FIBM: Any memories come to mind from the Keel / Self-titled recording sessions?
Marc: I was very thrilled to work with Michael Wagener, he was a great
joy to be around, very positive, laughing, joking, always in a good mood...I knew we would have a great-sounding
record as well. I was a fan of so much of his work ..he used to call me "Porsche" instead of "Ferrari" because
he was German! We did have this huge party where we invited like over 100 people into the studio to sing on
"United Nations." Also, Al Kooper (who discovered/produced Lynyrd Skynyrd and worked with Dylan) was
recording there, too. I used to go poke my head in his sessions and bug him for stories…he was a great guy.
FIBM: Who were some of the bands that you toured with for that release?
Marc: Well Bon Jovi was the big one, we did 13 shows with him on
the Slippery When Wet tour, playing the largest venues of our career including 3 nights at Madison Square
Garden. Now that I think about it, I think that was the only major tour we did that year, after those
dates, we did some club dates and then were pulled off the road...we didn't even go to Japan or Europe
that year, like we had done for the The Final Frontier. It was so disappointing after coming off those
huge Bon Jovi shows...that was the beginning of the end for me.
FIBM: 3 most fond memories of your days in Keel.
Marc: Obviously the Bon Jovi dates, The Texxas Jam (or maybe opening up for Aerosmith) and headlining Japan...pretty much the same things Ron said in his interview!
FIBM: Out of all the bands you have toured with which one were the best and
which ones were the biggest jerks?
Marc:
I can't recall that we had issues with any of the bands we toured with, although there was some tension with Krokus...
it probably wasn't the band themselves but some of their crew, it just seemed like they gave us a hard time with things. I
used to hang out with Marc Storace and Fernando Von Arb (I even did a Party Ninjas date with Fernando in 1988 I think)...
chalk it up to roadie ego....
FIBM: Why did you decide to leave Keel? Was it a hard decision to make at the time, or was it quite easy? Was there any
tension in the band at that time, or was it based on record sales, or control issues? Please lay it down?
Marc:
By 1988, there were a lot of disappointments between the failure of the previous album and pressure on us to
become more commercial. Goldmountain was in the process of switching distribution from MCA to Atlantic, and Jason
Flom (who is now running Virgin but spent the past decade running Lava) was our new A&R guy. Ron differed with
him right off the bat and there was tension. Not that A&R guys are always right about things, but I thought we
could be a bit diplomatic and not piss the people off that have some control over our musical and financial
destiny. Ron brought in a keyboard player, Scott Wolf, so right there was a huge change for us...it really
changed the dynamic of the band. I'm not sure if it was entirely Ron's decision or one that was forced on him, but
Ron had always been a headstrong guy so I think the decision was at least partially his. I thought we should
go in a heavier direction, or at least stay the course with us being a guitar-based band. The material that
was being presented by Ron was decidedly poppier in nature and I just disagreed with the whole concept of us
going down that path. My relationship with Ron dissolved to the point where it was evident that I would be
disruptive to the band by continuing on so I decided to step aside. I was fully confident in myself that I
would land up on my feet and eventually I did. I don't recall any screaming matches, drawn blood or fisticuffs, it
was pretty civil...I respected all the guys too much to have had it gone down any differently than that.
FIBM: Did the band ever record / release anything with Oni Logan? If so, will those
recordings ever see the light of day?you?
Marc:
So...fast forward about 3 months after leaving Keel, I got turned onto this cool singer from Florida named
Oni Logan. Oni was doing drywall when I first called him...he sent me a demo and the talent exploded off
the tape, he was clearly something special. I flew him out to LA on my dime and we initially did a 3-song
demo…Fred Coury from Cinderella played drums...Michael Sweet from Stryper helped out on some backing vocals..he
was recording in the same studio. That initial demo convinced Goldmountain to exercise their "leaving member"
clause in my recording contract which meant that they intended to keep me under contract. I put the rest of
the band together that summer and played gigs around L.A... at first the band was called "Ferrari."
<-Ferrari - Cold Sweat->
FIBM: I remember listening to the station Z-Rock and they introduce your new band, at that
time, called
Ferrari. They played a couple of songs, several times a day and I remember really thinking that you were going to
finally break through and become a multi-platinum artist. There seemed to be a lot of promotion behind it, in the
beginning, and people seemed to be digging it. Then all of a sudden, I don't remember hearing anything more about
the band. Did the record company stop promoting, Why did it fall apart...etc., etc.... Get it off your chest, one last time.
