ChitChat - With CARMINE APPICE from VANILLA FUDGE
INTERVIEW BY: BEN LAMB
PLAY THE INTERVIEW BELOW OR READ THE TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW FURTHER DOWN!
Hi Carmine, How’s it going, hello from Melbourne, Australia! You ever been here before?
Now should say I should say g’day? (Laughs)
I was there a couple of times with Rod Stewart in the 70s and the 80s, I love it there, I love the accents. Even Siri has an Australian accent on my phone.
It’s been a crazy year for all of us across the globe, how have you been keeping busy?
Well, I did that track that we just released. I have a studio here, I just moved to Florida and I've been working in here a lot. I did the Vanilla Fudge song ‘Stop In The Name of Love’, I did an album with a guy I just met last year named Fernando Perdomo, we did a 12 track instrumental album, I've been working on a new king cobra album. I produced a young, younger than me woman with her demo with different people on it. And I did a video in here did a couple of videos and we released my instructional books. I did videos to go along with them in the studio. So I've been busy, you know like not like doing nothing you know I think I'd go crazy if I did nothing.
Vanilla fudge is about to get back on the road. How's that going to be for you? I've put so much time away imagine it's exciting to get back and see the fans and well.
I'm going to be broken in a little bit in a week and a half is I'm going to four shows you my brother I got this thing called Drum Wars and we play a little bit of all of our hits. We don't do ‘Keep Hanging On’ at all, we do like heavy versions of ‘Do You Think I’m Sexy’, ‘Bark At The Moon’ and ‘Mob Rules’ and stuff for my solo album. We do, you know, some Dio and Black Sabbath and lots of other drum stuff. That's it really is a lot of drumming, a lot of playing. So by the time I'm done with four shows of that, I'll be ready for the Vanilla Fudge tour.
Then for you doing things like drum clinics and then working with Vanilla Fudge, then a bunch of different albums with different people, How do you like, keep yourself excited and interested in going into these areas?
I just love music, it’s not work. Even doing interviews, I love talking about it. You know, it's not really work. It turns into work if you're in the studio 14 hours and you're like, you know, I got to get some sleep, but you do it because you love the music. You love creating music.
For instance we're doing a new King Cobra record now, and honestly, today, the money isn't great like it used to be, but that's okay. You know you put money in for the time you put into an album and you make an album, You don't get paid the kind of money you used to get paid during a record. You get paid okay money. Yeah, that's right. It's like, it's like more like pocket money. But you're creating something.
If you have something that's going like King Cobra, who was already a legendary band. Already did two of the albums with Paul Shortino, this would be the third one. We're keeping the legend going. You know, we did a live album just came out from Sweden rock.
Most guitar players bowed out. They said that I'm too busy. I said what but dude, it's about keeping a legend going. You created something. This is the only thing you created. That's still going that people still listen to. So they didn't want to do it.
Yeah. For you being so, experienced and I guess well versed in the industry in the same way Do you ever pull influences from like new up bands? Or do you still go back to those? I know you're a fan of those old r&b drummers. Do you still go back to that?
To tell the truth I don't I don't listen to newer bands. I don't listen too much to new bands because I didn't know how to find him. I'm too busy to sit around and watch YouTube. You can do that on Sirius radio but still even that is, you know, Sirius radio.. New hard rock is on a station like Ozzy's Boneyard or classic, classic rock, they might play something new. But as far as going to say sound plays on the music. I'm not a fan of that. vocals. Some of the drumming is great, but some of the drumming is a bit too. From here, (points to head) instead of here, (points to heart) you know, you know what I mean? everywhere, every time they play that song exactly the same? No, which is great. If you can do that. You know, I can't do that. No, I don't particularly like that. I like improvising. I like songs that you know, take you with it. Yeah, you jam on the songs. So I have a problem, you know, trying to find new music.
So then when you approach songwriting, is that where you approach it from the heart rather than the head?
Depends what you're doing. You know, like, when I'm doing this Fudge album, we approach was the first song was the arrangement, and getting the feeling of, of what they're singing about, into the having the music match the lyrics, you know.
On my instrumental album, it was just like, okay, here's a great groove. I said to Fernando, well, I'll give you a drum track. Let's see what you do to it. And then he would do to some into and that's it? Well, that's cool. Why don't you try this over there? You know, just from a regional standpoint.
I'm working with a woman singer And you know, and I would find the strong points of a voice, and try and put that into the song and make a hook at it. So people would remember it. You know, and I'm just going from experience of writing songs. You know, I did write a couple of big ones with rod and I've been writing songs ever since 1968, you know. So it mostly comes from the heart into the brain.
Speaking of ‘Stop In the Name of Love’ What led the decision to cover that song?
Well, our manager, who’s a pretty cool guy, who managed The Doors. He came up with the idea, let's do an album called Supreme Fudge, because, you know, in 2019, Quentin Tarantino just put a song in his movie, ‘You Keep Hanging On’, and it quadruples our royalties. So he said, it may be a good idea to do an album called Supreme Fudge, and do like mostly supreme songs, and then maybe another r&b song and a couple of originals. So we said, okay, so we started doing it. And then we said, well, let's put Tim on it. But we knew that Tim was sick with cancer, we know how bad it was. Then we found out it was stage four. So we said well, let's put him on it definitely. So we went in December 2019. And we came up with the arrangement of the song, ‘Stop In The Name Of Love’. And then we went off on our Christmas holiday we and we already had a deal going with golden robot records. We went on Christmas holiday we can we're gonna come back after the NAMM show and work on it. And I said, Well, look, we got to track this. Why don't I try and get Tim on it while we're out there. Yeah. I can give Tim in California so and when I put him on it, and then I realised when I put him on it, that the drums have too much leakage of the organ and guitar on and couldn't mix the drums properly. So I said, Well, I have to redo the drums to make this work and Tim played to my drums and he created magic right there, you know. And then when he did, as soon as he did his part, I said not now it sounds like sounds like Vanilla Fudge.
Then a few months later, when I moved to Florida, I put the studio on here. And that was developing the drum sound with with doing that Fernando demo album. And then I got my old bass drums back from a friend of mine from cactus days. And they sounded great. And I said, Well, now I got the drum sound. I'm going to tackle that, that song that so I redid the drums over here. I played to Tim. And then I put some tambourine on it his and we got a little guitar in there, then I gave it to my mixer. And then it came out like it did.
So then they said well, why don't we do a single instead of an album because there's no way we can do an album album COVID because I'm the only one that has a studio. So those guys can't send me stems where everybody else I know. Well, the guys in King Cobra. And some of the guys in cactus now have studios. But then all five, nobody hasn't. So no one would ever call it an album. If this does well and golden worldwide say well, then we'll do our album. I don't know when we're gonna do it with this COVID thing keep coming back.
Cool, Thank you so much for taking some time to have a chat with me today. It's great to talk to you.
Fantastic! All right!
The legendary VANILLA FUDGE, the original line-up of Mark Stein, Carmine Appice, Vincent Martel and Tim Bogert, together one final time; take listeners on a psychedelically-tinged version of The Supremes classic, ‘Stop In The Name Of Love’. This masterpiece is an instant classic, putting on display the virtuosity and raw talent of one of the pioneers of psyche rock! The vibrancy and integrity of this band 55 years into their careers is one more reason why “The Fudge” should be in The Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame.
Back in 2019, Mark Stein put together an idea for VANILLA FUDGE to do an arrangement for ‘Stop In The Name Of Love’. The dream was to capture the lightning in a bottle that happened with their classic arrangement of The Supremes, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”. That track has remained current decades after its release thanks to film and television placements such as “The Sopranos” finale, and big Hollywood blockbusters like “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”. While the Fudge was out on tour later that year they went into the studio and laid down tracks that would be the foundation of this new release.
Listen/Buy 'Stop In The Name of Love' HERE
“So back in mid 2019, I put together a blueprint for an arrangement for ‘Stop in the Name of Love’, while the Fudge was out there doing shows later that year. We went into the studio and recorded the track. We planned to complete it, there were delays, and then the pandemic put everything on hold.” – Mark Stein
They planned to complete it with Tim Bogert on the track, however they ran into some unavoidable delays with the pandemic putting everything on hold. Tim had been living with cancer for some time, and they didn’t know how much time he had. Carmine Appice took the matter into his own hands and when he went to Los Angeles’ NAMM show in January of 2020; he arranged for Tim to record at Jorgen Carlsson’s (the bass player for Gov't Mule) studio in LA.
“It was very cool that we were able to get Timmy on the track. I'm glad he was strong enough and gracious enough to record with us one last time - he gave me a great template to build on with my guitar. I created an East Indian raga intro in the spirit of our early albums and rocked out at the end. Hold on tight everybody,' cause here comes The Fudge...” - Vince Martel
Upon Tim’s passing the band recorded tributes to their brother and bandmate with producer Leslie Gold. This heartfelt recording “To The Legacy Of Tim Bogert” is a must listen for fans of Vanilla Fudge. Tim Bogert was loved by his band mates, his family, his friends and his fans. He will be missed.
VANILLA FUDGE presents you with the stunning version of ‘Stop In The Name Of Love’, and “To The Legacy Of Tim Bogert", dedicated to the legacy of their brother, friend and band mate.
Catch VANILLA FUDGE LIVE at these select tour dates.
9/30 – The Arcada Theater – St. Charles, IL
10/1 – Des Plaines Theater – Des Plaines, IL
10/26 – Tally Ho Theater – Leesburg VA
10/27 – Jergels – Warrendale, PA
10/29 – Suffolk Theater – Riverhead, NY
10/30 – Sugar Loaf PAC – Sugar Loaf, NY
11/15 + 16 – Sony Hall, New York, NY
11/17 – The Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield CT
For more information on the band visit www.vanillafudge.com
