Steve Ferrone

Duran Duran, Lay Lady Lay from the Thank You album.

And I actually shared the drum duties with either Steve Ferroni or I can't remember right now, but we were both, I was the verses and he was the chorus.

Two different versions, but here we go.

Lay

I really like it.

And the label or the band or the manager or somebody didn't like that feel for the chorus, so they ended up using a different version.

It had more of the rock drums to bring up the chorus, so it was a really complicated mix for somebody to fly that in I don't think we did that so I'd have to look at the album to see who mixed it but they did an interesting mashup and it was not an easy task I'm sure but it was a lot of fun and I can't remember if it was Steve Ferroni on the chorus or I just don't remember I'm going to have to look it up I guess I should do more research for my own podcast but that gives you guys something to do you can look it up if you're interested on the Thank You album cool let's move on here we go

The dark cloud that follows me around pours on no one but me.

Mission of Mercy is the title track from the fourth album by Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, co-produced by Campbell with Martin Pradler and George Draculius at Campbell's own Hocus Pocus Studios.

This year's lineup of the Dirty Knobs include Campbell, of course, on lead vocals and guitars, Chris Holt on guitars, keys, and background vocals, Lance Morrison on bass and background vocals, and Steve Ferroni, from the last lineup of the Heartbreakers on drums and bongos.

And when I say bongos, there's a track on this album called Bongo Mania that features Kate Pearson of the B-52s doing what she does like nobody else.

There's also an appearance by Morgan Stapleton on a track called More Than Gold.

They're littered throughout the 80s.

Steve Ferroni, who was a drummer for the Average White Band and would go on to join Tom Putty and the Heartbreakers in the 90s, as well as tons of session work.

Steve Lukather and Steve Peccaro, who were both members of Toto.

And if you know anything about Toto, they were hired guns throughout the 80s as session musicians.

No, I find it fascinating.

There's so many signature snare drums, whether it's Steve Ferroni or Manu Kache and it's like, or Chad Smith.

It's like, it's kind of a black beauty.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know.

And by the way, that Steve Ferroni drum is magic.

It really is.

And so we were throwing names at each other.

Steve Ferroni, the drummer of Tom Petty's band, Carmine Rojas, the bass player of David Bowie.

And they all played on my Christmas album.

That's so awesome.

But, dude, Chuck Lavelle played keys on that record.

Steve Ferroni from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played drums.

It was Andy Fairweather Lowe playing guitar.

Sorry, that's an absolute masterpiece.

Well, when I was...

As I said, I was making the demos, and then, um, I went on tour with, um, Steve Ferrone, who I work with in one of my other projects, and, um, we had a little bit of downtime and, uh, and I told him about, "Oh, it'd be great if you'd play on a, on a couple of songs, Steve." Anyway, he said, "Sure," and he had his, um, he had his studio set up.

Everything was all set up.

And, uh, so on one of the days off, we just, uh, went in, and you know what he did? He played every song on the demo, I mean, just one take, boom, in an afternoon.

And not only that, he played it just amazing, and transformed my demos into something that was just off the hook.

Um, so-

He's a machine, isn't he, Steve Ferrone?

Oh, my goodness me.

There's so many amazing players here.

Like, I just had, uh, Lee Sklar and Steve Ferrone playing-

Yeah

... together on a, a record.

Over the years, I've had to learn a lot of that material, and I think one of the things that I really got out of it is although from, um, one perspective, it, it may appear to be simplistic, but it's very difficult to play because there's so much subtlety in it that you don't really notice because it doesn't get in the way of the song.

But if it's not there, you notice it, you know? On the Wild Flour- Flowers album with, with Steve Ferrone, there's so many subtle little hi-hat accents and things that he just does that if you don't put them in there, you're missing something.

And then with-

Right