June 20, 2025 • 9 mins
He's been a part of so many iconic songs, from Tom Petty to Don Henley to his latest band, the Dirty Knobs. Jim Minge of the Dispatch and I get to talk with Mike Campbell before he opens next Friday's free Memorial Park concert before Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band take the stage.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Scott Vorhiez.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Yeah, glad to have you in Omaha for this concert.
You spent decades as the architect kind of behind some
of the greatest songs in American rock and roll history,
but now your name is front and center with the
Dirty Knobs. What surprised you most about stepping into the
spotlight at center stage?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Well, what surprised me most was how much work it is.
Because in The Heartbreakers, you know, I just played guitar,
you know, and it was just lottyadi to play a
solo drum and chors. It was easy. But when you're
leading the band, you've got to remember the lyrics. You've
got to sing on pitch, you've got to lead the dynamics.
You've got to hit all your pedals, you've got to
(00:42):
play all the guitar parts, and you've got to sing,
and you've got to engage the audience. It's a lot
more complicated than just playing guitar, but I really enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
We also have in here to talk to you today,
Mike Jim Minghy, my friend who's also the publisher of
the Dispatch here in Omaha. He's got some questions for
you too.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Go ahead, Jim, well, tell me so, has leading a
band changed the way you write or the way you perform,
you know, being in front and center, and maybe you know,
striking a cool rockstar pose.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I don't know how to do any rock star poses,
but I do Mike poses. I have to, you know,
when you're leading the band, sometimes you have to be
a little more demonstrative, you know, wave or look at
everybody or get their attention. But my band is so good.
They're very intuitive and there's not a lot of rock
star posing going on in The Dirty Knobs. It's just
(01:33):
strong music, you know. And I don't know if that
answers your question.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
No, it's great music. I want to talk more about
The Dirty Knobs here in a moment. But of course,
I know you get questions all the time about your
former bandmate Tom Petty. And the reason, Mike is because,
like you, we love him and miss him. Now, what
do you miss most about Tom Petty?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
It's s's a humor. You know, he could be funny,
and he would be fun We didn't hang out socially
a lot off the tour, but we would called each other,
you know, at least maybe once a month, and we
talked for an hour or two and just talk, you know,
and we liked all the same things. And he was
a real good conversationalist and a good friend, so that's probably.
(02:20):
And he was funny, like I said, he could make
me laugh, you know, So I missed that legend.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And Wikipedia say you had an impromptu audition with Petty
to be in his band, and you impressed him with
Johnny be Good. Now, if you'd started that and he
said I don't like that song, pick a different one,
what would you have chosen.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Oh, Carol, Yeah, well, I'm glad that he bo Didley,
I don't know, something that's funky and bluesy.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I'm glad he liked Johnny be Good. It's an iconic riff.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
So, Mike, what's the most iconic guitar riff that you've
come up with?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Ooh, I don't know. Maybe running Down a Dream.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, that's the one I would chuse.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You know, there's a lot of them. I don't know.
I don't think about them and being iconic or just
guitar parts.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
You know, dude, you know, I know you've been in
the car listening to the radio and suddenly Running Down
a Dream comes on and you look at your miles
per hour gauge on your car and suddenly you're going
about twenty miles per hour faster. It's just one of
those songs.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Mah yeah, thank you. It makes you want to drive faster.
You know. What does happen? Sometimes my wife and I
will go into a department store or whatever, shopping and
we're not sure about whether we should buy something that
be it's too expensive or whatever, and then I'll hear
the background music. Here comes my girl will come on.
We'll look at each other and go, yeah, let's get it.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, that's that's another one.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Man.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It's great music there. And I love all the stuff
you played on, not just with the Heartbreakers, but also
Boys the Summer with Don Henley, working with Stevie Nix,
you work with Omaha's own Matthew Sweet and on a
great Rob Thomas album I love called Something to Be.
But I also really love the Dirty Knobs, especially the
(04:08):
title of the latest album, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits. So
for those unfamiliar with the Dirty Knobs, what should they
expect from this show?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
You can expect fun, spontaneity, rock and roll in its
finest form, spiritual soul healing and sec and salvation. Mostly
just a good time. You know. The band is so good.
