VINNY APPICE On Early Career - "We Got To Work With JOHN LENNON In Different Capacities; He Was Our Guitar Player!"
April 30, 2011, 13 years ago
BackstageAxxess.com recently caught up with drummer Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BIG NOIZE, KILL DEVIL HILL). An excerpt from the interview is available below:
BA: You and your brother Carmine are two of the greatest drummers of all-time. You are eleven or twelve years apart in age, so is it safe to guess that Carmine influenced you to become a drummer?
Vinny: "One of our older cousins was a drummer and we used to go see him; that kind of put the bug in Carmine. When I was growing up Carmine's career was in full swing with bands rehearsing at the house and everything and then I got the bug. Then I took drum lessons from the same guy Carmine did in Brooklyn NY, Dick Bennett; not at the same time of course. So it was, one inspired the other and the rest is history."
BA: So was it an advantage having Carmine as an older brother, or did you feel pressure to live up to the family name?
Vinny: "Well, Carmine was established as one of the best rock drummers around so there was some pressure. I had to be pretty good or I was going to fall behind. So I practiced really hard and listened to a lot of drummers including my brother Carmine. I took it all very seriously. Then, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to get things moving."
BA: And one of the first artists you played with was JOHN LENNON, right?
Vinny: "Yeah, that was 1975. I was with one of my early bands recording at The Record Plant in New York City and our producer was Jimmy Iovine, who was also working with Lennon at the time. Lennon was recording 'Whatever Gets You Through the Night' with ELTON JOHN and they needed some hand claps on the record. Somebody came to where we were rehearsing and asked if we could do some hand claps, because they didn't have computers back then. He asked about us and after that he would come and visit us during rehearsal. He liked us and we wound up doing a couple of video shoots together and played a live show. We also backed his wife on eight tracks that he produced, so we got to work with him in different capacities. He was our guitar player! (laughs) It was pretty cool at seventeen to be working with him."
BA: I can't imagine, you must still look back on it now and think about what an incredible thing that was.
Vinny: "Yeah, at the time I approached it from a professional standpoint, wanting to be a professional musician and so I didn't look at it as a fan. But there were times I would sit back and think, holy shit, that's John Lennon, but I didn't freak out because I was used to having musicians around because of Carmine. I kind of wish I did because then I would have taken more pictures. I didn't take any pictures with John Lennon and I regret that."
Go to this location for the complete interview.
As previously reported, Rock My Monkey has issued the following update in regards to the first Drum Wars Battle featuring the Appice brothers.
Why you ask? Well, the winner will win a call from these two legends. That's right folks. The Appice brothers will call you at a set time (to be determined) and chat for 30 minutes. How cool is that? Want to ask them about something that was said in our interviews with Carmine and Vinny? Want to ask them career advice? Are you a drummer and you just can't figure out some fill that Carmine used on your favorite VANILLA FUDGE CD? Is there a BLACK SABBATH drum part you need to learn for your tribute band? Do you want to know what their favorite pizza topping is? This is your chance to speak to legends."
More info at this location.
Rock My Monkey previously posted an audio interview in which Carmine Appice discusses Drum Wars. Listen below:
