Request Left Show is a production of iHeart Radio, and.
In Part two we talk about Steve's later years, the evolution of the Average White Band, that incredible my guitar Jiff Lee weeps moment that Prince did at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with you know Prince and Steve Winwood, and also his work with Duran Durant, Tom Petty. Please check out part one first and get to know one of the people that I admired the most.
All right, Steve Roddy, Ladies and gentlemen, what's up, what's up?
What's up? I know it's been a long time, but here it is the long awaited part two of our special one on one QLs with my hero, my idol, Steve Rome. So in part one Steve was talking about going up in Brighton, England. His drumming influence is him being a tap dancer playing in Brownstone, and that conversation ended with him just joining the Average White Man.
So let's start with part two right now. This is a special one on one.
Quest Love Supreme with Steve Roon the Great All right, Alan Gory clearly is of the Ilk of Ray. Charles Hamish has a wonderful like falsetto and you know, they're they're extremely soulful. But how how much of the marketing of these funky white boys are they were lying on during this time period a lot.
Of people who actually told average white band was a black man and when and when we moved.
Down on stage, they date, what the hell is this?
You know?
And there was a lot there.
Was a lot of okay, show us really that that went on yet, I mean there was a lot of it.
But the band could play. The band was authentic.
Do we We weren't trying to be anything else other than average white band and play soul music.
We love soul music. It was just what we did.
I mean, I've had guys, I've had I've had bands with guys that I've been played in with bands, and we've been playing average white band stuff. And I remember we played at Long Beach once and average White band were playing across the street right and I think they were opening for Tara Power. And I got hold of Honnie and Alan and they came over and I had them sit in with my band and show them how it was done. And it was that they were They were like, oh, so that's what it is, and I think.
I think that you'll find that with bands when people come and sit in with like you know, it's there's if there's two or three of us from the Heartbreakers that are playing together, right, you get that they get that feeling of what that was like, and it's a powerful thing. I remember when I was playing with George Harrison mm hmm, and and Ringo was set at the rehearsal.
Ringo was there and and Ray Cooper had another drum kits set up because he played double drums with me sometimes and some stuff back there, and I said to ring and the ringer, let's said. So Ringo came up on the stage and started to play, and all of a sudden, it was like, Oh, this is what the Beatles felt like.
Yeah, right, there's a there's a way of that's those people when those guys.
Let me ask you this much then, because I know that as a drummer, the bass player emma drummer are married to each other. Now you're in a group with two interchangeable bass players and two interchangeable guitarists. Yes, who do you prefer on bass? And who do you prefer on guitar? Do you prefer Alan Gory on bass or Haym and Stewart on bass.
Well, they're both, they're both different that they both played.
They both played different different thing.
Alan Alan had like a real nice round, round sound with the bass, and Hamish. Hamish had this sort of more more more aggressive, sort of like schoolboy crashed.
That's the way you're playing playing the bass.
He would playing with the pick correct U Yeah, okay, yeah, but who had the better pocket for you at least?
But both the same. I mean, they were both both both great bass players. I mean, it was it was, it was a joy.
I mean.
When Alan picked up the guitar and started to play play the way that he played, he would play guitar, and then how how Honye would would would fit these rhythm patterns to Alan picking.
Yeah, and how it was it was it would look you know.
Okay, A question I always wanted to ask. Or and B nineteen seventy six Person The Person Live album, which incidentally is probably any any list I make of my
favorite albums of Walter, that's number one. So there's a moment on TLC where you guys go absolutely ape shit in the zone, and that's kind of the moment where I assume that it's Hamas Stewart taking this harmonics bassilo you know, kind of like Jack Opistoria's portrait to Tracy playing harmonics, Like it sounds like a yeah, yeah, yeah right during that moment, because even when I was looking up old photos, there's five photos of that period between
seventy five and seventy eight in which both of them are playing bass at the same time. So I assume that that was a part of TLC. Every night at least for that tour. Are they both playing bass at the same time, because I've never seen I've seen guitarist play tandem.
There was one song that we had two bases of I forget what it was.
Now, probably love your Life It could be right, Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say, because Hamis is like sort of go to like that's his go to ye rhythm reference, and he kind of plays a bass like a guitarist. But yeah, I always.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, that's that's the thing is Hankys is gonna he has a way of playing. I mean, I can't say one of them was better than than the other. I mean, they just said it would just it would they figure it out which one which one was going to play bass on which song it was.
It was never really a fight.
Over it who was going to play bass, but it was maybe have you said, what's you let me played bass?
Let me okay, and then playing guitar.
And it would always we'd always, we'd always work at tracks until that that thing just sort of fell in in the place, into the into the into the into the pocket.
Okay. So that said, during Alan Gory's uh, pick up the piece of solom you and him are literally hitting these riffs at the same time. Now, is this a result of listening kind of muscle memory? No, No muscle muscle memory where you know what he's want to do one a solo or let.
Me tell you something about that album.
Yes, we recorded I think maybe we recorded in Pittsburgh. We recorded in Philadelphia, and we and we played we played in Cleveland and most of the most and there was another one too, I think maybe maybe new But there's like four different concerts over the course of a year that we recorded. That solo section was always in there, okay, but everybody liked the solo from a different place. Most of it, the bulk of that album is taken from.
From Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland. But there was this song here.
I don't even I can't remember which ones, but I remember, but I remember this whole thing that we were sitting there the solos in pick up the pieces.
Okay, I like the one from there. I like the one from there.
I like and and so I re said, well, let's see what happens please to that.
Oh wow, oh man, Like in my mind, in my mind, you guys are the tightest motherfuckers. That was like, whoa, they know exactly what's gonna happen. Okay, well, explain to me listening how much how much how much sweetening post sweetening has to happen after you get the tapes? Like, do they go and sing some parts over? Are you like I dropped a drumstick? Let me hit the snare?
No? No, never, I never did anything. No.
It was basically what you heard is what you got.
That is crazy.
Maybe they'd be a vocal line or something that would nest be necessary to but it was.
It was spot. I mean really, if there was.
