Aaron Solowoniuk must be some kind of superman. The drummer manages to balance his responsibilities with one of the biggest rock acts in the country (Billy Talent) with a family and still finds time to raise money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis, the degenerative disease that he was diagnosed with a decade ago.
The latest project he is involved with is Cut to the Drummer, a gala fundraiser that will feature 50 portraits of drummers, including John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Tre Cool (Green Day), Travis Barker (Blink-182) and more. E! Online spoke to Solowoniuk about the event and about his organization, FUMS.
E! What is FUMS and what does it stand for?
Aaron Solowoniuk: FUMS basically means F--k You Multiple Sclerosis. It’s something that I said to myself over and over again when I first got diagnosed with this disease. I’d gone through years of medication and when I finally accepted what was going on with my health and with my body, I decided that I wanted to do a charity concert for MS. It’s turned into much more than just a concert. Right now, it’s basically helping to fund a scholarship program we stared two years ago. I knew I wanted to donate the money to the MS Society but I didn’t want to just hand it over…we came up with this idea of helping families affected with MS with a scholarship program.
E! What can people expect at Cut to the Drummer?
Aaron: It’s basically a month-long exhibit at the Steam Whistle gallery. The first day of the exhibit, we’re throwing a bit of a party and people at the gala event get first cracks at owning once of the pieces Three performers doing some drumming stuff along with some surprises and there’s an after-party that me and Darren will be DJing. We’ll be trying to play music to cater to our favourite drummers.
E! How can people across the country get involved in raising funds and awareness for M.S.?
Aaron: Go to your local chapter and see what you can do. That’s what FUMS is all about; interesting ways of raising awareness and raising funds…Even it’s not for MS, even if it’s for cancer research. [It’s about] just getting out there and letting people know about something that matters to you.