Didn't know Steve Ferrone could cut some mean cake

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

Pardon my ignorance but I just learned like a few days ago that SF whom I knew only as Stan Lynch's replacement in Tom Petty & The heartbreakers (huge fan) was also the drummer in Average White Band.

Pick up the pieces and Cut the cake are on my practice/play for fun playlist, as well as a few older and newer TP&THB songs. But they are woooooorlds appart in terms of groove and energy. I used to think (ignorantly) of mr Ferrone as the epitome of "less is more, straight and square" drummers so I was happily surprised to learn he could funk it up like a bad mutha and that he wasn't one dimensionnal after all. Ah! The joys of late night wiki sessions ... Kudos to him for exercising restrain and serving the songs with Petty et al. though

After that I've started to dig into his impressive body of work. Wow! If I had a backwards Kangol hat on, I would tip it to you Mister Ferrone

 

[Paradiddle]

Ferrone is a monster. Check out his body of work. It's impressive.

PS -he just had knee surgery.

 

[shilohjim]

All the AWB stuff Steve recorded is tremendous, but he really smoked on the "Feel No Fret" album. To me, his best work hands down.

 

[Radio King]

Pick up the pieces and Cut the cake are on my practice/play for fun playlist, as well as a few older and newer TP&THB songs. But they are woooooorlds appart in terms of groove and energy.

Actually, Pick Up the Pieces featured AWB's original drummer Robbie McIntosh. Sadly, McIntosh died of a heroin overdose when they started work on their Cut the Cake LP, and Steve Ferrone was hired as his replacement.

 

[jaymandude]

Chaka Khan - "Clouds" and "What Cha Gonna Do For Me". Killer...

 

[shilohjim]

If you really want to hear Ferrone in a situation that's a polar opposite of Tom Petty, check out his playing on Brian Auger's Oblivion Express "Live Oblivion".

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

Actually, Pick Up the Pieces featured AWB's original drummer Robbie McIntosh. Sadly, McIntosh died of a heroin overdose when they started work on their Cut the Cake LP, and Steve Ferrone was hired as his replacement.

Oooops, I hadn't read about Robbie McIntosh. Thanks for the info.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

Ferrone is a monster. Check out his body of work. It's impressive.

PS -he just had knee surgery.

Let's wish him a speedy and complete recovery...

 

[owr]

I first got hip to him during the MTV days with Clapton's 24 Nights album/videos. We'd hang at my buddies house after school, alternating between skateboarding, playing drums, or eating Dominos pizza waiting for the videos we loved to come on. This White Room was one of my top 10 for sure:

 

[shilohjim]

Actually, Pick Up the Pieces featured AWB's original drummer Robbie McIntosh. Sadly, McIntosh died of a heroin overdose when they started work on their Cut the Cake LP, and Steve Ferrone was hired as his replacement.

Actually Robbie died before they began work on Cut the Cake. AWB were on their first tour of the U.S. when "Pick up the Pieces" hit No. 1. They were the guests of honor at a party thrown by Atlantic Records after their L.A. gig. The band were offered come coke, which turned out to be an extremely lethal type of heroin. Alan Gorrie also OD'd, but was kept alive after Cher kept him conscious by walking him around. The guy who supplied the heroin was charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The band made the decision to hire Steve right away, as he was Robbie's best friend and was close to all the other band members. But he was under contract to Bloodstone, so he did not join them for live dates for nearly a year. He recorded all his parts for the Cut the Cake album between Bloodstone gigs. So for the rest of the live dates in 1974, through the summer of 1975, the band hired Dave Kemper to do the drumming. That's Dave who appears with AWB on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert performance.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

If you really want to hear Ferrone in a situation that's a polar opposite of Tom Petty, check out his playing on Brian Auger's Oblivion Express "Live Oblivion".

Can't find it on Spotify, they only list the albums Happiness heartaches and Live in Los Angeles. But hey! A good excuse to go sift through some crates in used vynil stores....

 

[Houndog]

Can't find it on Spotify, they only list the albums Happiness heartaches and Live in Los Angeles. But hey! A good excuse to go sift through some crates in used vynil stores....

 

[Houndog]

Ok WTF ? This is fantastic and what a tight band !
This was underneath the album I found on you tube ...

 

[drummertom]

Steve rocked on Duran Duran’s Notorious. The best drumming on any of their albums.

 

[dcrigger]

Brain Auger is simply a treasure. My brief stint working with him was nothing short of a total gas.

Here's the Oblivion Live album from '74 with Steve Ferrone...

 

[KevinD]

Steve plays with ( or used to anyway) with Oz Noy on occasion, I have seen them around NYC a few times. Steve does a good job, and it is great to hear him with the other guys in a small setting. if I recall he used to bring a green Gretsch set.

 

[bbunks]

Saw him in 2003 at Drummer Fest at Cascino Music. Tony Thompson has just passed and he KILLED the intro to “Some Like It Hot” in tribute. Of 300+ drummers, I was the only guy who could identity it was from Tony - won a SF CD.

He is a freight train. Hop aboard or get your ass run over!

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

All the AWB stuff Steve recorded is tremendous, but he really smoked on the "Feel No Fret" album. To me, his best work hands down.

Great album, Great drums tracks...

 

[frankmott]

Three words:
School.
Boy.
Crush.

 

[ThomFloor]

If you really want to hear Ferrone in a situation that's a polar opposite of Tom Petty, check out his playing on Brian Auger's Oblivion Express "Live Oblivion".

Another unique situation of SF is Tracy Chapman's album(s), nice accompaniment to some softer tunes.