Like a little bit they just changed to the vocal maybe, but it basically what you heard was what you got.
That was it.
You're breaking my heart, man, Yeah, it's badass bad That bad was badass, and we didn't we didn't play with the click either.
That was the thing we'd where you get at the end. We got, we were at that. We were at all at the same place every time.
You're the packet king. Yeah, I've been. I've been stalking the current president of Atlantic, Craig Calman, uh to let me listen to all of the recorded live tapes of you guys, because I yeah, you know, I know if you go.
In there, if you go if you actually get access to all that stuff, what they have, there's outtakes of stuff and different versions of stuff that we did, right, It's I think part of it was, yeah, like if I ever Lose This Heaven, we all we all listened to that. I mean, I remember when I was out here with Bloodstone and I used to love to ride downtown and listen to that album. It was it was just kind of like a soundtrack for Downtown, you know, and if I ever Lose This Heaven, it was just
a great what a great track. But you know when when when we were into the studio, they tried cutting that song a couple of times with a couple of different people and everybody had got sort of gone in there what I heard, and they copied the same.
It's very simplistic bass.
Jump, but the drum field that the Quincy had used for for the for the thing. When I went in and sat down, I decided to play just to play that song, I mean, and I just sat there and I remember and listened to the first the first sake of it. I don't know even know if that was the one we used it, but I remember Roger Ball coming over and kissing me on the top of my head.
Yeah, was that the song you recorded with him in the studio?
No, I don't remember what the first song. I don't remember what the first song was.
Were there were there any songs of Robbie on the cut the Cake album? Or is that all you?
No? It's or me where we was gone?
All right? So, you know, because you joined Durand around in eighty seven, I'm certain that you could tell the difference between kind of the teen idol fandom of like screaming girls and regular fans who just like into the sound and into the band. What was you know again? I know there was a novelty or curiosity of these funky ass white boys or whatever. But at least between seventy five and eighty seven is there. What are the fans like?
They were wherever Durham went. There were the days right and the directions. Yeah, they used to they used to be. They camp outside of the studio and they were all very nice, you know. I mean I remember when we were in London and we were recording as there was this girl, Michelle. I was still in touch with her, right, I was there and I had my kids with me, okay,
and they were little. They go out and there was there was like there was this gate, you know, and they go out and they sort of talk to the Duranis through the gate and finally Michelle said, I said, Michelle, you want to look after after the kids because I was inside working, right, And they go out there and they'd sit with the Durani's and they'd have chips and candy and they were just hanging.
They love. My kids loved hanging out with these with these fans.
And I mean Michelle said to me, she said, wow, you wouldn't do that now, would you?
And I said, well maybe not, but but back then they were they were they were so nice that I mean, they were they were just fans, and they all they wanted was another photograph?
Right? Was it like that for a w B though, like that level fandom?
No, no, No, I think it was a totally different different thing that with the average white man.
It was sex basically, it was. It was sex and dragon rock and roll with with with with average white man.
But but I think I think it was it was a different Yeah, I mean, you know, I was.
I think I was like thirty five or something.
And I think, and I think and I think that Duran Duran Duran also started to mature as as as men. I mean, you know when when they first started, they were came straight straight out of college to be the biggest band on the planet. Right, it was wild, you know, and that's why they had that some wild boys.
Yeah, I see.
So then by the time I joined them, I was the I was the oldest teen idol and they were they would they calmed down somewhat, you know.
Okay, yeah, you guys were seriously.
But you know what was funny was at one point nobody really took Duran Duran that seriously, you know. I mean other than being like a team, they were phenomenon a team phenomenon, you.
Know really and then a good musicianship though.
But they did.
Yeah, eventually it was like they were working on it. I mean, like they said, they came out and then you know, and then they were great producing out now and you know that that could put that together of Bernard Edwards and they worked together and in the power station and studios and all the money and all the time to do a record and make make a song happen.
You know, But they started to they started to.
Mature as as people are musicians and you know, now they've been around a long time and they and they still they still valid and still make music and aren't just sort of resting on their laurels. And you know, we were around around they just really matured into a bunch of really great players.
Well, shout out to durand A and they just got a I'm part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee, So I'm very happy that they got inducted finally.
Absolutely, yeah, that's fantastic news.
But they but but yes, absolutely that you can't say that they're not valid.
They've been making records. I mean I remember I remember, you know, I was working.
With George Harrison and I go over to London and they had an apartment on Sloan Street.
They get me an apartment on So and I have to drive out to the rehearsals at Race Studios. I get there, ride there, Oh, I take a ride down the King's Road. I get in my car.
I'm driving down the King's Road and I see this guy and I say this, a little muscle muscle bound, buffed, and I say, that looks like Warren Coocarillo.
But he's skinny, skinny.
Rock and roll guy, a little skinny rock and roll guitarist. And and then I look and it is Warren. And I hadn't seen him in a couple of years, and he'd been pumping iron and he buffed out, you know, and I, Warren, what the hell you're in town?
He said, I need you to do a session for me.
And this is what I'm still driving very slowly right and King So and I I got the window down and say, well, I don't know what my schedule is. He said, let me know, and he takes reaches into his bag and takes a cassette and he throws it through my car window and said, that's the song. Give me a call when you get when you find out what you're scheduled. So I drive off down the road and I take this cassette and a puppet in the cassette
player in the car and it's the ordinary world. Oh And I call up Bar and I say, you don't need me to play on this.
You know this, You could just put out this demo right now. This is a hit record. You know this is great, this is a hit song.
And he's like, no, no, no, we want you to play with So they insisted I play on it. I don't know if I bought anything else to it, but boy, what a beautiful song and what a great hit record that was in them young.
So I have a question about your your studio sound. So the thing that always attracted me to your sound was your tone, particularly the snap of your snare, Like I think, like you really came alive on the soul
Search and record. Just your drumming technique, Like I love the fact that you know, we now live in the age where and drummers hate when I start speaking down on gospel chops, you know, but for me, God with you, I know, but for me, gospel chops is if you're a chef you got to know how much garlic and salt and pepper and spices to add to your meal. And sometimes you can overdo it, but you always have these clean feels, so.
