Gary Ferguson on Well Meet Again

I recently saw guitar player Albert Lee (Eric Clapton) play an intimate gig in Thousand Oaks, Ca. Playing drums with him was Gary Ferguson. Gary is what you call a truthful master of his craft. Equally shortly every bit I saw him with Albert,  I had a flashback of seeing him on the Steve Lukather/Larry Carlton bout. I knew correct and then and in that location I had to interview him, as he smoothly backed Albert, memories of his time with Gary Moore & Glenn Hughes also came to listen. Gary kindly worked some time into his schedule and he invited me to his Southern California residence for a laid back,  one on one interview.

Gary started out by telling me "Luke's work equally a writer and leader certainly stands out. In hindsight, we can look at what those guys were doing and really see what Luke's contribution to Toto was. For me existence a fan of all those guys, Luke, Mike and Jeff in particular, since I've always been a fan of drummers. When you look back there would exist no Toto without Luke. There can exist no Toto without Luke. He is, in my opinion, Toto. There'southward a time whenever a musical entity achieves a lot of success, we tend to dismiss it. They're successful, information technology'due south not as skillful. We start to think that maybe there's some
integrity that has been omitted because it'southward successful, correct? When you lot go back and listen to that stuff that they did, information technology's Always great. It'due south well played. Luke's a FUCKIN' genius! Sorry. I'm just grateful that I got the opportunity to play with him as much every bit I did".

Reggie: Let's talk near your new release. What's it chosen?

Gary Ferguson: "GF1 Via Mia. Spanish for my life. The reference is in Castilian because I speak fluent Spanish because I grew up in Puerto Rico. Information technology's basically music that I've written and pieced together past beg, borrowing and stealing and having friends play on it. In this day of engineering science, I was able to exchange files with people, ask favors and reciprocate favors. I was able to put plenty music together so that I could put it out every bit a body of work. It's really hard to say that something is done and this is a body of work and I'm putting it out. For me, the process is ongoing forever. I finally merely said good or bad I'm putting information technology out and see what is going to happen. Who knows where information technology's going to get? I have no idea because it's self-funded, cocky-promoted. I'm doing everything myself right now."

Reggie: Who played on it?

GF: "A lot of guitar players. Guitar players are my best friends. I honey guitar players. James Harrah, Kirk Fletcher, Michael Thompson, Marty Walsh, Todd Robinson who is a friend of mine that I grew up with who plays with Luis Miguel. Those are the main guitar players. I had Brandon Fields, Jimmy Z. and Craig Thomas play saxophone. David Benoit plays pianoforte. Taras Prodoniuk from Dwight Yoakums' band plays bass, John Pierce plays bass."

Reggie: John Pierce came to the Baked Potato to see Luke with Nerve Bundle and to hang out.

GF: "Johnny Croissant! John Pierce. He is i of my favorite bass players of all time. He and I played on that New Radicals single "Y'all Go What You Give". John Pierce and I. Philip Bynoe also played bass, from Steve Vai's ring,"

Reggie: Is it an all instrumental release?

GF: "There is one song song that my friend Danny Timms sang. He'south from The Highwaymen. He used to play with Kris Kristofferson, Willie, and Waylon. He moved to Tulsa, living in Oklahoma then it's hard to get him out to do a gig."

Reggie: How can people go this release?

GF: "You can listen to it on Spotify. Yous can buy it on CD Infant or buy it digitally on iTunes. CD Baby put in on YouTube. Information technology's all over the place. I haven't made whatsoever hard copies, concrete copies because who does that anymore? Only I probably volition make a express number of them but and then I can give them to people, self-promotion because it's all coming out of my pocket and I'm doing it all. I have the artwork done and all put together. So information technology's a thing of time."

Reggie: Y'all also had a record from 2001 called "Surf Christmas".

GF: "That was my blood brother Tony'southward idea. We did that correct afterwards I got off the road with Luke and Larry. We went into the studio and knocked that out for fun. It was basically my blood brother'southward idea. My blood brother Tony is a guitar player. He's not really involved in the music business. He idea it would exist fun to brand a Christmas anthology. Surf music style. He wound up giving information technology to me. It's now being pitched every bit me. Information technology was never intended to be me. It was my brother T's project. It was chosen "surf Christmas" and it was an idea now fastened to me."

Reggie: I listened to some of it and information technology sounded pretty cool.

GF: "It'south good! It'south really good. I'm not ashamed of it at all. I'm proud of it. Every year people listen to it. I still have about iii,000 of them down in the garage. Perhaps I'm down to the last one,500."

Reggie: I saw you lot twice on the Luke and Larry Carlton Tour. At the Key Club in 50.A. and the Ventura Theater. Talk about those gigs.

GF: "How did we sound?"

Reggie: Great! I loved the first one so much I went over again.

GF: "The Cardinal Order. That's where the power went out, correct? It was a weird gig."

Reggie: I retrieve so. I recall that was a funky gig.

GF: "I call back the power did go out. Luke in prime number Luke form didn't give a shit. He just wanted to press on. The rest of the states were sort of panicking. Just non Luke. He sort of said 'Permit'S GO". Y'all know. You lot can't stop him."