Marc: Z Rock initially was playing the demo I just mentioned as well as a subsequent demo
we did with Ronnie James Dio, which was the one which eventually convinced MCA to sign us....we had not become "Cold Sweat" yet, so
there wasn't a major label release to do any promotion for at this time...I don't know what you're referring to here, but this
is the timeline. I eventually was released from Goldmountain (Wendy Dio was our manager) and after a line-up change or two, some
strong live dates and the afore-mentioned final demo, we got a commitment from MCA. On the day we were to start recording our
record (the contracts were in the process of being signed) Oni left the band to join Lynch Mob.
FIBM: What happened? Please tell us the reason behind Oni's departure...what was actually said b/t George Lynch and Oni
and what did you think about it at that time?
Marc: Lynch had been courting Oni for a while, how long, I couldn't say, but he
did show up at a few of our gigs. The infamous gig at the Whiskey where supposedly George asked Oni if he'd rather be
driving a Ferrari or playing in a band called Ferrari was the last straw. I never heard those words but I wasn't
exactly trying to hear everything the great George was drunkenly espousing. I heard that George gave him 50k as
an incentive. George was already signed and had a much higher profile than me so Oni took the bait. It was a
shitty thing to do, both on George's side and Oni's and the timing couldn't have been worse...Oni's actions affected
not just me but the 3 other guys in the band as well. Our whole professional lives were suddenly in limbo. It took
nearly half a year and hundreds
of auditions to find Rory Cathey who became the singer of what was eventually known as Cold Sweat.
FIBM: Have you seen George Lynch since then, or in recent years? If so, did you guys ever exchange words...what was said?
Marc: Look, in retrospect, George did me a favor, although it wasn't apparent at the
time. Oni, although amazingly gifted as a vocalist, had personal issues and character traits which made him (I'm being polite)
"difficult to work with." It's been well-documented some of the problems Oni had with Lynch Mob and I am convinced those
problems would have surfaced in Cold Sweat. I have run into George since then, but our last "meeting" must have been nearly
10 years ago at a NAMM show and was rather brief. We had a quick laugh about it... I respect George as a player and as a survivor.
FIBM: Apparently there was a lot of tension, while recording the debut record, between you and producer Kevin Beamish. What was that about and what did you think of him as a producer?
Marc: Let me answer the 2nd question first, as it was my idea to work with
Kevin...Keel did a single with Kevin in 1987 called "Rock 'n Roll Outlaw (a Rose Tattoo cover), that was for the "Dudes"
movie soundtrack which Penelope Spheeris directed (this will segue into your Wayne's World question later). I loved
Kevin's work on Y&T and to a lesser degree the REO Speedwagon material. Bear in mind that we "auditioned" and got
commitments from such luminary producers as Andy Johns and Eddie Kramer as well....but I truly admired and respected
Kevin as a producer and felt he would be a great choice to guide the band in the studio.
Cold Sweat, although founded (and funded) by yours truly was comprised of 4 other very headstrong, opinionated
and cock-sure individuals, none of which had ever been signed to a record deal or had done a full-fledged record
before. Where the tension happened was not so much between me & Kevin, (although there was definitely some), but
between me and some of the other guys in the band. I wanted the record to be stripped-down, raw, gritty, edgy
and in your-face, while some of the others wanted it to be more layered, produced, polished. I firmly believe
that some of the demos we did were superior to the final record...if you heard any of them I think you'd agree
with me. The demos rocked hard. THAT was where I waged most of my battles, trying to steer the production to
what I thought was the truer essence of the band. Although I'm extremely proud of that record, I feel it was
the wrong approach production-wise and I think Kevin went along with the will of the masses. Nuff said, we're
all good now...but I still cringe listening to "Take This Heart Of Mine" or "Let's Make Love Tonight"....they're
so watered down compared to the demos.
FIBM: You toured with Love/Hate. What were they like during that time? Any good stories to share?
Marc: I dug Johnny and Jizzy a lot...they were all nice to us, we hung out and caused
as much damage as we could. I wasn't familiar with their band prior to us touring, but enjoyed watching them a lot...they
were one of the big "buzz bands" of their day. I remember that the bass player had this bad Corvette..I was driving a
shitty Chevy Chevelle Malibu at the time....interesting how certain memories stick with you.
FIBM: Tell us about how you ended up being in Wayne's World (Parts 1 & 2)?
Marc: As mentioned previously, Keel worked with Penelope Spheeris on the Dudes
soundtrack..we also did a video for the film which Penelope directed. I used to see her at the clubs and alwys stayed
in touch with her. When I read that she was going to direct Wayne's World, I gave her a call and she kept me in mind
for the film. Wayne's World 2 came about because everyone was asked back...quadruple the salary for me!
FIBM: What was that experience like for you? Any stand out moments?