Really good piece of meat, really good cut of meat with too much spices and.
Sometimes you don't need spices, you know. So that said, can you walk me through a typical session for AWB, like, you know, like do you have a say in the tone of your drums? You know, like I know that your signature gretch set kind of comes in at the tail end of the tour, Like are you allowed to tune your drums or is it a thing where like the engineer says, don't touch my microphones, don't touch my drums, just play.
At that point in time, I did it. I did it myself, you know, I was my own.
I mean, I can't say that I'm really a great drum tuner other than the fact that I want to dank thing.
I want the dank thing to sound like.
Right, the first cut the cake was was it was the sonar kit that they had in the studio Atlantic.
It was in a little box, right You ever see that to.
Photographs of that drum kit, It's like in a little box and the symbols were right there, and it was and that was that was, that was, that was cut the cake. And then by the time but the time he got around to soul searching, it was I got. I wanted to always wanted a Gret drum kit and I could afford one, and I got That's when I got.
So there wasn't such a thing as we'll endorse you, here's a free kit.
Well, the endorsement that I had with Gretch at that point was they gave me a fifty percent discount.
Okay, now they give you away, but back then, it wasn't giving a set that you didn't Okay, I see.
And I got this drum kit and I set it up and set it up in the in the studio, and there was something that I wanted to try because I always felt that there was, uh you talk about the sound of the tone of the snare drop, that there wasn't quite the pop that I wanted to get at the crack that I wanted to get out of
the drum with the microphone just on the top. So Jean Paul, who was Les Paul's son, was our engineer, and I said, I said, GM could we put the microphone like underneath the snare on facing up so that we can and we can blend those two things so that we can get the christness of the snare underneath plus the pop on the top. And he said, yeah, sure, we can do that. So they they they that's when
they started to do that. And then I then in soul Searching, I actually asked him to put like a little delay or a little echo on there as on the underneath as well, And that's why it has that sort of roomy sort of yeah, and and and that was it was.
It was.
It was such great fun to be able to experiment with stuff like that back in those days.
You know, a Reef Marden was very old.
Trying to say, how how is a Reef Martin as a coach incredible? Are you guys writing in that studio?
We were in there writing as we Sometimes we'd start, we'd have an idea of a groove and then we'd write it in the studio. It was expensive, but not as expensive as would be to do that today.
You're talking about the studio that's Atlantic Records. M Yes, okay, so yeah, I worked when we did the Hamilton brutally Yeah. I worked on the Hamilton Cast album at that particular studio, and I always wanted to know, okay, one, did they only have one studio? And how does time get how does time get divided? Like do you have just a week to get in the studio and then we got to get out because the reef is coming or Bette Midler's coming or I know.
We used to just go in and start recording and then we were there. That was it was.
That was it.
We'd have like a couple of weeks or something and we just work in there. Sometimes we got That's how Benny and Benny and us got recorded was because we got stuck. We sort of got we weren't going anywhere. So somebody suggested us doing an album with Benny King, and then we did the Benny King album and then went back to I think it was Soul Searching. I think it was Soul searching.
May no, it may or maybe Warmer communications.
Warman communication. I think it was Warman Communications.
So do you guys work out in sound check or like, how is songwriting traditionally done well?
We we always had a tape recorder running at all times because what we discovered was that we jam, and out of the jam would come something that the nucleus
of a song. Yeah, but this is where a reef was really good when we were in the studio, was we go in and we start to play this song, and we play and we played this song then and then the reef would say, everybody come in, and we come in and he gets to a certain point in the song, like we'd be playing, still looking for this groove right right, still trying to find and he would say, okay, this two bars right and there it was, Oh, okay, okay, I get it. That's where we are with it. This
is this is where that the song is going to be. Yeah, okay, it would be this. He spot a section of the song that was where he wanted the thing to sit.
And that's the magic.
And then you guys know, there's the magic. Now, now go and do that, you know, school boy, schoolboy crash.
We tried.
We must have done it about twenty twenty two, twenty four times when and it just would not hang together, would not would not really, and so we said, okay, pack it up, go home, go out, come back tomorrow. We'll do it. We'll do it tomorrow fresh when you come in. We all went off to that stuff, went out and came back back the next day. We walk in there. Okay, let's run it down. So we run it down, and he said, okay, let's do let's do
a take. Let's do a take. We did the take, and then we went in and listened and it just wouldn't No, here we go again. It's not it's just not hanging together. And and Gene Paul says, you want to listen to the run through. He had the presence of mind to press that record bat in the first time school question.
And the run through is what you sat with? Did he loop that?
Nope, you just.
Went the run through wound up being the master version the run through? Was it? Wow? In seventy seven, especially on the Montro and your second appearance on Soul Train, you guys had a bongo player in the group. Who was that guy?
Semi figure out?
That was Semi figure out? Okay, yeah, what was the idea of letting him in the group.
Well, Sammy was crazy.
Sammy.
Sammy was a guy around town.
He used to play in a band called Racist from Puerto Rico.
Wait what.
Racist?
Yeah?
Racist Racist?
And Sammy was the best Sammy Davis impersonator ever really well, I should say it is because he's still alive, really yeah. And he was a very funny guy, and we started doing things like Queen and My Soul and everything.
And it was like, look at the use of the cast Sammy. Sammy came with us.
You didn't feel like it was in your way. No, because the thing is on the live I don't know if you ever listened to via the Montro seventy seven live album, but his presence there really doesn't allow you to do your peronisms. So in my mind it's like, oh, you got to be more tight. It was. It was.
It was a little different animal, but it was. It was cool. I love Sammy, you know.
The only thing that used to annoy me felt savvy was he had this giant rainstick.
Nice. Yeah, it was huge.
I mean it was probably like six foot tall, and he would we used to travel on a legit and he would bring this thing in the on the on the plane and lay it down right down the middle of the leg. It's tiny, right, so it would be right and take up most of the thing.