Reggie: On that gig, yous were prepare stage left facing in an odd direction. It was a mode unlike look for the fans of the drummer. You were closer to the front of the stage. I thought it was kind of cool for the fans. What was your thought on the setup?

GF: "I had nothing to practice with that. I retrieve there were benefits to it. I call back our Tour Manager Sonny Abelardo, information technology was his idea, He'd seen other people practise it and he liked information technology a lot. He was sort of putting it together, the shows and packaging. I remember he asked me if I was okay with it. Years ago I'd seen Return Forever, Lenny White do that. He sat on the side. I didn't have any big objection to information technology at all. As far as how it affected me it was irrelevant considering one-half the time I play with my optics closed. Larry would e'er scream at me 'open your eyes'. Steve was always 'open your eyes, Ferg'. I rely on what I hear more what I come across which is sort of a detriment. I would probably look a lot cooler if I would just keep my eyes open and pay attention. I'chiliad paying attending by listening. When I think back nearly my
time with Luke and Larry, information technology was for me, musically like a highlight of some of the music that I've gotten to play because I've really respected both of those guys immensely as musicians. The other thing is Luke I call up has as much respect for Larry as I did. So to run into someone of Luke'due south caliber almost hero worship condition of Larry was only sort of funny. They would joke around together. When nosotros would be at gigs I could tell that Luke would be sort of listening to Larry noodle around sometimes earlier we would play but takin' notes... simply at the SAME fourth dimension man, I think Larry was checking Luke out and copped a lot of his affair. It was a mutual admiration thing. There's a couple of shows that were documented where you lot could see the genuine joy that those two guys had and the band had. You could encounter at the ends of these shows that it was sincere and we were having fun and everybody liked
each other a lot ."

Gary with Luke & Larry in Paradiso Amsterdam 2001

Reggie: I but saw Larry this Summertime with Steely Dan at Dodger Stadium in forepart of 55,000.

GF: "Fifty.C. was when I got the opportunity to work with him, mind-bravado to me on a few things he did. He would do this 1 thing every night. He'd come out and play a solo piece, nothing scripted. Basically, he was going to pull shit out of the air. I saw him do that every night that nosotros played for a twelvemonth. Information technology was fantastic every time. I have an interesting story nigh Larry. When I was playing with him I was a huge Larry Carlton fan forever, from when he was starting out around town doing sessions, the Crusaders and Tom Scott and the LA Express. I'd follow him forever. When I was working with him with Luke when we were soloing, I could Always connect with Luke and sort of grab figures. I could hear
what Luke was playing. I could hear it coming. When I would play with Larry I would e'er think his fourth dimension was a little funny or something was off. A fiddling off kilter. Information technology always felt funny to me. So I would get soundboard mixes of the show and have them to my room and heed to them and analyze what was going on. And Larry was correct and I was incorrect EVERY fucking time! L.C. was nailing it! And that's when I realized where he was at harmonically, rhythmically was in a dissimilar identify than I was. He heard the large moving picture in a different fashion. It inspired me to get better because prior to that I'd just been sort of a meat and potatoes player. Which is fine. 95% of the work I exercise is that kind of drumming. But it really made me enlightened of how practiced Larry Carlton truly is. It was a revelation for me because when I was in
the eye of information technology, information technology felt odd. At times information technology would come together for me, but when I went back and I listened to it... I went oh... oh...oh... I'm a jerk. Larry's heavy. It was inspiring. So it made me become better. I thank him to this solar day for letting me acquire from him. I sort of see information technology every bit a learning process."

Reggie: How near the Odd Couple with Luke and Edgar Winter both who were Ringo All Starrs?

GF: "That was earlier they were All Starrs. That's when they were the Odd Couple. What a weird couple they were. They were great together. They were fantastic. What can I say? I love them both. Edgar Winter, I'm a huge fan. I always have been. White Trash was one of my favorite bands of all time. Luke and I had that in common, we're both Edgar Winter fans. It actually was a fun time. I really don't think there was any giant objective with that. Nosotros had no rehearsals. We showed upward and we played. That's non true. I recollect we got together one time to figure out what key the songs were going to exist in. And and so we flew to Japan and started playing at the Blue Note. It was kind of like do your best and have fun."

Gary at the Odd Couple tour Due north Bounding main Jazz Festival The Hague 2000

Reggie: How about Luke?

