Interview by: Mark Lacey
Photo by Hayden Golder
When Frank Ferrer got the call to fill in with Guns N Roses for 2 weeks during the summer of 2006, whilst Brain took leave for his child’s birth, it opened the door to an opportunity that many drummers can only dream about. Almost 19 years later, he is now known as the longest serving behind the kit, and the band are about to embark on yet another extensive tour across Europe and the Middle East. For a man with the world at his feet, he is humble, charismatic, and gracious to the countless fans who have come to hear him perform an intimate DJ set in London, at one of it’s most intimate and legendary venues.
MyGlobalMind.com talks to Frank Ferrer.
“KISS played Madison Square Garden in December of 1977. I was 11 years old, and my dad took me. They were on the ‘Love Gun / Alive II’ tour, and that was it. I fell in love with music. I was like, I don’t know what those guys are doing, but I want to do that”.
MGM: You’re sat in the iconic Cart & Horses pub, which is the Birthplace of Iron Maiden. How do you come to be in London?
Frank: It’s a pleasure being here. It’s a little bit of a long winding story, but I was coming out to Warsaw to do some medical stuff. My partner’s family lives here in London, and my daughter also lives here in London. It was her birthday, so we could meet my partners family, and I could see my daughter for her birthday, and stuff like that. Then I have to go to Sweden to do a drum clinic, and they had asked if I want to do a small DJ gig over there. I have to be honest with you, I’ve never DJ’d before. I was like, sure, I’ll do a DJ gig. When we got to London, my partner was like, hey, why don’t you practice at a place I know (Carts and Horses). And that’s how it came about, they have been very cool to us and it’s a fun venue.
MGM: Presumably, you’ve been told the history of this pub and how important it was in Iron Maiden’s early days?
Frank: Yes, I read up all about it. It’s pretty cool.
MGM: You’ve been a professional drummer now for almost 40 years. When did you first become aware of the drums and decide that was an instrument you wanted to play?
Frank: My parents are Cuban immigrants, and they moved to New York City. At the time, my father was a Latin percussionist playing around the city, so music was a huge part of my life growing up, and it was mostly Latin music. I never really listened to American rock or anything like that. My older sister would listen to more pop music. One day, my sister brought home Bohemian Rhapsody. I was nine years old. She played it and I was blown away. I had no idea what it was. At the same time, I saw pictures of KISS, either in a magazine or on TV, and I associated Bohemian Rhapsody with KISS. Because the way KISS looked and the way that song sounded, I thought it was the same band. It just blew my mind. Slowly I became a KISS fan, and I realised that Queen is a different band. 2 years’ later KISS played Madison Square Garden in December of 1977. I was 11 years old, and my dad took me. They were on the ‘Love Gun / Alive II’ tour, and that was it. I fell in love with music. I was like, I don’t know what those guys are doing, but I want to do that.
MGM: Were you influenced by Peter Criss as a drummer? Or were you influenced just by the whole showmanship of the group?
Frank: Both. The showmanship. They were basically super heroes that played music. They were like super heroes; with the costumes and everything. It changed my life. It’s like, I’m doing that! Now, for every kid that wants to play in a band, guitar is the first thing, and they’re up front. I always had a good sense of rhythm though, because of my father’s Latin percussion background. I was always able to figure out rhythms. I wasn’t really that good at guitar. Me and my buddies, we got together and my buddy had a drum set. I remember teaching my buddy, oh no, I think it sounds like this. I think the beat goes like this. It was just so natural.
I had a music teacher in my school that had this youth chorus, a choir. He was holding little auditions for the kids. I went into an audition and he was like, you can’t sing, bro. You can’t do it. I was like, oh. But he looked at me and goes, do you do anything else? I was like, I play the bongos. I have my father’s bongos. He was like, bring them into school the next day. Next day, I snuck them out, because I didn’t want my father to see. I snuck the bongos out, and I played with Mr Gomez, and he was playing on the piano, I accompanied him on the bongos. And he was like, great, you’re the youth chorus percussionist. So, I actually joined the chorus as the percussionist, and that’s when I really started. I got a good sense that I could play, and Mr Gomez was encouraging me. He was like, No, you’re good. You’re good!