And as that as we would go to take off, it would be like.
It was just annoying, but he was a he's.
A funny guy, Sammy. I love SEMy to death. He was he was just really great.
Devin, how are band decisions made? Like? Is it is it the idea that you all get to say? Or who are these alphas that say this is what we should do?
We'd have a bad meeting.
Okay, are you guys by seventy nine, are you guys still friends? Are you kind of phoning in from home? Are you tired of each other yet?
Or seventy nine you're talking about the Arista years?
Well, no, no, feel no threat before you go to ft.
Yeah, you know, we we were, We were still upt in, were still held many on making making Vega.
Now, why was there an exodus to Arista? Because also Aretha goes to Arista as well. Like I noticed that there's there's at least four or five Atlantic acts that get wooed away by Clive Davis, and.
That I think that's what That's what I have management management, we're pushing heavily for us to move from Atlantic to go to Arista. I don't, I know, I wasn't not sure about it because I love being.
Atlantic now without without ruffling you know, And here's the thing. I'm I'm actually friends with Foster. I'm a fan of his work, Like I love the New Birthed too, you know all that stuff. And you know, and I'll admit that maybe younger in my twenty the thirties, you know, I might side ey the fact that Wow, like Chicago used to sound some Wayne, then they got with Foster. And then Earth Wind and Fire used to sound some Wayne,
then they got with Foster. Now you know, Sean comes out when I'm nine, So you know I'm not I'm not cynical, So I will say the nine year old me, I loved you know what you're going to do for me. I loved Into the Night, you know, I loved helpings on it like I like those songs, like I listened to Shine constantly. But clearly it's a more mature sound.
Yeah, I wasn't very I mean, there was a what can we David?
It's fun because he's a great musician, right yeah, And I think he's a great producer. But I don't think that he was in a tune. I think he's more tuned to artists than he is with a band.
Okay, because average.
White band was such such a special combination of how the how the parts of everybody fit together to make to make average White band. I understand that the producer has got to do, you know this his job to come in make some changes. But I don't think that you can actually lose the essence of a band like average White band without having having some some some problems.
And and the the problem that I found with it was when we finished that album and we sat down and started to play it, six people with the band one sounding right, So we.
Had to have the elements of overproduction that you had in the studio. It didn't trans it didn't translate live right.
No, And we ended up getting we had to get and we got another keyboard player to come in and play with us, and we got a couple of background vocalists to come in with us. And I found myself sitting on stage playing those songs and saying, ware the hell did everage want band go?
I see at the turn of the eighties, especially on like songs like catch me before I have to testify whatever, Like this is sort of the introduction of like you know, I could hear the sensonic drums or like sort of drum machine, you know, and kind of the Filma and Louise car Jump for a lot of these bands who were killing in the seventies. And this goes for the Ohio players in the comedy everyone they have a decision
to make to either sink or swim. How aware of you of what technology is and your role in it? Is it like, Okay, this Roger Lynn box might replace me. Do I embrace it and learn how to program it? Or the Simmons drum was like, do I roll with the punches or do I just fight the power and be like, Nope, I'm not learning technology, I'm playing drums.
Well, I like I like the Simmons drums.
I mean I used the must stay with Me tonight, Jeffrey Osmond and I had to fight George do for that because I said, I said to George, we cut it with the real jumpkin And I said, yeah, George, I said, I think this thing could use I'd heard that blinded me with science, and I thought, right, I like that.
I like the sound of that.
So you you were all you were all for it.
I was all for I was all for that. I mean, drum machines had never interested me. Really, the program or anything. I mean, I mean even though I did program at the so misled on the Duranda and things started off as me programming something for them to play too. They were writing in the studio, so I programmed that, and then I had to figure out how to play.
So what were your opinions on like people that clearly were going to define the era, i e. Princess music. You know the fact that now deep snare sounds are kind of the thing that's involved, kind of the opposite of what was your signature sound? Are you are you with us or are you sort of fighting?
No? I mean, I mean, look, I used to fight the click. I mean when they first started saying, you know, we got a cut with a click. I mean, I think when you're talking about the songs you're talking about, all of a sudden we were cutting stuff to a click and just sort of walk in there and it was played to the click, and that.
Was that was it.
When before we used to go in and have to find the tempo right, the tempo would come from the song. Okay, this is the song's tempo and this is what we're playing it at okay, and you know, and it was it was kind of uninvolved. You know, I had when you know, when people started to play, I'd worked hard on my tempo and I remember a ref you know, you say we're going to cut this with a click,
and I'm like, oh, come on, Areca. Yeah, some of it, but but no, I mean even even the early stuff with Shacker, Love is fulling on me.
The click that's playing.
But I'm every woman cut with a click?
Played that?
Please answer this morning? Who is playing bass on Some Love? Is that her brother Mark?
Anthony Jackson?
That's Anthony Jackson playing Some Love? I think so wow, it's crazy.
Okay, that was the day we cut A Reef would put aside the whole day to cut Love is fulling on me.
We did it in one take.
Yeah, I was going to say, for a song to get cut, how long when you're not working on your projects per se, when you're working as a session musician, how long do you guys have to get it right?
Well, you know, shacka with a Reef with Shaka was was like we go in and we've had a definite idea about how this thing would would be right, and we go in and we rehearse the.
Parts and we get everything and run it down, Run it Down.
Shaka would show up, like you know, whenever she showed up two o'clock in the afternoon or something. And when she walked in there and she got in that booth and she opened her mouth, everything went out the window.
Everything changed.
Okay, So you had the vibe with her.
Yeah, it was like, oh okay, with all the stuff that we've been sitting there rehearsing and rehearsing and rehearsing.
It was it was all about it.
It was her and she would it would.
Change one thing that I just found out your work with the Burke Family. Yes, I wasn't aware that the Invisible Man Band was basically the Five Stairsteps as another name. Yes, and a lot of hip hop fans are unaware that that's you drumming on Keep Rising to the Top. Yeah, when you're when you're drumming with other acts.