GF: "I met Luke nigh the same time that I met Glenn Hughes in the late seventy's, we were playing with Jay Gruska. He'd been out on the route with Boz Skaggs, and this was pre Toto. Toto didn't exist yet, only I think that they were kind of kicking the idea of Toto around. Nosotros played with Jay Gruska at this little place called the Bla Bla Café. I call back that Luke was this incredibly gifted musician and one of the funniest people that I'd ever met. And then we became friends and we did a few gigs with Jay so he ran off and did his matter and I did mine. So years after through our friend John Pierce, the bassist, who I had been doing a lot of session piece of work with, who'd grown up with Luke, they were babyhood buddies, nosotros got together and did this run of Japan with Edgar. Nosotros had so much fun doing it, information technology was
really fun. After nosotros did Japan we did a run of Europe. Nosotros had more than fun. Information technology was similar ongoing and I really had a cracking time with Steve because regardless of what was going on he always had a sense of humour that never went away. He kept the mood low-cal. Even when Edgar was crashing and called-for with his equipment failing and he can't run into anything, Luke would Always find a style to brand a joke out of it all and proceed laughing to ourselves and proceed going. Then we would get upward their and play our asses off. It was really fun for me to be with someone that was then highly respected as a guitar role player but is such a funny individual to where I felt no pretense to his power or who he was or anything. It was just my friend Steve who was dandy me up. It was fantastic! I thank him for that forever. It was a keen time with him on those tours."

Reggie: To me Luke always seems to pull positivity out of a negative state of affairs.

GF: "I couldn't hold more. That's part of his personality. He'southward a genuinely warm guy"

Reggie: That's got to be a huge part when y'all are touring/traveling so closely with someone.

GF: "Absolutely. The hang is EVERYTHING. Yous spend two or iii hours at the gig, audio checks and and so playing. It's not that much time playing your instruments. The residuum of the time you're in shut proximity with people, either in busses, planes, hotel rooms, cabs or cars. If you lot don't have someone who tin keep information technology funny it gets kind of old, fast. Luke is great at that. He'south a pro at touring. He'south obviously made a lifetime on the road. He's really got it downwards."

Reggie: I went out on the road with Vince Gill and he brought a comedienne out on the road to open for him. Vince told me it was about having a comedienne on the bus and traveling with him and keeping us laughing while traveling as much as having him open for him. Never a dull moment.

GF: "What a slap-up bespeak because he just keeps it entertaining. In a lot of the tours that I've done, the more fun tours, there's been a lot of humor from the members. Similar with Eddie Money despite all the drama he's really a very funny guy. We had a lot of fun on the route because there was a whole lot of joking going on with a whole lot of camaraderie based kind of way, which was always kind of nice. Whereas when I started touring with some of the English bands like Gary Moore their sense of sense of humor was then different than an American sense of sense of humor that I wasn't really getting it. Y'all're absolutely correct, the personalities and sense of humor on the road is critical to making it a fun feel."

Reggie I got a hold of Neil Carter (UFO/Gary Moore), just about a calendar week agone.

GF: "Oh, WOW"!

Reggie: Neil told me "Fergie was our drummer for the 1985 bout. He was a great player and I call back probably Gary'southward (Moore) favorite of the drummers. Gary loved the Hughes/Thrall album that Gary played on and he came highly recommended by Glenn and Geoff Glixman, the producer. Such a solid feel. I have connected with him through Facebook afterwards many years." Talk to u.s. about Neil's words about you lot.

GF: "They're good to hear. That's a long time ago. I always enjoyed Neil. Gary Moore, probably in his style of music was equally a strong of a player every bit Luke or Larry. I consider him as one in the same and equal to them in terms of what they bring to the instrument and how they play. Gary Moore was no doubtfulness a Tour De Force. Unfortunately the style of music that I got to play with him wasn't really what he loved and wanted to do, which was that Blues oriented music. I would take LOVED to be a part of! When I was playing with him nosotros were playing heavy Rock, which is a good thing to do and information technology was fun music to play and nosotros were making money. An interesting story when I was playing with Luke and Larry
in 2001, I retrieve it was. We played at the Montreux Jazz festival. We played the same day as Gary Moore. As a matter of fact Gary Moore played right before us I believe. In that location was a function in the Luke and Larry bear witness where Larry goes solo. He does this solo improvisational piece. I went off into this place on the side of the stage to hide, to lookout it. And who is right there watching?"

Reggie and GF (simultaneously): GARY MOORE!

Gary with the Gary Moore Band & Phil Lynott 1985

GF: "So we looked at each other and we started giggling and it was if zippo had changed. We were all practiced again. Nosotros talked about playing again and reconnecting. And so before annihilation happened, he died. I was e'er hoping I was going to get to play with him again. Considering there was no doubt, he and I had chemistry at times that was actually, really smashing. Information technology was tragic."

Reggie: I was able to see that aforementioned Gary Moore band at the Reseda Country Order with Eric Singer on drums later y'all were gone.

GF: "In that era Gary really wasn't getting the acclaim and gigs in America that he was in Europe. He actually wanted to scissure America. When 'However Got the Blues' striking, it was his day of reckoning. He waited a long fourth dimension for that. I was glad for him. He deserved it."

Reggie: How nigh playing on the "Run For Comprehend" Gary Moore release. How did that all happen?