MGM: Does Mr Gomez know that you’re in Guns & Roses?
Frank: Yeah, he came to see me play at Madison National Square Garden a couple of years ago. That was great. But yeah, so that’s basically how I found the drums.
MGM: You would have been a youngster at quite an influential time for rock music. You had some really charismatic drummers back then, not least John Bonham, Keith Moon, Joey Kramer and many others.
Frank: I grew up in New York City. Whatever drummer I wanted to see was playing down the street. And my peers too. Sterling Campbell ended up playing with Bowie and the B-52s. Zack Alford also played with Bowie, and Springsteen. All my peers were playing with all these insane people, so not only would I get to see the likes of Dennis Chambers and Peter Criss and all those guys, I got to see my friends go play with these guys. I lucked out living in New York. Lucked out, man. I got to see them all.
MGM: You were saying Mr. Gomez encouraged you in those early days, but did you get professional drum lessons?
Frank: I was mostly self-taught. I did take a few drum lessons here and there. To get into shows when I was a kid, I would carry other drummers’ cymbals, and they were teaching me stuff. Probably the most famous drummer that I carried for was this jazz drummer, Tommy Campbell. And I carried his gear a couple of times to see a free show.
MGM: Ian Paice from Deep Purple recently spoke to MyGlobalMind.com about the music scene back in the ’60s, and shows being on every night of the week. He talked about being able to watch all these different drummers, and how much he learnt from watching them.
Frank: Yeah, same thing in New York, man. I really lucked out growing up in New York at that time. ’70s, early ’80s, ’90s. I got to see really slamming drummers. A lot of drummers that people don’t know. New York City is chock full of insane musicians that never made it. I was really lucky.
MGM: The first band that a lot of people would have seen you in was The Beautiful. That band got quite a bit of press attention at the time. But what was your musical path to that point?
Frank: In New York City there was a gig on every night. I learned really early on that if I wanted to get put on, I would have to play. So, I played with anybody that asked me to play. And then one day, the guys in ‘The Beautiful’ were in a different band, and I was in one band and we played a show. My band played. Their band played. They were called ‘Nasty Habits’ back then. We hooked up and were like, hey, you’re a great drummer, you’re a great guitar player. And we’re like, we should something together, and then we started The Beautiful. But the two guys from The Beautiful; one was from Texas, the other was from the Midwest, so they had moved to New York City. They weren’t New Yorkers. But, that’s how that started, just by going out and playing every night. I would tell a young musician now, go play with as many people as you can. If you want to get good, you’ve got to play with as many different musicians as you can, because even musicians that are not that great will teach you something. You’ll always learn something.
MGM: Was The Beautiful the turning point for you in realising that you wanted to do music professionally, or had you made that decision earlier?
Frank: I fell in love with music. I knew that I wanted to do music, but how I was going to do it; I had no idea. But I knew what the ‘what’ was. The ‘what’ was I wanted to play music for the rest of my life. The Beautiful was the most successful band at that point I had been in. Before that, I was in a zillion bands. I played everywhere.
MGM: That band was around for about five years. After you left, you went on to go and work with Richard Butler in Love Spit Love. His career was already really established through the Psychedelic Furs. I think he was about 10 years older than you. Did that feel like a step up?