Again, my favorite, my favorite percussion part on All Night Thing. Duly played the percussion on that the cow bell. Yeah, all I want to go added they ding ding ding ding chicken gom think don't don't get right, think don't.
I was gonna ask, did you guys track live? Because even with you matching their ad libs at the end with the drum fills or whatever, Like, was that song just cut at the same time with everyone or.
Yeah, we cut it like yeah, and and then I mean basically we cut it live. The vocals are live as well. And and then I guess they did a bit of the ad libs and stuff. They loved it, so they just either kept it or did another they redid it.
Did you have a relationship with the Five Steer Steps?
Like?
Why you know? What was your relationship with the Burke family.
It was a guy called Alex Masucci who used to work fan your records? Okay, who was who had who was a friend with?
I guess he signed Clarence and and uh and and Alex.
I met Alex to to.
I used to go and hang out with Ray Bretto and all those people up there at the Corso and and Alex asked me to play on this record, So I just want to play. I wasn't even aware of the Stairsteps things connection.
No, it was just you realize that the guy did child.
No, I had no idea. Oh wow, matter fact, this is all news to me right now. Wait seriously, yeah, seriously.
You don't know that the five stairsteps, an invisible man man that did all right thing. And well surely you know that. I mean, you know Kenny burkean Yeah, oh yeah.
I spoke to Kenny not so long ago. And you know what's funny.
It's in northern California, up near Carmel. There's a radio station and they play all night thing all the time.
Dude, it's that was a black That was a black radio staple and seventy nine eighty. You know, even in my dad's band, like the my the way that you know, my dad would do like five sets a night, but his band would have to do three dance sets of like the songs of the day or whatever, and they used to kill that song. I of course I should have known that was you drumming, because you know, again you have the perfect pocket by this point, How do you Are you your own manager? Are you your own negotiator?
Yeah?
I do on my own stuff. You know, I've done that.
I mean, there was a couple of people would come in and say, you know, I'd really like to manage you, and I'm like, well, you know, so you just keep.
Your own dates, keep your own dates, and you keep Now at that point, are you like, are you a quadruple scale guy or are you like whole album give me twenty thousand or whatever, double Scoe, double scope, So you were still a scale guy, double scale. Yeah, and you could make a solid living just absolutely. You never ran out of work. Is there is there a particular song that you were asked to play on that got away that you weren't able to play on because you
had something else to do. No, John Robinson miss a date on Thriller or Off the Wall or something like, you do this.
Gig real quick, you can't do it, like no, I don't think. I don't think.
So okay, okay, So you know NB eighties. Of course you know you'll you'll join Duran Durant. But could you talk about the the Clapton period?
Yeah, yeah, it was great.
How did you guys hook up?
I was with Duran Durant and we were in London and we got invited to a Bob Goldors Sniper's.
Party which is at the hard Rock Cafe.
And I went there and I was hanging out there here and it's funny, you just spanned out by a were there and and and they had they had little squabble going with with Deranda, and I was like there was like rival rib theres like this rival thing between them and uh and so, uh, I'm at this party and Phil Collins comes up to me and I've met Phill a couple of times before and feels like, hey, Steve, did you ever meet Eric Clapton? And I said, well, no,
I said, I met him once. He came to an average white band show and I just met him briefly, just to say hello.
That was about it.
He said, we come over, come over, and Pie's come over here with him, come over and hang out with us. So I go over and I sit down and I'm there with Eric and we're just sitting there talking. We talked for a bit and I remember what the conversation was about, really, you know, and uh. And then I said, well, I better get back over to my crowd over.
There's nice meeting you. That was and I did to see you Phil, And I went back over and I hung out with my band a lot, and that was it.
Go back to New York and uh, and I get this phone call and guy said, listen, would you would you like to go and play with there at Clapton?
I don't know well that sounds like fun. Yeah, what's what's the geek?
And they said, well, he's playing a couple of clubs, one in Boston and one in New York m And I said, well, yeah, great, he's in the band Greg filling games in Nathan East.
Ah, okay, well my buddy's my man.
Okay, yeah, fine, that sounds good. And so we went up to Boston and we we we rehearsed a bit. I think Eric wound up in the hospital after day one of the one of his drinking periods, and so we were just rehearsed on our own and and and then he showed up with us last day or two rehearsal, and then we went and played in this club, and then we went down and played the club in New York, this club in New York.
When you're in this position, you know, when I drum with other people, I to think like a shape shifter, like I don't think I have a definitive sound. My default sound, of course, is your sound, which, weird enough, I never use. Even though if I were to just start drumming, I would basically say what would Faron do? Right now? Even though my brand of drumming is kind
of way different than that. However, I do find myself shape shifting a lot, like currently right now with DiAngelo, I'm sort of somewhere in between Tiki Forwood of Funkadelic and Jerome Brayley h drumming in ways I haven't drummed before. But for you, if you're with Clapton, is how hard is it to not channel Ginger Baker, like Okay, should I give him a cream moment or like or is it just strictly like I'm gonna drum like I do?
Yeah, I mean, I think, I think. I think.
I always refer to Okay, I defer to the song first and played. I just go and play the song, and I don't think about anything. But in listening to the song. When I'm listening to the song, there's always bits that sort of stand out that go like, oh, well, if I don't play that, then I noticed that it's big enough, big enough moment for me.
I should play I.
Should do that.
And sometimes that's stuff like that. I don't notice some stuff until later.
But I mean, I never really, I never really think too much about I mean, I played a bit of replaced. Like a lot of people in bands, I mean, I remember I did a I did a I played for this band called the Pooh et Poo. It's a it's
a like we need a pooh. They're Italian band and they've been together for like over forty years and they're sort of like progressive rock band and they've been together forever and and and their drummer, Stephano, retired, and they asked me to go and do this, do an album and sort of to move them forward, not just one album and a bit of a tour, just to keep them,
just to keep them going. And I went over and did that, and and there was I had to listen to a lot of their music and I did, and that he did, Stefano would recorded he sort of know that you give it a nod. And but the rest of the time I played myself and try to bring something something to the song. And then so I did this interview and this dis guy says to me, I don't know if you realize that how big a thing this is that you're doing, replacing Stefano in a band
that's been together for that long. And I said, well, I've done it before.