GF: " 'Run For Comprehend' would have been, the negotiations and conversations would have started in late '84. I met Glenn Hughes in 1978 through David Kirk. I got off the route in 1978 with Olivia Newton-John, I toured with her. The front of house mixer was a guy named Davy Kirkwood who'd mixed Imperial and Rainbow and all that kind of stuff. He knew Glenn Hughes. He said there's a guy you need to meet named Glenn Hughes and he asked me if I knew who he was. Glenn was pretty famous through Deep Purple. I had no thought, I was similar, ok. Because I had never really listened to Deep Regal. I met Glenn at a Christmas party at Davy's business firm. Christmas of 1978. After that we concluded upward putting together, through
1979 and 1980 various incarnations of bands to try and practice a project together. While we were doing that I was playing with Cher and then Les Dudek and trying to do this thing with Glenn. We wound up with several unlike incarnations of bands. I had this friendship with Glenn and Glenn had gone over to England to piece of work with Gary Moore. They had bee using Paul Thompson on drums. And they didn't similar Paul Thompson. Glenn like me was a big fan of American Funk and R&B. I'm basically a funk drummer that plays Rock 'n' Curl, that's how I've always seen it. Paul Thompson is a really skilful Stone drummer, Glenn simply didn't think he had what he would telephone call the 'funk'. Gary Moore happened to be a huge fan of the Hughes/Thrall album. For some reason the Hughes/Thrall matter could never get going.
Glenn was e'er trying to connect with people to go on his music going. Then he had been working with Gary Moore and they had been using Paul Thompson and Glenn wasn't happy with the way it was going. Gary wasn't 100% happy either. Somehow some conversations came upwards where, Glenn, thank God, I volition thank him forever for this, said they needed to get me to do it. They called me out of the blue and the next matter I knew I flew over to London and I played with him for a few days. Then they said we want you to bring together the band and do an album and a tour. In the U.1000. they did it a petty differently dorsum then they put me on a weekly salary. For a yr. Like a year contract. It was astonishing. I was similar, ok, certain I'll do that. The next thing I knew, Stacy, that's my married woman. We weren't married at the time. We
got married right effectually then. We packed up all the stuff and left L.A. and moved to London. That's how I ended up with Gary. I was really sort of poised for this thing with Gary Moore to be a version of Hughes/Thrall but with Gary Moore, Neil Carter along also. Glenn was supposed to be the bass thespian, and I guess you lot know the lead singer of the projection. Gary and Glenn you know, it merely didn't work out... The side by side thing I know, Glenn'south out and what practice we do now? I approximate Gary Moore's team and camp already had figured out what they wanted to do. They had Bob Daisley in the wings and he had already been talked to for half dozen months prior to that. Information technology simply worked out that way. It was tragic the fashion it went downward. I was really unhappy with the fashion that they let Glenn go. You know, it was messy. It
was BAD."

Reggie: From my perspective, as a fan. That could have been something magical.

GF: "I'd have to agree. I was so looking frontwards to it."

Reggie: How about playing with Phil Lynot?

GF: "He was fine. I didn't actually get to play with him in his full regalia. For me, Phil Lynot you can simply really think of him in Sparse Lizzy. Those songs 'Whiskey in a Jar' and 'Boys are Back'. Those are the songs you'd want to play with Phil Lynot. Once again some other tragic story. I met Phil Lynot through my human relationship with Gary Moore. W were playing and doing some things and Phil said 'ya, I want you to play on my solo tape'. He had information technology in the works and then he fuckin' dies. You know what I hateful? Like tragic".

Reggie: How nearly playing with Glenn Hughes?

GF: "Similar I said I had met him in well-nigh 1978 and nosotros agreed that we would try and play some music old in the future. We did. We tried dissimilar incarnations of bands and somewhen ended upwards with Hughes/Thrall with Glenn and Pat Thrall. I played on a lot of his solo records and had a long human relationship with Glenn. We had a strong human relationship. Nosotros drifted apart in recent years and I wish him the best. Today he is totally happening."

Reggie: Watching some of your work on YouTube with Gary Moore and Glenn Hughes those Festival shows were played in forepart of epic size crowds with fantastic crowd responses.

GF: "When I went over there to play with Gary Moore I had played with Eddie Money and done some fairly loftier profile gigs. Live gigs. Obviously the Eddie Money at the United states Festival was the biggest live gig to this date that I've ever done. I get over there and I'k recording with Gary Moore and I still didn't really grasp that he was such a big kind of celebrity kind of person in the remainder of the World and not the United States. It was kind of weird. I'd tell people over here in Fifty.A. oh ya I'm going over to play with Gary Moore and they would say 'Gary who? Isn't he that English guy' and I'd say no he's not English he'southward Irish, only ya it's him. They'd say ya Ferg, dandy. Then I got over at that place and we're selling out between
1,500 and five,000 seat venues across Europe and sold out the Budokan in Nihon for iii nights in a row which I recall holds like 5,000 or something. He was a Large bargain. I had no thought. I think one of those tours, they built this riser that I was upwardly on. They were trying to increase their production value. Only this ginormous riser, I was then far away from everybody. It was so weird. I was upward in the air higher they they were. Information technology was echoes of being in KISS or something. That was the enormity and they had pyrotechnics, smoke and bombs, lights. I was a full on Rock regalia production. Nonetheless here when I came dwelling house to u.s.a. to visit people they had no idea who I was working for or what I was doing. Information technology
wasn't until afterwards that he cracked u.s. playing a management of music that he always wanted to exercise. The Rock stuff that I played with him, I'thousand non sure that'southward where his centre truly was. I think he was more than of a fusion/blues player really. I call back where he got to play later on on was where his center truly was at."