(04:39):
I'm so fortunate to have them. They're a little more
heart edged than the Heartbreakers, but still some of the
Heartbreaker's stuff creeps in because I play guitar. But we
have a great We have great audiences. We have great
you know. We do a few of the old songs
occasionally for everybody, and then a lot of them seem
to know. We have three albums out, so there's a
lot of interact action with the audience, and things can
(05:02):
change on a dime. You know. I might change a
song or change an arrangement just to keep things fresh,
you know. So we have a blast.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
We're talking here with Mike Campbell of Mike Campbell and
the Dirty Knobs. He'll be at the City of Omaha's
Memorial Park Concert and Fireworks show coming up on Friday,
June twenty seventh at Memorial Park. The headliner is a
guy named Ringo Starr, who you've also recorded with. How
did you guys get hooked up?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Well, we met through a video shoot for I Won't
Back Down. Tom and I went over to England and
Ringo agreed to be in the video with us. I
met him then, and then I met him again at
the George Harrison tribute, just briefly backstage, you know. And
then his manager called me last year and said, Ringo
(05:48):
would like a song if you have anything for him.
And I had a bunch of songs laying around. I
picked one, took it over there and he liked it
and he overdub drums and sang it, and so I'm
looking forward to playing with him. He's great.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And our next question for you, Mike Campbell comes from
once again Jim Mingy from The Dispatch.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
So, if someone fifty years from now picks up a
guitar discovers a Mike Campbell song and you know it
strikes a chord with them, what do you hope that
they feel or maybe you know what, what do you
hope the first word they say aloud is? Or maybe
what do you think? Or what do you want them
to walk away understanding about your music and the kind
(06:29):
of musician you were and the type of music that
you created over your career.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, I hope they can feel the dedication and love
and the craft. I mean, I do this because I
love it, and I've always loved it. I love it
just as much now as when I first picked up
the guitar and the you know, the heartbreakers songs, which
is most of my catalog and boys this summer, and
a lot of the non songs the songs are about.
(06:55):
Most of them are hope and redemption. You know, somebody's
in the bed play they're trying to get to a
better situation than they're in. And then there's resolution at
the end and redemption and hope and I hope that
you know you're soon now and people here are songs
they'll feel that energy.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Okay, So I'm curious now about maybe some of the
more emotionally charged songs that you've helped, right maybe you
know you got lucky, stop dragging my heart around. How
much of your own experience I'm curious with love, relationships
or heartbreak you know, has influenced those songs over the years.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Yeah, Well, songs are magic. You know. You write songs
from whatever you're feeling inside, and then if somebody else
likes it, it's it's a bonus.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
What's your favorite dirty Knob song to play and see
the crowd reaction when you start the guitar on that song?
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Oh God, that's a hard one. Wicked mind. I think
we're going to open the show with wicked mind, which
is it's a barn burner.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah, yeah, dude, I can't wait to have you on
stage there. You'll be out there with between sixty and
seventy thousand of your closest friends on what I know
is going to be a beautiful night here in Omaha
and out there on stage before Ringo Starr and his
All Star band at Memorial Park for the City of
Omaha Concert and Fireworks show. And I can't wait to
see you. I'll be there saying ladies and gentlemen, please
(08:16):
welcome Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs. It's going to
be a really fun.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Night, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
I hear that the weather prediction is ten percent chance
of rain and one hundred percent chancer rock and roll,
so I think we'll be okay. It's going to be
a blast. And Susie Buffett, he's putting on the situation,
is a sweetheart. And it'll be nice to see Ringo again.
I haven't seen him since I cut that song with him.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it's going to be a really fun night, Mike,
and look forward to it. Save travels to Omaha. We'll
see you.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Soon, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Thank you, and thanks to Jim Manghi for coming in
here as well from the Dispatch. You can read more
from them at Omaha Dispatch dot com. Jim, great to
see you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Hey man, thanks for having me. What a blast I
mean to talk to to Mike Campbell, Uh, the guy
behind the guy. Man, It's just that was an incredible,
great interview, great guy. Uh, I appreciate you. Let me
have a little, uh throw a couple of questions in there,
So thanks a lot, Scott, I appreciate it very much. Man.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Scott Boys Mornings nine to eleven, Our News Radio eleven
ten KFAB
Scott Vorhiez.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Yeah, glad to have you in Omaha for this concert.