I did it.
I did it with Duran Duran, I did it with an average white band.
I did it.
I did it with I did it with with Eric.
Clappton, because there was basically that introduction was Phil Collins saying, I can't do this. I got my own gig to do try.
Steep, so then I had to go I have to to go do that with Phil Collins. There's been Stan Lynch with the Heartbreakers. I've replaced.
I've replaced so many people, great drummers that have done at great moments, that have had iconic i'd say iconic moments, and I don't think too many people have missed them, you know. I mean, it's just that I've gone and done that and and but I play the song and I don't really think too much about what everybody else plays when I listen. When I listen to something, there's certain fields that it's like, well, you know that's that I can't not play that, that's got to be there
right right. But I listen more to the song than I do to what the drumm's paying.
So one of the most magical nights that I've ever seen. One was the first time I ever seen you play live, and two you're playing drums for another hero of mine, which is Prince. I was there in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yeah, then they go when you guys do my guitar gently weeps. Was this at all sound checked or rehearsed?
Well, we rehearsed.
We rehearsed here with Elements of the Heart. But Tom Scott Thurston was playing bass. When we got to New York. There was Windwood, and there was Jim Cabbaldi, and Jim was a very funny guy, and and and he was playing he was going to play percussion there right, and and Jeff Young was playing keyboards as well, and and then Prince materialized over there, and I'm like.
I said, what's Winwood was sitting? I said, what's Princeton. I don't I don't know he's coming.
He said, no, no, no, he said, I think he's still. This is sort of like last minute addition to the band. And there was a little bit of an uneasiness because apparently what had happened was Olivia wanted people that were connected with George to play. Olivia Harrison wanted were connected with you. But the Grammy people have persuaded them to let Prince come and play, right, So I said to Winwood. I said, I'm going to.
Go over and say hello to him. So he said, would say you're not and I said, yeah, I'm going to go over. I'm not frightened him.
So I go.
I go on and I say, Hi, Prince, how are you doing, Steve Ronnie? Nice to meet you. And he says, oh, he says, I know who you are and as it, and I.
Thought, I feel for you right right, yeah, I played on a feel for it, and I said, well, we had a little bit of a chat and I said, okay, well I'm going to go back over there.
Really nice to meet you.
Yeah, And I go back over and women like, what's what did he say?
And I said, he's really nice, go over and say hello to him.
Don't introduce you. So all of a sudden, I hear Schoolboy Crashed being played I hate something and I thought it was like somebody from the from the Lehman Band or something, just messing with me, you know. And I look across the stage and Prince is looking right at me playing Schoolboy Crash and I'm.
Like, dang, he does know who I am.
You're god, but you know.
And so we played a little bit and then Tom sort of went up to Prince and said, listen, just take that solo at the end, and you know, just did you guys? I had no idea, and he put on a whole show. He put on the whole show. When he fell into the audience, we had no idea. We thought he'd fallen off the stage. The whole band was we just killed Prince. And then the guy big drag catches him and pushing him back up on the stage, and then the guitar went up on the top and then everybody was like.
Where did that go? You know, that was it was. It was a show for us. It wasn't for them.
It was as he told me that that was. I asked him, I said, was that a revenge solo? Because you know, Rolling Stone had comprised a one hundred best guitarist lists. Yeah, and they never mentioned Prince, which to me is like, dude, he's a monster on guitar. How
do you guys not? And you know, he he sort of, you know, it's kind of scoffed, like, well, they know now, you know, that's sort of But I you know, I instantly felt like that was his moment to let them know that, you know, I'm a motherfucker or guitar.
It's an incredible solo. It's just incredible. It was just just incredible.
Of all the bands that you've been anchor members of, what is the more favorable for you as far as just experiences? Is it the Heartbreak?
I spent twenty five years with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. That's the longest that I'd ever ever associated myself with any band. I loved that band, and I love the experience of making music with that band. You know, constantly, always relevant, always fresh, always doing something new. Tom's motto was, I may have made a lot of money, but it's not going to stop me from being an artist.
What more could you want? Yeah?
What was Do you remember the last show that you did with him?
Yeah?
Hollywood Bowl?
Was there anything particularly?
I got inducted into the Rock Walk in Brighton, in my hometown in England on the pier right. They gave me this plaque and they put a plaqueup on the pier and Julia, my fiance, she she she decided that she was going to start off like getting people to make one of those little films with they say, oh, congratulations, Steve.
You know all these people leaving nice messages, right.
And she got older, she got older Nathan, and Nathan just went crazy and got like, you know, Eric Clapton to say stuff and.
All these people. And she was trying to get me to watch it for the longest time, right, I know you.
So, so we're going over to England to do this thing, and we're sitting waiting for the plane and she says, she pulls out a computer and she says, right, we're going to look at this now.
And I said okay.
And I sat there and I see all these people that left beautiful messages for me, and I was just sitting there's done. It was so nice that everybody. All the stuff that people were saying. It was like being at my own funeral.
People say the nicest stuff about something. And it got it got to the very end.
And she put Tom introducing me at the Hollywood Bowl and he used to and saying one of the best musicians I ever played with, and he said I was a great person too. Did I help a lot other people? I guess maybe because I did the stuff in AA or something. And I just lost it in the airport.
I just started blubbering. I just I just couldn't. It was it was and she was like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Like, no, this is this is good teas. This is good tea.
I think it's good too. That's that's kind of a theme on the show. Like I for at least five years, I hate it when people bestowed praise on me, and so I'm fighting tooth and nail and kind of learning to accept love and appreciation.
You know, because we listen, there's there's something that that that that your that your people who are going to watch it, that they should they should see that when we when you inducted me into the rock walk down here in the the in in Los Angeles, when we played pick Up the Pieces, I think we looked I think we looked that pretty good together.
We absolutely did.
You know.