Reggie: I saw him open for Rush at the LA Forum ii nights in a row in 1984 and had to explain to people both nights who Gary Moore was.

GF: "That was the tour right before me, before I went over in that location and joined them with Bobby Chouinard from Billy Squire's band playing drums with him. Bobby played on his albums and was a great Stone drummer just he had commitments with Baton Squier and so information technology only sort of worked out that he concluded upwards working with Baton so Gary's thing opened upward for me to jump in. And once again that was through Glenn, so thank you Glenn for hooking me up."

Reggie: Talk to the states about your piece of work with Eddie Coin.

GF: "We'll some other bigger than life grapheme with his demons and everything. Information technology'due south e'er a negotiation and a claiming. Nosotros all had our issues. I certainly had my issues likewise at the time. Simply every bit I expect back on my time with Eddie Money I'thousand proud of the work I did with him. I'k proud of the things I did and I can't understand truly why I quit when I did. I estimate part of information technology was, I had a band when I was playing with Eddie Money and I had Hughes/Thrall going, I had another project I wound up on. It was with Robert Fleishman from Journeying. Trey Thompson on bass who was a buddy of mine from sessions and a guitar player named Tony Berg who's gone on to be a pretty good producer. in his own right. He's produced a lot of great stuff. We had a band called Aqueduct and nosotros had a deal on Epic. I basically was
a fellow member of that ring and I put all my eggs in that basket. Considering when I was playing with Eddie Money, it's funny because Steve Farris who I played with earlier with Glenn Hughes, then hither we are with Eddie Money and Steve was leaving Eddie Money to go play with Mr. Mister. I was leaving Eddie Money to go play with Aqueduct. So we were deserters. So Eddie was sort of mad at u.s. for doing that. In retrospect now I don't run into any reason why I couldn't have maintained some kind of touring schedule with Eddie and staying involved with Eddie AND done Channel and kept everything going. For me, it was like I wanted to shut that door for some reason. It'south actually ironic because Eddie called me the other day and we were chatting and laughing about information technology. So we're still friends."

Reggie: He even so gigs effectually. I saw him at an lxxx'due south prove at the Microsoft Theater and at the Ronnie James Dio charity gig in Encino recently.

GF: "He played down here at St. Rocke and I chosen him up and I went and saw him. It was dainty to encounter him. Iove Eddie. He's my friend."

Reggie: He still is bigger than life and was overwhelmingly friendly to anybody at the Microsoft gig.

GF: "He's but trying to go along it going. Eddie's a adept guy. I don't detest Eddie. At present he's got this thing going with Glen Simmons, his drummer. They're at each other'due south throats. Glen is a cancer survivor like me and Eddie'southward trying to get his kids in their in the band, and so he'south letting some of the guys to practise shows with his kids and stuff. Glen is suing him or was suing him or something. So once again, welcome to the music business organisation. You know what I mean? Nobody gets forth forever."

Reggie: You played with Eddie Money at the U.s.a. Festival in front of 150,000 to 200,000 people. What practise you remember about that gig?

GF: "Hot!I remember HOT! One of the things I remember is at the end of the song the applause would take like, a two-second delay. It was the weirdest fuckin' affair. It would end and so .........aaaahhhhhhh! What an opportunity. One of the things that happened at that bear witness, which people don't know nearly...... I had been, downwards here at the embankment where I alive, never got very good regular television, and so I have E'er had cable. I have always lived like nearly a cake up from the water. So back then Stacy and I had to take cablevision. When I was surfing around the cable channels I constitute this music video channel called MTV. I would picket it and they would rotate about xx videos tops. I think the Buggles over and over over again. The fuckin' Buggles! "Video KIlled the Radio Star", I remember I was at the The states Festival and I was talking to Eddie Money and telling him you know I've been watching this cable aqueduct and I keep seeing these videos. And he says ya,ya,ya. So I'm in the Green Room at the US Festival and I run into one of the VJ's, a guy named JJ Jackson, who'due south phonation I'd know from KLOS radio station hither in L.A. And then I cornered him in the Green Room and we started talking and he wanted to interview me and ask me questions about what it was like. I said to him JJ, I actually want you to run into Eddie Money and talk to him. I want to become you guys involved. And then I pretty much got Eddie Money involved with JJ Jackson and MTV. And the next thing I knew we had knocked out similar iii or four videos. Blindside, blindside, bang, bang. I think that those videos really helped Eddie'south career from '82 to '83. When we did "No Command" we started that in '81. Those sessions were pretty broken up until the record was out. I really think that I had something to exercise with that because I helped connect those guys."

Reggie: You played on the Lana Del Rey record 'Lust For Life' that was a #1 U.S. album, #1 in 10 countries and in the Tiptop five in 20 countries.

GF: "It fabricated it to #ane? No shit! Does that hateful I get a new Gold or Platinum tape?"