You spent decades as the architect kind of behind some
of the greatest songs in American rock and roll history,
but now your name is front and center with the
Dirty Knobs. What surprised you most about stepping into the
spotlight at center stage?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Well, what surprised me most was how much work it is.
Because in The Heartbreakers, you know, I just played guitar,
you know, and it was just lottyadi to play a
solo drum and chors. It was easy. But when you're
leading the band, you've got to remember the lyrics. You've
got to sing on pitch, you've got to lead the dynamics.
You've got to hit all your pedals, you've got to
(00:42):
play all the guitar parts, and you've got to sing,
and you've got to engage the audience. It's a lot
more complicated than just playing guitar, but I really enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
We also have in here to talk to you today,
Mike Jim Minghy, my friend who's also the publisher of
the Dispatch here in Omaha. He's got some questions for
you too.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Go ahead, Jim, well, tell me so, has leading a
band changed the way you write or the way you perform,
you know, being in front and center, and maybe you know,
striking a cool rockstar pose.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I don't know how to do any rock star poses,
but I do Mike poses. I have to, you know,
when you're leading the band, sometimes you have to be
a little more demonstrative, you know, wave or look at
everybody or get their attention. But my band is so good.
They're very intuitive and there's not a lot of rock
star posing going on in The Dirty Knobs. It's just
(01:33):
strong music, you know. And I don't know if that
answers your question.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
No, it's great music. I want to talk more about
The Dirty Knobs here in a moment. But of course,
I know you get questions all the time about your
former bandmate Tom Petty. And the reason, Mike is because,
like you, we love him and miss him. Now, what
do you miss most about Tom Petty?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
It's s's a humor. You know, he could be funny,
and he would be fun We didn't hang out socially
a lot off the tour, but we would called each other,
you know, at least maybe once a month, and we
talked for an hour or two and just talk, you know,
and we liked all the same things. And he was
a real good conversationalist and a good friend, so that's probably.
(02:20):
And he was funny, like I said, he could make
me laugh, you know, So I missed that legend.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And Wikipedia say you had an impromptu audition with Petty
to be in his band, and you impressed him with
Johnny be Good. Now, if you'd started that and he
said I don't like that song, pick a different one,
what would you have chosen.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Oh, Carol, Yeah, well, I'm glad that he bo Didley,
I don't know, something that's funky and bluesy.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I'm glad he liked Johnny be Good. It's an iconic riff.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
So, Mike, what's the most iconic guitar riff that you've
come up with?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Ooh, I don't know. Maybe running Down a Dream.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, that's the one I would chuse.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You know, there's a lot of them. I don't know.
I don't think about them and being iconic or just
guitar parts.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
You know, dude, you know, I know you've been in
the car listening to the radio and suddenly Running Down
a Dream comes on and you look at your miles
per hour gauge on your car and suddenly you're going
about twenty miles per hour faster. It's just one of
those songs.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Mah yeah, thank you. It makes you want to drive faster.
You know. What does happen? Sometimes my wife and I
will go into a department store or whatever, shopping and
we're not sure about whether we should buy something that
be it's too expensive or whatever, and then I'll hear
the background music. Here comes my girl will come on.
We'll look at each other and go, yeah, let's get it.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, that's that's another one.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Man.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It's great music there. And I love all the stuff
you played on, not just with the Heartbreakers, but also
Boys the Summer with Don Henley, working with Stevie Nix,
you work with Omaha's own Matthew Sweet and on a
great Rob Thomas album I love called Something to Be.
But I also really love the Dirty Knobs, especially the
(04:08):
title of the latest album, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits. So
for those unfamiliar with the Dirty Knobs, what should they
expect from this show?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
You can expect fun, spontaneity, rock and roll in its
finest form, spiritual soul healing and sec and salvation. Mostly
just a good time. You know. The band is so good.
