Drummer Frank Ferrer was at his then-seven-year-old daughter’s talent show in 2006 when his phone rang. On the line was his friend Tommy Stinson, the Replacements bassist who was in the middle of a long tenure in Guns N’ Roses at the time. “Hey, man, there’s this thing happening,” Stinson told him. “Why don’t you learn a bunch of Guns songs? I’ll give you more info later on.” As it turned out, Guns drummer Brian “Brain” Mantia’s wife was due to have a baby while the band had a tour booked, and the idea was to recruit a sub for two weeks until Mantia returned.
Ferrer ended up playing in Guns N’ Roses for 19 years, longer than Steven Adler and Matt Sorum combined, becoming the longest-serving drummer in the band’s history. He played on Chinese Democracy, and performed with multiple lineups of the band — when Slash and Duff McKagan came back, Rose kept Ferrer on board. Then, in March of 2025, the band announced his exit, thanked him for his service, and named Isaac Carpenter as his replacement.
Ferrer is currently playing in two bands, the Slax (with guitarist Brett Smith-Daniels, Band of Skulls guitarist Russell Marsden, bassist Stefan Bielik, and singer Chris Payn) and One Night Only (with Hanoi Rocks and Electric Boys guitarist Conny Bloom, bassist Johnny Griparic of Slash’s Snakepit, keyboardist Bob Fridzema, and Swedish singer Matti Alfonzetti). He recently jumped on a Zoom with Rolling Stone for his first post-Guns interview, looking back — with an admirable degree of gratitude — at his years with Axl Rose.