Reggie: Yous should if it shipped 500,000 in the U.S. and you played on it.

GF: "I did play on it. For me my friend Rick Nowels, who was producing the tracks I worked on, called me to do it. I was happy to show upwardly and play on it. It's another session. I take no human relationship with Lana. I get to exercise what I've always wanted to practise, is basically be a studio musician. That's all I've ever really wanted to be and I'k even so trying to be to this day."

Reggie: What are the benefits and drawbacks for studio and live playing?

GF: "Well at that place are benefits to both. I think you accept to do both to be a happy musician. None of us are truly happy. So if y'all only do session piece of work yous become bummed out because you want to play live. If you merely play live you first to wonder why aren't you playing in the studio. For me, it'south always been this kind of a thing I air current upwardly playing with someone in the studio and so I get asked to tour with them. Or I'm doing some shows with someone alive and I get asked to record with them. I've always felt that existence documented on the recordings is what I lived for because that's sort of my legacy, y'all know. When I wait at the list of all the people I've gotten the opportunity to play with on their records
I know my drumming volition alive on past my time. People volition be able to discover my work if they look for it and find it. Future drummers will exist able to encounter how I played by looking at all of the stuff that was documented."

Reggie: Tell u.s.a. about your involvement in the Los Angeles College of Music and in particular your involvement with Joe Porcaro.

GF: "Wow. Yous know, Papa Joe, man. I love him."

Reggie: He's great. I withal see him at Toto gigs and at the NAMM show every year.

GF: "I love JoPo man, he's my inspiration man because he never has a bad thing to say and he always has a grinning on his face. I bow to Joe, I kneel to Joe."

Reggie: It's true. You lot're smile now talking about him.

GF: "Ya man, it's the power of Joe. The thing about Joe Porcaro is everything he does on the drums is musical. He's simply such a musical person. That's what's so wonderful about him. My involvement with the Los Angeles College of Music is strictly by accident. I was studying here with a drum teacher, after I toured with Larry and Luke, named Richard Wilson who was a guy who taught Carlos Vega and Vinnie Colaiuta. He was sort of similar this guru kind of educator in Los Angeles. For the complication of the studies that y'all would do, he would really bet you lot up and get you to work. So I was trying to improve subsequently spending all that fourth dimension with Larry and Luke, and he passed abroad. I'd gotten used to having an every
other week delivery with a guru, someone to look up to. So I was wanting to work on a office of my drumming that incorporated the lower finish of my drumming, my feet. I somehow discovered that Ralph Humphrey was actually had an approach to playing the pedal that was unlike than what I was used to, as well equally a lot of knowledge with hand technique. So I chosen him up and I'd known Ralph forever because he's like an old friend of mine. I've known him since I was eighteen and I've e'er looked up to him. Ralph's always been, in the World of drummers, someone that I have Always, really
looked upwardly to. Like a big brother. I love Ralph. Ralph'south just such a skillful drummer. So I went over to his firm to have a lesson. We hadn't seen each other in xx years and nosotros just hit it off. We just started hanging out and bullshitting. The lesson was minimal and the hang was everything. He started showing me stuff that he was education at the Los Angeles Music Academy at the fourth dimension and I could play it . It wasn't hard for me. I could do information technology. There was no learning curve and he said to me after a couple of lessons 'hey, do yous wanna teach'? I really hadn't thought about it. I've always historically, never been an educator. I never wanted to be an educator. I always thought that people that taught were people
that couldn't play. So I e'er considered myself a histrion. So Ralph asked me to do it and I agreed to information technology and I sort of enjoyed it. The best thing was when I could actually aid some of these young players, we actually had people from all over the World at that place. I was sort of flattered that a lot of them knew who I was and what I'd done. Then when I could testify them means to approach the instrument that truly aid them and I could come across that their cognition was reached, like a door opened for them, a revelation and they were grateful. They were really appreciative. I went 'oh, mayhap being a teacher really isn't
such a bad thing'. Information technology changed my whole overview on it and I got more involved and and so I got less involved. At present I'yard sort of coming back to it for fun. I exercise it considering I enjoy it. I don't know where the futures going with me and education. I bask having a commitment out at that place and beingness office of it but if I had to practise that only, I would go insane but I find if I don't do a lilliputian bit of teaching I miss that too. So I exercise a little bit of it to round out my life. I take a couple of drummers that come here to the house to take lessons occasionally but I don't focus on being an educator. I don't define myself on being an educator. I define myself equally being a player. I define myself as being a histrion that teaches, not a teacher
that plays."

Reggie: Outside of music what do you relish doing?

GF: "Surfing. That's what I did this morning. I just got out of the water when you got hither. Surfing and spending time with my daughter and my wife. My daughter rides horses and I savor watching her ride horses and listening to her sing. She can really sing."

Reggie: "Is she out in that location singing?

GF: "No. She wants to exist an actress and a singer and a model. I've deliberately not really pushed her too hard because I didn't desire her to exist ruined, certainly at an early age. John Keane, years ago told me if you lot desire ruin someone'due south life put them in the amusement business as a kid. Considering he went through that existence a kid star and it was really hard on him."