You know what I want to ask about that night? How you know it's weird. The weirdest part about that whole was it wasn't until I left that I realized that was Steve Perry I was playing with. He's such a he's so mysterious. I thought Steve Perry is like one of the I thought he was a roadie or something, and he was so nice to us.
That was The funniest thing. Steve am really good friends with Steve learn him for a long time. And he's very much reclusive. But he and I was always trying to encourage. Man, you know, if I had a voice like that, i'd be out there. Oh but I don't have the range that I used to. I said, man, you can sing.
You know, what are you gonna do? If I had that voice, I'd be out there singing.
Now. Don't just thinking that he can't sing anymore or no, he can still sing.
He still makes records, but he's he has a lot of a lot of insecurity about it, you know. But he's just a wonderful singer and a wonderful human being. He's just a great guy, you know. And and and so he liked to go He was sort of liking to go to see people rehearse and sitting in rehearsals, and so he liked to be around that, you know.
So I told him that, you know, Hamish was in town for this thing, and.
And and I said, we're gonna we're gonna be rehearsing over the rehearsal studio.
And he said can I come? And say, yeah, sure of course. So we get over there and we start playing.
I think it was person to person and when we're playing it, I'm I'm missing a harmony in a vocal harmony. I'm like, I'm missing a note, you know, And and and Hamry said, well what we'll They're all seeing the like, no, there's a note missing. Not ho much one it is, but it's missing. And they were trying and they're really annoying that there's nothing missing. Steve, and I'm getting more and more upped. Steve is sitting there and he knows exactly what note is missing. So so Steve says, can
I can? I yeah, come come, So he sit there, boom and there it was right that, Yeah, there you see that was missing.
And I said, you're in the band. And what I said, you're in the.
Good I've got that moment like I thought he was early. And then he's playing percussion.
Yeah, he's playing cowbell. He said, he's right out the But the funniest thing was was.
When I when I introduced him, it was that all the audience is like looking at me, right, And I said, let's start over that side there on background vocals. We got Steve Perry and everybody sort of went huh.
I was on the drum set, like wait a minute, this is Steve Perry this whole time, Like I did not know he needs to sing more, man, he needs.
To please please. I'm going to tell you, you know, pointing to this thing.
He's just he's got this voice that's just so special. He's got an instrument that's so special. And and I don't know, I don't know anybody now from you know that's in it from area that can sing in the in the same key as they did back in the eighties and the or even the nineties. But you know, you can drop a he as long as you can sing, because you know, I mean, I get I get annoyed, you know when you talk about the gospel chops.
Yes, I get annoyed.
The people who think they're on on America's got talent and they got like thirty seconds to sing every dang note that they can that's in the book.
And I hear people.
Singing those songs like that, and it's like, just sing the dangs. Sing the Might the word mean something, don't?
It ain't about what you can do with it. Make that word?
You know. I heard somebody singing some of that somebody did a cover of a average white band some and they sent me this singer that was.
Well singing all them. Yeah, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna wrap this up momentarily. I just have a few more questions left. Number one of your career, as far as your actual performance is concerned, what do you feel is your most memorable satisfactory performance in terms of drumming, in terms of tone, like if I want to know what's the definitive three steven songs? What is it? And I don't mean popular, I just mean in terms of, yeah, you you locking it in the pocket?
Well, I mean I have to say, I have to say school boy crush.
Okay, and were you playing were you playing the bells and drums at the same time?
No, I added that as an afterthought on the recording. Okay, cool, Yeah that was but every time you do it, yeah, I just hold the bells. But but but I just thought it's just so kind of that that sort of fit the song somehow. And then and then all the rappers liked it, so that was good.
Yes, exactly that Wildflowers, the whole album with Tom Petty was that was his amazing experience.
I love the album Secret.
Story, Pat, I love so much he's been on our show.
I think that's one of the most beautiful albums.
I wanted to ask you about the Glow Sessions, but I will just because you know, that was definitely Rick James's craziest period in his career. But I mean the book, Yeah, I know. I was going to say, from one to ten, how crazy were the Rick James Glowed Sessions? Great? But and that was a lot of reverb on those sneers, man, yeah it was.
It was crazy. But Rick Man, well, he just had such an energy that was really cool. I love these music.
I mean, I just I went and saw bad I went saw this little band playing in one of one of the clubs in Los Angeles, I forget Peppermint or something like that at school, and and it's that they were playing. They were playing some Rick James and they were like, man, that's a great what a great energy.
That sum Yes, give it to me baby, Yes, all right. So I was going to say, what was the hardest session you ever had in your your cannon?
Oh hardest, like.
Take after take after take after take after take didn't nail it got through by the skin of my teeth, you know.
It was the schoolboy Crush was was pretty hard. But I think there was a song one secret story. I forget what it's called now, but there's this and it was it's in seven four and and Pat wanted wanted to keep the bass drum beat, but he had to done something with the sink clap and the sort of busting overbeat over this book.
The bubblet uh and and I had to figure out what, what what how to play it?
So I said, well, yeah, I said, tell you what, Just run the tape and I'll play and and see if I can come up with something. And I was trying to figure out how to play this thing and just playing, and then finally I got settled into this one sort of pattern with it, and I tried to do something and I almost fell off off the drum.
Kit doing it, and so I just abandoned it.
And then I went and I went in, and then I went in. I went back in there and said, okay, was there anything in there in that and he said, yes, you played it once was it is says post.
My feet off of the ground at the same time.
It's just I had to really sort of I had to go in and sit down on woodshed a little bit just to get comfortable with my balance and as I played that, but it doesn't sound that much, but it's just a little bit.
It's just you were kind of going there with the especially with the Brian Auger stuff, like you were doing a lot of you know, quasi prog rocketsh like id meters and yeah, yeah, I was young.
I was very useful with Brian Oga. I was twenty three years old. I listened to that stuff and it's like, wow, it's so young.
So I want to mention before going you have a new project Ebunctions and that's yeah, yeah, you on drums and Jeff back one keys and what he Mankowski on vocals, Ethan Farmer, Yeah, and same area.