Frank: Absolutely. 100% it felt like a step up. That’s also where I met Richard Fortus. The Beautiful were getting dropped from our label; it was a regular story you’ve heard a million times with bands. We’re on the West Coast, working our way back east to New York. One of those shows was opening up for Richard Fortus’ band in St. Louis called Pale Divine. We played first and then they headlined the show because they’re from St. Louis. Richard watched me play, I watched him play, and I was like, Dude, you’re a slamming guitar player. He was like, Dude, you’re a slamming drummer. And we just shook hands and went our separate ways. Three months later, I’m already back at a regular job. You have to pay the rent! I was working at a shoe store, and as I’m closing up, Richard Fortus walks right in front of the store and he’s like, hey. And I’m like, hey. And he’s like, what are you doing? I was like, well, The Beautiful got dropped, and I had to go get a regular job again. So, right now I’m not doing anything. And he was like, well, I’m in town because I’m here writing songs with Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs, and he lives right across the street from the shoe store; literally, you could see his door. He was like, we’re probably going to start audition drummers in six or seven months. And that’s how I ended up in ‘Love Split Love’.
MGM: You played in that band with Richard Fortus, and also later recorded an album with Tommy Stinson. Those two connections must have been the catalyst to getting the call from Guns N Roses in 2006 when they needed a dep for Brain (Bryan Mantia), when his wife gave birth?
Frank: Absolutely. 100%. You want to hear a funny story about that call? I’m at my daughter’s talent show. She’s five years old. We’re sitting there, and Tommy sends me a message. I’m like, let me go talk to Tommy. I’m like, hey, what’s up? He’s like, this is the situation. Would you like to do it? If so, we’re going to be in town to learn a bunch of songs. But the funny thing is that I was actually learning Ace Frehley’s tunes because my buddy Anthony Esposito, who was in that band, Lynch Mob, was putting a band together for Ace Frehley. So, at that moment, I was like, I might be playing with Ace Frehley of Kiss. And obviously, the Guns thing happened and it worked out perfectly.
MGM: That call will have been an ‘Oh, my God’ moment, right?
Frank: Totally, oh my God. I’m trying to keep it all inside, but in my mind, it’s like, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, and exploding, of course.
MGM: There must have been an element of trepidation, transitioning yourself to the biggest band on the planet? That was also an interesting time in the band’s history with the long gestation of the Chinese Democracy album. Did you not feel any trepidation at the time?
Frank: Not at all. It was initially only going to be a temporary thing. It was only going to be for two weeks. But in my heart, I felt like, if I could really do well on this, even if it’s just for two weeks, then it could open up a lot of doors. So, I didn’t have any fear. A matter of fact, it was the complete opposite. I felt like, okay, I’m ready for this.
MGM: Your first show with Guns N Roses was at the Graspop festival, which is enormous. That must have been a moment.
Frank: It’s funny because there is so much responsibility in that band. Even though it was a great, fantastic moment, it’s still a moment where you have a lot of responsibility.
MGM: But that initial two-week tenure turned into a permanent appointment very quickly, didn’t it?
Frank: So, Brain had his brand new baby, and he felt like he should stay home with his partner. Axl and the band were happy with what I was doing. Everybody was like, Frank’s got it under control, go hang out with your baby, and do your thing. Brian was super gracious. He’s still, to this day, tremendously supportive. We talk all the time. He’s tremendously gracious.
MGM: That was 2006, and must feel like a long time ago. You are now GnR’s longest serving drummer, and your tenure has spanned two quite different chapters in the band’s history. You were there during that period when Chinese Democracy was finished and released, and you’ve continued into a revitalised era with the return of Slash and Duff to the core line-up. They must have been an interesting transition to go through that as a musician. Does it feel like two separate bands to you?
Frank: Not really. It feels like more of a growth. Not a different band, but like it’s shed its skin and now it has new skin. That’s all. But it pretty much feels like the same band.
MGM: During Guns N Roses’ last visit to the UK, the band certainly looked like you were having a lot of fun.
Frank: Well, that’s good. Those guys have known each other for like 40 years, something like that, so they’re really familiar with each other. The three main guys, and Dizzy, too … he’s been in the band since 1990 or something like that …… those guys have really made us feel really comfortable and welcomed, and it feels like a band. It feels like we’re all together. Yeah, there’s a lot of smiling and it’s good for the fans, obviously, but I think it’s good for the band, too.
