2019.03.15 - Expresso Show - Interview with Frank

Transcript:

Interviewer: I'm just [?] Frank for my [?]n because it's gonna be there, man. Frank Ferrer in studio. Dude, thank you so much for joining us.

Frank: Thank you for having me

Interviewer: Yeah, I was I was saying earlier just you seem like the coolest guy and you really are the coolest guy for someone who has achieved as much as you have. And obviously being a part of Guns N' Roses, probably the most legendary rock band of my life, Use Your Illusion defined me as a little anarchist teen, but buddy, thank you so much for joining us.

Frank: Thank you for having me, I'm happy to be here in Cape Town.

Interviewer: I know it's early for a rocker, man.

Frank: I'm a little beat down, but I'm alright, we'll make it work.

Interviewer: [?] you guys tour, you get on planes, you get out there in your [?] promote one of the coolest musical brands, [?] can we have a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen, [?] was amazing and I've still got the goose bumps there you can see. If it's this cool for me engaging with someone who is a part of Guns N' Roses and a part of this kind of musical narrative, how cool is it for you to get that call up, I know you've had a relationship with Axl and with the band for a while-

Frank: Axl and I have been together since like 2006, through the whole Chinese Democracy time era, you know, but yeah, when Slash and Duff came back it blew everything wide open.

Interviewer: See, the goose bumps are going again there when you mention those names. Like, to have one of - if not the most successful tour, you know - when you think of with where... I mean, you're old-school rockers right but still more relevant now than some of the biggest names, social media stars, out there, what has that been like being a part of that?

Frank: Well, you know, they're icons, I'm playing with icons, you know, the three of them, Duff, Slash and Axl, they're icons, I mean, I can't put it into words, you know, especially coming from the humble beginnings that I came from, you know. I've always dreamt of playing big places, Madison Square Garden, I grew up in New York City, but we play in front of 80,000 people or hundred thousand people all over the world. I mean, we played to 80,000 people here in Joburg in November, you know. I mean, it's something I never dreamt of, you know.

Interview: Can you put your finger on it, why are hundred thousand people coming to everyone single concert?

Frank: When you have those icons on that stage you have to come and see it, you have to see it. I mean, the band is better than ever, you know, we have really great musicians in the band besides the main three, you know. Dizzy Reed is still in the band, who played on Use Your Illusions, who played all the piano on it, so it's just so iconic, you have to come and see it, plus the band is pretty slamming, too, the music is pretty good, you know.

Interviewer: The music is is iconic. I think is probably the only way to describe it. So you're in South Africa again for a second [?]. Why are you here, I know you are to be part of a tribute concert, but what drew you back to South Africa?

Frank: I just wanted to come back and really experience it from the other side, you know, coming in to Joburg and to South Africa is such a huge thing with Guns N' Roses. I just wanted to be a little more connected, there was something in the air, something happened here that was very magical, kind of changed my life a little bit, so I was like, "I want to come back here and just dive into it." And Jason, who's sitting over here, over there, Jason-

Interviewer: You're a rock star, Jason!

Frank: [?] Of course I'm gonna hang with the dude that had the cops called on him. Anyways, so Jason gave me the opportunity... Some of the companies I endorse, you know, DW and Vader Drumsticks, I reached out to Dane Marshall, who takes care of that stuff down here, and I was like, "Okay, what can we do? I just want to come back, I could do a clinic, I could do whatever," you know, and then he introduced me to Jason. Jason has the tribute band that we're playing tonight, at Hillcrest Quarry.

Jason: Well done.

Interviewer: Those details will be on our website as well, yeah.

Frank: And he was like, "Hey, you know, come and do this, come and play guest star on my show, play a couple of Guns songs and then I'll take you around and we'll make a thing out of it." So I was like, "I'm in."

Interviewer: Absolutely love it. How important knowing the journey that you've been on to inspire other young drummers? You're an artist, too, right, let's be honest here, what you do goes far beyond the music.

Frank: Yeah, it's very important. I don't give it much thought but I know that I was influenced by other great drummers growing up, so if there's any time that I could... not teach, but if I could just give someone a special experience in something, is cool. I mean, I wouldn't consider myself a teacher but you could definitely take a lot from what I do, you know.

Interviewer: I've leant a lot already, but I've buzzing, man, I'm gonna show you my goosebumps again.

Transcribed this vapid piece.