rock musician, drummer, producer and composer. He co-founded The Little Death with

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

, Laura Dawn and Daron Murphy. He is a founding member of the American alternative rock band, The Mars Bonfire. Aaron also plays or has played drums for the electronic pop band Leisure Cruise; Grammy nominated electro-pop chanteuse Angela McCluskey (of Télépopmusik and Wild Colonials); Grammy award-winning producer/songwriter Mark Hudson; Emmy award-winning actress and singer Jackie Cruz; Grammy award-winning artist

; Singer/songwriter and progressive political activist Laura Dawn; Grammy award-winning bassist/songwriter and rock musician Duff McKagen of

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

; Circle of Soul; Erin Evermore; Grammy award-winning pianist and songwriter A.J. Croce; Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

; Writer, radio host, progressive political comic and guitarist/singer Jamie Kilstein and his band The Agenda.

Family life and education

At an early age, Aaron was taught to play the drums by

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

and Sonny Payne. His father is multiple,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger Frank Foster. His mother is the 1960s and 1970s rock publicist, Christine "Sunshine" Brooks ( Bill Graham,

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psyc ...

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

). Aaron is married to the Canadian model, interior decorator, and lifestyle-lista Sarah Kinsley-Brooks. Between them, they have four grown children: Griffin, Cassandra, Michelle, and Andrew; and a Yorkie pup named Poppy Love. Aaron is an avid ocean conservationist and PADI Master Scuba Diver. Aaron is based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Bushwick, Brooklyn Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg to the northwest; ...

and Hollywood, FL.

Career highlights

In 2011, Aaron composed an original score for ''Billy Bates'', an independent film by Jennifer DeLia and Julie Pacino. The film premiered at the 2012–2013

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, Toronto,

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

and Sundance Film Festival. He confounded The Mars Bonfire with singer/songwriter Mark Wynegar, bassist Dean Perry and guitarist Jay Shepard. He is currently the drummer for the electro-pop band Leisure Cruise, fronted by Dave Hodge and Leah Siegel. He is currently the drummer for Grammy-nominated electro-pop singer Angela McCluskey. He is currently the drummer for Emmy-winning pop singer Jackie Cuz. He is currently the drummer for writer, radio host, progressive political comic, and guitarist/singer Jamie Kilstein. He is currently a co-founder and drummer for The Little Death, fronted by

with Laura Dawn and Daron Murphy. He was a touring and session drummer for Grammy-winning artist Lana Del Rey He was a touring and recording drummer for Grammy-winning, electro-pop artist

. He was the touring and session drummer for Extasy Records recording artist Laura Dawn. He was the touring drummer for Chrysalis/Tigerstar Records recording artist Erin Evermore. He was the touring drummer for Grammy-winning rock artist, songwriter, and bassist Duff McKagen of Guns N' Roses He was the recording and touring drummer for the 90's rock band Circle Of Soul He was a touring drummer for Grammy-winning producer/songwriter Mark Hudson He was a founding member and the drummer for The Wallflowers, aka The Bootheels

Collaborations

Since 2006 Aaron has played drums and collaborated with recording artist, musician and pop icon Moby and The Little Death, along with Laura Dawn and Daron Murphy. The Little Death released their debut album "The Little Death" in 2010 while performing sold-out shows, including performances with

at The 2011 NMS Grammy's After Party,

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, The

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

, The Box, The Guggenheim Museum and at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

with Sir

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

. Aaron has also served as a touring/session drummer for Grammy-winning musical artist Lana Del Ray and NY-based musical artists Queen V, Joey DeGraw, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts drummer Thommy Price, and singer/songwriter Galen Ayers From 1996 to 2006 Aaron was playing, recording and touring with Laura Dawn, supporting her debut album "Believer" while opening for The Calling on their breakthrough 2001 US tour. He performed and recorded with Dawn's early other alt-rock band Fluffer who toured as support for The Melvins, Ben Folds Five, and

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

. During that time, Aaron recorded and toured internationally with the Mike Chapman produced electro-pop band Erin Evermore. In support of Evermore's album "Babyphetamine", they were the opening act for

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

on the U.S. leg of their "Pop Life" 2000–2001 world tour. Aaron was the touring drummer for a solo Duff McKagen of

, touring alongside The Scorpions on their 1993–95 world tour. During this time, he performed with Duff on the first live simulcast of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

'S Headbangers Ball and shot two videos for the singles "I Still Love You" and "Believe in Me". All the while, he recorded, performed, played and collaborated with Caron Bernstein, Trace Devai, The Immigrants/Edith Grove, MTV VJ Kari Wuhrer and the earliest incarnation of