MGM: Guns N Roses are back in the UK again this summer and playing a whole bunch of dates across Europe and the Middle East. How do you keep yourself mentally and physically in shape for a month of three-hour shows?
Frank: Well, it’s a lot of rest. Especially the nights before gigs, I’m trying to be in bed by 9pm. But I take long walks on my days off. I’ll exercise. I don’t drink any alcohol. I check in a lot with my really close friends. Mental health is really an important thing, so I always try to stay very grounded, because you could lose your mind on tour. There’s so much going on. But I love to take long walks; five, or six miles a day, usually. That’s my main form of exercise, and meditation.
MGM: And what about the physicality of touring?
Frank: Hydrating is the toughest thing for me. Super tough. So, it’s a lot of Pedialyte, a lot of water, a lot of fruit. On stage, I’ll eat fruit during the show. There’ll be a plate of, mostly stuff like melons, different melons, watermelons; anything that has a lot of water in it. Once I start feeling a little hungry, then I know that my energy is down, so I’ve always got to keep my tummy full. But, it’s tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of water. Like I said, no alcohol now or anything that dehydrates. It takes me a minute to get up and running to ramp up for a three-hour show. But once we’re ramped up, I’m good.
MGM: During your career you’ve taken on a range of projects, both in the studio and live session work. Where do you feel more comfortable out of those two?
Frank: Oh, live. I’m a live drummer. I love being more spontaneous. I don’t do a tonne of recording. I do mostly gigs. I play with different people. I have a band at home called Pssr, P-S-S-R, a punk rock Lower East Side rock n roll band. I like playing live for sure.
MGM: After your DJ set at the Cart & Horses tonight, you’re heading off to Sweden, and then returning back to the US. What is next for you?
Frank: I’ll be back in the States later in January. I would assume we’ll start doing rehearsals sometime in April to get ready for the tour. So, in the next couple of months, it’s just, get woodshed as much as I can, go visit my family back east before I’m gone for a little while, and stuff like that.
Guns N’ Roses will be back in the UK in June, as part of their Europe and Middle East summer tour 2025:
Friday, 23 May 2025 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Kingdom Arena
Tuesday, 27 May 2025 Abu Dhabi, UAE Etihad Arena
Friday, 30 May 2025 Shekvetili, Georgia Shekvetili Parka ^
Monday, 2 June 2025 Istanbul, Turkey Tüpra? Stadyumu ^
Friday, 6 June 2025 Coimbra, Portugal Estádio Cidade de Coimbra ^
Monday, 9 June 2025 Barcelona, Spain Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys ^
Thursday, 12 June 2025 Florence, Italy Firenze Rocks *^
Sunday, 15 June 2025 Hradec Kralove, Czechia Rock For People *^
Wednesday, 18 June 2025 Dusseldorf, Germany Merkur Spiel-Arena ^
Friday, 20 June 2025 Munich, Germany Allianz Arena ^
Monday, 23 June 2025 Birmingham, UK Villa Park ^
Thursday, 26 June 2025 London, UK Wembley Stadium ^
Sunday, 29 June 2025 Aarhus, Denmark Eskelunden +
Wednesday, 2 July 2025 Trondheim, Norway Granåsen Ski Centre +
Friday, 4 July 2025 Stockholm, Sweden Strawberry Arena +
Monday, 7 July 2025 Tampere, Finland Ratina Stadium +
Thursday, 10 July 2025 Kaunas, Lithuania Darius and Gir?nas Stadium +
Saturday, 12 July 2025 Warsaw, Poland PGE Nardowy +
Tuesday, 15 July 2025 Budapest, Hungary Puskás Aréna +
Friday, 18 July 2025 Belgrade, Serbia Uš?e Park +
Monday, 21 July 2025 Sofia, Bulgaria Vasil Levski Stadium +
Thursday, 24 July 2025 Austria, Vienna Ernst Happel Stadion &
Monday, 28 July 2025 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Luxembourg Open Air &
Thursday, 31 July 2025 Wacken, Germany Wacken Open Air *
For more information: