Aron Hetsko Interview - November 2023 Sick Drummer Magazine

A few words from drummer Aron Hetsko…

I started drumming in 2009 as a 14 year old. I played in a few metal bands throughout high school but actually ended up taking a bit of a break from drumming from 2015-2018 to focus on getting my engineering degree. Near the end of school, I decided to get back into drumming and began playing gigs with a country band and a pop punk band. At some point in late 2019, I finally joined a metal project and really dove back into metal drumming.

During the pandemic, I dedicated a lot of my time to practicing and began trying to learn much more difficult songs. Around that time, the official formation of my current band, The Xebellian Triangle, began, although we wouldn’t play our first show until October of 2021. Throughout 2020 and 2021, I played with several local projects, but my touring career didn’t start until August of 2022.

I had the opportunity to fill in for Aethereus on their West Coast run. Right after that, more opportunities started popping up. In September of the same year, I filled in for Desecation for a festival. I went on tour with Snake Father in October, and in November, I did a short run with Dessiderium. I started off 2023 by filling for Enterprise Earth on their European tour, and I recently learned 12 tracks and did a short run with Fallujah!

Aron Hetsko Interview:

SDM: How old were you when you started playing?

Aron: 14

SDM: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?

Aron: No. I started just too late to really join the band. My school was weird about letting people join the band if they didn’t start in 6th grade, and I started drumming when I was in 8th grade.

SDM: Who are your top 5 metal influences?

Aron: I spent many hours watching videos of all these guys (except Elliot, who’s a huge but later influence) as a kid, and they all shaped my drumming in huge ways.

Blake Richardson, Elliot Hoffman, Shannon Lucas, Sam Applebaum, and Matt Greiner.

SDM: Who are some of your other favorites?

Aron: The list is massive, but to name a few: Eric Moore, Chris Coleman, Benny Greb, Jojo Mayer, Neil Peart, Richie Martinez, and Jerrod Sullivan.

SDM: Let us know 5 bands in your current personal rotation.

Aron: Kublai Kahn, The Dear Hunter, Fromjoy, Koe Wetzel, and Joyner Lucas.

SDM: What do you do to warm up before a show?

Aron: Typically, I’ll run through some rudiments to a click. Nothing too fast, usually, just enough to get more blood flow to the hands. If I have a kick pad I’ll warm up my feet too, but ever since I switched to doubles, warming up my feet hasn’t been necessary.

SDM: Do you read music? Regardless of answering yes or no, please tell us how it might have affected your playing.

Aron: I can read drum notation, but I don’t do it too often, and I’m not very good at site reading. Being able to understand notation has definitely helped my playing and has helped me be able to express ideas more effectively as well.

SDM: Can you tell us about the gear you use?

Aron: Honestly, nothing too fancy. I have a lot of used gear that still seems to work well. I don’t have any endorsements at this time, so I am mainly using just the collection of gear I’ve acquired throughout the years.

SDM: If you could give one piece of advice to younger drummers, it would be…

Aron: Stay consistent and set goals, but also make sure you’re enjoying what you are doing (overall), or it won’t be worth it.

SDM: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?

Aron: I’ve seen Blake perform flawlessly so many times live; it’s not even fair.

SDM: Aside from drumming, what else do you like to do?

Aron: I have an aerospace engineering degree, and I currently work part-time for NASA when I’m not on tour. I’ve also played golf competitively and definitely plan to get back to doing that at some point.

Video 2: https://youtu.be/I1nd5I6zDJs

Video 3: https://youtu.be/1q94QvjqBlM

Aron’s Gear:

PDP maple kit. I’m honestly not too sure of the details about it. It’s an older model that I bought used.

Mapex sledgehammer brass snare 14″ x 6.5″

Evans G2’s for the toms and Evans HD dry for the snare.

I use mainly Meinl cymbals, and I frequently switch out which models and sizes I use. However, I’ve been using a Sabian HH Power Bell ride since probably 2011.

Trick dominator pedals with Ontrigger pedal-mounted triggers and a Roland TM2 module.

Vic Firth 3A sticks.