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...

nicknamed The Bootheels, with Jakob Dylan (son of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

), and Luther Russell. Aaron started his musical career in the 80's rock scene of Los Angeles, drumming with his band, Circle of Soul. Soon after, the band was signed to a major label (Capital/Hollywood Records/Intercord) and embarked on a world tour in support of their Toby Wright, Waddy Wachtel and Frankie Sullivan-produced debut and second albums ''Hands of Faith'' and ''One Man's Poison''. Circle of Soul performed as openers for

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

, Winger, and

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

. They received steady video airplay on MTV and radio airplay with their single "Shattered Faith" reaching #30 on Billboard's "TOP 100" rock chart and #10 on Billboards Europe's "Top 100" rock chart.

Discography 1990–2016

* Leisure Cruise-Dust-Last Gang Records (2016) (Single) Producer: Dave Hodge, Liam O'Neil * Lola Johnson – Damaged Goods – Radian Records (2012), Producers: Andrew Felus & Lola Johnson * BonusStrike – Vivien – Independent (2011), Producer: John Pahmer * The Little Death – The Little Death – Gowanus Records (2009), Producer: The Little Death * Moby and Deborah Harry – New York City Remix for Songs For Tibet – EMI Records (2008), Producer, MOBY * AngieScreams – The Revelations Of Arthur Lynn – RCA (2008), Producer: Carlos Alomar * Jesse Gage – Goodnight Marlena – Independent (2008), Producer: Tony Bruno * BonusStrike – BonusStrike – Independent (2007), Producer: Michael Lee * Joe Chiofalo – Orange & Black – Sony Records (2008), Producer: Joe Chiofalo * The Shandys – When Your Alone – Pork Pie Records (2007), Producers: The Shandy's * The Smackdarts – Electricity – Independent (2006), Producers: The Smackdarts & Bernie Worrell * Yowza – In My Head – Eros & Aphrodite Records (2006), Producers: Jimi K. Bones and Yowza * Laura Dawn – Believer – Sony/Extasy Records (2002), Producers: Ted Nicely, Shimon Speigal & Yoshiki * Erin Evermore – Babyphetamine – Tiger Star/Chrysalis Records (1999), Producer: Mike Chapman * Erin Evermore – Girls Love Sex – Tiger Star Records/Chrysalis Records (1999), Producer: Mike Chapman * K5 – Liquid – Vital Records (1996), Producer: David Beal with Larry Mullen Jr. * Fluffer – Fluffer – Independent (1996), Producers: Jason Corsaro, Aaron Comess & John Eaton * The New York No Stars – B-Sides – Cleopatra Records (1997), Producers – Anthony Esposito & Marco Olivieri * Duff McKagen – Believe In Me – Uzi Suicide/Geffen Records (1993), Producers: Duff McKagen & Jim Mitchell * Circle Of Soul – One Mans Poison – Hollywood/Intercord Records (1993), Producers: Ed Roynesdal, Michael Frondelli & COS * The Immigrants/Edith Grove – Edith Grove – Beggar's Banquet Records (1993), Producers: Michael Ashton & Brian Foraker * Circle Of Soul – Hands Of Faith – Capitol Records/Hollywood Records (1990), Producers: Waddy Wachtel, Frankie Sullivan, Dave Jerdan, Toby Wright and COS

Video 1990–2016

* Jackie Cruz – Como Y Flor- Vivala Launch (2015) * Leisure Cruise – Mother-Last Gang Records (2015) * Leisure Cruise – Crime Tip – Last Gang Records (2015) * Leisure Cruise – The Getaway – Last Gang Records (2014) * Leisure Cruise – Believer-The Wild Honey Pie Buzz Sessions at Area 51 (LIVE) (2013) * Leisure Cruise – The Wild Honey Pie Buzz Sessions at Area 51 (LIVE) (2013) * Moby – Sessions at KCRW (LIVE) (2009) * Moby with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Eddie Vedder and Ben Harper & The Furious 5- Change Begins Within: A Benefit for The David Lynch Foundation at Radio City Music Hall" (LIVE) (2009) * Joey DeGraw – Another Mistake – The Today Show – Los Angeles/CBS (LIVE) (2009) * Joey DeGraw – Another Mistake – The Today Show – Memphis/CBS (LIVE) (2009) * The Little Death with