Reggie: Anything y'all want to add?

GF: "The only thing I want to say is at that place'south a lot of people that I've played with that people aren't aware of. I should get a listing and read it to you. Off of the acme of my head information technology goes to Etta James, Ray Charles, Billy Preston, Lonnie Hall, Bette Midler, Albert Lee now, The New Radicals, Cher, Olivia Newton-John, Frankie Miller, Fastway, Michael Schenker Group, Bobby Womack... The list of people that I've played with goes into the hundreds. That'southward a career of existence a drummer. That's what people don't realize is that I continually piece of work. I don't really talk about it and I don't really promote myself. I don't do annihilation. I simply play. I allow my playing speak for itself. I'1000 i of the guys that lets my playing speak for itself whether it'due south practiced or bad. I do, yous know."

Reggie: How did you make the Billy Preston connection?

GF: "In the 80's through David Benoit. I played with this Canadian saxophone player named Doug Richardson and I was very much a Jazz drummer coming upward here in Los Angeles. A Jazz Fusion/Funk drummer. That'south how I met Ralph Humphrey because we were involved in that same style of music. I was working with David Benoit doing gigs and stuff so Dave calls me to play on this Doug Richardson solo album for American Variety International at Producers workshop. So we go over in that location to play on Doug Richardson's solo record and basically David concluded up getting a record deal out of information technology. And then David called me to play on his tape... Oh, that's another thing, I played on 6 or seven David Benoit records... people don't know that. But I was basically a Smooth Jazz drummer before in that location was Smooth Jazz... and the records are out there. Then here I am working with David Benoit at Producers Workshop and one of the engineers was a guy named Galen Cinegols who'd gone through the whole Producers Workshop School, the style they would educate the recording engineers. Galen while he was working at Producers Workshop sort of ended existence a sort of Independent Producer. He managed to get a task with a another Producer named Ralph Benetar. We would do all of these Disco and Dance records at the time. We would do these things called LAX and these actually absurd kind of Funky Discoy kind of records and Galen and Ralph ended up getting a task Producing Baton Preston. And so they insisted
that I be the drummer on it. So I went in there an traced that record with Billy Preston, George and Louis Johnson and I. This was around 1981 and there's a song there called 'I'd Like to Go Home Again', information technology sort of has me playing a half-fourth dimension shuffle vanquish and I think I have to say I recall I got it on tape before Jeff did. I recall I did it before 'Rosanna'. So y'all know Jeff and I were listening to the same shit at the time. We were both Bernard Purdie fans. Kind of cool you lot know. So that'south how I wound upwards on that i, but a studio guy. So I was the leader on that and so I did all the contracts and everything".

Reggie: I wasn't as aware as much of your live playing credits but I was aware of your studio playing. Some people get pigeonholed into one type of music. You accept credits with all kinds of playing from MSG and Fastway to Lana Del Rey, Susanna Hoffs and David Benoit.

GF: "All of the grooming that I did hither in Los Angeles, the teachers I studied with, which were Kaye Carlson, Les Demerle, Murray Spivak and Richard Wilson at an early age was just the training to be studio musician. I of the things about being a studio musician was that you had to exist able to play any style of music convincingly. Growing upwardly as a kid, in high school I would mind to Prog Rock bands Genesis, Aye and Greenslade as well every bit Johnny Hammond Smith, Jimmy Smith and King Curtis. Then I would listen to the Butterfield Blues Ring and The Band, The Faces and Zeppelin. And so I would heed to Bob Dylan and Terry Riley in C. I'd listen then to Miroslav Vitous Space Search. Me, I'd heed to Jack
Dejohnette so I'd listen to Ringo. I'd listen to Jim Gordon..I'd listen to Kunkel and then Elvin Jones. Tony Williams... so Mott the Hoople. I've always just been a large fan of MUSIC. I tried to detect the values in ALL styles. I tried to find the quality in every genre of music. I never wanted to exist a Rock drummer. I sort of fell into it. I had to adapt, mayhap that'due south why I've been able to play with so many people because I never just was a Stone drummer.

Reggie: That's what being around Vince Gill did for me. It exposed me to other types of quality music. He enlightened me to the fact that at that place's good in all types of music. Before him I had a closed mind to certain types of music.

GF: "Now you simply happened to mention Vince Gill. If yous're effectually Vince you're around the good considering it doesn't get emmet better than him. Albert Lee is correct in there. Vince is Tour De Force man."

Reggie: Albert Lee is the first 'proper name person' I met through Vince in about 1982 at The Palomino and Albert who had played with Clapton, in his mind was a infinitesimal or two late and was super apologetic for his declared tardiness.

GF "Alberto! He is a gentleman. There isn't a nicer human, than Alberto. Great guy. I hope I get to proceed playing with him. I consider it a privilege to piece of work with Albert. I don't take it lightly. I know at this stage of his life I'one thousand grateful, genuinely grateful, to get to play with him and I'll practice information technology as long as they desire me. They're overnice people."