That was fun to do.
We did that in the lockdown at my studio and U and they brought the songs over and and and a bass player they had and Jeff had done all the stuff with the keyboards and they'd done most of the rough vocals and stuff, and then they Ethan came over to the house and my engineer at the end of the guy who engineered.
Eric Dwongur and he does the engineering for me, and.
We'd figured out how to do it so he could engineer me from Long Beach, right and so and so he was in Long Beach and we were there.
In the room and massed up, and you know, it really is something.
I don't know if you've experienced this with your band, but it really does give something when when you can actually even if you if you're overdubbing to a track that's already there, if you if you put down bass and drums at the same time, it just adds that little feel of there's that interplay that happens between between between the base place. It just makes the track field. I think love warm up.
So are you guys planning on like going out live with it.
And moving well, I'd like to go out and play.
We were we were doing this little gig of this this uh uh Pastromi I think it's called Joe's Pastrami place. We were playing on Friday nights. They were going there and playing. I was playing with Jeff. So it were your bunchs gonna come play and I'm too busy, But I would, really, I would. I would hope that we'd go and play a gig at least one you know at some point or at least one.
There's one song I want to ask about that I forgot to ask about. It's It's on Shaka's fourth album, she did an extremely ambitious medley called Bebop Medley.
Yeah.
Yeah, you know, she's basically marrying all these old jazz song that was a reef. Yeah did you piece that together? Or yeah?
We cut?
We cut a piece of it every day.
Yeah.
I thought you'll did that in one fell swoop, and I always wanted to know how did you guys get that together? So you guys cut had to cut and paste that?
Yeah, cut, ref would would would recall it that bit, and then he'd take it home and listened to it, and then he'd write the next bit, and then we come back in the next day and then we play the next bit, and then he tag it on and then we go take it away and then write the next bit.
There were times where I saw you play with soccer. Have you guys ever attempted to do the Bebop metley live?
I think we have done it live. I think we've done it.
Jesus Age christ right exactly.
Yeah, you know, yeah we did. I think yes, we did. We did it live.
There's a there's a I think we did it at the concert. Maybe we did something at the roxy.
You did you did a I've seen only maybe like four or five songs from that particular.
Thing, but I think we found I think we may have done it there. That was that was fun.
But you know, it's really hard because I've played with so many great musicians and so much that's so much fun playing in my career and continue to do so grateful and grateful for that, but it's hard to sort of narrow it down to say. You know, I always feel like I'm leaving somebody.
Out right, So I usually I usually I use it when I do.
When I do something like this, I always make a big point of thanking, thanking the School of Lake Local a though two and the School of Local forty seven.
You know, so you really are a union guy?
Yeah, man, I tell you, you know, they may be they may be they may be pay pay pay for a pension, and I'm like, give me the money pension.
You know, I'm really happy that they did.
Now, those guys are always on my case.
You know.
I'm kind of in a different category where I don't depend on that, but I also understand that musicians have to make a living. Oh wait, speaking of which we do have something in common. You were I didn't realize that you were in eighty five the house drummer for SNL. Yes, yeah, how was that gig for you? You just did it for one year? Correct.
I had the gig for three seasons, but in the middle of the second season, I started to get really busy with Eric Clapton and Duran Duran, and so I was out of town a lot, and so funny, I just said, now, it's silly me keeping this gig. This you give it to something, so you decided to let someone, Okay. Yeah, So for you L, Lauren has always been really really nice with me. I mean he's always every time I always introduced myself and he.
Says, I know who you are.
So my final question is is there ever a thing as stopping.
You know, playing?
Yeah? No, So for you, drumming is still passion you still have.
I love doing it. I love playing the drums. Yeah, I love making music.
I have a dream. And I thought, you know, if COVID wasn't here by the time I turned fifty, I said, before I die, you know, And unfortunately, uh, Malcolm uh is no longer here with us. But before I pass away, I have to see the core five members of the group play one more time. Are you guys at all as far as the average white band is concerned?
Are well?
Is there an average white band thread on your phone?
Now?
You know, we took every once in a while and I tried to get those scotsmen to my piece.
You know, it's like who's that.
Who's who's that? Odds here hemus?
Well, yeah, some it depends on the day, sometimes odds and sometimes the odds and sometimes you know, I mean, you know, uh, Molly passed away, you know, I mean I tried to get something back together and and and you.
Don't easy pieces and yeah, all these projects with one or two members.
But you know, I mean, I mean, you know, I mean I was talking actually took me with hybris.
I thought, man, you know, it would be great to have quest that come produces the average right man, Now he enjoyed as much as we would.
I would. I would honestly say to you, I would probably risk the ire of anybody I've ever worked with and walk away in the heartbeat if I knew that I could facilitate an average right White Band reunion.
But I get I'll tell you what I do. I'll get your allegory's telephone number, I send it to you.
So he's the missing piece and if he agrees with it, and then you think everyone else will fall.
I think I can persuade Hambrich.
I think that could be done.
Yeah, I just want a proper clothing.
Yeah, I think it would be a good thing to do, because, like I say, everybody can still play.
Yes, it would. It would be fun thing to see what would happen.
Your mouth of God's ears? Yeah, you know I And closing, I just want to say yes, I really truly hope that you know that literally, you know you you sparked a revolution of where I am right now in my life, like this starts with you.
I'm truly I'm truly grateful for that because it's nice to see if somebody walk up to you and say, man, you've been a great inspiration and I can.
Actually tell meun and say, man, that guy plays his ass off.
So.
Thank you. And also thank you for that snare drum. I'm literally using it all over.
The day to use it. I saw you do it. I say it on the TV.
Absolutely on the next roots album.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all those instruments got used that way down?
I mean that that people got them and didn't just put them in glass cases and look at them and think with a lot.
Of man that that snare has a snap like no other. But I thank you for that. Plays and gentlemen, the great Steve Roon, my musical hero on Quest Love Supreme. Hi, thank you for taking the time out to listen to this, and we will see you on the next goram all right, see, I'll leave. Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio.
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