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

– Change Begins Within: A Benefit for The David Lynch Foundation at Vedic City (LIVE) (2009) * The Little Death – Some Of That/That Bone – Fox TV/Fearless TV (LIVE) (2010) * Erin Evermore – Girls Love Sex MTV (2001) * Duff McKagen – I Love You – MTV Worldwide – Uzi Suicide/Geffen Records (1994) * Duff McKagen – Believe In Me – MTV Worldwide – Uzi Suicide/Geffen Records (1994) * Duff McKagen – First simulcast of Headbangers Ball with Riki Rachtman (MTV Worldwide LIVE) (1994) * Circle Of Soul – Strung Out On Love – MTV/VH1 Worldwide (1993) * Circle Of Soul with Queen – Queen – Live on the Queen Mary" (1991) * Circle Of Soul – Shattered Faith – MTV/VH1 Worldwide (1990)

Equipment

Aaron is endorsed by multiple companies, including Dunnett Classic Drums, Creation Drums, Dakine and Gorilla Ears.

Drums

Creation Drums Maple Custom Series in Vintage Silver Sparkle Lacquer with Chrome Hardware. * 12x12" Concert tom * 14x14" Concert tom * 16x16" Floor Tom * 18x24" Bass Drum * 7x13" Tama Custom Snare Drum * 6 1/2x14 Dunnett Classic Drums Steel Snare Drum

Electronic Drums

* Roland SPD-SX Drum Pad * Roland V-Drums Acoustic Design VAD507 Electronic Drum Set * Roland RT Triggers * Simmons Octopads

Cymbals

Zildjian * 14" A Custom Master Sound Hi-Hats * 19" A Custom Crash * 18" A Custom Crash * 17" A Custom Crash * 16" A Custom Crash * 21" Sweet Ride

Sticks

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

* American Classic Rock Nylon Tip

Percussion

Latin Percussion {{for, the company, Latin Percussion Latin percussion is a family of percussion, membranophone, lamellophone and idiophone instruments used in Latin music. Instruments Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican styles Folkloric and Santeria * Trap drums * Abaku ...

* Congas * Cowbell * Tambourine * Shakers

Drumheads

Evans * Coated E2 (on Toms) * Clear EMAD (on Bass) Remo * Coated Ambassadors (on Toms) * Coated Emperor X Black Dot (on Snare) * Clear EMAD (on Bass)

Hardware

Drum Workshop Drum Workshop, Inc. (also known as DW Drums or DW) is a drum kit and hardware manufacturing company based in Oxnard, California. Current products by DW include drum sets, snare drums, and hardware. History Drum Workshop was founded in 1972 ...

* 9000 Series and Pacific 8000 Series Hardware

Monitors

Gorilla Ears * Gorilla GX-3b in Ear Monitors

Production and Media Career

Aaron also works as an executive producer, producer, production manager, tour manager, and stage manager of music, film, video, concerts, and live events with his and his wife's production company Fleurs & The Lion, LLC. Currently, he works for

JVKE Jacob Dodge Lawson (born 3 March 2001), known professionally as Jvke (stylized in all caps and pronounced "Jake /dʒeɪk/"), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and social media personality. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, he star ...

(Production, Tour & Stage Manager), Faouzia (Production, Tour & Stage Manager), and Meshell Ndegeocello (Tour & Stage Manager). Aaron has also worked with Janelle Monae: Dirty Computer World Tour 2019-2022 (Stage Manager),

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from soul music, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. As of 2024, the band h ...

: Funk Yourself World Tour 2023 (Production, Tour, and Stage Manager), and Lauv: All For Nothing World Tour 2022 (Stage Manager). He also works as a stage manager for Atlanta-based music festivals One Music Festival, Candler Park Music Festival, Sweetwater 420 Festival and Big Homecoming Music Festival. During his production management career, he has worked with his artists at most of the major international music festivals, including: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Lollapalooza, Something In The Water, Corona Capital, Made In America, Jazzfest, ACL Fest, North Sea Jazz Festival, Fuji Rock Festival, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Governors Ball, Roskilde Festival, Rolling Loud Festival, Electric Forest Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival, Primavera Sound Barcelona, Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, South By Southwest, Glastonbury Festival, Tomorrowland Festival, and Montreux Jazz Festival. Aaron also works as a freelance short form video, print and commercial video line producer, executive producer, producer, associate producer and unit production manager for Art Not War, Jodi Jones Studio. and his own production company, Lion Of Bushwick Studios. He contributed to Art Not War garnering 8 Pollie Awards and 7 Reed Awards for best political media of 2012–2013, and Jodi Jones Studio winning two Silver Cannes Lion Awards.