Reggie: You really practise have a diverse list of credits so allow me throw a few of the more interesting names and tell us a trivial about each.

Olivia Newton-John: "I did a Earth tour with her in 1978 called "Totally Hot" when I was 23 years old. It was the offset real loftier end touring I'd always done. Six or eight weeks around the World. I of a sudden went from playing Jazz gigs in Los Angeles to doing a Earth bout staying in 4 star hotels. It was a actually keen experience and she every bit wonderful. It was a pleasure to practice that tour."

Cher: "I went directly from Olivia to Cher. I wound up working for Cher for a couple of years. With Cher I wound up playing together in a band we put together called Black Rose , I played on the recording of "Blackness Rose". David Paich wrote a vocal for united states and Luke came down to the studio when we were making the "Blackness Rose" record. It was similar sometime home week when he showed up. It was all hugs and laughs and chuckles. Jeff Porcaro had played with Sonny and Cher earlier that so Cher knew all of the Toto guys. So they were e'er welcome to stop past at Sunset Sound when we were making the record "Blackness Rose". I too played in her Vegas show for a few years and toured with Black Rose."

Piffling Richard: "I played on a Las Vegas tv set show for Fiddling Richard. They needed a band. They hired some players to come in and play behind him lip syncing. You could hear the piano, information technology was pretty loud and we started playing love and information technology sounded and then adept that they prepare up microphone'due south and started recording us playing live and it wound up being used on the telly show. That was with James Caan and all of those guys t was called "Las Vegas".

Ray Charles: "Ray Charles I met through James Ingram who's a vocalist/songwriter hither in Los Angeles but when I met him he was a keyboard thespian effectually town. Ray Charles had a production company called RPM Productions and he had a publishing company so I would get over and play on demonstration recording'southward for some of the songwriters that Ray had signed. Ray heard my drumming and then asked me to play on one of his records. He was making a record for RCA called "Beloved and Peace". I concluded upwards being in the studio with only Ray and I. We cutting basic tracks for a handful of songs and then I ended up overdubbing drums on some of the tracks that had already been recorded. Then I'1000 on this sort of obscure Ray Charles record which is funny at present because it'due south similar being sought after considering it'south been neglected and people are trying to observe out well-nigh it. There'southward some absurd stuff on it. It
sounds pretty skilful."

Etta James: "Live performance with Etta for several years from when I was about 21 to 23. Met her through a guitar player named Brian Ray. She used to introduce me 'looks like a surfer, players similar a motherfucker". I had an on and off musical relationship with her for the next 20 years after that and I started with her in 76. And that'due south where I met Freddie Beckmeier and Brian Ray and Gene Dinwiddie. Basically it was a lot of the guys from a band chosen Full Moon then they basically became friends. I had a adept feel with that. She taught me a lot. I learned a lot from her."

Geezer Butler: "That was subsequently Gary Moore I was living in the U.K. nosotros put together an original project managed by Smallwood & Taylor who managed Iron Maiden. We put together a band. We recorded and we did videos. We were poised to sign to EMI and right as we were putting this band together the direction of music changed radically considering Guns 'north' Roses came out of the shoot and information technology changed everything for united states of america. We all sort of lost involvement in information technology after putting in a year or a yr and a half of our fourth dimension in it to bring it to fruition, I knew information technology broke Geezer's eye because he really worked hard. I believe some
of the material that we recorded has made it's way onto Black Sabbath records since he returned to Black Sabbath. Songs similar "Computer God" and things like that I believe are now Blackness Sabbath songs. Merely we put all that stuff together with this Geezer project. It was a band it wasn't similar it was Geezer's solo projection. It started out with Geezer's nephew , a guy named Pedro Howse. He was the guitarist."

Yoko Ono: "Yoko Ono was something I did with Eddie Money. We played on a record that was a tribute to John Lennon called "Every Woman Has a Man" and Yoko was involved in the record. It was released under her name but I guess technically it would take been the Eddie Money band I was playing with for Yoko Ono."

Stevie Nicks: "It'due south funny. I played on a few things for her. I played on her solo anthology called "Problem in Shangri-La" and I worked for two different producers Rick Nowels and David Kahne who produced Paul McCartney, a actually good producer. I met him when I worked on a Susana Hoff's tape that he produced. That was the early days of Pro Tools and so it was a cutting and paste on a track for David and Rick Nowels did a vocal for him that he was producing for Stevie. And then ironically just recently in 2017 I'm on this song with Lana Del Rey and Stevie Nicks, this sort of collaboration tune. It went total cycle with Stevie."

Pat Benatar: "Pat Benatar was on the 2002 Women TV show Lifetime Rock I played backside her. In that location was a couple songs I played with her. She did a duet. One of them was with Sheryl Crow so I played with Sheryl Crow and Pat Benatar at the same time."

Don Dokken: "I played on his solo tape chosen "Solitary". I met him through my friend Wyn Davis and I've known Don for a long time. He's a good guy."

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Source: http://www.stevelukather.com/news-articles/2018/03/reggie-talking-with-gary-ferguson-about-luke-and-many-more.aspx