Does Heaven and Hell ring a bell? How about Dio? Black Sabbath?! Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the one and only, Mr. Vinny Appice! From the mid-70's until now, this legendary drummer has kept himself busy with side projects and performances aplenty.
We spoke to Vinny about his musical career and his most recent group, Dunsmuir, which consists of Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon, The Company Band guitarist Dave Bone, and Fu Manchu bassist Brad Davis. You can view the entire interview below.
So let’s talk about this new super cool project, Dunsmuir. First of all, how did the group form? Where you already pals with Neil, Dave, and Brad?
What happened is Neil contacted me awhile ago and had an idea to put together some sort of side project and we had a couple guys in mind, which was Brad and Dave. I’m a fan of Clutch and the way Neil plays and sings so, I thought it was an interesting proposal. We all got together and jammed a few times to see how it went. We pretty much had an album worth of songs pretty quickly and the record was put together and it sounds great.
Googling the word Dunsmuir, first thing to come up is a town in Sacramento, CA. Does this location have any significance to the band?
No, not at all. Dave came up with a bunch of weird names and we all agreed on that one. I don’t know what it means.
Most supergroups resemble the style and sound of the members’ main bands. Would you say Dunsmuir has a similar tone to Clutch, The Company Band, Fu Manchu, or any of your previous groups?
To me, the guitar playing is different than what I’ve previously been in. Our guitarist, Dave Bone, plays quite differently than the guitarist in Last in Line and Kill Devil Hill. Brad plays a little differently too, although he sounds a little like Geezer Butler. I think people have heard my trademark or signature fills before from Dio or Sabbath so they could easily make those comparisons in this album to those albums. And when you hear Neil’s vocals, it very much sounds like Clutch. You just know it’s him as soon as he’s singing.
I’d say the album definitely has a classic rock feel to it. Would you say as a whole, you prefer 60’s through 80’s rock and metal compared to modern music?
I do like the 60’s and 70’s stuff a lot and that sound mainly comes from jamming. When musicians just jam, the drummer can lead the band somewhat. So, I try to do that and keep it exciting that way. And there’s probably more soul in music that came from the 70’s and 80’s than nowadays. A lot of newer bands are creating their music and inspiration off the computer and everything is perfectly timed to the track, but sometimes it’s nice to do it live and put a little soul and feel into it.
Did you have any say in the lyrical content or was that mostly Neil?
That’s all Neil. When I hear music, I hear structure, notes, and riffs. I don’t hear lyrics. I may hear melodies through the lyrics, but my brain isn’t built to really be into the lyrics part of songs. But that was all Neil's lyrics and it sounds good to me.
I spoke to Neil a few months back and we talked a bit about the state of the music industry and how it has become more difficult because music listeners have an entitlement to free music because of platforms like Spotify. What do you find is the most difficult or flawed aspect about the industry nowadays?
Well, I think it started with the internet. People want to get free music and not buy it. You can’t support an artist or the industry if you’re not buying music. It costs money to make an album. The other problem is that radio has turned into corporate nonsense all across America where they play the same old crappy songs. How about you play some new shit, you know? When I grew up, I’d put on my headphones and listen to FM radio and hear new stuff and the next day I’d buy the record. If they played new stuff and support new bands, that would sell more records. It’s a big circle. There’s no way to expand if they’re playing the same big singles.
Throughout your career you’ve recorded and performed with so many amazing groups. Looking back, are there any specific moments or projects that really stand out to you personally as the most memorable or significant?
One point I even played with John Lennon when I was still in high school. And in my early 20’s, Rick Derringer was a big star at the time. He was a great teacher for me and showed me a lot of cool stuff as we toured with Boston and Aerosmith. It doesn’t get any more legendary than being with Black Sabbath though. At one point I got a call from Ozzy’s camp to play in his band, but I turned it down. He was still drinking and partying like crazy and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I’m very fortunate to have been able to have those opportunities and still be playing because I love it.
Being that you have performed in many projects and collaborated with many artists, do you have anyone on your bucket list you feel you still need to creatively team up with?
Some of my favorite guitar players would be nice to play with like Jimmy Page or Eddie Van Halen. I know Eddie, but I haven’t seen him in awhile. He’s always busy with his band. It’d be really nice to write a song with those guys though.
Black Sabbath’s final tour is wrapping up soon. Being that drummer Bill Ward was unable to join the group for it, were you approached at all or are you not really on good terms with those guys?
I’m on great terms with those guys actually. I see Tony [Iommi] a lot at these Rock Fantasy camps in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. We get along great. Geezer and I, we’re not talking so much, but we’re still friends. It’s just a political thing. It’s not as simple as going down the line after Bill couldn’t play and they approach me. A lot of bands as old as Black Sabbath don’t have all the members alive. A lot of the fans would love to see the original lineup, at least for a couple shows.
Are there any upcoming events for Dunsmuir or other projects you’d like to talk about?
The Dunsmuir album has been receiving some really nice reviews so far. Hopefully we’ll be able to do a couple gigs, maybe hop on a tour. I have a lot of other things going on like Last in Line with the original Dio guys. The new album, Heavy Crown, came out in February and turned out really well. We’ll be touring in October and November. And then I have some shows with my brother Carmine called the Appice Brothers, where we have a band with us do all the music from our history. There’s some crazy drum stuff and that show rocks. There’s a lot going on.
