Steve Gorman’s drumming helped put The Black Crowes on the radio. These days, he’s the one behind the microphone.
Long before the band sold millions of records, Steve planned to become a broadcaster. He studied broadcast journalism in college and dreamed of working in sports. Then he borrowed a drum kit, dropped out of school, moved to Atlanta and joined the band that would become The Black Crowes. He owned his first kit for a matter of weeks when he recorded a demo with them.
The band’s rise was extraordinary. So were the years that followed. Steve played some of rock’s biggest stages, toured with Jimmy Page, and watched the relationships within The Black Crowes grow increasingly difficult. While he was still touring, he began sitting in on a friend’s sports radio show in Nashville. A few guest appearances later, he got a show of his own.
His first night on air was rough. He kept at it anyway. His local sports show grew into a national show on Fox Sports Radio, followed by the syndicated Steve Gorman Rocks. Today, he hosts Gorman in the Morning on Minneapolis station KQRS.
In this episode, Steve tells the unlikely story of becoming a rock drummer after barely playing a kit as a teenager, what it was like to leave The Black Crowes, and how a career he imagined before music became his second act. He also explains why being underestimated as “the drummer” helped him get started in radio but couldn’t carry him for long.
For more of Steve’s fascinating stories from his years with The Black Crowes, order his book, Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you buy books.
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