Aaron Goodrich is dropping everything for a rimshot at glory.

At 19 years old, the Breckenridge sophomore stopped attending class last month to become a drummer for the New Jersey hardcore band Bayonet.

Goodrich leaves for New Jersey on Thursday to meet and play with the band for the first time.

“I’m going in blind and, hopefully, it works out,” he said.

The band is a project of several established members of the hardcore genre, including Buddy Nielsen, the lead vocalist of Senses Fail. The Senses Fail song “Can’t Be Saved” was featured as a track in the music video game “Guitar Hero 3.”

Breckenridge sophomore Aaron Goodrich's drumsticks bear the scars of extensive use Tuesday in the motor home parked at his dad's house in Rosebush. (Libby March/Staff Photographer)

Goodrich first got in contact with the band through a mutual connection in the music world. Bayonet needed a permanent drummer, so Goodrich sent the band videos of himself playing on YouTube. The band was impressed.

“It’s weird — all these guys are big names and they know everybody. I’m nobody,” Goodrich said.

He said it is rare for a band to take a new drummer from out of state, but the members look forward to having him prove himself through a “trial run” in March.

A chance to rock

Goodrich’s first performance with the band is scheduled for March 25 in Middletown, N. Y. Holt sophomore Benjamin Wilson, Goodrich’s roommate and friend, said he hopes to attend the show.

Wilson said he is an enthusiastic fan of Senses Fail and has all their songs memorized by heart.

“Kids have tattooed portraits of (Buddy Nielsen),” Wilson said. “I’m really stoked for (Goodrich). It opens a lot of opportunities for him in the future.”

Goodrich’s mother, Tracy Holt, works for Central Michigan University as an administrative clerk in the Office of Student Life.

“I would like to see him stay in school, but he needs to follow his dreams and I support him 100 percent,” she said.

She said Goodrich started drumming when he was 10 years old. Goodrich said he practices three or four hours a day.

Holt said she will miss him, especially since she would regularly see him when he worked down the hall at Media Graphix in the Bovee University Center.

Goodrich has been active on CMU’s campus for the last six years, long before he enrolled.

“It’s gonna be weird leaving CMU,” he said. “That’s for sure.”

E-mail the author: Connor Sheridan