In the world of “first call” drummers, Steve Ferrone is the first one they call. Just ask Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Rick James, Slash, Chaka Khan, Bee Gees, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, or Johnny Cash. When iconic bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Average White Band, Duran Duran and Aerosmith needed to replace their “irreplaceable” drummers, Steve Ferrone was the guy who stepped up. I met up with Steve and his tech Andy Greenburg at Steve’s private warehouse where his formidable collection of drums are safely housed. Steve played a lot of drums throughout his six-decade career, and he’s saved almost every one of them. He has drums from Ludwig, Pearl, DW, Gretsch, Rogers and more. Some are custom made, some are rare prototypes, all are stellar drums. Nothing made it into his collection unless it was exceptional.  Steve asked my help in sorting through the piles of dusty road cases to figure out exactly what he had, what he still needed […]

April 2026 Issue