(04:39):
I'm so fortunate to have them. They're a little more
heart edged than the Heartbreakers, but still some of the
Heartbreaker's stuff creeps in because I play guitar. But we
have a great We have great audiences. We have great
you know. We do a few of the old songs
occasionally for everybody, and then a lot of them seem
to know. We have three albums out, so there's a
lot of interact action with the audience, and things can
(05:02):
change on a dime. You know. I might change a
song or change an arrangement just to keep things fresh,
you know. So we have a blast.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
We're talking here with Mike Campbell of Mike Campbell and
the Dirty Knobs. He'll be at the City of Omaha's
Memorial Park Concert and Fireworks show coming up on Friday,
June twenty seventh at Memorial Park. The headliner is a
guy named Ringo Starr, who you've also recorded with. How
did you guys get hooked up?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Well, we met through a video shoot for I Won't
Back Down. Tom and I went over to England and
Ringo agreed to be in the video with us. I
met him then, and then I met him again at
the George Harrison tribute, just briefly backstage, you know. And
then his manager called me last year and said, Ringo
(05:48):
would like a song if you have anything for him.
And I had a bunch of songs laying around. I
picked one, took it over there and he liked it
and he overdub drums and sang it, and so I'm
looking forward to playing with him. He's great.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And our next question for you, Mike Campbell comes from
once again Jim Mingy from The Dispatch.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
So, if someone fifty years from now picks up a
guitar discovers a Mike Campbell song and you know it
strikes a chord with them, what do you hope that
they feel or maybe you know what, what do you
hope the first word they say aloud is? Or maybe
what do you think? Or what do you want them
to walk away understanding about your music and the kind
(06:29):
of musician you were and the type of music that
you created over your career.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, I hope they can feel the dedication and love
and the craft. I mean, I do this because I
love it, and I've always loved it. I love it
just as much now as when I first picked up
the guitar and the you know, the heartbreakers songs, which
is most of my catalog and boys this summer, and
a lot of the non songs the songs are about.
(06:55):
Most of them are hope and redemption. You know, somebody's
in the bed play they're trying to get to a
better situation than they're in. And then there's resolution at
the end and redemption and hope and I hope that
you know you're soon now and people here are songs
they'll feel that energy.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Okay, So I'm curious now about maybe some of the
more emotionally charged songs that you've helped, right maybe you
know you got lucky, stop dragging my heart around. How
much of your own experience I'm curious with love, relationships
or heartbreak you know, has influenced those songs over the years.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Yeah, Well, songs are magic. You know. You write songs
from whatever you're feeling inside, and then if somebody else
likes it, it's it's a bonus.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
What's your favorite dirty Knob song to play and see
the crowd reaction when you start the guitar on that song?
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Oh God, that's a hard one. Wicked mind. I think
we're going to open the show with wicked mind, which
is it's a barn burner.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah, yeah, dude, I can't wait to have you on
stage there. You'll be out there with between sixty and
seventy thousand of your closest friends on what I know
is going to be a beautiful night here in Omaha
and out there on stage before Ringo Starr and his
All Star band at Memorial Park for the City of
Omaha Concert and Fireworks show. And I can't wait to
see you. I'll be there saying ladies and gentlemen, please
(08:16):
welcome Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs. It's going to
be a really fun.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Night, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
I hear that the weather prediction is ten percent chance
of rain and one hundred percent chancer rock and roll,
so I think we'll be okay. It's going to be
a blast. And Susie Buffett, he's putting on the situation,
is a sweetheart. And it'll be nice to see Ringo again.
I haven't seen him since I cut that song with him.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it's going to be a really fun night, Mike,
and look forward to it. Save travels to Omaha. We'll
see you.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Soon, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Thank you, and thanks to Jim Manghi for coming in
here as well from the Dispatch. You can read more
from them at Omaha Dispatch dot com. Jim, great to
see you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Hey man, thanks for having me. What a blast I
mean to talk to to Mike Campbell, Uh, the guy
behind the guy. Man, It's just that was an incredible,
great interview, great guy. Uh, I appreciate you. Let me
have a little, uh throw a couple of questions in there,
So thanks a lot, Scott, I appreciate it very much. Man.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Scott Boys Mornings nine to eleven, Our News Radio eleven
ten KFAB
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.