Marc: Amazing memories, so many of them, just being around so much comedic
talent like Mike Meyers, Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, etc...plus I got to look at Tia Carrere's butt
for all that time...she is a great person, very down-to-earth, hard-working, pleasant to be around. We jammed
with Dana at the crew party, that was pretty cool....got to talk hockey with Mike Myers a few times...showed
Christopher Walken how to play guitar. On Wayne's World 2, Peter Frampton was originally in the script....he
was part of "Waynestock"…we hung out for a whole afternoon...and of course being with the Aerosmith guys too,
that was a frickin' cool…we got treated like movie stars (instead of rock stars?)...
FIBM: Tell us a bit about Rock Star 101? What made you think of writing the book, or had you planned to write one all along?
Marc: I wanted to share the knowledge I had learned from all my years of
being a musician and having to learn the hard way about things related to the business side of music. Too many
young musicians are all to eager to put their name on a contract without fully knowing what lurks within those
pages. Also, in the very beginning, before attorneys may traditionally be involved there is a lot of business
which has to be sorted out within the structure of the band. Armed with knowing what some of these issues are
and how to deal with them I consider to be one of the most important things a musician can do. It sucks that
there's more business than music in the music business, but that's the reality of it.
I set myself a goal to write the manuscript, which took me the better part of a summer to do. Getting the
deal for it actually took me longer than getting my first record deal! It's kind of the same process: "shopping"
the manuscript around and seeing what company may have an interest in releasing it. I got a ton of e-mails and
letters from musicians who said the book was very helpful to them.
FIBM: Is there one piece of great industry advice, from the book, that you would be kind enough to share with our readers?
Marc: Never eat anything made with mayonnaise any time, any place or any where if you can avoid it. That and make sure a music attorney goes thru anything you put your name on...
FIBM: Tell us a little about your company, MasterSource. What do you do? What are some of the shows your songs have been featured on?
Marc: I started MasterSource nearly 15 years ago...I place music into films, TV shows,
commercials, video games, movie trailers, network promos, corporate presentations, you name it. I have even had music
included in videos for Rage Against The Machine, The Isley Brothers and Brooks & Dunn! As far as a credit list goes, there
are thousands...best to check out the website at www.mastersource.com for a recent list, but we do have music in several
films in theaters right now such as Brokeback Mountain, Syrianna, Rumor Has It, Cheaper By The Dozen 2 and Transamerica.
FIBM: How does a musician go about submitting material to you? Is there a particular type of music that you look for?
Marc: When I am in the process of producing CDs, I do take submissions if I am
looking for a certain style of music. Right now, I'm in between projects so I don't have a need for submissions. I
produce mostly contemporary genres (with vocals) such as Rock, Metal, Alternative, Power-Pop, Country, Dance, Latin,
Blues, Singer-Songwriter. I have a core group of writers that have been working with me since I started but every
year I do hire some fresh blood. On my most recent collection, I have some songs co-written by Mark Slaughter,
Paul Taylor (Winger) and Kip Winger. In the past some of my old rock buddies such as Robin McAuley, Steve Plunkett,
Tommy Thayer and even Ron Keel have written songs for my library.
FIBM: Any chance of a Keel reunion soon? If so, when? If not, why?
Marc: Ron & I have been in touch with various promoters and are exploring the
possibilty of either selective one-off dates or a small "tour." There is a lot on which something like this
depends: The financial feasibilty, the schedule to accomodate those with families or business to run
(all of us have children of various ages) and the physical mechanics of it all. I personally wuld be
open to do some dates. Bear in mind it's been over 18 years since the 5 original guys have shared the same stage....
FIBM: Marc Ferrari is transported back to the mid-80's. Is there anything you would do differently?
Marc: Not a thing..I can honestly say that I have stood by every decision I've made and take full responsibility for decisions that may have adversely affected myself or others....for better or worse they have helped forge the entity of my life.
THE FAST 5
FIBM: What is your most disgusting habit?
Marc: Putting ketchup on almost everything: Eggs, veggies, crackers, etc.
FIBM: What is the most feminine thing you do?
Marc: I don't do this regularly, but a few times when I was too drunk to piss standing
up without missing and making a mess that I pissed sitting down...
FIBM: If there is a God, what is the first question you would ask God when you arrive?
Marc: Why so many people seem to think they know you and kill in your name. Second question would be why do you let idiots have guns.
FIBM: Greatest Rock band of all time?
Marc: This is a tough one...I've been influenced by so many
great bands it's hard to pick just one, but let's start with:
1) Led Lizzy
2) AC / ZZ
3) Motley Who
4) Judas Purple
5) AeroStarz
6) Lynyrd Leppard
7) Van Sabbath
throw in a few solo guys like Robin Travers, Jimi Winter and Stevie Ray Montrose....
FIBM: What were you doing 40 minutes before you sat down to do this interview?
Marc: Setting the timer to go off in precisely 40 minutes so I could jump
right into answering all your questions!
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